For the region's future electricians, decisions about where to work are nuanced, and financial incentives alone sometimes aren't enough. Their career planning process shows the influence family, teachers and even time can have in steering them to a trade.

Even though Western Dakota Technical Institute student Cameron Luth of Gillette, Wyo., could easily find a job in Rapid City, he is a sure thing for the coal mines. Luth's father works for Powder River Coal, and Luth graduated in 2006 from Campbell County High School, where his teachers encouraged him to put his math and science skills at work in a trade. Underwater welding sounded cool - until his research uncovered a dangerously short life expectancy - and then, he considered the industrial electronics program at WDTI.

Luth's interest in the mines was enhanced during the spring semester of this year, which he spent working there as a part of a co-op program WDTI and the mines offer. He was awed by the size of the drag line and learned a lot on the job, so he isn't nervous about his upcoming Mine Safety and Health Administration exam.

His classmate Shane Rasmussen, on the other hand, is hoping for a job at Muth in Rapid City. He went to the Peabody presentation and was tempted "some" by the mines' offer, saying he'll probably fill out an application because the pay is so high, but that he has family in the Black Hills and would prefer to stay here.

Another classmate, Mike Wisecarver, is giving the electrician program a go at age 40. It will be his third or fourth career.

Wisecarver graduated from Red Cloud High School in 1986, and went immediately into the Marine Corps, which trained him as a diesel mechanic.

"College never entered my mind," he said, recalling that he spent more time hanging with a gang in high school than studying. "That was for rich kids."

After his service with the Marines, Wisecarver got into trimming trees for Black Hills Power & Light, and was a foreman in charge of trimming crews. But as he got older, that wasn't as appealing.

"It's a young man's game," he said. The sound of electricity buzzing through the power lines near his trees piqued his interest, though.

Through the WDTI program, Wisecarver had the opportunity to participate in a co-op program and spent a semester working at GCC cement. He said he enjoys learning and the environment of the school, which he described as both competitive and congenial.

He was asked to be a mentor to other Native students and tells both his classmates and his own children, "You've got to have an education to do anything," and looks forward to the opportunities that await him when he's done with school.

"We've got a saying in the woods," he said, thinking back to his years in logging. "If you're going to be dumb, you better be tough, because you're going to be carrying the wood."