This story is part of CNBC Make It's Ditching the Degree series, where women who have built six-figure careers without a bachelor's degree reveal the secrets of their success. Got a story to tell? Let us know! Email us at [email protected].
Bridgette Tena has one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. She says she couldn't be happier.
The 51-year-old is a roofer in Santa Fe, New Mexico, part of the less than 10% of women working in construction in the U.S.
Roofers face the second highest rate of fatal work injuries among all occupations, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Roofing is also one of the fastest-growing jobs in the U.S., with nearly 15,000 jobs expected to be added each year over the next decade.
"Working in this field is hard, don't get me wrong, but it's beyond rewarding," Tena tells CNBC Make It. "It's the coolest job ever. I love what I do."
Tena started building and repairing roofs as a side hustle four years ago to supplement her real estate broker income and learn more about the construction side of the housing market.
She launched her own roofing business, B. Barela Construction, in February 2021.
Last year, B. Barela Construction brought in about $180,000 in revenue, and the business is on track to surpass $200,000 in revenue for 2024, according to financial documents reviewed by CNBC Make It.
Her combined income from running B. Barela Construction and working in real estate is more than $70,000 (she declined to share her exact salary).
Ahead of her fourth year in business, Tena says she hopes to scale the business into a full-time career.
Here's how Tena found a job she loves and built a business bringing in six figures -- without a bachelor's degree:
Tena jokes that she was "destined" to work in construction as her uncle and grandfather were both general contractors. "It's something that was always tugging at my heart, but it took me years to finally chase that dream and follow that career path," she says.
She attended Santa Fe Community College on and off between 1995 and 2002, waffling between entering business, law or real estate, but never finishing her bachelor's degree.
After leaving college, Tena worked as a receptionist in a local realtor's office in Santa Fe and obtained both her realtor and real estate broker licenses.
Realtors are licensed to help people buy, sell, and rent real estate and must work for a sponsoring broker or brokerage firm, while brokers have additional training and can work independently or hire other real estate agents to work for them.
Tena worked as a broker for more than a decade but didn't find the career fulfilling on its own; she soon realized that she "belonged outside, not in an office."
But the reason she didn't start working in construction sooner, she reveals, is because "it's such a man's world."
"I never saw someone who looked like me working in the field, and as a woman, it was scary and intimidating to get into that kind of work on your own," Tena adds.
Tena started apprenticing with a general contractor on construction projects in 2016.
She was inspired to take the leap and obtain her general contractor (construction) license with the state of New Mexico during the pandemic lockdown of 2020 when demand for real estate slowed and she suddenly had more free time. It only took her a few weeks to finish the certification.
In New Mexico, prospective general contractors must pass a trade-specific exam and show they've completed at least two years of work experience with a licensed contractor in the state to obtain the certification.
Tena spent most of the lockdown drafting a business and marketing plan, practicing installation and repair techniques on a shed in her backyard and researching names for her roofing business.
She officially launched B. Barela Construction in February 2021, less than a year after obtaining her license. The name pays homage to Tena's grandfather, Lino Barela, who inspired her to pursue a career in roofing and construction.
Since then, Tena has pursued several specialized licenses to expand her business' offerings. In 2023, she attended a free two-week GAF Roofing Academy training program in Denver, Colorado which was held exclusively for women.
Through the program, Tena received a roofing certificate that covers shingle installation and roof coating, among other skills.
The requirements to become a roofer vary state by state in the U.S., but most states will require roofers to have a local license and complete an apprenticeship or on-the-job training.
The start-up costs to becoming a roofer including training, licensing and equipment can range anywhere from $1,000 to $5,000 or more, Tena says, adding that she spent about $20,000 of her personal savings to launch her roofing business.
That initial investment, however, can pay off, as more experienced roofing contractors earn upwards of $100,000 in the U.S., per ZipRecruiter's estimates.
Tena adds that running your own roofing business has an even greater earning potential, as you can set your prices and take on more customers. She says there's high demand now for roofers due to backlogs brought on during the pandemic and supply chain issues.
It didn't take Tena long to drum up business, she says, as she's a Santa Fe local and has a wide network of builders, construction foremen, and other potential customers from working in real estate for so many years.
Tena says that on a typical weekday, she works from 6 a.m. until 4 p.m., but is also on call during the evenings and weekends for emergency repairs, whether it's a leaky ceiling or crumbling drywall.
"We're always rushing around with our ladders," Tena says. For Tena, a typical day on the job involves climbing up a slender ladder and working on top of commercial buildings and homes that are 8, sometimes 30 feet high.
Once she's up there, she and her team might remove old roofs, install new shingles or repair holes. Because she's up so high, and working with hazardous materials including saws and nail guns, Tena wears a hard hat, thick leather gloves, a safety harness and other protective equipment to minimize injury.
She works with four full-time employees and close to a dozen contractors, many of whom are women -- her mother and daughter have often joined her to help on bigger jobs.
"There was one customer when we showed up with an all-women crew, who looked at us and said, 'Where are the roofers?' and I told him, 'We are' and he was like, 'No, the men,'" Tena recalls. "That was brutal, but I told the girls we have to let stuff roll off our back, that creating an inclusive environment for women in construction starts with us."
Roofing might not be a popular career choice among young professionals but it's an "underrated" field that can provide a lot of stability and fulfillment, Tena says.
"People are always going to need a roof over their heads, so roofers are always going to be in demand," she adds. "You're not just working; you're protecting what's most important to people -- their homes. It's hard to find that kind of fulfillment in many jobs."