PMEL vs the other AFSC’s

[docbyers]

I worked for Dennis Huff when I was in Wyoming, all-around good guy, K6 super-tech, and a very good wrench when it came to automobiles.  This talent garnered him a part-time job managing the auto hobby shop on base in the evenings.

I was swapping an old engine for a new one in my Volkswagen one evening, when I witnessed some USAF security policeman working on a nice car that just refused to run.  Despite his best efforts, his pride and joy refused to start.  Frustrated and out of patience, he yelled out "If someone would give me $500 bucks for this piece of $hit, it'd be theirs!!"  Dennis walks up, hands the guy $500, the cop signs over the title, and storms out in a fuming rage...  After his departure, Dennis would make some minor adjustment, get in the car, and start it right up.  Then he'd sell it for $2,000 or so...

The analytical, problem-solving skills we accrue in the labs over time trickles in to other areas of our lives; simple things like programming a VCR, changing a light switch, installing a GFCI outlet, even fixing cars, these are made possible by our training, experience, and over-all knowledge base we acquire by working in the calibration field.  Oh sure, a lot of us learned about cars from our dads or brothers, but isn't it handy to buy a new stereo for the pickup and install it yourself?

I pity a lot of other AFSC's who don't get many "life skills" out of their jobs.  My cousin was an Army combat engineer; not a lot of call for that skill-set in the civilian world...

[MIRCS]

Please don't use the word Analytical cause I am in Micro Balance and HPLC/GC hell right now.....................why does it always seem that it is Monday cleverly disquised as Friday??

I agree 110% with ya Doc.

[clacoste]

Doc (and as MIRCS confirmed),

Bloody good post!  This topic has been bothering me for a long time.  Like you all, I consider myself reasonably versatile and skilled.  Happy to take on any of life's challenges.  PMEL was a blessing that gave us the depth and skills to solve almost anything.  So, here at a university where I work, surrounded by brilliant scientists and researchers (some of them world-class)...I get questions like..how to connect to the internet at home, switch my TV to the VCR output, initialize my GPS, make my Mrs. smile while I put the airplane in the hanger, etc. etc...

Honestly, it does make you wonder how people could be so non-functional.  I go home and tune-up the Neon, install a new sink, hook up an antenna booster, and don't  miss a beat.  I think a lot of us had those inate skills before we joined the PMEL world (and it's probably why we were selected to join it).  But now, having worked in the field, we can handle almost anything that comes our way......Others flounder...

PMEL was the smartest thing I ever did...after the Marine Corps...

[docbyers]

Tell us more about the airplane thing...