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How are electrical fields on your mental health?
I would like to know what being in the electrical field is like on mental health? Stressful? Demanding? Motivating? A little bit of a mixture?
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Robert’s Answer
Hi Zephaniah,
I’ve been in the electrical/electronics field for over 60 years, since I started as a kid building my own radios. Regarding stress, it depends on the job you pick, the people you work with, and your mental attitude. There can be somewhat inherently lower stress jobs, like helping an experienced electrician to wire a house. Or super high pressure ones, like fixing a heart-lung (cardiopulmonary bypass) machine that quits running in the middle of surgery. I’ve known guys who had no people-pressure at all, working alone at home on circuit design. And I’ve had bosses who made simple tasks just awful. I’m also a strong believer in learning internal stress reduction techniques, like meditation and mindfulness. These mental practices have helped me even in the worst of circumstances. My advice has always been: pick a specialty you love that motivates you (and pays you enough) and prepare mentally using calming exercises. I wish you the best.
I’ve been in the electrical/electronics field for over 60 years, since I started as a kid building my own radios. Regarding stress, it depends on the job you pick, the people you work with, and your mental attitude. There can be somewhat inherently lower stress jobs, like helping an experienced electrician to wire a house. Or super high pressure ones, like fixing a heart-lung (cardiopulmonary bypass) machine that quits running in the middle of surgery. I’ve known guys who had no people-pressure at all, working alone at home on circuit design. And I’ve had bosses who made simple tasks just awful. I’m also a strong believer in learning internal stress reduction techniques, like meditation and mindfulness. These mental practices have helped me even in the worst of circumstances. My advice has always been: pick a specialty you love that motivates you (and pays you enough) and prepare mentally using calming exercises. I wish you the best.
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Caitlyn’s Answer
You'd have to ask an electrician or electrical engineer. If you don't know any, reach out to your local college or university, and reach out to their computer science or engineering faculty.
You could also call an electrician in your town. Look them up on the internet, and call them. Introduce yourself and let them know you're interested in this area as a career. Then, ask them to schedule a 20 minute meeting with you, and bring a list of questions. Take notes on their answers. If you like what you hear, ask about internships.
You could also call an electrician in your town. Look them up on the internet, and call them. Introduce yourself and let them know you're interested in this area as a career. Then, ask them to schedule a 20 minute meeting with you, and bring a list of questions. Take notes on their answers. If you like what you hear, ask about internships.
Thank you!
Zephaniah
Caitlyn, those are GREAT suggestions for how to go about meeting local professionals. +1. For what it's worth, Zephaniah, I also think that you're doing a great thing by posting the question here on CV -- we have a lot of electrician's and electrical engineers here who I'm sure are thrilled to be able to share their answer with you. After all, that's what CV is for! :)
Jared Chung, Admin