Jenna Iannielli often works in the cold, murky waterways of New York. She is an underwater welder. She uses machines to heat and melt pieces of metal together. Her job is to build or repair structures in nearly total darkness.
“You don’t know what’s 10 feet in front of you,” she says.
Iannielli’s first underwater job involved working on a new bridge across the Hudson River. She had to fight the cold, strong current. And then there were the eels.
“I’d be working, and they’d be wrapping themselves around my legs,” she explains. “You just kick them off and continue.”
Despite the challenges, Iannielli says she loves what she does.