This episode is for the kid being told he has one option. It's for the apprentice trying to figure out if going local is worth the pay cut. It's for the lineman wondering if the side hustle is real. Mike's career didn't follow a plan. It followed a series of decisions — and the ones that paid off weren't the ones anyone told him to make.

WHAT WE GET INTO

• The guidance counselor conversation that introduced him to the trades
• Why he didn't finish line school — and why his teacher told him not to
• What he made as an apprentice on the road vs. as a municipal lineman at home
• The tree job at his parents' house that accidentally started a business
• Why he walked away from the "gravy job" most lineman never leave
• The advice rule he uses: "Be careful who you take advice from"

ABOUT MIKE DOMBROWSKI

Mike Dombrowski grew up around Jim's Music — his dad's store. He knew young he didn't want an office. He went from high school to CDL to line school to apprentice contracting work in Minnesota, came home as a municipal lineman, started a tree service on the side, and went full-time around 2021. He's also one of the founding members of the MTDS Lineman School. You may have seen some of his videos go viral on TikTok and Facebook.

• https://www.tiktok.com/@dombrowskitreeservice
• https://www.facebook.com/dombrowskitreeservice/

🔗 LINKS

Listen wherever your get your podcasts: https://built-in-the-midwest.captivate.fm/listen

Midwest Truck Driving School: midwesttruckdrivingschool.com

North Country Heavy Equipment & Electrical Line School: https://ncheschool.com/

Submit your Questions: https://webforms.pipedrive.com/f/6WfGT9X1zlYC6WvssJqfWxOOkvVa1AjzqgnAIIHOq70WWiNo5czEWXpBMqxVTW7UST

💬 CONNECT

Email: [email protected]

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CDLMidwest

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/midwesttruckdrivingschool/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@midwesttruckdrivingskool