For Brian Young, education is everything. He is a firm believer in learning as much as he can about many different subjects, a quality that has helped him both in work and in life. The Chicago-native played lots of sports growing up, including football, baseball, basketball, and track. “I even played volleyball for a little bit,” he laughs.
Young got his first exposure to the trades as a 17-year-old senior at Crane High School. A construction company came to his West Side neighborhood with an initiative to hire local residents. The program allowed Young to work with the company replacing windows in apartments throughout the area. He wasn’t thinking about his future at the time, but Young enjoyed the work he was doing. “I knew I was good with my hands, and I got satisfaction from seeing projects through to completion,” he says.
When Young was ready to get his life on track, he decided to apply his skills and his love of learning to a career in construction. He currently works as a roofer but has training in electrical, carpentry, and plumbing as well. Young says his experience in several different trades is a valuable tool to have on any job. “As a carpenter, when you’re reading blueprints, you have to know what the electrical guy and the plumber are doing,” he says. “Of course, you have to focus on your job. But you want to make it easier for the next trade as well.”
For the most part, Young says his experience in the trades has been positive. But like many people of color in the industry, he has experienced some racism on the job. Young says he’s grateful for people who took an interest in his career, and he credits two coworkers with helping him learn the ropes as a roofer. “They took me under their wings and showed me things step by step. They didn’t want me to mess up,” he says. Young says that some of the best advice he received was to stay focused on his job and take care of his family. “That was some of the realest life coaching anyone has ever given me,” he says. And for the father of 11 children between ages 3 and 18, spending time with his kids brings him the most joy. “They give me a lot of energy. Being with my family keeps me sane,” he says.