All about the new job

I wanted to wait on commenting on my newly found job until after I had worked there for a week. This way, that rosy tinted feeling of getting a new job wouldn't color my feelings and thoughts on the way I felt about working for this new company. So, what do I have to say?

First, a bit of background. This company makes prototypes and small run products for many big name defense contractors. Unfortunately, because of these same clients, I am not at liberty to say much more. I can, however, speak of my experiences while working for this company.

After working the week, I can say that some of the things I have learned to do and the machinery that I am working with is fascinating. I guess it's that same feeling little boys have when watching some mechanical toy do something all on its own. Since this job is something I have never done before, I find every thing I do to be interesting. There is no tired feeling of having done this process before for too long a time.

Some things that I am doing, they make me feel like I am a wash woman living in the 19th century when washing clothes had to be done by hand. I've found myself scrubbing certain parts in a slop sink with a hand brush and then rinsing them off before hanging them out to dry. I get a quiet chuckle over the thought of myself wearing a plastic apron, standing in front of that sink, scrubbing away.

At other moments, I feel like I am in a high speed photo development lab as I walk into a room very similar to a dark room with thousands of film masks that are exposed with a high intensity light, then putting the exposed "film" onto a conveyor belt where it is developed. This machine runs various chemicals onto these parts before rinsing them off. Watching the parts moving through the little port holes in the side of the machine is still somewhat novel to me. If I didn't have to catch the parts at the other end of the conveyor belt, I'd probably stand there staring into those little windows.

Some things that I've learned about include the difference between the "ideal" product and what the product is in reality. Part of that learning process has brought home that I haven't learned enough about the exponential increase in costs as part of producing perfect (precise would probably be a better word) products. I suppose that if I were the engineer designing this product, I would be upset with the number of ways the parts can get contaminated or damaged during the production process until I remind myself that these are merely prototypes. So long as these prototypes do what is expected, the production versions will be designed to work around those remaining issues.

As I said earlier, we produce prototypes, which means that I work with a lot of industrial chemicals. Sulfuric acid (think battery acid) and hydrochloric acid (think highly concentrated bleach) for the most part. I've already discovered how corrosive these acids are after finding a hole in my protective glove that I wear while dipping parts into the vat of acid. I caught it soon enough that it only attacked the outer layer of skin on several fingers. I found it amusing (after washing and scrubbing my entire hand down) that the acids worked just as well as an exfoliant. Then again, I am not sure I would want hydrochloric acid on my face or anywhere else for that matter.

In all, it appears to be an interesting and dangerous work environment that I find myself in. I am learning new things and still finding new items to be impressed about. Best of all, I will know more about being an engineer by working this job than I would ever learn in the classroom.