Making $100K A Year As An Ironworker In NYC | On The Job
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Published 2020-11-12
Read more about Memesha's story here: cnb.cx/3phoDJv
Memesha Davis is a Brooklyn native, a mother of two and a structural ironworker — a job that she says has changed her life.
“Prior to ironwork, I had every job that you could possibly think of: customer service, retail, hostess. And nothing ever fulfilled what it is that I wanted to do, so I’ve always tried to fill the void of not working in a trade or work with my hands,” she says. “I was not happy with that work and I was making absolutely nothing.”
In 2015, Davis was a hostess at the Barclays Center’s 40/40 Club and was also working at her aunt’s restaurant. She says her hours were limited and inconsistent, and without benefits, she relied on Medicaid and food stamps to support her family.
“The year that I was working at the Barclays Center and with my aunt, I made maybe $13,000 for the year,” she says. “At the time, my son was 6, my daughter was 7. Raising kids on that budget was painful because there will be times where they just want something that costs a dollar, but a dollar was like a stretch.”
She continues, “It was just like a look of just disappointment on their faces, and being a single mom and trying to provide for your children as best as you can, it takes a toll on you daily.”
This year, Davis expects to make over $100,000 as a union ironworker journeyman.
A graduate of William E. Grady Career and Technical Education High School, Davis says she has wanted to work in a trade field since she was a teen, but felt pressured to take her high school’s culinary arts program.
“As a 14-year-old, a teenager, a young girl, I was told that I wouldn’t be able to make it in that field, so I ended up switching from HVAC into culinary arts cooking,” she says. “And that wasn’t my passion.”
Years later, Davis was introduced to ironwork through Nontraditional Employment for Women (NEW) — a New York-based organization that prepares, trains and places women in careers in skilled construction, utility and maintenance trades.
She chose to enroll in NEW’s free 7-week training program in 2015, noting that they also provided her with a generous, but ultimately essential, free metro card that allowed her to get to and from classes. “At first, I thought it was a bribe,” she says with a laugh.
“NEW was definitely a life-changer. It gave me back my confidence and like I went from ‘I can’t’ to ‘I know I can,’” recalls Davis. “They saw a potential in me and they guided me into being more than just a hostess.”
After completing NEW’s program, Davis took a tour of the New York Ironworker Union’s training facility in Astoria, Queens. She was immediately hooked.
“I remember coming to the school and taking a tour and I was like, ‘Oh, my God! This is this for me,’ because I’m an adrenaline junkie,” she says, describing the large warehouse-like 12,000-square-foot workshop that apprentice ironworkers are trained in. “You see this big column, you see a replica of what a building will look like in the field, you have these torch booths, you have the welding booths.”
On top of that, “the apprenticeship program for ironwork didn’t cost anything.”
The union’s apprenticeship program lasts three years and involves two to three days per week of classes and on-the-job training. Apprentices earn upwards of $38 per hour, are walked through necessary credentials and receive health benefits.
Those benefits proved to be crucial for Davis who was diagnosed with stage 1 cervical cancer in 2016. She says that the union president and the apprenticeship program supported her and gave her flexibility while she underwent chemo.
“I remember just breaking down and crying at that moment and my general foreman, my shop steward, my foreman, all these guys were like, ‘Whatever you need, we’re here for you,’” she says. “This is like a family that I never thought I would have.”
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All Comments (21)
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Survived cancer while being a single mother? That is a real superhero!!!
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I have to put my hat off for this woman. Brutally resilient.
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This woman is the epitome of resilient af. She went from being a single mom of two kids, living in poverty AND a cancer survivor. To being the only woman at her job, doing something that very few people can do, while making six figures. She inspires me to say the least 🙂
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"They'd want something that cost a $1 But a $1 was a stretch" 😩 That hurt. So happy she can provide for her kids now.
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This is great. The trades should be glorified. It’s hard work. Nothing can exist without the trades.
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Who else is inspired by this woman? I'm from NY and I love to see these kinds of stories
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This is hard work, real hard work. The 100k a year seems like a lot but these types of jobs take a toll on your body on the long term.
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Hope her kids understand their mom’s struggles.
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These are the kind of stories that NEED to be shown on the news and taught in school classrooms. If you work hard and are intentional you can do great things!
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Some blue collar jobs especially the ones that are unionized pay well and have excellent benefits. Some more than white collar jobs.
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I hope you guys do more blue collar episodes. Advocating for trades is important. My mom makes $45/hr welding pipes, has amazing benefits, and great retirement options with just a middle school education.
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Shouts out to the guys that makes the girls feel welcome in a predominantly male work environment🎉🎉🌟
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This is what happens when you give people opportunities to change their situations and breakdown some of the barriers to obtain the American Dream. Getting education for free allowed her to take on the risk and make it do what it do. Great story of an organization getting results.
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She inspires and gives hope. God bless and protect her and all the workers.
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I appreciate this video This is exactly what I need as motivation
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Not a lot of women in this field. Love to see it.
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So humble and such a hard working deserving person. She is a fantastic role model for women!
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when she said she was glad she didn't have to say no to her kids anymore 🥺
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she is so cool imagine being able to walk past a building and knowing you helped put it together
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I loved hearing about Memesha's story, and super interested in seeing women in the trades in general. My dad is a union electrician and I was able to get a scholarship through his union for college!
