I could not agree more with Alasdair here. I can think of many occasions when I have felt out of depth. Here are three examples, from early, middle and late in my working life.


I was a young electrical maintenance supervisor at a small power station. My electrician staff told me that there was a problem with a generator exciter brush-gear and they were investigating. Meanwhile, Grid Control had informed us that there would probably be a particularly heavy demand for generation later that day. We could not shut down the generator for maintenance but I dreaded to think about the consequences of a breakdown later. My line manager however was almost flippant about the situation. "The brushes are sparking like mad and Grid wants maximum generation. Hey-ho, this could be fun!" I soon realised that this was his way of being supportive. He was experienced as an engineer and affable in personality. Had there been a breakdown, he would not have expected me to shoulder the responsibility myself, but would have guided me through dealing with the situation and expanding my experience. Fortunately we got past this period without a problem.


I spent mid-career in the education profession. Our college had successfully delivered the first year of a new course for electronic technicians. The course tutor convened a staff meeting to discuss the syllabus for the second year and allocate staff to subject areas. The first year had been fairly straightforward but the second year syllabus looked tough. We were scratching around trying to find anyone who had the necessary experience and knowledge to tackle some of the more-specialised areas. We all felt out of depth at that meeting, including the course tutor. But there was team spirit among us. We identified our weaknesses, learned up as necessary, turned our weaknesses into strengths and went on to deliver a successful second year.


I spent several years in IT support, in due course moving to IT contracting. I was fortunate to land a long-term, well-paid contract with a financial organisation. I certainly had to work for my dough! This was PC software and hardware support and much more. "The Bridge" was a secure area, behind locked doors accessible only with a special pass, where there were hardware configurations the likes of which I had not seen before, coupled with all manner of specialised financial monitoring software to which I had no access myself, but was expected to support nevertheless. After a few months assisting an experienced engineer, I was left with site support responsibility for my section, supporting around  300 staff. My manager advised don't be too proud to ask for help if you get stuck; it is usually only a phone call away. Yes these were challenging times and on more than a few occasions I felt out of depth. But I loved that job and was sorry when the  time came to retire from full-time working for domestic reasons. At least I had the satisfaction of leaving on a high.  


Some of the things I miss from my 52 years of service include the challenges, not only the technical ones but those of a more personal nature - dealing with difficult colleagues and managers, assiduous job hunting with unemployment knocking at the door, counselling juniors with their personal problems. It's been a roller-coaster ride and it has been fun!



 

I could not agree more with Alasdair here. I can think of many occasions when I have felt out of depth. Here are three examples, from early, middle and late in my working life.


I was a young electrical maintenance supervisor at a small power station. My electrician staff told me that there was a problem with a generator exciter brush-gear and they were investigating. Meanwhile, Grid Control had informed us that there would probably be a particularly heavy demand for generation later that day. We could not shut down the generator for maintenance but I dreaded to think about the consequences of a breakdown later. My line manager however was almost flippant about the situation. "The brushes are sparking like mad and Grid wants maximum generation. Hey-ho, this could be fun!" I soon realised that this was his way of being supportive. He was experienced as an engineer and affable in personality. Had there been a breakdown, he would not have expected me to shoulder the responsibility myself, but would have guided me through dealing with the situation and expanding my experience. Fortunately we got past this period without a problem.


I spent mid-career in the education profession. Our college had successfully delivered the first year of a new course for electronic technicians. The course tutor convened a staff meeting to discuss the syllabus for the second year and allocate staff to subject areas. The first year had been fairly straightforward but the second year syllabus looked tough. We were scratching around trying to find anyone who had the necessary experience and knowledge to tackle some of the more-specialised areas. We all felt out of depth at that meeting, including the course tutor. But there was team spirit among us. We identified our weaknesses, learned up as necessary, turned our weaknesses into strengths and went on to deliver a successful second year.


I spent several years in IT support, in due course moving to IT contracting. I was fortunate to land a long-term, well-paid contract with a financial organisation. I certainly had to work for my dough! This was PC software and hardware support and much more. "The Bridge" was a secure area, behind locked doors accessible only with a special pass, where there were hardware configurations the likes of which I had not seen before, coupled with all manner of specialised financial monitoring software to which I had no access myself, but was expected to support nevertheless. After a few months assisting an experienced engineer, I was left with site support responsibility for my section, supporting around  300 staff. My manager advised don't be too proud to ask for help if you get stuck; it is usually only a phone call away. Yes these were challenging times and on more than a few occasions I felt out of depth. But I loved that job and was sorry when the  time came to retire from full-time working for domestic reasons. At least I had the satisfaction of leaving on a high.  


Some of the things I miss from my 52 years of service include the challenges, not only the technical ones but those of a more personal nature - dealing with difficult colleagues and managers, assiduous job hunting with unemployment knocking at the door, counselling juniors with their personal problems. It's been a roller-coaster ride and it has been fun!