Renee Rosplock is an electrician, with NYSEG, or New York State Electric & Gas Corporation. She is a first year apprentice working on becoming a fully qualified UC&M (utilities construction and maintenance) electrician. It will take five more years of apprenticeship, study, and testing for her to be able to do all aspects of the job by herself. She spent her first six months studying basic electricity. Renee currently spends much of her time working at the substations. She and the rest of her crew are responsible for the repair and general maintenance of the transformers, breakers, and switching in the substations. To work on a line, you need to switch the power over to a different line. She also has to work in the city on the "network" which is all of the lines that run underground.

"A typical day involves preventive maintenance, repair, and wiring. Basically to maintain the integrity of the equipment."

Over the eighteen years that Renee has worked for NYSEG, she has done many different jobs. She worked as a laborer in the gas department of NYSEG, then she worked as an operating engineer running heavy equipment. She worked as a meter reader, and she also installed gas and electricity meter. She moved from there to collection which required her to shut off peoples gas and electricity when they didn't pay their bills. After getting in a serious car accident Renee was forced to work in an office setting for a few years. She worked in accounting and costumer service before bidding on the electrician apprentice job. Of all the jobs that she has done over the years she most prefers her current position as an electrician. She likes this job most because it is far more challenging than any of the other jobs that she has done. There are always new things to learn as an electrician. The job is both mentally and physically demanding. It requires her to constantly learn new technology and procedures, as well as, remember things that she may have learned years before and have not used since. As an electrician, Renee has to be in good physical condition. Her job often requires her to do strenuous activity in all types of weather.

"I don't look at myself as a role model for other women. If I want to do something, I'm going to do it to the best of my ability."