Ralo

Canada

The problem is, I write my tests and do great! So, this is working. It is exactly what the college is rewarding me for.

If I was using this AI and my grades were poor then I'd agree, that its perceieved but its provably working.

Sadly, the truth is that in school, you're only rewarded for what you vomit back up on the test. Rote memorize some formulas and facts, copy those back on the test and you're now a certified mechanic/engineer/doctor/whatever. That's exactly what got me through math courses in university.

Sucks, but its true. In my case, if there was a test that required me to disassemble an engine top to bottom, claude would be mostly useless.

I don't know if my statement would apply to grade school kids. They have completely different requirements. I'm mainly referring to post secondary.

edit: misread your post.

I do, all the time. I get test, do good and then the college signs off that Im a certified mechanic when Im done.

Maybe its more of a critique on the school, but no one tests you on your ability to disassemble an engine and rebuild it. They simply make you write a test based off terms you learned in a textbook.

This was exactly my experience in high school, university, and now the same in college.

I would of killed for this bot during my math courses in university.

I agree. However, the majority is theory. It's probably 80% theory, 20% practical.

I'm taking courses at my local college (heavy duty diesel tech) and I'm finding how little use the teachers is for me. I got a digital copy of the textbook, and downloaded all the courses notes, pumped that into claude and made a discord bot that generates me quizes, tracks all my progress, and builds me a study guides off the results.

Superior to any teacher I've ever had, no matter how involved they are. I genuinely don't even see what my teacher is needed for beyond a requirement for me to be there. I can ask the bot "can you clarify X section" at 3am and it'll do in 1 second. In class, the teacher reads the slides, adds some extra points and takes questions. But my bot does all this, completely personalized to me.

Times move on, and I don't see teachers surviving. I'm hoping by next year the college will offer an "at home, self paced course" option. Theres no reason for me to be there.

I'm so at peace right now, the flow is good. I don't need the hustle of chasing mllions of dollars. The owner of the company can deal with that, I just want to do my 8 hours and go home free and clear.

I've tried both. I've seen what both offer and I'm so confident in my decision that I just sit back and watch the gong show at this point.

My decision gets further cemented when I ask my tech friends how work is going.

Absolutely. It's not perfect but safety is in your control, and all up to you.

I accept the trade off, as the alternative is going back to linkedin and begging for a job all day.

This is why I try to hoard all my money. I don't want to do this when I'm 50. I've always thought about doing this for 10-15 years and then building a semi and doing some owner operator long haul trucking. I could easily fix anything on the truck and save major money.

Absolutely.

It's not perfect. I risk crushing my hands everyday. Or falling. Or causing 10s of thousands of dollars in damage because I didnt tighten a bolt. Arthritis is likely.

But it's still incredibly rare, and mainly in your control. All my coworkers are major injury free.

Maybe 10 years ago. Now you have to fight 300 other applicants for an entry position that pays $50k in NYC.

The biggest thing for me that pushed me over the edge was thinking, how will I get a mortgage? All this applying, 100s of applications, even if I land a job it's not stable. Maybe it pays more, but I'll be laid off in a year or 2. Then back to 100s of applications while my mortgage is ticking away.

I have a friend who worked at Adobe for 5+ years as a senior AI researcher. Has a PhD in compi sci majoring in AI. He got laid off last year and couldn't find any work. I witnessed it. He gave up and started doing a side hustle thing on a video game. It's just not stable, and thats not how I want my life.

I don't see much overlap between mechanics and cars honestly. Everything in a car is modular. If it doesn't work, you replace it. Car tuning has some level of tech. Kind of. But that's an entirely different field that people specialize in, typical mechanics cannot do that.

I try everyday to apply my tech background to my mechanics. I use it for things like torque specs and brain storming issues but nothing much else.

Utilizing it for business purposes is certainly an option too. Possibly in the far future, having the highest quality website with good SEO would help me stomp out competition.

I'm not concerned. If the trades get replaced, then its just over for everyone.

Then literally nothing is safe.

Besides, unless we build physical robots to trace airlines and replace them, I'm safe.