 He graduated in 1889 with a specialization in electricity, and did field work working on electric plants in Cuba, Mexico, and throughout the U.S. Back in New York City he worked for both St. George's Trade School and the New York Trade School.His reputation there brought him to the attention of Andrew Carnegie, who was looking for leadership for his new educational venture in Pittsburgh.Carnegie and William H. Frew, chairman of the Board of Trustees of The Carnegie Institute and Carnegie's lawyer in Pittsburgh, hired Hamerschlag in 1903 as the first director of the fledgling Carnegie Technical Schools, as the project was first called.