POST FALLS — Josh Bean’s plan for his graduation ceremony Thursday was simple: Wear a nice pair of jeans and a polo shirt. 

Bean has passed the electrician national exam and received his graduation certificate Thursday. He has been looking forward to sharing the milestone with his family but said there were no plans for the apprentices to wear a cap and gown. 

“You couldn’t get us jokers in robes,” Bean said. 

Bean said he feels a lot of pride for completing the NIC Workforce Training Center apprenticeship program. 

“It's been a long and difficult four years. Most of us don’t see it as a really big day because there’s never really been a gradation, per se, so it’s nice to have some tangible experience that ties it up in a bow,” Bean said. 

Out of the 8,000 hours he needs to achieve his journeyman’s card in electrical, Bean only has about 600 hours of on-the-job experience left to log with Evergreen Electric and HVAC in Spirit Lake. 

Bean was one of the 83 apprentices celebrating their achievements in the electrical, HVAC and plumbing apprenticeship programs. There are 137 apprentices who are eligible for graduation. 

This was the first class of apprentices to hold a graduation ceremony marking their official entrance into their chosen profession. 

Originally from Buffalo, N.Y., and raised in Rochester, Bean had carved out a hard-earned place at Michelin-star restaurants in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., before eventually working as a sous chef in Los Angeles at Viale Dei Romani in West Hollywood when the pandemic hit in 2020.

“My buddy and I, the other sous chef, basically played rock, paper, scissors for who would collect unemployment,” Bean said. 

Working 80 hours a week in the restaurant industry wasn’t feasible with his first kid on the way, so Bean opted for a different path. 

“Before I started doing this, I had never changed an outlet in my entire life. As far I was concerned, electricity was fairy dust and unicorn magic,” Bean said, laughing. 

Now with the mentorship from Byron Hatley at Evergreen Electric, he’s able to be there for his family for support and financial stability.  

“It was the biggest pay cut of my life to start over in a new career since high school, but now I'm making more than I ever have in my life. It's a pretty big investment,” Bean said. 

He learned caution after experiencing a few shocks on the job but said that being careful makes him a better electrician. 

"You only get to be an old electrician by being a smart young electrician,” Bean said.

    Josh Bean is only 600 hours out of 8,000 hours away from picking up his journeyman's card as an electrician. On Thursday, Bean received his certificate for completing the North Idaho College Workforce Training Center's apprenticeship program.