I'm sinking..
So today was a long day that did not really have to be one. I am used to being thrown into the water to see if I can swim, but it's tough when you realize you are barely treading water. I think I need to take a course at work to show me how to actually use a robot. Most industrial robots have a teach pendant, basically a keyboard and screen all-in-one, that I still have to learn how to use (I think). My job is really to make our robots work for whatever customer wants to use it, wherever they want to use it. To simplify this, I have to make the printer (robot) work with the Mac (Ford assembly line), the Dell (GM assembly line), or etc.. This requires a little bit of research, design, lots of AutoCAD, and usually a fair amount of copying (they all really want the same thing, usually just with different parts).
What I am really beginning to wonder is if I am going to be expected to debug and test some of the stuff I design (I know, I'm a whiner). Problem is I am not an electrician, and my last job was designing for GM. Rule #1 from working in a GM plant is "don't touch nothin, cuz you is a contractor" (pretty close to a scab in any union member's eyes). Rule #2 is find out from your GM superior what you can touch, and then carefully figure out what might tick off the guys your working with (because you always should have a shadow=real electrician). So it's a little weird coming into an environment where it is sometimes expected for you to do everything yourself. This is even more difficult for me to understand because we also employ installation engineers, the hands-on guys, who I am helping when they have problems with my designs.
The worst part is I had help today, because I am still learning things, but my help is not a part of my group anymore. My friend Cal helped get me into the company, and was basically my boss for the first couple of months. But he switched groups, and is now not supposed to work on any of the stuff I am doing (i.e. he has been "talked to" about it). The biggest problem is most of the stuff I am working on now are his designs, or based on designs he started, so he's the best obvious source of help.
So my real dilemma is how to get help from Cal without putting his butt in the wringer, because he's overworked as it is. My solution will probably be to get help from other sources, unless Cal is the only source.
Whew, that little one banging on my spine with his axe must have found a french fry to gnaw on (they are easily distracted by food, especially if alcohol is involved).
What I am really beginning to wonder is if I am going to be expected to debug and test some of the stuff I design (I know, I'm a whiner). Problem is I am not an electrician, and my last job was designing for GM. Rule #1 from working in a GM plant is "don't touch nothin, cuz you is a contractor" (pretty close to a scab in any union member's eyes). Rule #2 is find out from your GM superior what you can touch, and then carefully figure out what might tick off the guys your working with (because you always should have a shadow=real electrician). So it's a little weird coming into an environment where it is sometimes expected for you to do everything yourself. This is even more difficult for me to understand because we also employ installation engineers, the hands-on guys, who I am helping when they have problems with my designs.
The worst part is I had help today, because I am still learning things, but my help is not a part of my group anymore. My friend Cal helped get me into the company, and was basically my boss for the first couple of months. But he switched groups, and is now not supposed to work on any of the stuff I am doing (i.e. he has been "talked to" about it). The biggest problem is most of the stuff I am working on now are his designs, or based on designs he started, so he's the best obvious source of help.
So my real dilemma is how to get help from Cal without putting his butt in the wringer, because he's overworked as it is. My solution will probably be to get help from other sources, unless Cal is the only source.
Whew, that little one banging on my spine with his axe must have found a french fry to gnaw on (they are easily distracted by food, especially if alcohol is involved).