Lessons from my first week running the robot at work
I've been running the robot at work all week. I love it because I'm learning. Here's a few things I've taken from the process as I grow.
Robots shouldn't keep you from working hard.
The robot makes things faster. I'm still putting in effort, which is good. The same effort gives more production than I would making the product by hand. I suppose that's the entire point, huh?It's more mental strain than hand welding.
Welding is a very relaxing process. Pushing buttons on a screen when the machine dies doing what it did perfectly just three minutes before is not relaxing.If you want people to hate you, love your work and do a damn good job of it.
The department I'm working in is being outsourced. There's more than a few folks in the department that think that's a good reason to decrease production. Maybe it's that I do my own small business for profit, but I consider it immoral to intentionally not work at capacity when someone pays you damn good money for production. On the bright side, I think my boss likes me a bit more now that I'm putting in some effort in the new work space.
And all that from the first week? I sure am glad I started on that robot. Doors are opening and I love it. Maybe this will turn into something.
Y'all stay relevant and productive.
Nate.
P.S.
IDK if anyone reads these things. I don't particularly care about upvotes, though I certainly won't turn them down, but what I really want is productive discussion! If you have something to add, speak up! That's the point of this place.
I actually know the feeling. I work in the transportation industry in a leadership position.
When i question another leader on why they do something tyat clearly isnt the efficient way to do it, nor provides optium coverage for a customer, they get their panties im a wad.
They cut corners, and customers suffer.
All they care about is getting done and going home.
They could really be stellar by doing things that have the greatest impact on customer service.
Same kinda stuff here. Today was my refresher course in workplace politics. I hate workplace politics lol
If it can be automated or replaced, it will be job wise in the very near future. Smart people will have to make sure their skills and expertise are in areas that cannot be automated or replaced. I tell my children to learn at least two languages, a trade, AND a profession in addition to economics.
That's badass advice! I'm working on making a little toy robot to play with and learn, and I'm getting my oldest son on board with it too. Hes super excited. I'm a welder by trade, so my kids are being brought up around trades.
Trying to get the wife on board with robots to help out around the house too. The less time she spends on tasks that can be automated, the more time she can spend doing fun stuff and making even more memories with the kids.
And of course, the more robot stuff I get to do, the more projects I have. And maybe one will make some money and pay itself off.
I work with a previous welder. In high school, I took a welding course. What guy doesn't like cutting steel with fire and electricity?! Welding... Unfortunately, I believe that is going to fall into the "will be replaced by a robot" one day soon category. Sure, there will still be human welders, but they will be vastly outnumbered by machines that do it instead.
Have you considered doing electronics? The end goal being to be the robot repairer as well as the robot controller. My father is a mechanic by trade, but he spent 31 years doing machinist stuff. Almost everything he did though was interacting with a computer, and then a machine did the work. He was a "machine operator" I would say. Having his background skills though helped him a ton, and he even designed and built some of the tools they use still today.
My oldest son is another example. He wants to do electrical engineering, but I keep telling him to learn electronics as well. The two work well together. Have you ever played a video game where you need foundational skills before you can move on to more complex ones? We are the same way IRL of course. I'm working on my physical security skills and read every residential security book I can get my hands on.
Those skills benefit from my past experiences though. You're in the same situation. Build on your past skills into things that make the most sense and that you're also passionate about! :)
I'm a residential security expert. For that reason I'm pretty biased against all types of home automation, monitoring, and other devices like the robots and "smart" appliances. They spy. Many of them can be hacked into too. I don't recommend them to people, and most of them are expensive doodads anyway. Save your money for vacations instead. haha My wife for example insists on using a vacuum to clean the hardwood floors. Uhm, dear... There's this thing called a broom, and it doesn't cost electricity. /sigh