Thread

1. alexpotato · 1791117882 · focus · HN ↗

   I've done manual labor in both construction and at a lumber mill.

   Invariably, the following happened:

   - I was given grunt work as a I was the new/junior guy

   - Did this for about 1.5 weeks

   - After the above, someone (usually the owner's wife) would say something like: "Instead of Alex doing grunt work, why doesn't he helps us <fix technology thing>"

   And that ranged from "order us a new computer" to "fix the North American Controls lumber sorter machine".

   My point is: Being able to solve complex problems is a surprisingly transferable skill. It's so transferable that even in the trades, if you can solve those problems, people will identify it and rapidly move you to the most complex problems they have.

   1. bix6 · 1791120880 · focus · HN ↗

      Ok but now you’re not actually doing the trade work. When I was a machinist, if someone asked me to fix their computer, I’m no longer a machinist. And you can’t just become a machinist because you can solve complex problems, you need specific training.

      1. nine_k · 1791128837 · focus · HN ↗

         Producing something like a turner's cube or a captive nut requires skills. Coming up with a way to produce them requires an ability to solve complex problems and think in non-obvious ways. But these are well-known puzzle objects. Being able to produce something tricky but novel, applicable to a problem at hand, definitely sets apart a high-class machinist.

         1. [deleted] · 1791129667 · focus · HN ↗

            [deleted]

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