What jobs do you like doing the best?

Ronnie Sullivan · Dec 23, 2018

Out of all the 'trades' electrical engineering has to be the most varied.
You can be designing a new state of the art automated system one day
And fault finding on a 40 year old monstrosity the next.

So what kind of jobs get you out of bed whistling on a morning?

Me, as much as I like new builds, I do love a retro-fit.

I've done 2 recently. One a multi dosing system that was using an old dos computer with multiple circuit boards with miniature relays and IC's (all in the bin now) and an industrial autoclave that had been left to rot for 20 years.

I absolutely loved working out what was what and how to get around it.
Adding as many extra features as you can think of, and shiny new hmi's
This wasn't work, it was unalloyed pleasure.

What's yours?

A_G · Dec 23, 2018

Working on old equipment that is down and getting it up and running again. Or fixing "minor" but inconvenient issues that have been going on for a while. That's how to make a customer really happy.

mendonsy · Dec 23, 2018

Retrofits can certainly be interesting, particularly the ones that have to be done without shutting the system down. They can also be long and tedious for the same reason. After 35 years of doing mostly retrofits my interest is gone.
I have gotten to the point where I would rather do simple little projects that I can build, test, and deliver to the customer as a finished product.

Steve Bailey · Dec 23, 2018

For me its any challenge that forces you to think outside of the box. It could be a successful troubleshooting gig where the customer reaction is "how the hell did you ever figure that out". It could a design gig where you know it would be easy if the budget only allowed you to use ____.

DwSoFt · Dec 23, 2018

Steve Bailey said:
For me its any challenge that forces you to think outside of the box. It could be a successful troubleshooting gig where the customer reaction is "how the hell did you ever figure that out". It could a design gig where you know it would be easy if the budget only allowed you to use ____.

My thoughts exactly

Peter Nachtwey · Dec 23, 2018

Something new and challenging then see it in operation.
Like like simulations and control theory.

JaxGTO · Dec 23, 2018

I like batching jobs. I get a certain satisfaction when they hit the run button and all of these ingredients start metering in at the same time.

NetNathan · Dec 23, 2018

Steve Bailey said:
For me its any challenge that forces you to think outside of the box. It could be a successful troubleshooting gig where the customer reaction is "how the hell did you ever figure that out". It could a design gig where you know it would be easy if the budget only allowed you to use ____.

Agreed..
And retrofits where the customer is delighted that it works so much better.

kalabdel · Dec 23, 2018

Upgrades. Take machine that has been working for certain capacity and increase that by many folds. Or modify a brand new machine that was poorly designed and the manufacturer insisted that the customer was not using the machine the way it was designed and refuse to modify it to meet their needs

.

OkiePC · Dec 25, 2018

I mostly enjoy filling dumpsters with old relays and wire. Demolition is my favorite.

Firejo · Dec 26, 2018

Solving problems by figuring out how its is suppose to work and why it's not. That carries over to several things I've done (Mechanic, Industrial Automation, EMS, etc...). Next to that creating something which again carries over to several areas. Sometimes I will just start "tinkering" in my garage and come up with all kinds of things including what the link shows below. It's the second generation "Sud Gun" with a removable breach that holds a 50,000 volt continuous spark igniter and a 2 liter combustion chamber with a sealed Propane injection system. Rough "guesstimate" on the speed is 512 ft/s or 350 mph.

https://youtu.be/exETrqbtunU

geniusintraining · Dec 26, 2018

Firejo said:
https://youtu.be/exETrqbtunU

Where did it land? I would hate to be your neighbor (or love it)

ganutenator · Dec 26, 2018

troubleshooting

Aabeck · Dec 26, 2018

I like 2 things. Making something new and getting something running that their 'guy' hasn't been able to get fixed.

OkiePC said:
I mostly enjoy filling dumpsters with old relays and wire. Demolition is my favorite.

Guess who's gonna start getting PM's, calls & emails from scrappers wanting you to save the wire, sort it, and package it up for them. I did that once - too much work for me without any benefit, then after the first pick-up he wanted it sorted.

ganutenator · Dec 26, 2018

I did like the feeling when I got called Mr. Magic, by the oil company engineers when I cleaned that shid.

What jobs do you like doing the best?

Ronnie Sullivan

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A_G

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mendonsy

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Steve Bailey

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DwSoFt

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Peter Nachtwey

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JaxGTO

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NetNathan

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kalabdel

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OkiePC

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Firejo

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geniusintraining

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ganutenator

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Aabeck

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ganutenator

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