Meet The Pro: Weslie Null, Service Technician
By Arkansas Next on Friday, October 10, 2025
Hometown: Lititz (Pennsylvania)
Age: 33
Higher Education: Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management; Associate Degree in Tourism and Hospitality; Automotive Certificate; Bachelor's Degree in Business Management at University of Arkansas Pulaski Technical College
Job Title: Service Technician
Employer: Stribling Equipment, LLC
Weslie Null has always enjoyed working with her hands, which led her to pursue a career in mechanics. Her father is her main inspiration to enter the mechanical industry. Although she started her mechanical career later than most, this didn’t stop her from pursuing her dream in the male-dominated field.
“I gained a lot of experience through my automotive program while earning my certificate,” Weslie said. “Then, working at a local car dealership gave me even more hands-on training.”
Today, Weslie works for Stribling Equipment, where her responsibilities include checking in rental machines, performing service to prepare them for return to the fleet, repairing engine leaks, or fixing bulldozers that need new undercarriage parts. Besides her tasks, Weslie also assists other technicians with their repairs.
For Weslie, the challenges in her career are what make it rewarding. She admits it can be tough to work on machines she’s still learning about, but the payoff comes when she manages to solve the problem and return the equipment to the customer in better shape than when it arrived.
“What I love most about the job is the team I work with,” Weslie said. “The other technicians and I make a great team and we’re always there to help each other out when needed.”
Although Weslie wishes she had gone to trade school right after high school, she now understands that every decision she made helped shape her into the mechanic she is today. Weslie’s advice for anyone thinking about a career in the mechanical field is simple:
“Go for it. Don’t be afraid if you don’t have experience, your opportunity will come. There’s plenty of work out there and you don’t have to limit yourself to just one thing, like cars.”
MORE ABOUT THE JOB
Education Needed:
Associate Degree
You'll Be Great At This Job Too If...
- Want to learn a skill that not a lot of people know
- Enjoy hands-on work
- Have pursued an after-school part-time job
- Want to jump into a career while learning on the job after graduation
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Mechanical Engineering Technicians
Associate degree | $100,890
Do You Have What it Takes?
Check off the experience you already have...
► Critical Thinker (think about the pros and cons when making decisions)
► Intuition (better sense of your surroundings and how your decisions impact others)
► Creative (enjoy working on school projects)
► Detail-focused (pick apart problems and notice the small details)
High-end earners (top 10%) make
$100,890 Annual
Median wages in Arkansas (top 50%)
$68,730 Annual
Sources: careeronestop.org for Automotive Engineering Technicians in Arkansas
WHERE TO LEARN
- Arkansas State University-Beebe
- Arkansas State University-Newport
- Arkansas State University Mid-South
- Greenway Equipment
- Northwest Technical Institute (NWTI)
- Stribling Equipment, LLC
- Union Pacific Railroad
- University of Arkansas at Monticello College of Technology-McGehee
- University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton
- University of Arkansas Pulaski Technical College
- University of Arkansas-East Arkansas Community College
WHERE TO WORK
- Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation
- Arkansas State University-Beebe
- Greenway Equipment
- McGeorge Contracting
- McKee Foods
- Stribling Equipment, LLC
- Union Pacific Railroad
Sources: careeronestop.org
