By Linda Schmid
Dylan Volz Hit His Goal in Just 4 Years!
Volz was one of many kids who felt uninspired by many of the classes he was required to take in school. But in junior high, he found his creative side when he got involved with the band. He played cornet and tenor sax through junior high and high school.
What he spent more time on, though, was video games, so he thought maybe he’d end up working as a video game designer. Even then, he had already begun dabbling in small engines in his free time, building motorized bikes he rode to school.
Then, he discovered a few more classes he enjoyed: ag-mechanics classes and welding. He found that he did well in these classes without much effort; he had a natural aptitude. Tyler Renz, the ag-mechanic teacher mentored him, helping him see the potential within himself. The satisfaction of doing something well spurred him on to take an advanced class, learning mig and tig welding and honing his skills.
On Career Day in his senior year of high school, Volz announced that his five year career goal was to start his own automotive fabrication shop. He accomplished it in four years.
Trades Education
Volz began a two-year associates degree in Applied Science/Welding Technology. He liked the classes and he made friends, people interested in the same kinds of things he was interested in. Volz is glad that at the end of his second year, the program introduced a fabrication course; it added more time on for him, but he learned so much! He realized he wanted to do custom fabrication. Rather than weld the same parts all day, a custom fabricator gets a lot of variety and when he’s done, he’s got a complete, functional object.
Volz applied for scholarships in 2017 as he was getting started on his degree, and he was awarded one from his town and a mikeroweWORKS Foundation Work Ethic scholarship. He knew of Mike Rowe through his dad who watched his television shows. The application process felt a bit like playing the slot machines, but he followed the guidelines, signed the pledge, made a video about the motorbikes he’d built, sent in his application, and forgot about it. He figured there would be so many applicants that it wasn’t likely he’d get noticed. When he got the email that he’d won the scholarship, his jaw dropped. In retrospect he thinks the video may have been what won the scholarship because it showed that he liked to work.
First Job in the Trades
Within two weeks of graduation, Volz was welding aluminum boats in Bremerton, Washington. The boats fulfilled government contracts or they were for wealthy parties. He thought it was pretty cool to be building 33 to 55-foot boats from scratch.
About a year into his work, he began pursuing his passion for fast cars on the side. He got pretty good at welding his own car parts to make cars go fast. He makes hot rods and racecars; he’s done several projects now, and he keeps on learning.
Living the Dream
Volz has made this his full-time profession, starting his own business: EMC Fabrication & Design. He loves it, and now he sets his own hours. After breakfast, he gets to the shop between 8 and 9 in the morning and he gets to work on his current project. Often he is busy making exhaust systems of stainless steel. They are precision tig welded, and they can handle excessive heat, fire balls, and other abuse. The exhaust flows very fast, giving the car more power.
The best advice Volz has for somebody who is considering a career in the trades is to find someone who is passionate about it. A mentor can really help you get where you want to go, he said.
Now that Volz has achieved his initial goal, he has set a new one. He would like to move to his own home and shop, as currently he rents from his parents. The key to making this dream come true is growing his business, which he hopes to do organically through word of mouth and FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/emcmetalfab RB
