He recalls memories of being a small child, tagging along with his father to work. Bruce would watch the men, hurrying around him, performing tasks that had a magical quality in the eyes of a little boy. The men would scurry up a 50-foot pole, carrying pounds of equipment, in a matter of seconds. Bruce could watch them for hours; he knew he wanted to do the same thing.
Bruce started his work with complex energy when he was 18 years old, although, his education started many years prior with his father. He obtained two Journeyman Certificates. Each certificate is earned after completing an apprenticeship; Bruce completed two apprenticeships-simultaneously. A typical apprenticeship program spans 2-5 years with a minimum of 144 hours of related supplemental instruction each year. Bruce completed both apprenticeships in 3 years. An apprenticeship equivalent is working a full-time job and attending college full time--at the same time. An apprenticeship includes: electrical engineering, climbing, distribution, transmission, hot sticking, safety topics, rigging, transformer skills, and much more. Getting this education was just the beginning for Bruce.
After receiving his certificates, he was quickly employed by Southern California Edison. Bruce was finally able to put his education to work. He began his career working in transmission, which is one of two divisions, the other being distribution. Working in transmission meant that Bruce was performing difficult tasks at heights over 100 feet on cables that delivered anywhere from 60,000 to 500,000 volts. "It's dangerous; you can fall, or even have a line that hasn't been de-energized. When that happens, all hell breaks loose. The air around you ignites on fire and an arch of electricity can be seen and heard from a great distance," he explains. Transmission lines move large amounts of energy from one location to distribution lines. Distribution is much lower voltages, yet higher than what an average electrician can work on.
