My new job - day one.
So my new job… what can I say?
I’m temping for a company that makes batteries for military and commercial use. So big jobs for important contracts. The agency I’m working for had told them I had soldering experience - even though I had specifically told them the last time I had soldered anything had been in school (16 years ago!). The agency told me that was fine. The company, when I turned up Monday morning, said “Um…okay.”
Monday morning went okay. I was put on a welding machine, that isn’t as scary as it sounds, I just had to hold these two little bits of metal in place and press a foot pump. My hands shook for the first couple and I was worried - not use to my hands shaking like that - but I figured I was nervous, it was new and I was being watched. After I’d done the first half a dozen right I was fine and left to get on with it. I was doing that for about five hours - I was ready to tear my hair out, but it was fine (aside from a few loud pops! But that was the machinery’s fault not mine.
In the afternoon we were given our soldering training. I thought yay, at least I’m getting training and how hard can it be? I’m usually good at picking up things like this really quickly. We had a PowerPoint presentation which I aced! (all we had to do was sit there J ) and then came the practical. Stripping the wires came first. The two guys I was training with both had problems. I did it first time. I’d done it before. How hard is it to strip wires using a wirestipper especially made for the job? I thought I had this sewn up.
Because I had done the best on wirestripping (I think ‘pride comes before a fall’ is very relevant here) I was offered first go on the actual soldering.
I flunked. If there’s something that comes under flunked then that is what I did. From the second I picked up the soldering iron my hands started to shake. Now at first I put it down to nerves at going first and then after ten minutes I put it down to being watched going first, but after an hour - after the other two had taken their go and had no problems (at least not a shaking problem) I had to admit I was screwed.
No we’re not talking a little shaking here, or just one hand. That I could have coped with. No. The hand holding the solder was shaking from side to side. The hand holding the soldering iron was shaking up and down. The result was…a mess! Not good. The last test or practical assignment, whatever you want to call it (that the guys both did first time because the earlier tests were enough of a practice run for them) I actually had to step away from because I was starting to audibly tell the wires and solder to “Fuck the hell off you little fucking bitch, for fucks sake!”
Yeah, my supervisor had to tell me to take a time out at that point (and yes she actually said ‘time out’ which kinda made me smile despite how mad I was).
That was pretty much how my first day ended J
Second, third and possibly fourth days tomorrow!