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HAY RIVER - It's a scary thing to make a gut decision, given all the unforeseeable effects that may result. It could go either way.

In October of 2007, Misty Sabourin of Hay River had to make an important career choice.

Misty Sabourin of Hay River proudly shows off her BHP Billiton pin. After taking a course with the NWT Mine Training Society, Sabourin eventually nabbed a position as a millwright apprentice. - Guy Quenneville/NNSL photo

She took the plunge - she trusted her instincts - and time has proven her instincts were right. In her mind, there was never a doubt things would work out.

Sabourin, 23, is a millwright apprentice at BHP Billiton's Ekati diamond mine. But less than two years ago, she was on an entirely different path.

"I was actually in the nursing access course at Aurora College. I finished my first year," said Sabourin.

But she eventually decided nursing wasn't for her.

"It's so sad at those hospitals," she said. "I just don't think I could deal with that stuff. So I found that nursing wasn't for me."

A lifelong fascination with the Yellowknife diamond mines led her to take the Mineral Processing Operator Training program, administered by the NWT Mine Training Society and taught by staff the Aurora College.

"I always wanted to get into the mines my whole life, just to experience them," she said. "My auntie was in it. She was a training co-ordinator at BHP. Some of my friends were in.

"They got to come out of it and go travel. I was like, 'Oh, I want to do that.'"

The course was split in two parts: a 12-week class component in Yellowknife, followed by three months of on-the-job training at Ekati, where Sabourin distinguished herself among her classmates. She received an immediate job offer upon completion of the training as a production assistant inside the Ekati diamond mine's process plant.

"There were 14 of us (doing the training)," said Sabourin. "They could only pick five out of the 14 to actually get a full-time job. On our last day, they said, 'you're coming back.'"

As a production assistant, Sabourin's job was to make sure the plant was running smoothly.

"It's huge, huge, huge," she said of the plant. "If there's something wrong with the idlers or the belt, if you notice anything, you have to call the control room."

The immense plant also offered plenty of opportunities to stretch her legs.

"It's good because there's so many stairs. You have to go from one end to another," she said.

She quickly got bored with that position. One day, on a BHP monitor advertising available job opportunities, she spied a post for a millwright apprentice and jumped at it.

Rather than merely observe, she now gets to get her hands dirty.

"I love it," she said. "You fix everything. You use tools to fix pumps and the conveyors. Now the operators call me."

In her new position, she's distinguished herself yet again.

"I'm the only girl on my crew, too," she said. Not that that's a problem. "The crew is awesome."

With an additional 1,000 hours of training and four years of schooling as an apprentice, Sabourin will ultimately obtain her red seal journeyman ticket.

"I'll have my ticket by the time I'm 27," she said.

For now, she's enjoying the perks that come with having every two weeks off, as part of the rotational work schedule at BHP.

"I bought a car in August - a 2008 Chevy. I love having a car. I don't know how I went without it before. Now I feel so free."