Lynn Wagner doesn't mind being classified as non-traditional.

After all, that pretty much sums up both her career path and her current position.

Wagner, 22, is now a Senior Nuclear Quality Control Inspector employed by FirstEnergy Corp. at its Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station near Oak Harbor. Non-traditional, indeed.

The Terra Community College graduate is among a growing number of women finding challenging and lucrative opportunities in the trades - an area generally dominated by men.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau, a non-traditional occupation for women is one in which women comprise 25 percent of less of total employment. Statistics show that women hold less than one percent of tool and die maker positions, about two percent of electrician spots, about six percent of welding, and only 6.7 percent of all machinist jobs.

Yet women, like Wagner, are being attracted to industry because the trades offer higher entry-level wages and a career ladder with pay between $20 and $30 an hour, according to the department of labor.

Growing up on a farm outside Port Clinton, Wagner always enjoyed using her hands.

"In high school, I was interested in the hands-on fields, including welding, wood working and electricity," she said. "I enjoyed doing work and not sitting behind a desk all day, every day. My industrial arts teacher in high school really mentored me to pursue the hands-on field of my choice in college."

Her college choice was Terra and her interests led her to two Associate of Applied Science degrees - Welding Technology and Welding Automated Processes. She also has nearly completed a third, Welding Inspection.