Small Spark Ignites Big Career Decision

It’s no understatement to say a high school with a strong career and technical program can alter the course of a student’s life. At Marietta High School, that’s what happened after Juan Calma Camacho enrolled in instructor Michael Barcarse’s Construction and Skilled Trades Pathway.

“He got me interested in the class,” Juan recalls. “Then I was asking him about the trades and he said, ‘Have you thought about being an electrician?’ And I was like, ‘I’ll look into it.’ And now I’m an electrician.”

Barcarse remembers Juan well, saying he “exemplified the ideal student, excelling academically and seizing every opportunity to learn new skills. His exceptional aptitude for working with hand, power tools, and materials significantly influenced his decision to pursue a career as an electrician.”

Juan wasted no time starting his career. Two days after graduating in 2020, he went to work for United Electric. He completed the IBEW Local 613 apprenticeship program in four years, and today he’s a Journeyman Electrician with almost six years experience – and, significantly, no student debt.

Juan now lives in Gainesville, where he owns a house with his parents. Read on as he talks about his electrical career journey.

Construction Ready (CR): How did you get started as a construction student at Marietta High School?

Juan Camacho (JC): I actually started in Architectural Drawing and Design. It was one of my optional classes. I just picked it up and thought it was pretty cool. That was when I was a junior. Then I took the beginning construction class, and that’s when I really got interested int the trades. After I did a year in that class, I was like, ‘Oh yeah, this is good.’

CR: What did you enjoy about the program?

JC: More than anything, I like to work with my hands. So that’s the main thing I liked about it.

CR: How did you get connected to your employer, United Electric?

JC: My teacher had a lot of influence. He got me into it. His son was already working there. He started a year before me, so I was able to talk to him about it. I went to work right after I finished high school. I was ready. I didn’t have anything else to do.

CR: What kind of work did you do initially?

JC: I started in the prefab shop, building electrical boxes for the first month. Then I went to a job site. When I joined the apprenticeship program, I would go to class for a whole day every two weeks at the IBEW training facility.

CR: What kinds of job sites and projects have you worked on?

JC: I’ve worked at Georgia Tech, at the State Capitol building, and at the First Presbyterian Church on Peachtree Road. Those were the main ones, the really big ones I worked on. Right now, I’m working on a remodeling project at the Fernbank Museum.

CR: What do you enjoy about your career?

JC: I enjoy getting to know different people. Most of the jobs I go to have a lot of people working on them. I also like that there’s more than one way to do a lot of the things we do. I like trying to find the most efficient way. Sometimes I can meet someone who knows how to do the same thing I already know how to do, but maybe I like their way more than mine.