Unasked For Advice
Finding Your Path
Over the course of years, I have been in a position to give advice to people who are looking for a career. I feel strongly that a career is not just a job that lingers and doesn’t know when to quit – it is a chosen path for your life. It can evolve over time, or even change dramatically, but it should be guided and nurtured. The first step in this is finding your path, your center, your bliss. What will you be excited doing every day for 8 or more hours? What makes you jump up out of your stupor? Do it. Find a way to make that a part of your life. Sometimes it may not pay well, but try to find a way to make it work.
I’ll admit, I was lucky. When I was about 8 years old, I was pulling toys apart to see how they worked. I was in love with my erector set. I found electronics when I was about 11. By 15, I was sure I wanted to be an electrical engineer and that has never varied (except once in school when I was sick of my pre-engineering courses). I had an electronics lab by the time I started college. After hours, I still play with electronic toys.
Of course, I am a realist and know that sometimes you have to work at jobs you don’t really want for, let’s say…food. But you can still build a bigger plan. If plumbing interests you, either take evening courses or apprentice with a local plumber on weekends. Read. Make a plan. Try to be always moving towards the goal of enjoying work. I enjoy the constant learning in engineering, the problem solving and the design and testing process. For other people it can be helping others, manual labor, or a refined set of skills that puts a smile on their face. Do it, do it, do it.
Over the course of years, I have been in a position to give advice to people who are looking for a career. I feel strongly that a career is not just a job that lingers and doesn’t know when to quit – it is a chosen path for your life. It can evolve over time, or even change dramatically, but it should be guided and nurtured. The first step in this is finding your path, your center, your bliss. What will you be excited doing every day for 8 or more hours? What makes you jump up out of your stupor? Do it. Find a way to make that a part of your life. Sometimes it may not pay well, but try to find a way to make it work.
I’ll admit, I was lucky. When I was about 8 years old, I was pulling toys apart to see how they worked. I was in love with my erector set. I found electronics when I was about 11. By 15, I was sure I wanted to be an electrical engineer and that has never varied (except once in school when I was sick of my pre-engineering courses). I had an electronics lab by the time I started college. After hours, I still play with electronic toys.
Of course, I am a realist and know that sometimes you have to work at jobs you don’t really want for, let’s say…food. But you can still build a bigger plan. If plumbing interests you, either take evening courses or apprentice with a local plumber on weekends. Read. Make a plan. Try to be always moving towards the goal of enjoying work. I enjoy the constant learning in engineering, the problem solving and the design and testing process. For other people it can be helping others, manual labor, or a refined set of skills that puts a smile on their face. Do it, do it, do it.
Body Aches
When your body starts complaining, I believe in breaking the cycle. I find there are two main reasons why I get pains (not counting the aging thing). First, my position or grip is just wrong. I was getting wrist pains from typing. I switched to a natural keyboard and they went away. The second is too much of one position. My mouse hand (fingers and arm) were not happy. I taught myself to use a mouse on the left and trackball on the right. My back was aching. I use a kneeling chair most of the time now and when that bothers me I switch back to a regular chair.
I don't do one kind of carving long enough to develop aches - I do glass and both power and hand tool wood carving.
Oh, and for my eyes (I wear bifocals) I have a pair specifically for computer work where the main glass is set for 18" - I use these for hand carving also. I also have prescription safety glasses with the main glass set around the same for power carving and metal working.
Learn how to lift and do it right religiously. A bad back can haunt you worse than that body you sunk in the swamp.
Last advice is when something new starts to complain, don't just 'work through it'. Figure out what is causing it - grip on the tools, too many hours, posture and change it before it becomes a long term problem. I had 6 months of tennis elbow from trying to ignore the early signs.
(growing old is not for wimps but beats all the options)
Engineering Advice
As part of my formative years, I learned the soldering iron orientation the hard way. I was working my way through school as a pinball machine repairman (mostly the old electro-mechanicals but a few with 6800 uP in them). Anyway, the playfield is raised like the hood of a car, I'm on a stool half-way into the machine following wiring diagrams through the timing motor contacts while my pointy haired boss is yammering away in my ear. I found the loose wire, reached up for the iron and ....sssssssssss. I dropped the iron, he looked at me and said maybe he should leave me alone now. (2 minutes
earlier would have been my preference). But y'know, the lesson stuck. I will NEVER forget which end of a soldering iron to grab. And I'm sure all of that hands on work has helped me over the years. Connectors should have cable orientations marked (someone will try to reverse them), you should be able to disassemble without removing everything, beware of mechanical contacts, for they will bite your reliability. Don't trust soldering, especially on a prototype. A good silkscreen will save 10x the time to put the details on it. (label test points, voltages)
Cars, My Spitfire In Particular
Dreams are sometimes not what you expected, especially with Brutish cars. After college I *needed* a convertible so I bought a new 1980 Triumph Spitfire. I babied it. It is one of the great looking cars in the world until the view you see most often is behind a tow truck.
In the 6 years, 60,000 miles I owned it I:
Replaced the tach
replaced the electronic ignition
fuel pump 3 times (last one was an aftermarket electric)
clutch 2 times (I have never had clutches go under 100K miles before or since)
had the suspension rewelded twice
rear spring
unibody split like an egg
rear axle break (didn't even hit a pothole - just got off the highway and it started thumping)
exhaust manifold cracked
One of the synchros was going
Dashboard caught on fire once
Much more but that is all I remember. Oh yeah - took it to a car wash with the hard top on. Water was spraying in everywhere and then it got stuck. It took them awhile to turn off the water and drag me out. I was soaked, the interior was soaked and the manager and I mutually decided to never see each other again.
My two Fiats were much more reliable. I now have 3 MR2s and my road one has 165K miles and it's only complaint is rust and it needs a new clutch.
I've often wondered how it's namesake airplane ever stayed in the air.
To add some on-topic - I took this as a lesson to buy quality, even if it has to be used. Or at least expect a kit if you buy cheap. I have an old Logan 11x24 lathe that is solid as a rock. I did buy an import milling machine because even the small bridgeports would have been tough to get into my basement. It works exceptionally well for the price but it feels like a cheap tool when I use it.
Why do the British prefer warm beer?
Lucas refrigerators.
When your body starts complaining, I believe in breaking the cycle. I find there are two main reasons why I get pains (not counting the aging thing). First, my position or grip is just wrong. I was getting wrist pains from typing. I switched to a natural keyboard and they went away. The second is too much of one position. My mouse hand (fingers and arm) were not happy. I taught myself to use a mouse on the left and trackball on the right. My back was aching. I use a kneeling chair most of the time now and when that bothers me I switch back to a regular chair.
I don't do one kind of carving long enough to develop aches - I do glass and both power and hand tool wood carving.
Oh, and for my eyes (I wear bifocals) I have a pair specifically for computer work where the main glass is set for 18" - I use these for hand carving also. I also have prescription safety glasses with the main glass set around the same for power carving and metal working.
Learn how to lift and do it right religiously. A bad back can haunt you worse than that body you sunk in the swamp.
Last advice is when something new starts to complain, don't just 'work through it'. Figure out what is causing it - grip on the tools, too many hours, posture and change it before it becomes a long term problem. I had 6 months of tennis elbow from trying to ignore the early signs.
(growing old is not for wimps but beats all the options)
Engineering Advice
As part of my formative years, I learned the soldering iron orientation the hard way. I was working my way through school as a pinball machine repairman (mostly the old electro-mechanicals but a few with 6800 uP in them). Anyway, the playfield is raised like the hood of a car, I'm on a stool half-way into the machine following wiring diagrams through the timing motor contacts while my pointy haired boss is yammering away in my ear. I found the loose wire, reached up for the iron and ....sssssssssss. I dropped the iron, he looked at me and said maybe he should leave me alone now. (2 minutes
earlier would have been my preference). But y'know, the lesson stuck. I will NEVER forget which end of a soldering iron to grab. And I'm sure all of that hands on work has helped me over the years. Connectors should have cable orientations marked (someone will try to reverse them), you should be able to disassemble without removing everything, beware of mechanical contacts, for they will bite your reliability. Don't trust soldering, especially on a prototype. A good silkscreen will save 10x the time to put the details on it. (label test points, voltages)
Cars, My Spitfire In Particular
Dreams are sometimes not what you expected, especially with Brutish cars. After college I *needed* a convertible so I bought a new 1980 Triumph Spitfire. I babied it. It is one of the great looking cars in the world until the view you see most often is behind a tow truck.
In the 6 years, 60,000 miles I owned it I:
Replaced the tach
replaced the electronic ignition
fuel pump 3 times (last one was an aftermarket electric)
clutch 2 times (I have never had clutches go under 100K miles before or since)
had the suspension rewelded twice
rear spring
unibody split like an egg
rear axle break (didn't even hit a pothole - just got off the highway and it started thumping)
exhaust manifold cracked
One of the synchros was going
Dashboard caught on fire once
Much more but that is all I remember. Oh yeah - took it to a car wash with the hard top on. Water was spraying in everywhere and then it got stuck. It took them awhile to turn off the water and drag me out. I was soaked, the interior was soaked and the manager and I mutually decided to never see each other again.
My two Fiats were much more reliable. I now have 3 MR2s and my road one has 165K miles and it's only complaint is rust and it needs a new clutch.
I've often wondered how it's namesake airplane ever stayed in the air.
To add some on-topic - I took this as a lesson to buy quality, even if it has to be used. Or at least expect a kit if you buy cheap. I have an old Logan 11x24 lathe that is solid as a rock. I did buy an import milling machine because even the small bridgeports would have been tough to get into my basement. It works exceptionally well for the price but it feels like a cheap tool when I use it.
Why do the British prefer warm beer?
Lucas refrigerators.