Skilled Labor Series: Andy Martinez on Solar Installation

Oct 4

Andy Martinez, PV Field Performance Technician at Sunrun

*This episode is part of our new Skilled Labor Series hosted by MCJ partner, Yin Lu. This series is focused on amplifying the voices of folks from the skilled labor workforce, including electricians, farmers, ranchers, HVAC installers, and others who are on the front lines of rewiring our infrastructure.

To kick off our new Skilled Labor Series, this episode is co-hosted by Yin Lu and Sam Steyer, CEO and Co-Founder of Greenwork, with guest Andy Martinez, PV Field Performance Technician at Sunrun.

The solar market represents approximately 5% of the current U.S. energy mix. While this may seem insignificant, the industry is expected to grow at a record pace in coming years, especially following the Inflation Reduction Act. But to reach the clean electricity goals set by President Biden, employment in solar-related positions will need to exceed 900,000 workers by 2035.

Greenwork is facilitating this transition by helping climate tech companies build their construction teams, both by adding new employees and by partnering with local specialty contractors like Andy. After attending electrical trade school, Andy landed a job with Sunrun as has been with the company for 4 years.

In this conversation, Yin and Sam learn about Andy’s background and how he started working with Sunrun. We learn about his day-to-day experience as a field performance technician and where Andy sees his career progressing in the space. Like any job, we also hear about some of the challenges Andy faces and how he continues to overcome them while maintaining a positive and optimistic outlook. We cannot create a clean energy future without people like Andy, and are extremely grateful for him sharing his story and inspiring others.

Enjoy the show!

Get connected:
Yin’s Twitter / LinkedIn
MCJ Podcast / Collective

*You can also reach us via email at info@mcjcollective.com, where we encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.

Episode recorded on September 7, 2022.

In today's episode, we cover:

[1:49] Intro to Sam and Greenwork
[3:30] Andy's background and experience as a field technician at Sunrun
[5:09] Andy's educational journey toward becoming a solar installer
[6:05] The Sunrun interview process and employee training
[7:56] A typical day for Andy as a solar installer
[9:32] Some day-to-say frustrations, including disconnections between sales and field work
[11:59] How Andy views the environmental factor of his work
[12:57] Where climate change fits in when communicating customers
[15:36] The evolution in solar technology
[20:04] What's working in terms of companies building construction and installation teams
[23:42] Importance of treating contractors like a second customer
[24:52] What Andy wishes more people knew about solar installation work
[28:16] Andy's future career path
[29:32] Jobs needed to meet electrification demands in the US
[30:43] How to get more people into trade schools
[32:57] Initial challenges of the job and how to overcome them
[36:27] The little things that keep Andy optimistic and happy at work

Jason Jacobs (00:02):
Hello, everyone. This is Jason Jacobs.
Cody Simms (00:04):
And I'm Cody Simms.
Jason Jacobs (00:06):
And welcome to My Climate Journey. This show is a growing body of knowledge, focused on climate change and potential solutions.
Cody Simms (00:16):
In this podcast, we traverse disciplines, industries, and opinions to better understand and make sense of the formidable problem of climate change and all the ways people like you and I can help.
Jason Jacobs (00:27):
We appreciate you tuning in, sharing this episode, and if you feel like it, leaving us a review to help more people find out about us so they can figure out where they fit in addressing the problem of climate change.
Yin Lu (00:41):
Hey, everyone. Today's episode is a bit different. I'm excited to have a three-way conversation amongst myself, Sam Steyer of Greenwork, and Andy Martinez of Sunrun. Sam and I will be co-hosting this episode and learning from Andy. Before we dive into the show, as you may notice, I'm not Cody or Jason. I'm Yin, their partner here at MCJ. A while back in a team meeting, we were brainstorming on ideas of people to bring onto the podcast. One of the areas I'm particularly passionate about in climate is transitioning more IQ points into the space, especially from the skilled labor workforce.
Yin Lu (01:12):
We came up with the idea to do a series within the podcast, focused on amplifying the voices of folks from the skilled labor workforce, the electricians, the farmers, the ranchers, the HVAC installers, the people on the front lines of rewiring our infrastructure. Naturally, we looked to the MCJ community to find folks working in these fields. Sam, who's a community member who also runs Greenwork, the LinkedIn of the skilled labor workforce, introduced us to Andy, who is a PV field performance technician with Sunrun. It's going to be a fun conversation for Sam and me to learn from Andy and his years of experience in the solar space. Sam, Andy, welcome to the show.
Sam Steyer (01:49):
Hey, thanks so much for having us on. To quickly introduce myself, I'm Sam Steyer, I'm the co-founder and CEO at Greenwork. I'm also a huge fan of the MCJ podcast and longtime listener, so it's very exciting for me to be here. Thank you.
Sam Steyer (02:02):
Greenwork, as a startup, helps clean energy and climate companies build their construction and installation capacity. So if you think of a company that sells solar or that has a better way to heat or cool your home or a behind the meter battery, we help them build the capacity to install it around the United States. We started as a hiring platform, helping people find jobs, helping companies post jobs. Increasingly, we help our customers build authorized dealer networks, so find and partner with local electrical contractors and other contractors to install their products. And we're also really interested in helping our customers comply with the labor provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act.
Sam Steyer (02:43):
So that's us. That's what we do. Before Greenwork, I actually worked on my dad Tom Steyer's presidential campaign. Before that, was at Station A, an excellent startup that I was one of four co-founders of when it spun out of NRG, that is helping commercial real estate owners green their spaces and is still operating today. So thank you so much for having me on. It's a real pleasure.
Yin Lu (03:04):
Awesome. All right, Sam, you and I are going to cohost today and we are going to learn a lot from Andy. So with that, Andy, over to you, and we'd love to just learn a bit more about your background and how you ended up doing the work that you're doing today.
Andy Martinez (03:17):
Thank you for having me on. It's such a pleasure to be here, just to chat with you guys. Again, like I mentioned before, just to chat about something that I love doing daily, and hope I can give you guys some insight on everything I have to offer in today's conversation.
Andy Martinez (03:30):
I am a field technician for Sunrun. I started out as an installer four years ago. Before that, I was actually in an electrical trade school. Before that I was, I wouldn't say lost, but just didn't know where I wanted to be. I always knew that I always wanted to help people, but also work with my hands somehow. I've always loved working with my hands. And that comes from my family. My family was big in the automotive industry. I come from a long line of technicians in the automotive industry, but I wanted to kind of break away from that. Nothing against the automotive industry, but I just wanted to do something different from my own.
Andy Martinez (04:04):
So I decided to do electrical trade school. I found it through a buddy of mine, who went for a year. From that school, I landed an interview with Sunrun, and when I first got introduced to solar, I was just dumbfounded by it because I just didn't think solar could exist in Illinois. But little did I know four years later I'd be having so much fun, and just how much has exploded in our area in Illinois, and just, it keeps growing and I cannot wait for the next four years.
Yin Lu (04:34):
Okay. I want to later on double click into what you've seen the evolution to be from just the past four years alone. So excited to get into that. But before we get into that, if you can just talk to us about what the journey is like, the educational path for becoming a field technician or solar installer. How different or similar is that to being an electrician versus HVAC installer? Love to learn about that educational path, because I do not know very much about the journey. And then in addition, I would love it if you can just take us through what a typical day looks like for you.
Andy Martinez (05:09):
So the education process wasn't actually too bad. So I did a year of electrical trade school. That was all theory, basic knowledge of electricity.
Yin Lu (05:17):
Andy, is that after high school?
Andy Martinez (05:19):
Yes.
Yin Lu (05:20):
Where does the electrical trade school fall in? Okay, got it.
Andy Martinez (05:23):
It's college. I was actually 27 when I started. So I bounced around a little bit as far as schooling. I did business. I did psychology before that. So I bounced around a little bit to find my niche or what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. So I went to trade school for a year.
Andy Martinez (05:39):
Like I said earlier, I landed an interview with this company called Sunrun, and of course, I tried to be positive. Okay, solar in Illinois. Let's see what it has to offer. So I did the interview. The interview process went really well. They actually hired me the day of. They were excited to bring me on.
Yin Lu (05:54):
What's an interview process like with Sunrun? Are you on top of like a fake roof, and are you given a task to install X, Y, or Z? So curious about what that's like.
Andy Martinez (06:05):
So ironically, when I interviewed that company was just starting in Illinois. They were brand new. They had just gotten their warehouse. They weren't even three months old. They hadn't even done their first installation yet. So I met at that time the branch manager in some high rise office. It was very simple, very straightforward, what he wanted, what he was expecting of me. And we just bounced back and forth like a normal conversation. He literally hired me on the spot.
Andy Martinez (06:30):
I came with all my certificates to show off, and he is like, "No, I'm not really interested in that. I want to know you. I want to know if you're a good fit for this company." So they hired me on the spot. I'd never been on a roof. I hate ladders. I'd never been so high on a roof in my life, but I would figure that out later, to get over my fears and stuff like that.
Andy Martinez (06:50):
The cool thing about Sunrun is they trained me on everything, from installing modules, everything, roof penetrations, doing a complete install. From the moment you get there to the moment you leave, they trained me for almost three weeks, nonstop training. They actually even sent me out to South Carolina to do installations out there, when our branch was just starting to open. So that was pretty fun. Traveling with a company, with a bunch of guys I work with daily, that was a lot of fun.
Andy Martinez (07:17):
And then as far as a typical day for me as a technician, so I bounce around a lot in Sunrun. I was an electrician as well for them, too. I was a lead installer. I love being in the leadership world. That was the best part about being a lead installer, was showing the people who just came on to be excited about what I was doing. So that was a lot of fun.
Andy Martinez (07:38):
I bounced around a little bit until I found that I love troubleshooting. I like problem solving, and that comes from my background, with my family being in the automotive industry, troubleshooting. And I've always loved electrical. Electrical was fun for me. So I got the best of both worlds when I got introduced to being a service technician.
Andy Martinez (07:56):
So a typical day for me, I usually start about 5:00AM in the morning. I get up real early. I get myself ready. I take my dog out for a walk. I use that walk to mentally prepare myself for the day that I'm about to have, whether I know it's going to be a long day or it's going to be a short day. I'm usually out the door by 6:00AM. I call my first appointment for the day and say, "Hey, I'm Andy. I'm going to be servicing your system today. I should be there in X amount of time."
Andy Martinez (08:21):
I get there, I properly introduce myself professionally, let them know what I'm going to be doing today. And always tell them, "I'm going to touch base with you before I leave, and answer any and all questions you may have for me at the end of this appointment." This is my motto. I treat every home like if it's my grandparents. So I always make sure to be respectful when I'm on someone's home, if I have equipment, if I'm dragging ladders around and stuff like that. And I work by myself all day. About 90% of the day, I work by myself.
Andy Martinez (08:47):
So then I finish up. If I am able to fix it, I close everything up. I go to the customer, I let them know what I did entirely, from A to B or A to Z, everything I did to complete the system and get their system back up and running. And then they always have questions for me, which I love answering because I love educating. I love educating people. And I'll explain those later, as we get into more conversations, a lot of people don't know the right questions to ask sometimes. So I kind of have to help them, and as far as educating them on how their system works, which is a lot of fun for me. So that's a typical day. It's a lot, I know, but it's fun, I promise.
Yin Lu (09:20):
That's awesome. Clearly you're so energized by the work that you do. I'm curious, though, are there things about the day to day that are frustrating?
Andy Martinez (09:32):
For sure. For previous companies that I've worked for solar in my four year span, the push for quantity over quality is what frustrates me. Because like I told you before, I treat every home like if it's my grandparents, and this is something that I'm going to leave a mark for the next 20, 30 years, however the length of their system is. So I want to make sure that I leave it in the best condition as possible and give them the best service as much as possible as an installer. So that's definitely one of the most frustrating things for me, is that quantity over quality a lot of companies push for, which isn't bad, but it's just quality is where it's always at. It needs to be good quality, especially for an installation.
Andy Martinez (10:13):
And then I think I mentioned this before, when we spoke previously about the disconnect between sales and field work, sometimes sales don't know exactly what we do. And that's why I started LinkedIn a little bit, to show those raw photos. I show that stuff that I see on a daily basis, good and bad. For sales too, I've learned a lot. I have a few friends in sales that I pick their brain on how the sales side of things work so I can have a better understanding when I talk to some of my customers that I see on a [inaudible 00:10:43] basis.
Andy Martinez (10:42):
I have two more frustrating things. Jurisdictions in our state are brutally tough here. Illinois is so hard because we deal with hundreds of jurisdictions, and each jurisdiction is very strict on how they want their installations done to pass inspections and stuff like that. So that's tough. You have to know where you're working and know how they want things done.
Andy Martinez (11:05):
And then most importantly, safety. Safety is the biggest thing in our company. It needs to be addressed almost every day, at least I feel, because this is dangerous work that I'm doing and we're all doing on a daily basis. I'm touching live electricity sometimes on a daily basis. If I have to work with live electricity or if I'm on someone's roof, I have to have the proper safety gear. I need to make sure I'm doing things correctly so I don't hurt myself or hurt someone else in the process.
Yin Lu (11:33):
That is a lot that we can get into in a bit. I don't want to be the mic hog. So I'm going to turn it over to Sam. I know he has lots of questions for you, too.
Sam Steyer (11:41):
Definitely not the mic hog. But Andy, the work that you're doing is such an important part of the energy transition. It just has such a positive environmental impact, in addition to being good for your customers. How does that environmental angle factor into how you think about your job and what it's like to work at Sunrun?
Andy Martinez (11:59):
It's fun. I treat every day like a new day. Even if I had a bad day before, I had a long day, I didn't get home late, I don't let that ruin my next day, because every home is different. Every customer is different. I get to do something that I just love to do. It's fun for me. I love to talk about this.
Andy Martinez (12:16):
So anytime I run into somebody who asks questions about solar, I perk up. I'm like, "Oh, what questions do you need answered? Because I'm ready to help you to get those questions answered." So that is the biggest angle that I see, is just because the love that at least a lot of, not just myself, and also a lot of Sunrun employees just have that drive to always want to do the right thing. And that's kind of like we always want to do the right thing for all of our customers.
Sam Steyer (12:42):
That makes a lot of sense. And when you're explaining the benefits of solar to your customers, how much does climate change and the environmental impacts come up versus cheaper, more reliable electricity, the sort of personal and home benefits.
Andy Martinez (12:57):
So I'll be honest. That's usually the second thing. People always want to save. At the end of the day, they want to see it on their bill, which is fine. I understand. That's the biggest reason why they signed up is, "Hey, I want to save on my electric bill. I don't want to pay the utility company as much as I'm paying." That's always the best. That's the number one thing.
Andy Martinez (13:14):
And of course, we do have a lot of people, we have a lot of customers who are pretty passionate about going green. I know when I first started as an installer, I can't tell you how many times people would pull over as they're driving by an installation and just stop us and ask us questions because, "Hey, what do I got to do to get solar? I want to save money on my bill, but then I also want to help the environment at the same time so it's a win-win situation for everybody." That was a lot of fun.
Andy Martinez (13:40):
My first year was a lot of fun, lot of learning and a lot of the amount of questions we would get and the amount of people just curious about solar in Illinois, because it wasn't so popular, or just, you didn't see it every day four years ago, at least I didn't.
Yin Lu (13:58):
We're going to take a quick break so you can hear me talk more about the MCG membership option. Hey folks, Yin here, a partner at MCJ Collective. Want to take a quick minute to tell you about our MCG membership community, which was born out of a collective thirst for peer-to-peer learning and doing that goes beyond just listening to the podcast.
Yin Lu (14:14):
We started in 2019 and have since then grown to 2000 members globally. Each week, we're inspired by people who join with differing backgrounds and perspectives. And while those perspectives are different, what we all share in common is a deep curiosity to learn and bias to action around ways to accelerate solutions to climate change.
Yin Lu (14:32):
Some awesome initiatives have come out of the community. A number of founding teams have met, nonprofits have been established. A bunch of hiring has been done. Many early stage investments have been made, as well as ongoing events and programming, like monthly women in climate meetups, idea jam sessions for early stage founders, climate book club, art workshops, and more. So whether you've been in climate for a while or just embarking on your journey, having a community to support you is important. If you want to learn more, head over to mcjcollective.com and click on the members tab at the top. Thanks, and enjoy the rest of the show.
Yin Lu (15:05):
All right, let's get back to the show. I have a question to piggyback off of what you just said, Andy. In the four years that you've done solar installations, I'm curious to hear about the evolution that you've seen in solar technology, first and foremost, but also in climate change and how that has impacted your work in installing, checking on units. Suffice it to say, it's getting hotter and hotter every summer. What has the impacts been for you as a field technician installing, checking on systems?
Andy Martinez (15:36):
So being outside every day, it's definitely gotten hotter, no doubt. At least I can definitely say four years ago, it was definitely not as hot as it was this summer that just passed in Chicago. We had some brutal days.
Andy Martinez (15:47):
But as far as technology, our systems have become a lot more efficient as far as installing. Teams are installing two jobs a day sometimes. That's how quick they've gotten. These systems that they install are just so easy to install now that teams can easily do two in one day. And then also a lot of the type of equipment that we deal with has been upgraded as well, too. We deal with a lot of SolarEdge, Enphase, Delta systems. We just introduced batteries last year, which is a big learning curve for myself too. We deal with LG batteries and Tesla batteries, which are pretty fun to deal with.
Andy Martinez (16:21):
The technology's there, and it's always grown. And I've seen it as I've been an employee with Sunrun. Soon, we're going to be dealing with the F150 Lightning with the EV chargers. It looks like they're going to be piggybacking off our solar to be able to charge your truck or your EV car. So that's going to be exciting to see, and seeing that from when I started, it was okay when I started. Just how I've seen it grow from day one to where I am now, if you would've told me what I would've been experiencing in day one to what I am now, I wouldn't have believed it. I would've totally thought you were kidding, there's no way we can do this.
Andy Martinez (16:57):
But no, they surprise me every time with the technology advancements in the type of systems that we install, how fast these systems get installed. But there's still bumps in the road along those four years. But I think we figured those out pretty quick, to get everything done as quick as possible for our customers.
Yin Lu (17:14):
Is there anything that you're seeing coming down the pike that you're excited about, that maybe isn't ready for commercial installations yet, but you're hearing whispers of?
Andy Martinez (17:24):
Definitely the EV stuff. The EV stuff is going to be pretty big with Ford. I don't know how that is going to work entirely. I've seen some models of it online and stuff that we've seen internally. Also, apparently the F150s in itself, those Lightnings are backup batteries. They're able to back up, I can't say an entire home, but they said a good three days. So I'm really excited to be able to potentially touch that or potentially troubleshoot that or just learn how it's all put together. So that's going to be exciting. And I think that's going to be very soon. Next year we'll probably start seeing that.
Yin Lu (18:03):
I hope so. Because we have been on the wait list for the Lightning for a couple of years now. I'm just like, whenever they start to manufacture them, I can't wait to get my hands on one.
Sam Steyer (18:12):
I think that [inaudible 00:18:13] imagined backing up a house with their pickup truck was like, would be pretty cool. In that moment, I'd like to do that.
Andy Martinez (18:21):
At the same time, when I heard that, I was like, I don't know if that angers solar companies, because solar companies [inaudible 00:18:26] batteries, we offer batteries. Luckily, we have this partnership with Ford so it goes hand in hand, but other solar companies are like, huh? And apparently it's like a hundred watt hour backup system. That's a lot. I was reading an article earlier today that it could potentially power your fridge for 16 hours, obviously if you're not opening, closing it consistently.
Andy Martinez (18:48):
But if your power goes out and you have a truck powering your home, my dad, like I told you before, was a technician. I told him about this not too long ago. He's just like, "You're kidding me. Back in my day, it was just a simple screwdriver and a wrench and we can fix a car, but now all this technology in a vehicle is insane."
Yin Lu (19:07):
It's pretty cool that you are talking about vehicle to grid and your family's background in the automotive industry. It's like your worlds are melding.
Andy Martinez (19:14):
My best friends actually work for Toyota here in the state. They're all technicians as well, too. So they give me the lowdown on some of the Toyota stuff that's coming out, too. And they're going to announce seven EV cars before the end of the year, apparently. So that's going to be exciting.
Andy Martinez (19:28):
And apparently Ford isn't the only one that's jumping in on this type of backup battery system. Other companies are going to join in on the fun, too. I don't know which ones, they haven't announced it, but that's what I was told. I can see Toyota being one of them. I love Toyota. I drive a Toyota.
Yin Lu (19:43):
Nice, nice. Us too. All this talk about these new technologies coming online, I just think there's just going to be such an increase in demand for installing these new technologies to fully electrify our homes, which means that we've got to get more people in this space learn how to install, because there's just going to be no shortage of demand.
Yin Lu (20:04):
And Sam, I guess a question for you, when we zoom out and look at climate tech startups and what companies are doing to build construction and installation teams, what's working well from what you're seeing at Greenwork, and maybe what are the challenges?
Sam Steyer (20:16):
First, I would say lots of companies are challenged to install as much of their products as they can sell. There is a general shortage of construction skills and resources in the country right now. You see it for people who want to remodel their home, and you see it for solar companies that are making a lot of sales online. One thing that works extremely well for the right kind of company is being vertically integrated, having construction teams that are full-time employees, that in many cases are the face of the company to the customer.
Sam Steyer (20:47):
Andy, when I heard you talking about treating the customer's home like it's your grandmother's home, that adds just huge value to a company, to have the person that the customer is building a relationship with, that's in their home, be such a good representative and be someone who's a full-time employee and is really invested in the company. So we're seeing that work, vertical integration.
Sam Steyer (21:05):
The flip side of that is if you are vertically integrated, you need to build and run a construction company, which means building a safety culture and an operationally excellent culture. It means you're not going to build a really capital light business, because you're going to have lots of well paid, skilled employees and buy materials and all this stuff. And so for other startups that aren't in their sort of DNA a construction company, either they're really R&D and manufacturing and making a product, or they're really a software company that wants to give a better customer experience through software, we see them trying to figure out how to build relationships with local contractors.
Sam Steyer (21:43):
And the sort of conventional ways to do that are to sell to the contractor, either go through the distributors, and there's a few big solar distributors who directly go sell your product or your sales software to local electrical contractors, local solar contractors. But in our space, there are increasingly electrification products that have a national brand, that have an excellent direct to customer sales operation, where you can buy it online, where they're really good at selling it all around the country. And that's amazing, but it also creates an issue, which is if someone buys your product in a new state or you sell solar through an online estimation tool in a new state, then you have to very quickly find someone who you really trust to go do the install.
Sam Steyer (22:27):
And I think what we've seen work in that case is really treating contractors and construction companies like a second customer, really caring about their experience and valuing their work and building a process where they get paid quickly, where they can plan well, where they like your product and have all the education they need on your product. And on the flip side, having a high bar for vetting two contractors who may have similar websites and have the same registration with the California license contractor board may be of vastly different quality. And that has huge implications for safety and customer experience and projects getting done right and on time.
Sam Steyer (23:03):
And so what we've seen work is people who they're not going to vertically integrate really invest in their contractor community. And what we've seen not work well is assuming it's just sort of given and that you'll call a local electrician on the day you need them, and not treating the contractor like a customer, an equal stakeholder. I think that leads to all sorts of problems where either people can't do the install that they promised, or in a pinch, they find whoever's available with no relationship building or vetting. And then the customer gets a bad experience, and customers aren't going to say, "Oh, the company that sold it to me is good, but that contractor wasn't," right? They think of the two brands as one and they will blame the more famous company that sold them the thing.
Andy Martinez (23:42):
I cannot agree on what you just said more. If I could just chime in on what you said about treating the contractor like a second customer, because that is so important. I worked for a previous company named Empire Solar Group, and they were like that sometimes. They didn't put in the effort or the research or the knowledge into some of the contractors they hired. I was actually a manager for them during COVID, around 2020. And that was something that I always asked, "Hey, can I vet the contractors? Can I see some of their work? Can I chat with them?" And they'd just be like, "No, no, no, we've got to give them the work, we've got to give them the work, just got to push out the work. We've got to push out to work."
Andy Martinez (24:17):
And of course the contractor may not live up to the customer's expectations. And like Sam said, they blame us because we're the bigger company. And that goes such a long way in building a relationship with the contractor, or just in any type of installation, any type of work, that's so huge, to build a relationship and treat that contract like a second customer. That's so big. I'm so glad you said that.
Sam Steyer (24:40):
Thanks. Andy, as someone who was installing these systems and really at the heart of the solar industry, what do you wish that more people in general in the public knew about solar and knew about the work?
Andy Martinez (24:52):
Definitely the amount of effort that goes into an installation, all the background stuff that goes on, from the permitting, to the design work, to getting all the material, making sure that they have the right team for the job, and then everything that goes afterwards. Once it's installed, doing the inspections and waiting for systems to get the green light from the utility company. There's so much that goes into it. And sometimes it takes a bit. Sometimes it could take a month. Sometimes it could take two, three months. I wish people would just see the background, because I like to say that we live in the microwave era. People just want things done now, and they want it now, right away.
Andy Martinez (25:31):
And I wish that people would just spend a day with me or spend a day with our office team, a customer, just a fly on the wall, and say, "Oh wow, this is what goes into just building one plan, your plan for your home that you're going to have for the next 20, 30, 40 years." The process that goes into it is pretty cool, when you really think about it. And I wish customers would see it.
Andy Martinez (25:54):
But also, I think customers also just need to do research, understand what they're buying, what they're going to consume. As a consumer, they really need to understand how their system works. This is going to be on my house for the next 20, 30 years. What the systems look like, what they could potentially look like. That's what I wish for a lot of people on the outside, looking in.
Yin Lu (26:16):
To answer that question, you've given us an inside look at your particular part of the installation ecosystem. Can you talk to us about all the different parts of the ecosystem that all play together to make Sunrun run? Pardon the pun. Just so we can be more educated on the different aspects of all the people that go into working in solar.
Andy Martinez (26:41):
Man, there's so many moving parts, and it's run by a day by day team that's phenomenal in our Illinois branch. I mean, we actually have two branches. We have a third one coming in southern Illinois. There's so many moving parts to our company on a day to day operations as a field tech. Even though I'm a different department, I work hand in hand with a lot of other team members that technically I might not even see ever. They might be working remotely in a different location.
Andy Martinez (27:08):
When you put that all together and you look at the finished product, it's so much fun at the end of the day. When I was an installer at the end of the day, I would just look at what I built and be like, I built that. Or sometimes if I'm driving through a neighborhood, I'd see a house. Oh, I remember that house. I built that. And that's cool, because 20 years later, 15 years later, I could still look back at that and be like, I built that. I built that house. That customer's saving money. I made a difference. They're saving money. They're saving money every day, monthly, yearly. That's fun. I don't know how to explain how it feels, but that it's something that I built with my own hands is awesome.
Yin Lu (27:48):
It's cool just to know that the different cogs in the machine that have to all simultaneously be moving to just make one install for one home work and know that that system is going to be powering that house for the next decade, two decades, three decades.
Yin Lu (28:04):
Question for you and what you see for your future. What's the career path that you want to be going on? Where is Andy going to be in five years? Talk to us about what the future looks like for you personally.
Andy Martinez (28:16):
So me personally, as far as the PV world, I want to be in a leadership role. I'm taking my steps to that to one day be in a leadership role, whether it's a manager or trainer, whatever my higher ups decide what I would be good at. I want to lead that charge for maybe the younger guys once they come in into my company and I can show them what I see. I have all the knowledge in the world, and I'd loved to keep pushing that out, not only just to them, but our customers as well too.
Andy Martinez (28:48):
I definitely want to be in a leadership role. That's where I see myself eventually, especially when my knees start to give out and I can't get up a ladder anymore. But I want to be able to push all that knowledge to the right people, who are just as passionate as I am. And even to you guys, doing this is so much fun. Being able to talk about this and put that knowledge out there is incredible. Very incredible.
Yin Lu (29:10):
Speaking of educating more people on this field, in the skilled labor force in general, there's this US labor shortage, and we're at an all time high and we need, what is the stat? It's like 460,000 installation jobs need to be created in order to meet the electrification demands in the US alone. I think this rewiring America, is that right?
Andy Martinez (29:32):
Yeah. One of the best things that I've noticed and I use LinkedIn for, a lot of people reach out to me to try to pry me away from Sunrun. I can't tell you how many recruiters slide into my DMs, as they say. They try to pry me away. Hey, we're looking for somebody in Massachusetts. Or hey, we're looking for somebody out on the west coast. Hey, we need somebody out in Arkansas, and you fit those needs. You have the credentials.
Andy Martinez (29:58):
The demand is there. The demand is everywhere, especially here in Illinois. There is a lot of work to be done here in Illinois. And the next 10 years are going to be pretty amazing with the amount of work that's going to be done here.
Yin Lu (30:11):
Andy, from your perspective, how do we get more people into trade schools? I was talking to a friend the other day who has a teenage kid who is just really into working with his hands. I was asking her, "Have you thought about trade school for your son?" He really loves working with his hands, loves tinkering with electronics. And she said, "No, I don't want him to go to trade school. I want him to go to a university." There's a certain stigma around going to trade school. I wonder if you can comment on that, and maybe how do we shift that mindset?
Andy Martinez (30:43):
I know when I was young, I didn't even know trade schools existed until I was about 25, 26. I didn't know. My dad learned his trade from his dad. I didn't even know that there were schools that surrounded this type of field to get certifications. How I got exposed to it, ironically, I was working a job, a regular nine to five job that I wasn't really happy about, but it was making ends meet. There was a kid there doing homework while he was working. And I asked him, "What are you doing?" He's like, "Oh, I'm doing my HVAC homework." HVAC homework? And he is like, "Yeah, yeah, I go to a trade school. It's in downtown Chicago."
Andy Martinez (31:20):
And I was like, "Oh, I didn't even know they had that." And he's like, "Yeah, you should check it out. They have electrical and they have HVAC." And I was like, "I will." And he gave me the information. The next day I called the school, and I went down to see it and I fell in love with it. Knowing what I know now, I wish somebody when I was in high school or grade school told me that, "Hey, working with your hands is okay." There's plenty of demand, like we mentioned before, for workers. The salaries are great.
Andy Martinez (31:47):
I just wish I was exposed to it earlier so I can make that decision for myself and realize that trades is where it was personally for me. And I could have not been any more happier since the day I stepped foot into that school and then eventually made my way to where I am now. But I think it all just comes down to exposure, research, and being formally educated on what's available for everyone. It doesn't necessarily have to be electrical, HVAC, or carpentry. There's so much out there. It's just, you have to be exposed to.
Sam Steyer (32:18):
And Andy, one of the things we've seen at Greenwork is anyone who's been in the trades for a few years, who's, like you said, built systems that they can point to, often loves their job. But we do meet a lot of people who struggle in the first six months to a year in a career as an electrical trainee or as a solar installer.
Sam Steyer (32:37):
And it's learning the ropes. It's getting used to a job that starts at 7:00AM, where you must be on time. It's buying tools and maybe a truck. There's a lot of challenges. Do you see that? And what have you seen help people get through the first year, thrive in the first year and get to the point where they really have a lot of skills and know what they're doing on the job site?
Andy Martinez (32:57):
I could definitely relate to that. My first six months at Sunrun weren't the best. I struggled. I had never been on a roof, like I mentioned before. I was scared out of my mind, going up a two story, three story ladder, climbing up on a roof, but I knew this is what I wanted to do. I just had to get over my fears and I had to discipline myself. That's basically what it all comes down to, is yes, nothing's ever going to come easy if you don't struggle a little bit. That makes it all more worth it at the end, because anything that's just given to you, that might be fine and everything, but it just doesn't have the same satisfaction as someone who really worked their butt off to be where they are. And I feel like I'm a product of that, because I stuck to my guns.
Andy Martinez (33:37):
There were some days where I did want to quit. Is this right for me? Did I make the right choice? But I kept learning. I kept asking the right questions. I kept doing the right things. I had to build habits for myself. Like you said, I had to be at work at 7:00AM so I had to get up at least like 5:30 in the morning to get myself ready. It all comes down to discipline and just how bad you want it. How bad do you want it long term? Because that's what it is. It's a long term thing. This isn't something that I knew that I wasn't just going to do for a year and then quit.
Andy Martinez (34:08):
One of the worst things you can do is give your time and have nothing to show for it. And now in four years of doing this, I'm still learning every day. I don't think I'm the best. I still learn from my coworkers, who ironically are actually my closest friends, who went to trade school with me. So that's even more awesome. I get to work with some of my closest friends on a daily basis. The struggle is always going to be there, but it's just how you bounce back, just to discipline how bad you want it.
Yin Lu (34:36):
That's such a beautiful answer. I'm still reflecting on, like, oh yeah, I can take a chapter from your book, Andy, and reflect on that for my own career.
Andy Martinez (34:44):
It's been challenging. The last two years have been such a roller coaster for me, especially after COVID. I got furloughed for a little bit. Everything was a lot in the air for the last two years, but last year was awesome. I bought my first house with the sea foam green paint, as you guys see. I bought my house. I added the most beautiful puppy who's laying, sleeping, snoring right next to me.
Yin Lu (35:04):
For those of you listening, Andy has a Shiba Inu, and she's adorable.
Andy Martinez (35:10):
Yeah, she's passed out right now. And because, like I mentioned before, I stuck to it, I have this to show for it. And I have a nice little home. I get to see my dog every day. I get to do not only what I love, but I get to enjoy the benefits of doing what I love. And last year really emphasized that for me, that everything that I have achieved to this point has really showed for it now. It's really starting to show its colors for me, and I can't be any more grateful for where I am now.
Yin Lu (35:42):
That's awesome. And I think if we take a step back and look at the macro landscape, we're in the midst, the messy, messy middle of rewiring our infrastructure for the next hundred years. And so perseverance is a theme that is really important for us to be able to stick to as a species as we try to figure out how we rethink and rewire everything.
Yin Lu (36:04):
With that, Andy, oh, this has been such a pleasure. Thank you for sharing your wisdom. Thank you for sharing your stories and your background. To end, MCJ listeners and people that are in the community, we are all optimists about climate. And so if I can ask you, what are a few things that keep you optimistic as you go about your day to day? Would love to hear what those are.
Andy Martinez (36:27):
For me, the things that pretty much wake me up every day besides my alarm is the joy that I bring to others as far as what I do for a living. I go out and troubleshoot. I'm basically the person that comes out and fixes everything. So when I give the customer the okay, "Hey, your system's back up and running. Everything's all good now," the joy, how happy they are. Sometimes people give me high fives. Sometimes people give me water. They give me a bunch of things just to say thank you, thank you so much. That's cool. It's those little things that I strive for that mean so much later.
Andy Martinez (37:00):
And the best thing about it is that, and I tell all these customers, "I enjoyed my appointment with you. I just hope I don't see you very often." And they usually laugh. It's those little things that really let me wake up happy every day. I don't go to work upset or nothing like that. I thoroughly enjoy what I do on a daily basis. Everything I do on a daily just brings me joy, just to be able to learn and use my mind and my hands and know that I'm doing something good for the next generation after me when I'm long and gone.
Sam Steyer (37:34):
Andy, I want to thank you, I know you're busy, for taking the time to talk to us. It's just been really fun. And Yin and the MCJ community, I personally as a climate person have found the community to be just an amazing place for positivity and knowledge and optimism. So thank you, and it's really a dream to be on. Thanks for having me.
Yin Lu (37:52):
Thank you for those generous words. And thank you, Andy, for being here.
Andy Martinez (37:56):
No, thank you guys. I couldn't be more happier having this discussion. This is what puts us in front. The fact that we can have these type of conversations is what puts all the knowledge and all the fears to rest about solar or just any type of climate conversation. This is what we do and this is awesome. I've been watching Sam closely with his work. I'm going to definitely follow your podcast now more often. I look forward to what tomorrow brings, and for the next 10 years.
Yin Lu (38:21):
Amazing.
Jason Jacobs (38:24):
Thanks again for joining us on the My Climate Journey podcast.
Cody Simms (38:27):
At MCJ Collective, we're all about powering collective innovation for climate solutions by breaking down silos and unleashing problem solving capacity. To do this, we focus on three main pillars, content, like this podcast and our weekly newsletter, capital to fund companies that are working to address climate change, and our member community, to bring people together, as Yin described earlier.
Jason Jacobs (38:49):
If you'd like to learn more about MCJ Collective, visit us at www.mcjcollective.com. And if you have guest suggestions, feel free to let us know on Twitter at @MCJpod.
Cody Simms (39:04):
Thanks, and see you next episode.