Graduate Connections – Meet Olin Heinemann

Olin, 38, was born in New Jersey, but grew up in Green Bank, West Virginia. Olin completed the seven-month Electrical Applications program at Tulsa Welding School in June 2024. 

Thanks for your time, Olin. What did you do before coming to TWS? 

I went to school at West Virginia University and graduated with a degree in Communication Studies. I had a job lined up, so I moved down to Florida. The job didn’t work out, but I met my ex-wife there. When we got married and she fell pregnant with our daughter, we decided to have the baby close to her parents. She’s from the Tulsa/Broken Arrow area, so I moved here with her. I’ve lived in the area ever since then, just stepping up to try to provide for my family. I have two kids. There were a couple of jobs that I stuck with for a while because I’m pretty loyal guy. I worked as an office manager at a trucking company for five years, and then I worked for the United States Post Office for seven years. 

So, where did the idea of electrical school come from?

I’ve done electrician work basically all my life. I’ve run wire, hooked up fans, receptacles, plugins, lights. I’ve done all that, but I never really got paid for it. It was just something that I already knew how to do. 

But where did that knowledge come from, to be able to do that kind of electrical work?

It was my brother-in-law; he was into flipping houses. He became a handyman and would do basically anything. I helped him for a long time doing odd jobs. Anything from plumbing and electrical, to actually remodeling an entire home. I just picked it up along the way. My younger brother is an electrician too. So, he kind of pushed me towards it. But it really was my older brother who got me thinking about school. A long time ago he told me I have an engineering mind and I should put it to work. When I told him I didn’t like the idea of drawing plans and all that, he said, “Why don’t you become an electrician because you’re still doing the hands-on work?” So, that kind of planted a seed a long time ago.

So, what prompted you to make the change last year and go back to school?

Well, things turned for the worse at the post office. They had great benefits, but my manager and I couldn’t get along. He ended up hurting me and my pay, so I decided enough was enough. My ex-wife and I got divorced last year, and I decided it was time to find something where I could be happy. So, with my electrician background and experience, I just needed something, a certification, to really show I had it. That’s what drew me to Tulsa Welding School last year. 

You needed certification and the legitimacy of school to back up the knowledge you already had? 

Correct. I didn’t have anything on paper to demonstrate my experience. I couldn’t just go and interview. 

What did you enjoy most about your time at TWS?

The best part of it was the encouragement from the instructors. I still keep in contact with a couple of them. Each of them was encouraging, they always had my back. They were always there if I had questions, or if I needed clarity. It was helpful. On previous jobs I’d had, I’d never had someone willing to put forth the effort to help me learn more, to help me better myself. So, that was the biggest part of it all for me.

With your experience, were you closer in age to the instructors than your classmates?

I was probably the oldest student in the class, but I was able to help others, guide them along. I’d show them how to hook up a plug or a light switch, whatever. The instructors often encouraged me to do that because it helped them out. I’ve always been a helpful person and I enjoyed doing it. When I was younger, I was a ski/snowboard instructor in West Virginia. Back then I loved it; maybe it’s in my blood as both my mom and dad were teachers at one point. It was nice to be able to give some of my knowledge to others.

Perfect. So, where are you working now?

I got a job working for Midtown Electric in May, before I graduated Tulsa Welding School in June.

That’s awesome! How did you get the job?

One of my instructors, Kelly Crittenden, gave me their information. I asked him what my job outlook was, and we started talking. We bonded a little and he gave me the name of one of the hiring guys at Midtown. I had an interview and he called me the very next day and asked me when I could start. It turns out he also touched base with Kelly, and he gave me high praise. So, I pretty much have to thank Kelly for the job. I was taking night classes at TWS, so I could work during the day and go to school at night. 

What are you doing for Midtown?

They mostly do commercial and industrial electrical work. One of the jobs that I’m working on is a major project downtown in downtown Tulsa. I’m pretty sure we’ll be there for the next seven or eight months. But they have several other jobs they’re doing around town as well. They’re doing some work in the hospital, and there’s another warehouse storage facility that they’re working on. 

Is this new construction, remodels? 

Two of those are brand new constructions, but I’m working in a very big, old building, that’s being remodeled. I think it was built back in the 1800s. They’re changing the look of it to accommodate the new business that’s going to be operating in there. I’m helping them get the wire where it needs to go!

Did you know you wanted to do commercial electrical work, rather than residential? 

It didn’t matter to me at first, but most of my instructors encouraged it. They said that there is probably more money to be made on the commercial side, just because of how much longer those construction site jobs go. At a residential house you’d be there for one, two weeks tops, and then you’re done. Whereas in commercial jobs, you’re there for months on end, even years. So that’s why they suggested the more guaranteed money was in commercial. So, after that, I kind of thought I wanted to go into commercial, but it also had the advantage of being something that I didn’t already know. It would give me the opportunity to learn more. I’ve got to say, the past three months have been a real experience. I’ve learned a lot on the fly. Each room in this building is a challenge. That’s encouraging to me because it feels like I’m actually accomplishing a lot of things. I get high praise for my work and it’s all new to me. It’s fun, exciting, and a little challenging. But I do like a challenge!

So, what is your career plan from here, Olin?

I’m obviously starting as an apprentice electrician, so my goal is to work my way up to Journeyman, get my Journeyman’s license, and go from there. If I stay with Midtown all the way through to that point, so be it. If not, then I feel like I already have enough knowledge to be confident to walk into another place. At this current moment, I’m close to a thousand hours. You need 8,000 hours to take the Journeyman’s license. The school gave me 700 hours, and I’ve worked for three months now, so it’s just shy of a thousand hours. 8,000 hours is usually about four years’ experience. 

If it works out where I can stay with Midtown Electric for a while, then I’ll stick with it. But do I have a dream of owning my own business one day, having my own hours? Yeah, sure, of course, who doesn’t? But the main goal is to have a steady, reliable paycheck, and to be financially stable, which I know at one point I’ll get to. I mean, being an apprentice, I’m not making nearly as much money as I did after seven years at the post office, but I’ll get there, and I’m happy. It’s a tradeoff, now versus the long term.

What do you enjoy most about your new trade – solving puzzles, learning new stuff, the variety?

All of it. Going into a room, figuring out how to run wire and pipes to make it work in a way that’s not too crazy. To try to get it as clean as possible, so it’s all hooked up the way it needs to be. Also, when I was a mail carrier, it was the monotony. I’d run my route, go home, then wake up the next day and do the same exact route. Yeah, I’d be outside in the postal truck, but it wasn’t the same as it is here, or has been in the past three months. I’ve done multiple different things, on different levels, with different challenges. It’s nice to have a change of pace where I’m not doing the same exact thing every day. I feel I’m using more of my body too; I feel physically better than I did at the post office, I’m in better shape!

Did you make some connections at school? Friends that you’ll stay in touch with. 

Apart from the instructors I mentioned, there are maybe two guys I keep in contact with a little, but not the others. My one goal was to get my certification as an apprentice and do something with it. 

What advice do you have for someone to be successful at Tulsa Welding School? 

The best way to be successful is to continue to push forward into the class. You’ll have your moments where you’re like, “What in the world? We didn’t learn any of this stuff!” But if you put forth the effort, you read the material, you look at the quizzes, you take your time in doing that, you can really succeed in the classes. The instructors are always there for help; they’re always going to be helpful to you, so use that to your advantage. If you put forth the effort, the instructors will know. They’ll see it. They’ll help you.

With the help of people like Danielle in Career Services and my instructor Kelly, I am pretty content with where I’m at. I feel like it was a calling to be at Tulsa Welding School, and a calling to be in the place where I’m at now, and it’s a great feeling to be where I’m at.

If you’re a TWS graduate and would like to share your success and be an inspiration to others, please email [email protected] to be considered for a Graduate Connection interview. Please include details such as your graduation date (month/year), program, and campus name (Tulsa/Jacksonville/Houston/Dallas).