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So you think you could be an electrician?

456 points · 414 comments · zdw

  1. alexpotato · · 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. idiotsecant · · focus · HN ↗
      'The IT guy who thought he could fix the 3 million dollar sortation skid' is such a common trope amount people who actually know what they're doing that it's funny to see you casually drop it here as evidence of ... I'm not sure what.
      1. zippyman55 · · focus · HN ↗
        Just had a dedicated 120v 20 A circuit installed. I was clear that I worked on complex systems but fully respected what a trade person could do. It’s easy to look at his work after the fact and say “I could have done that” but it’s fully to code and wife is happy. Now on to my plumbing issue. I’m calling a plumber.
        1. econ · · focus · HN ↗
          If you scratch the wire while pealing of the insulation it looks the same now but it might burn down the house later.

          Edit: or more fun, if you twist the end of a flexible wire (so that you can stick it into a clamp easier) the little threads cut each other while tightening it and wiggling the cable breaks them. It's like a person can stand on your hand without pain but if you cross your fingers first....

          1. [deleted] · · focus · HN ↗

            [deleted]

          2. contingencies · · focus · HN ↗
            While true the right solution is not "invent 100 different wire termination methods including disparate crimping solutions each with disparate crimping tools" and yet that's what we have... each of which is a pain to source, and generally expensive. It's no wonder there are errors. Do not under any circumstances design a new bare wire crimp, termination or connector standard.
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