Aaron Shaer: Determined to Share His Success
Still, he says he can’t forget how close he came to missing out on what he describes as the best career he could have hoped for. One way or another, says the 26-year-old, he’s determined to make sure others don’t have to rely on good luck to learn more about the satisfaction and the benefits of becoming a boilermaker.
“When I was learning to be a welder at South Winnipeg Technical College (now Winnipeg Technical College), I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do,” he recalls. “Fortunately, my instructor was a boilermaker—when I approached him, he told me just how satisfying a career it could be.”
Aaron says he was sold. “I loved the idea that you could learn from others right on the job, get paid while you learned, and—if you wanted—see the country while you were doing it.”
For Aaron, skilled on the computer and a big fan of the Internet, the obvious next step was to go on-line to learn more about becoming a boilermaker. “Trouble was,” he says, “there was very little information to be found.” In fact, other than the Alberta Web site—which he describes as excellent—there was nothing available to answer his questions. That’s when Aaron decided he’d pursue the idea of a national Web site for boilermakers.
“We need to tell young people why they should consider a career as a boilermaker,” he says. “We need to let them know what they can expect in terms of challenges and opportunities.” Although his Web site is not yet a reality, Aaron says he’ll continue to look for ways to bring it about. In the meantime, he says he’ll tell anyone who listens about the career/lifestyle choices he’s made.
“Just look at what becoming a boilermaker has done for me.” He says. “I’m getting world-class training, I’m not going into debt to get it, and when it’s complete, I’ll know exactly what I’m going to do.”
That, says Aaron, is a message worth sharing.