Career Decision

This post may read a little like a resume… sorry thats not intended but at the same time it’s unavoidable.

I’ve been an Electrician for nearly 25 years. In all that time I could never see myself doing anything else. I’ve taken numerous classes in relation to Electrical Engineering from troubleshooting to programming. I was a Maintenance Manager in Ohio. I was Chief Electrician on a new Albertson’s grocery store in Dallas Texas. I installed new chandeliers in a ballroom in a downtown Memphis hotel. I went to Wisconsin to teach a robot how to weld then took it apart and rebuilt it in Ohio…. in 3 weeks. I really don’t think I could have chosen a career more suited to my way of thinking. Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? I have been searching for the answers to those questions in the electrical field for a long time. But now…

I have been doing a job on the side lately laying custom tile. And to be honest with you, I enjoy it more than my real job. I’ve always been the type that loves to put puzzles together. I won’t even get one out unless I have the time to put it together because I won’t stop until it is finished. With that in mind, to me, tile is like a puzzle only a little better. It’s bigger and I get to make the pieces fit. I like being creative and tile certainly is a good outlet for creativity. As compared to electricity tile work is a no-brainer. Once the pattern is started there really isn’t a whole lot of thinking involved. I actually like that for a change. 25 years of going from one electrical emergency to the next kind of has a way of frying the circuits if you know what I mean. Two aspects of laying tile that appeal to me, simplicity and the finished product. Looking back over a tile job and thinking it will be there for generations to see. Pride and craftsmanship vs fix it and move on…

Maybe it’s time for a career change.