Looking Outside The Shop

IN THE COLD WINTER MONTHS, we crank up the heat and work inside where it is warm. In the summer, we turn on the A/C and work at a comfortable level. We very much enjoy the spring and fall when we work with the doors open, or even outside of the shop. It is great having flexibility! This was my response to the question “Do you work inside or outside?” that was presented to me at a recent career fair.

It’s funny how a day out of the shop—talking about our industry and then listening to others talk about the pros and cons of their career—makes you realize some of the small things that we, at least I, have let slip our minds or have lost focus on recently. Simple things like having different options when it comes to work environment or types of uniform, and how, unlike some folks, most of us work regular 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. days, close to home. This flexibility is unlike, say, truck drivers who may be gone for several days a week.

I feel like this appreciation for other fields and jobs was urged mid-2020, but I think it should be re-energized. That is, thanking people for life sacrifices to help us enjoy ours. The teachers, medical staff, firefighters, and EMTs. We need to thank the lineman who work outside several feet off the ground and who must be ready at a moment’s notice to leave their family and travel to a disaster area. We need construction folks who are subject to all weather conditions.

Sometimes it takes a day outside of the shop to really understand the privileges that we have in this industry and to be more grateful and appreciative of the other jobs and professions that also keep our world turning.