In this episode, we sit down with Mike Nobles, one of DSI's labor managers in Houston, for a wide-ranging conversation about a career that started as a "two-week" TIG welding job on a semiconductor site — and turned into 33 years in the industry.Mike shares his journey from apprentice union welder to superintendent to labor manager, working on everything from clean rooms and mission-critical data centers to hospitals, schools, and a recently built lithium refinery. He opens up about the leadership lessons that shaped him — including a memorable story about "leading by example" early in his career — and talks about engaged leadership, the value of listening, and why he still believes in rolling up his sleeves alongside his team.We also dig into:Mike's mentorship under Jay Rowan and how it shaped his management styleTeaching MCAA's Future Filled Leaders of America (FFLA) program and how to get involvedHow DSI's Houston shop scaled from a small facility to 60,000+ sq ft in just a few yearsOffsite manufacturing (OSM) and how contractors are adapting to industry growthThe story behind bringing Novarc robotic welding into DSI's shops — and how AI-assisted welding is changing productionWhy younger apprentices (raised on video games) are often faster to adapt to robotic welding than veteran welders — and why that's not a threat to jobsWhether you're in the trades, in construction management, or just curious about how leadership and technology intersect on the job site, this is a conversation packed with real, hard-earned insight.🔔 Subscribe for more episodes of the Pipeline Podcast