September 22, 2025 • 24 mins
The Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing (ATDM) program is preparing the next generation of skilled workers for the U.S. Navy’s Maritime Industrial Base. With an 85% job placement rate and graduates from nearly every state, ATDM is creating real career opportunities. In this episode, recent graduates Dylan Carter and Angel Gallaher describe how the program equipped them with technical expertise and career-ready confidence.
The Institute for Advanced Learning and Research serves as a regional catalyst for economic transformation in Southern Virginia. Our services, programs and offerings are diverse, impactful and far reaching.
Get updates from IALR on other channels:
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Dylan Carter (00:00):
It feels good like to be able to say I don't just
have a job, I have a career, andthat's something I'm grateful
for.
Caleb Ayers (00:15):
Hey, thanks for joining us for another episode
of Inside IALR.
Today we're here to talk abouta program.
If you've followed theInstitute for Advanced Learning
very much, if you've paid anyattention to our podcasts or
really heard much of anythingabout what we're doing, you've
probably heard about the ATDMprogram.
Atdm is short for AcceleratedTraining and Defense
Manufacturing.
This program is making a hugeimpact, not only for the
(00:38):
maritime industrial base, whichis essentially the system of
companies that make parts andpieces that are then assembled
as parts of ships and submarinesfor the US Navy, but also for
the individual participants.
So this podcast is going tohave interviews with two of
those participants who camethrough this four-month program
and actually graduated just afew days ago and are now going
(01:01):
on to exciting careers indefense manufacturing and are
now going on to exciting careersin defense manufacturing.
Atdm has been around forseveral years but has been
growing over that time and isnow very close to reaching
maximum capacity.
With the new addition of theMaritime Training Center earlier
this year on our campus, we'relooking to graduate.
800 to 1,000 students completethis program every year.
These students come from allwalks of life.
(01:23):
Essentially, you have to be 18.
You have to be a US citizen,because that's what all of the
companies hiring out of thisprogram every year.
These students come from allwalks of life.
We have, essentially, you haveto be 18, you have to be a US
citizen, because that's what allof the companies hiring out of
this program require.
We have students who are freshout of high school.
We have students who are intheir 40s and just are looking
for a different career path thanwhat they have done previously
and everything in between.
And students come from, I think, almost every state at this
point and go back into work in30-plus states where there are
(01:46):
Navy suppliers all over thecountry.
So it's a really cool programwith about an 85% completion
rate and about an 85% jobplacement rate.
So very, very, very strongnumbers there.
As far as you know, for thosewho are in the workforce,
development, job training, thoseare very strong numbers and
we're very proud of that.
Again, the 18th cohort justcompleted the program a few days
(02:09):
ago, bringing the total numberof completers to date up to
about 1,100.
And again, that number is goingto continue to grow as this
program reaches full operationalcapacity.
It's just awesome to see thelife change that this provides
for students.
There are so many students whocome through some of them
without other options reallywhere this is kind of their last
shot.
There have been plenty ofstories of students who have you
(02:32):
know, a couple hundred dollarsto their name, no real career
experience to date.
Things like that come throughthis program, apply themselves,
work really hard work with thestaff outside of the classroom
on their career readiness, theirresume, their interview prep
and things like that, and walkout with an amazing job, an
amazing career, not just a job.
(02:52):
So it's just super cool to seeand so we're excited to hear
from two of those students.
Our first interview is withDylan Carter.
Dylan, thanks for being here.
I know you're the completionceremony speaker for cohort
number 18, so congratulations onthat.
So to start, can you just tellus a little bit about kind of
your background before ATDM andhow you ended up here?
Dylan Carter (03:12):
Before ATDM I was working in a warehouse, like
just, it was a lousy warehouse.
I'll be honest.
It wasn't much going for me.
It was only so far I could goup with it and I had.
I took a welding class in highschool and it always interested
me, so I was like I got sickworking in that warehouse, kind
(03:35):
of just it was.
It was brutal, like just not agood place to be honestly,
honestly Not career-wise at all.
It was a warehouse job and Ihad found this place online and
so I had applied.
Found it online because I waslooking for trade schools,
(03:56):
because I knew I wanted to getback into the trades, and this
place popped up and it's theonly school of its kind that I
found.
No tuition.
They take you to and from class, free class, just so I'd signed
up and here I am yeah, and howhow old are you?
(04:16):
I'm 23 23.
Caleb Ayers (04:17):
Okay, so you graduated high school and then,
since then, have been workingand and.
Dylan Carter (04:23):
I had different jobs here and there, like when I
got out of high school I wentto work immediately.
I worked at a restaurant, thenI went to work construction with
my dad and then I worked atthat warehouse and none of them
felt fulfilling like at all.
I was not happy with where Iwas at in my life and I wanted
(04:49):
to do something, but I couldn'tfigure it out.
Like I kept telling myselfafter high school, like oh, just
one more year and I'll figureit out.
One more year I'll figure itout.
And like this kind of forced meto get out my comfort zone,
which I'm thankful, because if Iwould have just stayed home, I
feel like I would have juststayed at that warehouse or
found another lousy job and juststuck with it and like just one
(05:10):
more year.
But this kind of like it forcedme to get up from where I'm at
back home and come all the wayup here.
And where are you from?
Mobile, alabama, about 600something miles away.
Caleb Ayers (05:23):
I mean, did you have any familiarity with this
area of the country at all?
Not at all.
Dylan Carter (05:27):
No, I don't have no family up here.
No, no friends.
I mean I made friends now inthe program but before coming
here I didn't know anybody.
And like I've never been on theEast coast I've always been
down in the Gulf coast Likethat's my area but I mean I've
enjoyed my time up here.
Caleb Ayers (05:46):
And I've heard that you obtained a ton of
certifications.
So for those who don't know,during the program students
don't necessarily like it's notpart of their curriculum that
they're obtaining thecertifications.
That's something they train for.
So you obtained 14 differentwelding certifications.
So talk to me about kind ofwhat those are and how you
(06:07):
prepared and obtained those.
Dylan Carter (06:09):
So we've got 12, I would say, I guess base ones
that you have to get to try toget the extras.
It's stick, MIG, flux core andTIG.
I've got three in each of thefour processes and then you get
to try the extras after you getthose.
And the extra one I have isspray mag and yeah, two spray
(06:32):
mags.
I'm sorry, but I mean I meanjust getting ready for them.
I'd say, work with yourinstructor Like I had a great
instructor.
Shout out to Michaela Baker,one of the best instructors here
, my opinion also recent podcastcast.
Caleb Ayers (06:49):
Go back and listen to that episode, one of my one
of the favorite people here.
Dylan Carter (06:54):
Like she's helped me a ton with every process.
She's came into my booth,answered my questions, showed me
how she did it, showed me howI'm messing up, showed me how
she would have did this.
She'll walk you through it stepby step and I feel like she's
one of the big reasons I got allthe certifications I did.
And just working with her she'sgreat.
(07:18):
Just go up to her.
You can go up to her and askher and be like hey, what do you
think I did wrong here?
How could I do better on this?
And she'll tell you.
She'll be like well, you didthis.
Maybe you need to slow downhere.
Maybe you need to speed up herea little bit, have a better
angle.
She'll go through it with youstep by step and just show you
and tell you and I feel likeshe's a great reason.
(07:39):
And then just following herinstructions, like I feel like
that helped me a ton to get mycertification.
Caleb Ayers (07:45):
Sure, and you said you had taken a single welding
class in high school.
So I mean you're, and that wasyears ago, so you're basically
coming in cold.
Dylan Carter (07:53):
Basically brand new, because like it was just
stick and it was like how do Iput it?
Kind of like a rinky-dink highschool curriculum.
Caleb Ayers (08:04):
Sure, I mean, it's a high school class.
Dylan Carter (08:06):
They kind of threw it together.
We had one old man teachinglike I want to say, 20 kids.
So it was rough on him, but itwas like he couldn't get in our
boots and actually teach ushands-on.
So we could because, I'll behonest, a lot of them kids when
we left high school, a lot ofthem didn't even go to Weldon.
Caleb Ayers (08:28):
But yeah, that's I pretty much can't get cold again
, kind of.
While you were here, I mean,you talked about having, you
know, put the work in work withyour instructor.
So like what was the process,like what was the day-to-day
class, like you know, kind of,what are you doing every day?
How are you preparing for acareer in welding every day for
the last four months?
Dylan Carter (08:44):
Coming to class Michaela, she'd go through some
videos with us up there forabout 30 minutes and she'd go
through the video.
It say, hey, this is this, thisis that just explaining it.
And then if you had anyquestions, she'd answer them.
And then after that she'd takeus down to the booths and we'd
(09:06):
get right into it, get hands-onwith it.
And that was that was myfavorite part, like getting to
see it ask a question up thereand then coming down here and
then, even if I have morequestions, she's coming in and
answering my questions.
And then for, I guess, weldonCareer, I mean I guess just
looking online, seeing howpeople I mean talking to these
(09:27):
companies, that's seeing howtheir cultures that's been fun,
like talking to them applying,being able to have options
that's been something I've beenkind of thankful for, to being
able to have options that'sthat's been something I've I've
been kind of thankful for beingable to choose what company I
really want to go to.
Where are you going next?
I'm going to Trident MaritimeSystems.
Where is that located?
They have multiple locations,but I'm going to the one in
(09:48):
Pascagoula, mississippi.
Okay, so sticking closer tohome, sticking, yeah, sticking
close, which is me.
That's a blessing to be able togo back home and still be able
to have a great job.
I wouldn't even call it a job,I mean call it a career.
To me, that's truly a blessing.
Caleb Ayers (10:08):
When you were talking about your different job
experiences before, that's thething that popped in my head is
none of those were career jobs.
Those were you.
None of those were career jobs.
Those were, those were you, butnone of those were career paths
.
Dylan Carter (10:17):
You had jobs and now you are walking into a
welding career yeah, and that'sthat's something I'm truly
grateful for.
Like I can, I feel like I canhold my head high, like I got a
respected position and just itfeels good like to be able to
say I I don't just have a job, Ihave a career, and that's
something I'm grateful for.
Caleb Ayers (10:37):
Yeah, that's really cool.
What were kind of yourexpectations coming into this
program as far as like what didyou think it was going to be
like?
Dylan Carter (10:44):
I'll be honest, I did not think I was going to get
that many certifications, like.
But like, going back to theinstructor, my instructor
Michaela like she'll build youup, she'll make you feel good,
she'll work with you.
My expectations were just likeoh, if it's got this much, I
guess free, the free rides,transportation class can't be
(11:09):
that good.
But you know what I'm sayingand it's exceeded my
expectations tenfold.
This is a great place for,especially like the type of I
don't know how you say it, Iguess the type of school it is.
Like it's it's tenfold what,what I thought it was going to
be like.
I feel like a lot of peopleshould try to check this out,
(11:31):
because I remember I talked to,uh, one of the ladies on my
first day with student check-inand I was like why don't y'all
have?
I found y'all online but whydon't y'all have more
advertising for the local kids?
Because a lot of my classmatesare from all over the country.
And she was like we don't know.
And then I was like, hmm, Ifeel like, because this is a
(11:52):
great opportunity.
Caleb Ayers (11:53):
I think we've had people from.
Last time I checked it was from46 different states that have
come through and yeah,definitely we have people
locally from here.
But I mean, obviously you'refrom Alabama, there's people
that come from California.
I mean, they come fromeverywhere and they go
everywhere, and that's the coolpart of this program is kind of
just to see everyone come herefor a little bit and then go
back out to those separateemployers where all of you guys
(12:17):
get to make an impact for thedefense of our nation at the end
of the day.
Dylan Carter (12:21):
Yeah, it's been fun just seeing like my class
just be kind of a melting pot ofeverybody from everywhere, like
we've got one girl fromColumbia and she's a great
welder.
Caleb Ayers (12:34):
You were in the second shift, correct?
Yes, sir.
So when you go into your career, are you sticking second shift
or do you know kind of whatshifts?
Dylan Carter (12:40):
you're running.
Yet I would like to stick withsecond shift, just because I've
kind of gotten used to thenormalcy of it.
I'll get home probably 11.30,take a shower and then maybe
watch like an episode or two andthen go to bed and then wake up
.
So I've kind of gotten used tothat routine.
But if I need to work a morningshift I will, because that's
(13:02):
what I was doing at thewarehouse, working morning
shifts.
So I mean, whatever the jobkind of wants me to do, I'm all
open.
Caleb Ayers (13:41):
Is there anything else you would want to add about
your experience, about kind ofhow ATDM has prepared you for
your career?
Dylan Carter (13:48):
They will help you find a job, not even a career.
Let me rephrase they will helpyou.
We've had two job fairs and Igot my job from the first job
fair.
Caleb Ayers (14:02):
So that was how many weeks into the program were
.
Dylan Carter (14:04):
You See, I didn't get the offer officially until
like week eight or nine.
Caleb Ayers (14:09):
Which that's halfway through, for those at
home.
So that's pretty cool thatyou're halfway through the
program and already getting joboffers.
Dylan Carter (14:16):
And then I think it was only a couple weeks into
the program that first job fairhappened, and that was with
Trident.
So I've been working with themthe whole way through, which has
been cool.
But I would say like, if, ifyou're looking for a career in
this industry and you reallywant it, come here.
(14:38):
Like four months later I'mleaving here with 14
certifications and a career, aguarantee.
I start my job september 29,job September 29th, so you get
one week off, yeah.
Then back to it, which I'mthankful for, because I want to
get back into the routine, justget back into some normalcy for
me and get back to making somemoney and having a good career.
Caleb Ayers (15:01):
I really appreciate you being here.
Congratulations and good luckin your career.
Thank you All right, and nextwe have Angel Gallagher, who is
a metrology graduate.
Angel, thanks for being here.
Thank you for the opportunity.
So to start, I guess, just tellus a little bit about kind of
your background, kind of beforeATDM, and then how you ended up
here.
Angel Gallaher (15:18):
Well, I come from a construction background,
a lot of hands-on buildingthings and, you know,
essentially using my body tobuild structures and things like
that.
So I actually got a hold of theinformation about ETDM through
my last job working warehousemachine operator and I asked him
what was his five-year plan andhe told me ATDM.
(15:39):
And so I said what is that?
You know, you know, is it?
Is it real?
Is it you know, is it?
And he said, yeah, I think it'sreal.
I think it's real.
We get that question a lot,right?
And so I went home, did someresearch and didn't quite get a
concrete answer either.
So I said you know what?
I'm still going to try it.
I looked through the coursesand discovered metrology.
(16:01):
That's the one that poked outthe most.
So I thought, okay, I think Icould do this Essentially.
Caleb Ayers (16:06):
A couple months later I got an interview,
multiple interviews, and I'mhere Metrology for those who
don't know, essentiallymeasurement is the main idea of
that.
You're doing dimensionalinspections, so what kind of?
I guess what was your fourmonths here?
Like learning that, because Iknow that's a lot of math.
I mean, all of these fieldsinvolve some math, but that one
particularly is a lot of math.
Angel Gallaher (16:27):
Yeah, definitely a lot of math, I would say,
coming into it.
Because of my constructionbackground I'm kind of used to
measuring things not quite tothe precision that they need to
be with metrology, but the ideaof it and getting used to
picking up a tool, measuring,was just second nature for me.
But in terms of metrologyitself, it's using trigonometry,
(16:50):
geometry.
You're figuring out angles, howto set it up on a granite,
things like that, and it's veryinteresting.
You almost have to do it toreally get a grasp on what is
going on, because someone canask you a question what's the
(17:10):
circularity of this?
You may think, well, what's youknow?
Is it a circle or not?
But when you really dive intothe complexity of what's going
on, it's just so interesting.
Caleb Ayers (17:19):
Yeah, all the math sounds terrible to me, but I
agree that it is interesting.
But I would not want to be theone doing it.
So what's I mean?
I know, yeah, this program, 600hours, four months.
So I mean and obviously I'msure you're doing stuff outside
of class to kind of help, youknow, keep these fit, make sure
you're learning it all andbuilding on that foundation.
I mean what's as far as likethe rigor, the challenge, like
(17:41):
what's what have the last fourmonths been like?
Angel Gallaher (17:43):
I would say the beginning months were the
hardest because you are learningsomething new and the hardest
part of learning something newis that initial shock.
I would say it's like what isthis?
I don't understand it andthere's so much to go over.
But I will say the program doesa good job of building you up,
building you up to make that newthing easier.
(18:07):
You're essentially givencalipers or micrometers and from
there you are given a toolthat's still alien to you but
you gain that knowledge.
And I think that the schooldoes a good job of finally
getting to the CMM, whichincorporates everything and
essentially does it for you, butyou understand the processes
behind it and it's it'sincredible and it's CMM
(18:31):
coordinate measuring machine andthose things I can't remember.
Caleb Ayers (18:34):
I mean, how precise do those get?
They are precise, as far as Iunderstand it.
I mean like we're talking likehuman hair level.
Angel Gallaher (18:40):
Right.
Caleb Ayers (18:40):
Right, right, um.
So yeah, we're.
We're not talking about tenthsof an inch, we're talking about
much smaller tolerances thanthat, and so you came from
working in construction.
You said you're from New Jersey, correct?
So what was kind of yourexperience of kind of just up
and leaving New Jersey, comingto a random city, or what on
(19:02):
paper looks like a random cityin the middle of?
Angel Gallaher (19:03):
Virginia, right, not knowing if it was a scam or
not was essentially.
But the more interviews you do,the more people that you have
to talk to to get into theprogram.
You start to say like, okay,this may be real, but you know,
to go out, I think, to doanything, great, I think you do
have to do a little bit of risk.
You know, on my part I was justconfident in that it was real
(19:28):
and that it was a real thing andI was ready to learn.
You know, just full stop, justgo for it.
You know, and it turned outwell, really well, what are your
next steps now that you'regraduating.
I have a job lined up that I'mpretty sure I'm going to get, so
moving to Virginia probablywill be my next move.
Nice, but in terms of that,just continuing studying, never
stopping.
Caleb Ayers (19:49):
How is what you're going to be doing now?
You said you're workingconstruction.
Now you're hoping to have thisjob lined up with, I'm assuming,
doing primarily metrology work.
Do you view this as more of acareer versus what you were
doing before?
How does what you were doingbefore compare to what you hope
to be doing now?
Angel Gallaher (20:09):
I would consider working in construction a
career.
It's just for me.
It definitely plays a tool inyour body.
So unless you go into specificand a specific area of
construction, you're kind oflimited.
I would definitely considerthis more.
The paths in which you can growin this career is it's very
broad, you know.
You can go into the assuranceside of things, the quality
(20:31):
control side of things.
It's just so broad, um, and so,realistically, there's a lot of
things I would like to do.
You know you can't do them all,but uh, yeah, just to get out
there and and see what's outthere in terms of what, what are
the jobs like, and um, but itall interests me, and especially
in the way that they taught itthere.
And see what's out there interms of what are the jobs like,
but it all interests me, andespecially in the way that they
taught it.
Caleb Ayers (20:52):
There's many opportunities and, as we're
talking right now, you'regetting ready to graduate in 30
minutes, so congratulations onthat.
But what was kind of theexperience like of?
I mean, yeah, you showed upfrom another state, but there's
people coming from all over theplace.
All of you guys are generallyin the same housing.
I mean training together 40hours a week.
(21:14):
So what's that process beenlike of kind of making friends,
building camaraderie with yourgroup?
Angel Gallaher (21:18):
It's important.
It's more important than Ithink most people would think
initially, the amount of workthat you're given and because it
is a shortened program, anaccelerated program, you really
have to be on your a-game andsometimes you aren't, and so you
can kind of fall back on yourstudents or teammates and they
may understand a concept thatyou don't necessarily understand
(21:39):
that well, and vice versaduring the course.
So to have that little bit ofpush, even when you're about to
fall back, you know you have aguy who says, ah's easy, I can
explain it to you in your freetime and that really just helps
you build up faster.
I mean, obviously you have toput in the work yourself, but
yeah, they're great.
I met a lot of great peoplehere.
Caleb Ayers (21:56):
I know ATDM has made more of an emphasis on
students kind of gettinginvolved in the community while
they're here as well, and I knowyou were one that very much did
so.
So tell us a little bit aboutthat kind of how you gave back
to Danville, to Southern.
Angel Gallaher (22:08):
Virginia, while you were here.
Well, to start, I helpedmaintain the garden.
That was a big project.
What's the garden?
I don't actually know aboutthis A garden, it's a community
garden for the whole community.
But we had several plots thatwe developed.
Some people planted tomatoes,peppers, just continually
watering it, maintaining it Cool.
(22:28):
You know, just continuallywatering it, maintaining it cool
.
Um, yeah, so I was out therewith a few people um daily
cleaning up the, the den, uh,danville river river walk.
I think it's called yeah,cleaning that up trash wise.
Um, I participated in the greatrace which I won first place,
with another uh, teammate that'sgraduating today, heck yeah.
So I was a bit everywhere.
You know it was crazy.
You're doing things that youdon't think you normally would
(22:48):
do, but when you do them youfeel like you've grown.
Caleb Ayers (22:51):
I did not know there's that you guys run a
community garden.
That's.
That's pretty sweet.
Dylan Carter (22:54):
Yeah.
Caleb Ayers (22:55):
As you're getting to graduate, getting ready to
graduate right now, what's kindof going through your mind?
What's your?
Are you feeling?
Angel Gallaher (23:03):
relieved?
Are you feeling everything?
You know, I do feel relieved,but at the same time, because I
want to continue learning.
It's essentially, it neverstops.
But I'm going to be so happy tosee my family.
You know, it's been a whileit's four months, yeah and
they're coming.
No, they couldn't make it.
They have some things they haveto tend to, but nonetheless, I
will see them today, so I'mexcited.
(23:25):
You know, this day is kind ofan accumulation of everything
that I've done.
Caleb Ayers (23:28):
Thanks, for being here.
Congratulations and good luckout there at graduation.
Thank you so much.
It feels good like to be able to say I don't just
have a job, I have a career, andthat's something I'm grateful
for.
Caleb Ayers (00:15):
Hey, thanks for joining us for another episode
of Inside IALR.
Today we're here to talk abouta program.
If you've followed theInstitute for Advanced Learning
very much, if you've paid anyattention to our podcasts or
really heard much of anythingabout what we're doing, you've
probably heard about the ATDMprogram.
Atdm is short for AcceleratedTraining and Defense
Manufacturing.
This program is making a hugeimpact, not only for the
(00:38):
maritime industrial base, whichis essentially the system of
companies that make parts andpieces that are then assembled
as parts of ships and submarinesfor the US Navy, but also for
the individual participants.
So this podcast is going tohave interviews with two of
those participants who camethrough this four-month program
and actually graduated just afew days ago and are now going
(01:01):
on to exciting careers indefense manufacturing and are
now going on to exciting careersin defense manufacturing.
Atdm has been around forseveral years but has been
growing over that time and isnow very close to reaching
maximum capacity.
With the new addition of theMaritime Training Center earlier
this year on our campus, we'relooking to graduate.
800 to 1,000 students completethis program every year.
These students come from allwalks of life.
(01:23):
Essentially, you have to be 18.
You have to be a US citizen,because that's what all of the
companies hiring out of thisprogram every year.
These students come from allwalks of life.
We have, essentially, you haveto be 18, you have to be a US
citizen, because that's what allof the companies hiring out of
this program require.
We have students who are freshout of high school.
We have students who are intheir 40s and just are looking
for a different career path thanwhat they have done previously
and everything in between.
And students come from, I think, almost every state at this
point and go back into work in30-plus states where there are
(01:46):
Navy suppliers all over thecountry.
So it's a really cool programwith about an 85% completion
rate and about an 85% jobplacement rate.
So very, very, very strongnumbers there.
As far as you know, for thosewho are in the workforce,
development, job training, thoseare very strong numbers and
we're very proud of that.
Again, the 18th cohort justcompleted the program a few days
(02:09):
ago, bringing the total numberof completers to date up to
about 1,100.
And again, that number is goingto continue to grow as this
program reaches full operationalcapacity.
It's just awesome to see thelife change that this provides
for students.
There are so many students whocome through some of them
without other options reallywhere this is kind of their last
shot.
There have been plenty ofstories of students who have you
(02:32):
know, a couple hundred dollarsto their name, no real career
experience to date.
Things like that come throughthis program, apply themselves,
work really hard work with thestaff outside of the classroom
on their career readiness, theirresume, their interview prep
and things like that, and walkout with an amazing job, an
amazing career, not just a job.
(02:52):
So it's just super cool to seeand so we're excited to hear
from two of those students.
Our first interview is withDylan Carter.
Dylan, thanks for being here.
I know you're the completionceremony speaker for cohort
number 18, so congratulations onthat.
So to start, can you just tellus a little bit about kind of
your background before ATDM andhow you ended up here?
Dylan Carter (03:12):
Before ATDM I was working in a warehouse, like
just, it was a lousy warehouse.
I'll be honest.
It wasn't much going for me.
It was only so far I could goup with it and I had.
I took a welding class in highschool and it always interested
me, so I was like I got sickworking in that warehouse, kind
(03:35):
of just it was.
It was brutal, like just not agood place to be honestly,
honestly Not career-wise at all.
It was a warehouse job and Ihad found this place online and
so I had applied.
Found it online because I waslooking for trade schools,
(03:56):
because I knew I wanted to getback into the trades, and this
place popped up and it's theonly school of its kind that I
found.
No tuition.
They take you to and from class, free class, just so I'd signed
up and here I am yeah, and howhow old are you?
(04:16):
I'm 23 23.
Caleb Ayers (04:17):
Okay, so you graduated high school and then,
since then, have been workingand and.
Dylan Carter (04:23):
I had different jobs here and there, like when I
got out of high school I wentto work immediately.
I worked at a restaurant, thenI went to work construction with
my dad and then I worked atthat warehouse and none of them
felt fulfilling like at all.
I was not happy with where Iwas at in my life and I wanted
(04:49):
to do something, but I couldn'tfigure it out.
Like I kept telling myselfafter high school, like oh, just
one more year and I'll figureit out.
One more year I'll figure itout.
And like this kind of forced meto get out my comfort zone,
which I'm thankful, because if Iwould have just stayed home, I
feel like I would have juststayed at that warehouse or
found another lousy job and juststuck with it and like just one
(05:10):
more year.
But this kind of like it forcedme to get up from where I'm at
back home and come all the wayup here.
And where are you from?
Mobile, alabama, about 600something miles away.
Caleb Ayers (05:23):
I mean, did you have any familiarity with this
area of the country at all?
Not at all.
Dylan Carter (05:27):
No, I don't have no family up here.
No, no friends.
I mean I made friends now inthe program but before coming
here I didn't know anybody.
And like I've never been on theEast coast I've always been
down in the Gulf coast Likethat's my area but I mean I've
enjoyed my time up here.
Caleb Ayers (05:46):
And I've heard that you obtained a ton of
certifications.
So for those who don't know,during the program students
don't necessarily like it's notpart of their curriculum that
they're obtaining thecertifications.
That's something they train for.
So you obtained 14 differentwelding certifications.
So talk to me about kind ofwhat those are and how you
(06:07):
prepared and obtained those.
Dylan Carter (06:09):
So we've got 12, I would say, I guess base ones
that you have to get to try toget the extras.
It's stick, MIG, flux core andTIG.
I've got three in each of thefour processes and then you get
to try the extras after you getthose.
And the extra one I have isspray mag and yeah, two spray
(06:32):
mags.
I'm sorry, but I mean I meanjust getting ready for them.
I'd say, work with yourinstructor Like I had a great
instructor.
Shout out to Michaela Baker,one of the best instructors here
, my opinion also recent podcastcast.
Caleb Ayers (06:49):
Go back and listen to that episode, one of my one
of the favorite people here.
Dylan Carter (06:54):
Like she's helped me a ton with every process.
She's came into my booth,answered my questions, showed me
how she did it, showed me howI'm messing up, showed me how
she would have did this.
She'll walk you through it stepby step and I feel like she's
one of the big reasons I got allthe certifications I did.
And just working with her she'sgreat.
(07:18):
Just go up to her.
You can go up to her and askher and be like hey, what do you
think I did wrong here?
How could I do better on this?
And she'll tell you.
She'll be like well, you didthis.
Maybe you need to slow downhere.
Maybe you need to speed up herea little bit, have a better
angle.
She'll go through it with youstep by step and just show you
and tell you and I feel likeshe's a great reason.
(07:39):
And then just following herinstructions, like I feel like
that helped me a ton to get mycertification.
Caleb Ayers (07:45):
Sure, and you said you had taken a single welding
class in high school.
So I mean you're, and that wasyears ago, so you're basically
coming in cold.
Dylan Carter (07:53):
Basically brand new, because like it was just
stick and it was like how do Iput it?
Kind of like a rinky-dink highschool curriculum.
Caleb Ayers (08:04):
Sure, I mean, it's a high school class.
Dylan Carter (08:06):
They kind of threw it together.
We had one old man teachinglike I want to say, 20 kids.
So it was rough on him, but itwas like he couldn't get in our
boots and actually teach ushands-on.
So we could because, I'll behonest, a lot of them kids when
we left high school, a lot ofthem didn't even go to Weldon.
Caleb Ayers (08:28):
But yeah, that's I pretty much can't get cold again
, kind of.
While you were here, I mean,you talked about having, you
know, put the work in work withyour instructor.
So like what was the process,like what was the day-to-day
class, like you know, kind of,what are you doing every day?
How are you preparing for acareer in welding every day for
the last four months?
Dylan Carter (08:44):
Coming to class Michaela, she'd go through some
videos with us up there forabout 30 minutes and she'd go
through the video.
It say, hey, this is this, thisis that just explaining it.
And then if you had anyquestions, she'd answer them.
And then after that she'd takeus down to the booths and we'd
(09:06):
get right into it, get hands-onwith it.
And that was that was myfavorite part, like getting to
see it ask a question up thereand then coming down here and
then, even if I have morequestions, she's coming in and
answering my questions.
And then for, I guess, weldonCareer, I mean I guess just
looking online, seeing howpeople I mean talking to these
(09:27):
companies, that's seeing howtheir cultures that's been fun,
like talking to them applying,being able to have options
that's been something I've beenkind of thankful for, to being
able to have options that'sthat's been something I've I've
been kind of thankful for beingable to choose what company I
really want to go to.
Where are you going next?
I'm going to Trident MaritimeSystems.
Where is that located?
They have multiple locations,but I'm going to the one in
(09:48):
Pascagoula, mississippi.
Okay, so sticking closer tohome, sticking, yeah, sticking
close, which is me.
That's a blessing to be able togo back home and still be able
to have a great job.
I wouldn't even call it a job,I mean call it a career.
To me, that's truly a blessing.
Caleb Ayers (10:08):
When you were talking about your different job
experiences before, that's thething that popped in my head is
none of those were career jobs.
Those were you.
None of those were career jobs.
Those were, those were you, butnone of those were career paths
.
Dylan Carter (10:17):
You had jobs and now you are walking into a
welding career yeah, and that'sthat's something I'm truly
grateful for.
Like I can, I feel like I canhold my head high, like I got a
respected position and just itfeels good like to be able to
say I I don't just have a job, Ihave a career, and that's
something I'm grateful for.
Caleb Ayers (10:37):
Yeah, that's really cool.
What were kind of yourexpectations coming into this
program as far as like what didyou think it was going to be
like?
Dylan Carter (10:44):
I'll be honest, I did not think I was going to get
that many certifications, like.
But like, going back to theinstructor, my instructor
Michaela like she'll build youup, she'll make you feel good,
she'll work with you.
My expectations were just likeoh, if it's got this much, I
guess free, the free rides,transportation class can't be
(11:09):
that good.
But you know what I'm sayingand it's exceeded my
expectations tenfold.
This is a great place for,especially like the type of I
don't know how you say it, Iguess the type of school it is.
Like it's it's tenfold what,what I thought it was going to
be like.
I feel like a lot of peopleshould try to check this out,
(11:31):
because I remember I talked to,uh, one of the ladies on my
first day with student check-inand I was like why don't y'all
have?
I found y'all online but whydon't y'all have more
advertising for the local kids?
Because a lot of my classmatesare from all over the country.
And she was like we don't know.
And then I was like, hmm, Ifeel like, because this is a
(11:52):
great opportunity.
Caleb Ayers (11:53):
I think we've had people from.
Last time I checked it was from46 different states that have
come through and yeah,definitely we have people
locally from here.
But I mean, obviously you'refrom Alabama, there's people
that come from California.
I mean, they come fromeverywhere and they go
everywhere, and that's the coolpart of this program is kind of
just to see everyone come herefor a little bit and then go
back out to those separateemployers where all of you guys
(12:17):
get to make an impact for thedefense of our nation at the end
of the day.
Dylan Carter (12:21):
Yeah, it's been fun just seeing like my class
just be kind of a melting pot ofeverybody from everywhere, like
we've got one girl fromColumbia and she's a great
welder.
Caleb Ayers (12:34):
You were in the second shift, correct?
Yes, sir.
So when you go into your career, are you sticking second shift
or do you know kind of whatshifts?
Dylan Carter (12:40):
you're running.
Yet I would like to stick withsecond shift, just because I've
kind of gotten used to thenormalcy of it.
I'll get home probably 11.30,take a shower and then maybe
watch like an episode or two andthen go to bed and then wake up
.
So I've kind of gotten used tothat routine.
But if I need to work a morningshift I will, because that's
(13:02):
what I was doing at thewarehouse, working morning
shifts.
So I mean, whatever the jobkind of wants me to do, I'm all
open.
Caleb Ayers (13:41):
Is there anything else you would want to add about
your experience, about kind ofhow ATDM has prepared you for
your career?
Dylan Carter (13:48):
They will help you find a job, not even a career.
Let me rephrase they will helpyou.
We've had two job fairs and Igot my job from the first job
fair.
Caleb Ayers (14:02):
So that was how many weeks into the program were
.
Dylan Carter (14:04):
You See, I didn't get the offer officially until
like week eight or nine.
Caleb Ayers (14:09):
Which that's halfway through, for those at
home.
So that's pretty cool thatyou're halfway through the
program and already getting joboffers.
Dylan Carter (14:16):
And then I think it was only a couple weeks into
the program that first job fairhappened, and that was with
Trident.
So I've been working with themthe whole way through, which has
been cool.
But I would say like, if, ifyou're looking for a career in
this industry and you reallywant it, come here.
(14:38):
Like four months later I'mleaving here with 14
certifications and a career, aguarantee.
I start my job september 29,job September 29th, so you get
one week off, yeah.
Then back to it, which I'mthankful for, because I want to
get back into the routine, justget back into some normalcy for
me and get back to making somemoney and having a good career.
Caleb Ayers (15:01):
I really appreciate you being here.
Congratulations and good luckin your career.
Thank you All right, and nextwe have Angel Gallagher, who is
a metrology graduate.
Angel, thanks for being here.
Thank you for the opportunity.
So to start, I guess, just tellus a little bit about kind of
your background, kind of beforeATDM, and then how you ended up
here.
Angel Gallaher (15:18):
Well, I come from a construction background,
a lot of hands-on buildingthings and, you know,
essentially using my body tobuild structures and things like
that.
So I actually got a hold of theinformation about ETDM through
my last job working warehousemachine operator and I asked him
what was his five-year plan andhe told me ATDM.
(15:39):
And so I said what is that?
You know, you know, is it?
Is it real?
Is it you know, is it?
And he said, yeah, I think it'sreal.
I think it's real.
We get that question a lot,right?
And so I went home, did someresearch and didn't quite get a
concrete answer either.
So I said you know what?
I'm still going to try it.
I looked through the coursesand discovered metrology.
(16:01):
That's the one that poked outthe most.
So I thought, okay, I think Icould do this Essentially.
Caleb Ayers (16:06):
A couple months later I got an interview,
multiple interviews, and I'mhere Metrology for those who
don't know, essentiallymeasurement is the main idea of
that.
You're doing dimensionalinspections, so what kind of?
I guess what was your fourmonths here?
Like learning that, because Iknow that's a lot of math.
I mean, all of these fieldsinvolve some math, but that one
particularly is a lot of math.
Angel Gallaher (16:27):
Yeah, definitely a lot of math, I would say,
coming into it.
Because of my constructionbackground I'm kind of used to
measuring things not quite tothe precision that they need to
be with metrology, but the ideaof it and getting used to
picking up a tool, measuring,was just second nature for me.
But in terms of metrologyitself, it's using trigonometry,
(16:50):
geometry.
You're figuring out angles, howto set it up on a granite,
things like that, and it's veryinteresting.
You almost have to do it toreally get a grasp on what is
going on, because someone canask you a question what's the
(17:10):
circularity of this?
You may think, well, what's youknow?
Is it a circle or not?
But when you really dive intothe complexity of what's going
on, it's just so interesting.
Caleb Ayers (17:19):
Yeah, all the math sounds terrible to me, but I
agree that it is interesting.
But I would not want to be theone doing it.
So what's I mean?
I know, yeah, this program, 600hours, four months.
So I mean and obviously I'msure you're doing stuff outside
of class to kind of help, youknow, keep these fit, make sure
you're learning it all andbuilding on that foundation.
I mean what's as far as likethe rigor, the challenge, like
(17:41):
what's what have the last fourmonths been like?
Angel Gallaher (17:43):
I would say the beginning months were the
hardest because you are learningsomething new and the hardest
part of learning something newis that initial shock.
I would say it's like what isthis?
I don't understand it andthere's so much to go over.
But I will say the program doesa good job of building you up,
building you up to make that newthing easier.
(18:07):
You're essentially givencalipers or micrometers and from
there you are given a toolthat's still alien to you but
you gain that knowledge.
And I think that the schooldoes a good job of finally
getting to the CMM, whichincorporates everything and
essentially does it for you, butyou understand the processes
behind it and it's it'sincredible and it's CMM
(18:31):
coordinate measuring machine andthose things I can't remember.
Caleb Ayers (18:34):
I mean, how precise do those get?
They are precise, as far as Iunderstand it.
I mean like we're talking likehuman hair level.
Angel Gallaher (18:40):
Right.
Caleb Ayers (18:40):
Right, right, um.
So yeah, we're.
We're not talking about tenthsof an inch, we're talking about
much smaller tolerances thanthat, and so you came from
working in construction.
You said you're from New Jersey, correct?
So what was kind of yourexperience of kind of just up
and leaving New Jersey, comingto a random city, or what on
(19:02):
paper looks like a random cityin the middle of?
Angel Gallaher (19:03):
Virginia, right, not knowing if it was a scam or
not was essentially.
But the more interviews you do,the more people that you have
to talk to to get into theprogram.
You start to say like, okay,this may be real, but you know,
to go out, I think, to doanything, great, I think you do
have to do a little bit of risk.
You know, on my part I was justconfident in that it was real
(19:28):
and that it was a real thing andI was ready to learn.
You know, just full stop, justgo for it.
You know, and it turned outwell, really well, what are your
next steps now that you'regraduating.
I have a job lined up that I'mpretty sure I'm going to get, so
moving to Virginia probablywill be my next move.
Nice, but in terms of that,just continuing studying, never
stopping.
Caleb Ayers (19:49):
How is what you're going to be doing now?
You said you're workingconstruction.
Now you're hoping to have thisjob lined up with, I'm assuming,
doing primarily metrology work.
Do you view this as more of acareer versus what you were
doing before?
How does what you were doingbefore compare to what you hope
to be doing now?
Angel Gallaher (20:09):
I would consider working in construction a
career.
It's just for me.
It definitely plays a tool inyour body.
So unless you go into specificand a specific area of
construction, you're kind oflimited.
I would definitely considerthis more.
The paths in which you can growin this career is it's very
broad, you know.
You can go into the assuranceside of things, the quality
(20:31):
control side of things.
It's just so broad, um, and so,realistically, there's a lot of
things I would like to do.
You know you can't do them all,but uh, yeah, just to get out
there and and see what's outthere in terms of what, what are
the jobs like, and um, but itall interests me, and especially
in the way that they taught itthere.
And see what's out there interms of what are the jobs like,
but it all interests me, andespecially in the way that they
taught it.
Caleb Ayers (20:52):
There's many opportunities and, as we're
talking right now, you'regetting ready to graduate in 30
minutes, so congratulations onthat.
But what was kind of theexperience like of?
I mean, yeah, you showed upfrom another state, but there's
people coming from all over theplace.
All of you guys are generallyin the same housing.
I mean training together 40hours a week.
(21:14):
So what's that process beenlike of kind of making friends,
building camaraderie with yourgroup?
Angel Gallaher (21:18):
It's important.
It's more important than Ithink most people would think
initially, the amount of workthat you're given and because it
is a shortened program, anaccelerated program, you really
have to be on your a-game andsometimes you aren't, and so you
can kind of fall back on yourstudents or teammates and they
may understand a concept thatyou don't necessarily understand
(21:39):
that well, and vice versaduring the course.
So to have that little bit ofpush, even when you're about to
fall back, you know you have aguy who says, ah's easy, I can
explain it to you in your freetime and that really just helps
you build up faster.
I mean, obviously you have toput in the work yourself, but
yeah, they're great.
I met a lot of great peoplehere.
Caleb Ayers (21:56):
I know ATDM has made more of an emphasis on
students kind of gettinginvolved in the community while
they're here as well, and I knowyou were one that very much did
so.
So tell us a little bit aboutthat kind of how you gave back
to Danville, to Southern.
Angel Gallaher (22:08):
Virginia, while you were here.
Well, to start, I helpedmaintain the garden.
That was a big project.
What's the garden?
I don't actually know aboutthis A garden, it's a community
garden for the whole community.
But we had several plots thatwe developed.
Some people planted tomatoes,peppers, just continually
watering it, maintaining it Cool.
(22:28):
You know, just continuallywatering it, maintaining it cool
.
Um, yeah, so I was out therewith a few people um daily
cleaning up the, the den, uh,danville river river walk.
I think it's called yeah,cleaning that up trash wise.
Um, I participated in the greatrace which I won first place,
with another uh, teammate that'sgraduating today, heck yeah.
So I was a bit everywhere.
You know it was crazy.
You're doing things that youdon't think you normally would
(22:48):
do, but when you do them youfeel like you've grown.
Caleb Ayers (22:51):
I did not know there's that you guys run a
community garden.
That's.
That's pretty sweet.
Dylan Carter (22:54):
Yeah.
Caleb Ayers (22:55):
As you're getting to graduate, getting ready to
graduate right now, what's kindof going through your mind?
What's your?
Are you feeling?
Angel Gallaher (23:03):
relieved?
Are you feeling everything?
You know, I do feel relieved,but at the same time, because I
want to continue learning.
It's essentially, it neverstops.
But I'm going to be so happy tosee my family.
You know, it's been a whileit's four months, yeah and
they're coming.
No, they couldn't make it.
They have some things they haveto tend to, but nonetheless, I
will see them today, so I'mexcited.
(23:25):
You know, this day is kind ofan accumulation of everything
that I've done.
Caleb Ayers (23:28):
Thanks, for being here.
Congratulations and good luckout there at graduation.
Thank you so much.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Bobby Bones Show
Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.