A Detour That Generated a Life-Long Career

As Project Manager within IIA’s Nuclear Services, William Jensen spends his days on the phone with customers, on video conference calls with colleagues, writing up projects and making sure those projects are going as planned, or traveling to a job-site. There is quite a bit of variety in his role, but he always has one major goal in mind: to make sure his customers are happy.

After graduating from college with a degree in Aviation Technology from Central Missouri State University, William, inspired by his father who served four years in the United States Air Force and was an airline pilot, wanted to join the Air Force and train as a pilot. Unfortunately, the results of an eye exam meant taking a detour from those plans. So, the unemployed college graduate decided to move with his parents from the Kansas City area to the Lone Star State.

In Texas, William was working a part-time job at a grocery store when he spotted an advertisement for a night class: paid training to become a non-destructive examination (NDE) technician. Sounds interesting, he thought. So, he enrolled and completed the three-month-long course, during which he actually earned a whopping four dollars an hour! He took and passed the final exam and was offered a job as a technician. During his first three years at work, he not only trained for and earned Level I and Level II status, but he was also promoted to Site Supervisor and eventually became a Project Manager. William has always seen great value in having been a “technician turned supervisor,” since he can understand the perspective of his technicians and better support and guide his team.

In his role as Project Manager with his previous company, there was plenty of work within Nuclear plants across the US, and William made lots of connections, but just like his detour from the Air Force, he had to take another detour after his job was cut due to the early 1990’s lay-offs. But, of course William found and landed an outstanding NDE opportunity with Wisconsin Electric Power, which is where he spent the next 22 years of his career after which he transitioned to Industrial Inspection & Analysis.

Being the hardworking and involved guy we have come to know him to be, William also served as Vice Chairman of an industry working group for ultrasonic Performance Demonstration Initiative (PDI), which is another way he created many of his long-lasting professional connections. Along with his work ethic and doing a great job of making sure his customers are pleased, William says “it’s important to remember where you came from and to be honest in all your dealings. The truth is always appreciated.” Williams believes that trust and integrity create the foundation for all successful endeavors.

Along with these outstanding qualities, what also helps William in his role as Project Manager here at IIA, is that he is a well-respected and knowledgeable Subject Matter Expert with plenty of qualifications: William holds Level III Certification through the American Society for Nondestructive Testing in Magnetic Particle, Liquid Penetrant, Ultrasonic, and Visual Exam Methods. William also holds qualifications through the Electric Power Research Institute PDI in examination of carbon and stainless steel piping, reactor vessels, and bolts and studs.

Just like the variety of knowledge and experience William has, he loves the variety of his work. William’s integrity, honesty, and work ethic to be a role model for his team is respectable and he strives to always provide story-worthy service to each and every customer.