National Museum of the Royal Navy.
- After deciding against a traditional college path, Clémentine Mollier became a boatbuilder.
- She works on wooden boats and is the only one among her close friends in a trade job.
- She said she sees a future in her career, even though it's niche.
This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Clémentine Mollier, a 32-year-old shipwright living in Portsmouth, England. Business Insider verified her employment with documentation. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
I grew up in France. After finishing high school, I decided to travel instead of going to university.
I spent time in Australia, Asia, and Canada, volunteering and working minimum-wage jobs. I had a thirst for discovery and being away from home.
When I returned to France at 26, I enrolled in a yearlong boatbuilding course. I've since spent six years as a boatbuilder and have no regrets about my decision not to go to university.
My job is niche, but I think it has a place in the future.
My friends were all picking universities — I considered going to art school
In France, going to university is relatively inexpensive because tuition is subsidized by the government.
I felt pressured to pick a university like my friends but I struggled to choose a degree because I had so many interests.
I considered studying philosophy or literature. Art school was also an option because I wanted to be an artist, but I'd heard it was hard to get a job after an art course.
I love travel, so I settled on a private six-month flight attendant degree, funded through a loan from my parents. It was very different from a university course. Our classes were in a hotel's convention room and a training facility.
I didn't become a flight attendant after completing the course. Instead, I moved to Australia and began traveling and doing odd jobs.
After traveling through different countries for around six years, I returned to France in 2018. I had been working in retail in Canada and wasn't feeling fulfilled. I considered training in a skill. I knew I liked to create things, so I looked into construction and woodworking paths.
I enrolled in a yearlong boatbuilding course, which was free because the government subsidized it. Now, I'm a full-time boatbuilder.
I am somewhat sad I missed out on the university experience. I would have enjoyed attending lectures and living in a dorm. But I'm happy with the choice I made.
I can see myself progressing in my boatbuilding career
On the course, we built a kayak and Norweigian Pram, a small clinker boat, to learn the different stages of building, like making frames and varnishing. It gave me an understanding of a boatbuilding job, but I was still inexperienced.
We did multiple work placements as part of the course. I did a three-week placement in Portsmouth, England. They asked me to come back and work with them as a shipwright — working on wooden boats — when the course was over.
We were restoring and building sailing boats. When I started, I felt like I knew nothing, but thankfully, I was surrounded by people willing to train me.
I was the only woman in the workshop, which was a very male environment. My first reaction was to mimic their behavior. We had good fun, but I felt like I wasn't being myself. I'm passionate about paving the way for women in the industry.
I stayed in that job for four and a half years, then moved to Costa Rica for three months and worked on wooden cargo ships before returning to Portsmouth. I've been working at the National Museum of the Royal Navy for the past five months.
My team is restoring the HMS Victory, an 18th-century warship. The project is meant to last 10 years, but I'm not sure how long I'll stay.
It's the first time I've collaborated with a conservation team and considered the significance of every piece of the ship.
I'm very happy in my career and can see myself progressing, especially in the job I'm in now.
As a boatbuilder, I earn enough to afford a comfortable but modest lifestyle. I can cover rent and save for holidays, but a managerial role would pay better.
The hierarchy is quite flat in a boatyard setting, but at the museum, we have lead shipwrights and a master shipwright, so there are options for moving up the ladder.
I'd like to eventually work in a management position.
The job is physically demanding. You're on your feet all day, and you're carrying things. Initially I didn't think I'd be able to hack it until retirement, but in my museum job, there's machinery to lift things, making me think I could stay in this career longer.
I'm more suited to my trade job than a corporate setting
None of my close friends do a trade job. I don't tend to compare myself to others, but I think I'm just as happy and fulfilled as my friends.
If you define success in terms of money, this isn't the career for you, but I don't regret my decision.
My friends sometimes envy my job because I can do things for myself, like building furniture.
Before boatbuilding, I briefly worked as a receptionist. I enjoyed wearing nice clothes and heels to work, but it wasn't for me. I need to be outside and moving.
More people are moving into trade jobs. Some people at my current workplace changed careers after being teachers and bankers. People want to use their hands more.
I have a niche job, but I think it has a place in the future. I'm personally seeing a demand in the UK among people who are passionate about maintaining and building wooden boats.
I don't see the industry exploding and everyone wanting to enter it, but I still see a future in it.
Do you have a story about choosing a career in the trades that you want to share? Email ccheong@businessinsider.com