Darnell Epps is a recent graduate of Yale Law School and the founder and CEO of Thurgood Industries.
Last month, I had the honor of walking up to the Yale Law School commencement stage with my two children, ages 1 and 6, in tow. That was quite an accomplishment for someone who grew up in public housing in New York City. But just as importantly, I had graduated just a few months earlier from Lincoln Institute of Technology, a technical school in East Windsor, Connecticut.
While some of my classmates at Yale were pursuing combined JD/MBA degrees, I decided to combine my J.D. with a degree in manufacturing technology and machining.
It was April 2022 when I made that crazy decision. The economy was recovering from the pandemic and, to my surprise, millions of high-paying manufacturing and construction jobs were going unfilled despite a surge in demand for manufactured goods and products. At one point during my studies, I stumbled across a report from the National Association of Manufacturers that said that U.S. manufacturing alone (excluding construction) continues to experience a labor shortage despite having over 12 million jobs with an average annual salary of $85,000.
I was perplexed: Why did the country have such a talent shortage? I went to law school in a city with a poverty rate of 26 percent and a median household income of $42,000. Tens of thousands of skilled jobs were open in and around New Haven, Connecticut, but employers couldn't find enough talent to fill them. These jobs didn't require a college degree, and many offered tuition reimbursement and on-the-job training opportunities for workers who wanted to continue their education.
But most people I spoke to in New Haven knew little about career opportunities in advanced manufacturing or how to gain the skills employers are looking for.
At the time, I was working as an entrepreneur in residence at a venture capital firm and was exploring ways to use software to provide high-paying jobs to people in low-income areas. I believed that many Americans struggling in the labor market could benefit from high-paying jobs that didn't require a college degree. Determined to understand the skills employers were looking for, I decided to enroll at Lincoln Institute of Technology.
On my first day, I was faced with a harsh reality: I had only one other student in my machining class. By comparison, I had over 50 classmates in my torts class at Yale Law School. While Yale grads seemed poised to produce dozens of “big law firm” lawyers, Lincoln Tech would only produce two machinists. I was stunned. I love law both as a profession and as a tool for social change, but I also know that lawyers are better at billing clients than they are at building and maintaining the nation’s critical infrastructure.
My journey from the hallowed halls of Yale Law School to operating a multi-axis CNC machine is a testament to the diverse nature of learning and growth. These machines are a far cry from the punched tape machines of the 1940s and 1950s. They are equipped with pre-programmed computer software that controls the movements of tools and complex machinery that machine metal parts for critical industries such as aerospace and automotive. A machinist's job is to maintain and operate these machines while creating tools and assemblies through a variety of machining methods such as drilling, grinding, and milling. The job requires high precision as machinists often need to cut metal materials within thousandths of an inch or less.
Being a lawyer, my first project at Lincoln Tech was to machine a metal mallet. I remember giving it to my 5-year-old son and having to stop him from ramming it into the drywall of our house. I was so proud after machining my first piece. I left class that day with a newfound respect for the craft and work of machinists. I realized that this was not just a high-paying job, but also an art form.
My journey to technical schools from Yale to Lincoln University reaffirmed my belief in the potential of skilled workers. I learned that the future of American prosperity depends not only on lawyers and business owners, but also on machinists, welders, and all the skilled tradesmen who are the backbone of our economy. But we must reframe the narrative around skilled workers and foster a cultural appreciation for these essential trades. If we don’t do this, government initiatives such as President Biden’s American Jobs Plan, which includes spending $300 billion on manufacturing, are doomed to fail. There are serious concerns that many of the new factories developed as part of Biden’s “manufacturing renaissance” will be wasted because of a low-skilled U.S. workforce and a lack of awareness about the benefits of careers in advanced industries.
You may be wondering what I plan to do with my two degrees. I plan to start a software-driven recruiting firm to help people find great careers in skilled trades and advanced industries. I want to pave the way for a new generation of workers who can thrive in the advanced manufacturing renaissance and drive innovation and growth for decades to come.
But I also like to finish what I start, like that gavel I machined at Lincoln Tech, so I plan to take the New York State Bar Exam in 2025. You never know when your legal expertise or that gavel might come in handy.
