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Looking back at my choice between bench tech and field service work
Honestly, about 5 years ago I had to pick between staying in the shop doing bench repairs or taking a field service job driving to clients. I went with the field job because it paid $4 more an hour and promised a company van. Tbh, the first year was rough, like that time I spent 3 hours in a dentist's office basement just trying to find their server room. But I learned way more about dealing with people and weird setups than I ever would have at a bench. Has anyone else made a switch like that and found it changed how you work?
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betty_shah2mo ago
The weirdest part for me was learning how different places smell. A dentist's office server closet has that sterile mint smell, but a bakery's back room smells like burnt sugar and warm electronics. You start to link those smells with the types of problems you find. Greasy air means more dust in the fans, that kind of thing. It's a layer of troubleshooting you'd never get in a clean lab.
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ericjackson13d ago
Oh man, that smell thing you mentioned is so true... I never thought about it that way before but yeah, different places have their own "flavor" of grime that messes with equipment differently. Did you ever walk into a client site and just know what was wrong based on the smell before you even looked at the machine? I'm curious if learning that kind of shortcut actually makes you faster on calls or if it's just a weird party trick you pick up.
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