Work as a Junior Engineer

I mentioned in my last blog post that I have started a position as a "Junior Engineer". I did not seek this position out. My wife found it in online Classifieds and sent it to me, about two or three weeks after I cynically applied to about a dozen places to satisfy the terms of applying for unemployment deferment for student loans. (I don't like doing that, because I don't particularly want to work full time, and I don't even know if I can even work full time at this point, but every time I apply, I ask myself "if the job is offered, would I take it and give it my best shot?" and so long as I answer "yes", I figure it's just cynicism and not dishonesty.) I applied as a lark because the position seemed interesting, and I figured that because I lacked a mechanical engineering degree, I wouldn't be offered anything anyway.

In the course of about two weeks, I went through a quick interview process that ended with me being hired!

What the heck am I doing there? As I said before, I applied on a lark not expecting to get this position, so I don't know. My employer, however, thought that between my mathematical background, my tinkering with 3D graphics and CAD, and my software engineering experience, it should be enough for me to take on some of his clients' projects so that he could focus more of his own time on preparing a drone for DARPA. So far at least, he's been right! Right now, I'm working on a project to try to push the limits of physics to figure out if we could recreate a free energy device that the client was convinced he created a couple of decades ago.

What have I learned so far? I really, really, really like 3D printing! I have also learned how to program ESP32 microcontrollers -- which has also reinforced my irritation with C and C++. I have proven to myself I can use CAD programs just fine, although probably in ways that make mechanical engineers cringe -- and although I appreciate OnShape, it reinforces to myself that maybe I can do better. I have learned (from listening to discussions about a coworker's project) that ABS plastic isn't food safe -- which explains why I felt so sick that one time I ate a bowl of Legos. And I have learned I can really, really really enjoy my work ... but still be completely miserable! I have also learned how much time I've been spending on both chores and getting my children to do their chores (mostly by how much chores have just pretty much stopped when I started working full time) -- and thus, if I want to do more of my own things, I need to find ways to get my children to do more chores, and to encourage them to do things on their own accord.

How long can this last? I don't know. My employer will be moving soon, and as much as I'd like to follow him, I don't think I could justify it when I'm only making $20/hour and it would be disruptive for the rest of my family. What's worse, however, is that full-time work completely drains my energy. Unless I can figure out how to work full-time (or whether I need to cut back on hours) and still sleep when I need to, work on my own things, I cannot help but worry that I am going to run myself into the ground.

Free energy, seriously? Isn't that a waste of time? It probably is, but I figure that between the tiny possibility that the client might be right about this, and all the microcontroller and 3D CAD work I've been learning, and the cynical fact that someone is willing to pay for this, even if the task ultimately proves unfruitful, I cannot help but appreciate the opportunity!