I Used To Look Like That?
Here is a collection of links to do it yourself (DIY) projects, hobbies, crafts, fix-its, professional industrial plant maintenance resources, some research I am doing for work and other such general mayhem. Enjoy!
Speaking of work...
I guess I should give a little background on myself for those who are interested.
I've always had a fascination with computers, robotics, artificial intelligence and the like. In High School I took courses in Computer Maintenance for which I won the Ann Brannon award. Afterwards I attended I.T.T. Technical Institute here in Arlington, Texas and a few years thereafter I was hired as an employee by American Airlines. I started at the very bottom, literally sweeping the floors, but the benefits were better than any job I had held before even if the pay wasn't. After about 13 months I upgraded to a higher position as a Utility Man Plant Maintenance Facilities Services which I held until 1996. In April of 1996 I became a Plant Maintenance Man in the Automotive Department at DFW Airport.
Since my best friend Layne Bush and I used to tinker extensively with old muscle cars as teenagers and often helped out at his step-father's transmission shop while we were in High School together the test for this position was not too difficult to pass. I also tested for the facilities position that year but although I did have a background in electronics I didn't have enough general industrial, hydraulic and other knowledge at that time to pass the test in it's entirety. I worked in the Automotive Department at DFW until shortly after disaster hit on September 11th, 2001. By October 13th of that year I was working in the Auto Shop at HDQ after a short detour through Tulsa, Oklahoma. I worked there for about 6 months and bid into a Facilities Maintenance Plant Maintenance Man position in the spring of 2002 where I have been working ever since.
Upon transferring to HDQ I found the co-workers overall (with a few exceptions) easier to work with and much more willing to help out those of us trying to learn more. I used to have dreams of upgrading but after some past experiences in those endeavors I reluctantly gave that dream up. I got tired of bashing my head against a brick wall. When I first arrived at HDQ I was inspired and began studying the systems in place at work, brushing up on my old training manuals from school and gathering technical specifications and data sheets on as much equipment as I could in an effort to teach myself about the equipment around me. Those efforts unfortunately bore no fruit for me. There was talk of an apprenticeship program in the works which would allow PMM employees the ability to upgrade to full mechanics but it never happened. If in 1996 I had gone to Fleet Service to work as a baggage handler (a position that requires no previous experience and only a high school diploma or equivalent and a driver's license) I would today be making at a minimum $2 per hour more than I do now but likely more because I would have been able to bid a crew chief position making (I think) another $1.70 per hour more on top of that plus abundant overtime availablity. In retrospect, taking a Plant Maintenance Man position was a huge mistake but it's too late to go back and change that now.
American Airlines has been a stable company to work for over the past 18 plus years but there are no guarantees for what the future holds. Opportunities, in my department at least, seem to be based more on how well connected you are or whether your demographic profile helps them diversify their workforce than your experience, work record or years of service. The only way to ensure survival in the world is to arm yourself with knowledge. Use every opportunity to learn skills which can make you valuable in the marketplace. You never know when you might need them. It's too easy to become complacent about a job that has always been there in the past. Always prepare for the worst, that way any surprises that come your way will more likely be pleasant ones.
These days, I come in, punch the clock, go to the crew room and hang around awhile. Usually somebody calls on the phone or radio and says go do some stuff. So I go do the stuff then after about 8 hours of that I clock out and go home. After nearly 19 years there they tell me I am not qualified to upgrade to a higher position but I watch the kids of other, well connected people, get all kinds of breaks. Needless to say, this has soured my attitude regarding my work. But I have too many years invested, a pension and everything else to start over now. Especially with a family to support and other obligations to meet. I hate that I feel that way but I have no idea how else to feel about the things I have experienced these past several years. There's more to it, a lot more, but this isn't the time and place for it.
So I find fulfillment through other areas of my life...
- Troy Young
