“If there is something that you’re really interested in doing, just jump in and do it. You never know what life has to offer for you until you step into that unknown.”
Encouraging words from Melissa Martin, who just finished her second year in the IEC Apprenticeship Program at the Western Colorado IEC while working at Encore Electric’s Mountain Division. 
Melissa was no stranger to electrical. Her dad was an electrician, but she didn’t immediately choose this career for herself. Instead, she pursued a number of jobs in the security field. As a single mom, her primary focus was to teach her sons to be ‘decent people.’ With that important responsibility proceeding well, Melissa began exploring career options for herself when her youngest son was a year or two into double digits.
“I always was interested in knowing how things worked with electrical current,” she says. “As a student, I remember the science projects with hydroelectricity to batteries with potatoes and the whole nine yards. And then I enjoyed watching my dad and seeing how you connect outlets and switches to lamps. The whole process was always interesting to me.”
Melissa applied for a job at Encore Electric in Eagle, CO, and was hired. Before she even stepped into the work facility, Encore enrolled her in the IEC Apprenticeship Program for proper training.
“Two weeks before I even started working with Encore, I started class,” Melissa says. “They worked hard to get me started. I’ve learned a lot through IEC about the different way things work, motors, math, formulas, code. That’s been a huge positive for me.”
Melissa acknowledges her supportive and helpful Encore colleagues for opening up her eyes to all aspects of electrical at numerous work sites. She is appreciative of Tyler Paterski who helped her succeed on the recent Aspen Valley Hospital project.
“I hadn’t done a lot of stuff other than bending pipe for a while, so when I went up to the hospital, I got to learn how different lighting controls work and about different wires and wire pulls,” she says. “I also got to work on fire alarm systems, which I had never done before. That was exciting.”
Melissa tackled much in her first two years and points to math and code as challenging her the most as she seeks to excel in her craft. Other small challenges as a woman in a predominantly male field include adjusting to tasks like pipe bending that require upper body strength and dealing with porta potties on job sites. It’s part of the learning process and Melissa takes it all in stride.
“Women don’t typically have the upper body strength like men do,” she acknowledges. “We have to use different strengths like our legs or our body weight to bend pipe. Also, for me personally, I’m terrified of heights but I’m working on it! I’m up in the lifts almost every day.”
Melissa shares that being on a project from start to finish is one of her favorite things to do as it better helps her understand how everything works together.
“I’ve been on a couple buildings where I’ve started with the underground work and putting in all the main lines in and handling the branch circuit runs,” she notes. “I really enjoy doing box makeup and then putting the boxes in on the site. I’ve run some of the heavy machinery like the backhoe and skid steer, and I think I’m pretty good at it.”
Melissa knows there are solid opportunities ahead for her in the electrical field. She first wants to work toward becoming a foreman and running a job site with her own crew.
“I’m not quite sure of all I want to do, but maybe I’ll go higher than that and be a superintendent or electrical engineer,” she says. “These are some of the many options available to me.”
In the meantime, she plans to continue learning and supporting her team, as well as caring for her sons. Melissa married Chad Martin on March 14, 2025 and they enjoy exploring outdoors in their beautiful state, with four wheeling and hiking at the top of their list.
“When Chad and I met, he had an amazing 94 Pathfinder named Penny, and I absolutely fell in love with her,” Melissa says.
Congratulations, Melissa, and grab your future.
IEC Western Colorado Essay Contest Winner
Melissa Martin is grateful for the opportunities she’s had since deciding to enter the electrical field. Her inspiring words below — selected as the winning essay in the 2024 IEC Western Colorado Essay Contest — demonstrate her sense of accomplishment and encourage others to follow their hearts.
Becoming an electrician has influenced and changed my life in so many ways. First, it has changed my life as I am now in a growing and rewarding career that I am very proud to be doing. By being an electrician, it has shown me that I am capable of more than I ever have thought I could be before. It has influenced me by changing my outlook on a woman’s ability to do whatever I want to. As a woman in a predominantly man’s field, it can be intimidating. But I’ve been able to see that I am capable to do just the same as anybody else and I really enjoy it. It helps me to strive to learn all that I can about the trade and different areas I can get into, such as different lighting controls and how to program them, fire alarm systems and how to trouble shoot for problems. Being an electrician has made me a healthier and stronger individual. It has helped me grow financially, independently, and emotionally. Within this career as an electrician, I plan on moving up higher into the field by maybe becoming foreman, or a superintendent, or maybe an electrical engineer – not quite sure but the possibilities are limitless. So much growth comes to a person when they get into such an amazing trade such as this. As an electrician I feel that I can do or go anywhere I want in life.
