Growing up in Long Island, New York, Aaron Patti was exposed to the trades via his dad who was a Master Electrician and member of the Local 3 Union in New York City, but he never seriously considered entering the trades. Even when he worked with him in his high school summer years, he didn’t consider becoming an electrician. After all, everyone knew that in order to be somebody you had to go to college. His brother went to medical school and became a doctor; his sister, a teacher, spent eight years in college. Aaron’s mother wanted him to go to college, and teachers encouraged kids to plan on college so they could enjoy a satisfying and prosperous career. 

Aaron, however, was becoming disenchanted with school. He had done well and even enjoyed it up to the last couple of years when he found that he did not enjoy classes such as trigonometry, which wasn’t easy and besides, how was he going to need this in the real world, anyway?

So with mixed feelings, he signed up for community college, and a year in, he met the girl he knew he wanted to marry. In the meantime, he had started working for his uncle installing solar systems. When Aaron and his fiancé decided to move to Minnesota where she grew up, they decided to make some career changes. She started her own cleaning business, while he entered trade school, Northwest Technical College (NTC), to become more rounded.

Trade School and Scholarships

While he was one of the older people in class, he found he bonded with his classmates and appreciated the help of his teachers. There were lectures and classroom work, and they were helpful, but Aaron loved the hands-on experience.

“Hands-on class experience is a great way to get safe training. It is the best place to make mistakes that you can learn from. If something goes ‘boom,’ you’re in a controlled/safe environment and not in a customer’s home,” Aaron said. NTC trade school kept students apprised of scholarship opportunities. Aaron had grown up watching “Dirty Jobs,” but he thought, “What is the likelihood that I will be one of the lucky few who wins a mikeroweWORKS Foundation scholarship?” But he applied anyway; he liked the pitch. 

“Others offer scholarships saying, ‘We might give you some money’,” Aaron said. “The mikeroweWORKS Foundation people said ‘We might give you some money, but you are committing to something bigger than that. You are agreeing to getting down and dirty, putting some elbow grease in, and taking pride in your life.’ I liked that; I committed.”

When he and his wife had moved, Aaron left a great job in New York and went to no job in Minnesota, so between that and the brand-new cleaning business, money was not plentiful, and scholarship money was greatly prized. 

“Receiving the scholarship was a huge encouragement; it felt like God wanted me to do this,” Aaron said.

Working Experience

When Aaron left the school with a two-year degree, he was eligible to take the journeyman electrician test. This is not the only route to a journeyman certification, a candidate can do a four-year apprenticeship, but Aaron encourages anyone interested in becoming an electrician to start with trade school. He believes in the education, and it helps you reach your goal faster.

After working in the field for a year, Aaron was ready; he took the Master Electrician test and became certified. Then he started his own company, AP Electric.

In January 2021, NTC reached out to him and asked him to take over for a teacher who needed to take some time off. He accepted. Aaron greatly enjoyed teaching for a few semesters, even writing his own curriculum and exams. However, once the original teacher was able to return, the job was over. Under normal circumstances, five years of experience as a Master Technician is needed to teach. 

Making the most of his journey, Aaron has written a book to share his knowledge with those who come behind him: A Comprehensive Guide to Passing the Electrical Licensing Exam. 

Aaron said, “The licensing exam is very hard. The exam is not about field work. It’s about the code book, which is hard to read and understand. My book shows you how to navigate it,” he added.

For every five electricians that retire, two people opt to become electricians. Then the question is: Are they certified electricians? This is important because it is required that every apprentice is  supervised by a journeyman or master electrician, so more licensed electricians are needed.

Being an electrician provides a great career and great money Aaron said.

“I love being an electrician; it is very satisfying,” Aaron said. “There is a real need in every area; I don’t even have to advertise. It is very satisfying because troubleshooting is like figuring out a puzzle. And I am helping people. Sometimes people are so happy because there hasn’t been anyone around to help them for a while. Also, the money is good. People charge around $120 per hour in the nearest city. I don’t charge that much, I don’t need it,” Aaron added.

He does mostly residential electric; he prefers it because it is more personal. His company has one work van, and he operates debt-free. Aaron wants to continue to grow his business organically and remain debt-free. Someday he would like to employ electricians and help them grow in skills and experience so they can become journeyman electricians, even master electricians. Most of all, he is passionate about serving the needs of the people in the local community.

Switching on the Light for Young People

How can we get the word out to young people about the opportunities available to them as electricians and other trades work? Aaron said we need to go where the kids are: TikTok. He said that kids spend a lot of time on Tik Tok, so if someone wanted to reach out to kids and tell them what kind of money they could be making without going to four years of school … that would be the forum. RB