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PDU
travel kid vs.amerika



Registered: 12/03/02
Posts: 10,675
Loc: beautiful BC
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Struggling with trade school - almost done.
#10649339 - 07/09/09 07:40 PM (14 years, 7 months ago) |
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Pretty much posting this just to get it off my chest, maybe looking for some words of support or advice if anyone's been through something similar.
Basically, i enrolled in foundations level Welding at the local university, on a whim, Certainly not out of passion, but hoping to obtain a decent paying and interesting job when out of school. A good skill and something to fall back on, if you will, while i figure things out. Ultimately, going to school has kept me out of trouble and let me re-evaluate the direction i want to go in life.... (id like to go to community college and university) but i'd still like to weld for a couple years and become a journeyman.
All nice and good, but for the life of me, after nearly 6 months i can hardly weld.
I am graded exclusively on written exams, and am in the top end of the class. But the practical aspects (which is what matters) - i pass, eventually, after doing and re-doing, but i've yet to become intuitive and am VERY inconsistent. Luck has as much to do with passing a practical as much as ability.
Needless to say - i went into this with the mindset "i can do anything i put my mind to." It has been a rude awakening to put so much effort into something and still struggle.
I am there on time everyday, apply myself more than most students, and go in on extra days the shop is open...
I have 5 weeks to go, and am about 2 weeks behind. We just started a new process (mig welding) just when i was getting comfortable with stick... So as of today, i am in a whole new world of frustration. :S
Ill pass, and ill have a high grade and good reference, but i still feel incompetent and unprepared for industry.
Just waiting for a day when it "clicks" and it all makes sense, and every time i strike an arc, everything goes perfect.
Right now, i feel like blowing out my brains. like "whats the point."
Sucks failing when you try really hard.
Maybe it'll all come together if i can find someone decent to apprentice to me when all is said and done.
*shrugs*
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Wizard_of_Odds
slumdawg 'illionaire

Registered: 06/14/09
Posts: 638
Last seen: 14 years, 6 months
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Re: Struggling with trade school - almost done. [Re: PDU]
#10649387 - 07/09/09 07:48 PM (14 years, 7 months ago) |
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I'm sure you will be fine.
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SuperD
Cacti junky



Registered: 10/05/03
Posts: 6,648
Loc: The bridgesii bridge
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Re: Struggling with trade school - almost done. [Re: Wizard_of_Odds]
#10649473 - 07/09/09 08:01 PM (14 years, 7 months ago) |
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Even if it's not your main passion, as long as you have motivation whether it be monetary or otherwise, I think you'll be ok. Have you asked the instructor for some help after class?
I meant to reply to OP, not you Wiz.
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   D Manoa said: I need to stop spending all my money on plants and take up a cheaper hobby, like heroin. Looking for Rauhocereus riosaniensis seeds or live specimen(s), me if you have any for trade
Edited by SuperD (07/09/09 08:01 PM)
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PDU
travel kid vs.amerika



Registered: 12/03/02
Posts: 10,675
Loc: beautiful BC
Last seen: 8 years, 5 months
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Re: Struggling with trade school - almost done. [Re: SuperD]
#10649559 - 07/09/09 08:14 PM (14 years, 7 months ago) |
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Tommorow i am going in and it'll be just me, or maybe 1 or 2 other students, and the teacher wants to help me figure things out.
Its been an issue, asking for help. My first teacher didn't know how to explain what to do, and my new teacher isn't around much/doesn't offer me demo's. I really need to be more organized, prep and set up a weld and ask for a demo, for every position...
When i get really frustrated everything just goes to shit. I get so angry... (which is normal... the teacher said we'd be pulling out our hair by the end of the class.) - its unfortunate to watch the other kids (mostly farmer types) move on and on, while i am struggling.
Im sure its just a matter of time and experience before everyone that applies themselves becomes a master welder. Its mostly not being able to meet deadlines which is hindering my progress and making me feel incompetent. - i've been beginning to think there is something inherently wrong with me (too left brained, or right brained, or whatever.) - i think this sense of "im fucked, this is hopeless" has devestated me the past couple weeks.
Id certainly be fitting in much better in a science or arts class!
For my own reference i am going to build a list of things which i think would help me.
-my progress will advance much quicker if i seek exact instructions from my teacher or peers in every new practical. (dont try and figure shit out yourself!) -calm down, take a break, dont stress out. -observe others strategies and techniques. -what went wrong? how can i solve it?
um....
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Wizard_of_Odds
slumdawg 'illionaire

Registered: 06/14/09
Posts: 638
Last seen: 14 years, 6 months
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Re: Struggling with trade school - almost done. [Re: PDU]
#10649716 - 07/09/09 08:43 PM (14 years, 7 months ago) |
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Do you know any welders outside of class?
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PDU
travel kid vs.amerika



Registered: 12/03/02
Posts: 10,675
Loc: beautiful BC
Last seen: 8 years, 5 months
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Re: Struggling with trade school - almost done. [Re: Wizard_of_Odds]
#10650631 - 07/09/09 11:37 PM (14 years, 7 months ago) |
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My uncle actually. Depending on my luck in industry, i might resort to learning under him.
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Booby
Agent Mulder

Registered: 09/14/05
Posts: 3,781
Last seen: 14 years, 2 months
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Re: Struggling with trade school - almost done. [Re: PDU]
#10651413 - 07/10/09 03:35 AM (14 years, 7 months ago) |
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Maybe once you're accredited you could implement your knowledge in the management side of the welding field.
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badchad
Mad Scientist

Registered: 03/02/05
Posts: 13,373
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Re: Struggling with trade school - almost done. [Re: Booby]
#10651592 - 07/10/09 06:40 AM (14 years, 7 months ago) |
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Honestly, you've been at this "6 months"? Really, thats no time at all. A lot of skilled trades/jobs/careers take years to learn (literally).
Keep at it and give it time.
-------------------- ...the whole experience is (and is as) a profound piece of knowledge. It is an indellible experience; it is forever known. I have known myself in a way I doubt I would have ever occurred except as it did. Smith, P. Bull. Menninger Clinic (1959) 23:20-27; p. 27. ...most subjects find the experience valuable, some find it frightening, and many say that is it uniquely lovely. Osmond, H. Annals, NY Acad Science (1957) 66:418-434; p.436
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PDU
travel kid vs.amerika



Registered: 12/03/02
Posts: 10,675
Loc: beautiful BC
Last seen: 8 years, 5 months
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Re: Struggling with trade school - almost done. [Re: badchad]
#10655768 - 07/11/09 12:39 AM (14 years, 7 months ago) |
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Thanks for the responses everyone. As generalized as something like "im sure you'll do fine" is, it helped alot.
I had a bit of a one on one with my teacher today, and he just told me to slow down and think about what im doing wrong and relax and focus on what needs to be done and strategies for achieving it.
It seemed to work, i had a relatively good day after i got going. This new process (mig welding) will hopefully be a breeze now that i've got the basics done.
I suppose im not that far behind.
I feel like some weight has been lifted off my shoulders.
This thread FTW!
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Anonymous #1
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Re: Struggling with trade school - almost done. [Re: PDU]
#10657219 - 07/11/09 09:55 AM (14 years, 7 months ago) |
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I hear you man. I am currently in the first year of a trade apprenticeship program and I am not doing very well.
Some of my fellow apprentices look like they aren't too far removed from cavemen. I'll bet that their average IQ is about thirty points lower than my own. If one were to attempt to discuss literature or politics with them they would give you a glassy-eyed and blank stare. But, tell them to tear apart an engine and they can do it in ten minutes. It's because they grew up doing stuff with their hands. They worked on cars, welded, and built stuff with their fathers. I didn't do any of that stuff.
So, they pick things up with ease as I struggle. I fumble about with my tools and take twice as long to do tasks that they zip through. It is frustrating to say the least. I should have just finished college. I didn't really like it that much, but I was much more at home there. Instead I get dirty at construction sites and listen to my fellow workers with their terrible grammar, crude jokes, and curt comments toward me as I stumble through yet another bumbled task.
Edited by Anonymous (07/11/09 12:22 PM)
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PDU
travel kid vs.amerika



Registered: 12/03/02
Posts: 10,675
Loc: beautiful BC
Last seen: 8 years, 5 months
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Re: Struggling with trade school - almost done. [Re: Anonymous #1]
#10657374 - 07/11/09 10:42 AM (14 years, 7 months ago) |
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So i am not alone. Thank god!
Exact same scenerio for me.
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