When I was 20, I spent a summer working as a maid, cleaning houses.
The hours were long, the pay was terrible, half the day was spent in traffic, and the work was frequently unappreciated by our clients.
But the job did have one excellent benefit: I learned a lot about cleaning houses and commercial spaces, skills that have paid dividends for the last two decades by allowing me to maintain a clean and healthy home. Every time I dust, I remember to start with the ceiling fan and work my way down the walls. I know steel wool does wonders for old bathtub soap scum. And I know that cinnamon covers any odor.
So, as I struggle to find a new job in my field of public service after losing my position last year, I remembered how unusual skills and non-traditional career paths have helped me in the past. That’s why when my engineer friend offered me a gig assembling electronic parts, I jumped at the chance.
I’m learning to read a BOM
Before this job, the only machine I regularly operated was the office printer. But in the last year, I’ve used 3D printers, laser markers, compressor-powered wire crimpers, industrial-grade milling machines, and circuit board ovens.
But the first thing I learned was how to read a circuit board’s bill of materials, or BOM. Created by the designer, a BOM lists every component necessary to create a functional circuit board.
BOMs I work with are listed in an Excel spreadsheet in ascending order so the assembly machines can be programmed to place the tiny components on a circuit board in the correct order.
The BOMs also don’t include helpful reference notes for newbies like me, so I have to use a separate reference guide to identify parts by serial number.
It’s a wonderful feeling to correctly read a BOM and use it to assemble a functioning circuit board.
I’ve also learned soldering
Soldering, the act of melting lead with a hot iron shaped like a pen to form something while trying not to burn yourself or inhale toxic fumes, has been an odd skill to learn in unemployment.
As an office worker with a BA, the only previous experience I had with soldering was watching Tony Stark use it to build Iron Man armor.
But now I know it comes down to temperature and timing. Too much heat can melt the wire casing. And I learned to be frugal with solder, as my boss frequently reminds us that it keeps getting more expensive.
PCB (Printed Circuit Board) building is another skill I’ve learned
Working with printed circuit boards involves placing a bunch of electronic components, most smaller than a poppy seed, on boards ranging in size from a silver dollar to a smartphone.
While most components can be placed by a machine, some parts require hand placement, which means I now spend long afternoons hunched over a work table, peering through a giant magnifying glass, and using tweezers to place the components onto the board.
Sometimes I feel like I’m playing the board game “Operation,” only with smaller game pieces and a production deadline.
I plan to keep learning
The job market has been brutal for the last year. In the last nine months alone, I’ve sent out hundreds of résumés, sat through a dozen interviews, and dealt with the frustration of a stagnant job market.
However, as with my months as a maid, my current gig keeps providing me with opportunities to learn skills with a variety of applications.
I’ve already asked about opportunities to learn welding. Cutting metal with fire sounds like a good job skill to have in your 40s.
