I have had a great career as a welder, inspector, and various other welding related positions. The classes that I have been teaching at the local community college have been extremely satisfying for filling my urge to teach, however I just haven’t felt that I was doing as good a job as should be done.
The 2 nights a week limited the amount of time I could spend with students. Many of the ideas I had about developing curriculum, improving my teaching techniques, and evaluating student progress were constantly on my mind for a few hours before and after class however I never had the time to put any of these into practice.
The full time job as a maintenance welder at PCA was one of the most rewarding jobs I have ever had as a welder. The type of work, the people I worked with and those I worked for were perfect for my way of working. But the work often used a lot of my time because I sincerely enjoyed it.
The time used was not the result of the company forcing me to work but was the result of enjoying what I do and feeling the need to “pay back” the company for letting me come out an “play welder” at their mill.
However with all of my day hours and a few of my remaining hours being used on my full time job, little was being done on my part to develop the welding program. I was not contacting local companies to see if I could help, not developing one or two hour weekend classes for individuals just interested in learning to use the welder they bought at lowes etc.. Many of the ideas I had were just not being put into actions.
