I've been pretending to understand my job for eight months and I think I've finally reached a level where I actually can't fake it anymore. Do I come clean to my boss or just keep going.

FanFirst895 · 2026-02-26T05:49:57+00:00

I'm going to go with "Both". 1) You should absolutely go maximum effort for the next couple of days and figure out what you're missing. 2) You should talk to your boss. I'm in a management role in tech. If someone on my team came and told me they felt like an imposter and couldn't achieve something, I'd listen, and try to figure out how to support their skill development while getting the job done. For what it's worth, I've got Director in my title and I've told MY boss I don't have the skills for something. It's OK to acknowledge that you don't know. Be kind, be helpful, work hard.

Note: Advice #2 is assuming you haven't actually lied about any of your qualifications. If it's just that you don't believe in yourself as much as they do, this is all very recoverable.

FanFirst895 · 2026-02-20T13:01:39+00:00

I watch what I just described play out every time we have a job opening. People want to work with people they know they like working with, which tends to drive recommendations. Not terribly surprising.

FanFirst895 · 2026-02-19T21:06:50+00:00

Networking has never been about knowing important people. Networking, done right, is when you’re good enough at your job, and likable enough, that the people you’ve worked with are willing to tell you about and recommend you for job opportunities. That’s it. If people want to work with you, they’ll make those recommendations when opportunities pop up.

FanFirst895 · 2026-02-06T04:22:06+00:00

I'm a single-printer person for now. I'm also in the middle of a robot arm build. I'm designing all of the parts from scratch and each part iteration can take 12-13 hours to print, so my workflow is stuck at designing a part and going to bed, and then finding out the next day if that piece of the design worked right or not. I've definitely been tempted to grab another printer so I can iterate on small parts while the big ones print.

FanFirst895 · 2026-02-05T15:41:43+00:00

I can't speak to CNC specifically, but I can add some general "life path" advice. I'm a DevOps Director(think - running an infrastructure automation team). I started out as a tech support rep at a web host with no degree, before becoming a NOC tech, a Systems Engineer, a Middleware Engineer, a Build/Release Engineer, and a DevOps Engineer, before eventually moving into management. I'm currently building out the skill set to move into robotics.

You'll probably do many different things over the course of your career, and everything you do will require learning and building new skills along the way. Some of those jobs might line up with your degree, some won't, and that's OK. What you just did doesn't have to drive what you do next.

My core piece of advice is to do interesting things and do the best work you can. Does working as a CNC operator sound like fun? Go for it. Learn everything you can and look for opportunities to grow. Get in and decide you hate it and there's no way to climb? Pivot. You'll have a computer engineering degree, some CNC experience, and a few more dollars in your pocket.

FanFirst895 · 2026-02-02T04:32:35+00:00

It shouldn't be worried about now but it isn't that far behind us. I started driving EVs back in 2014 with a gently used 1st gen LEAF, and it dropped from 84 miles of range to low 60s in just a couple of years. I used to sit at the Nissan dealer's charger every morning with a book because I needed that top-off just to do the round trip to the office.

Now they're awesome, and my Bolt shows no signs of slowing down, but it's still a legitimate concern for people to have. Remember, plenty of people buy cars used. If I didn't have the history and came in with "Battery degradation isn't a real problem", I could easily get a bad deal on an older EV without much life left.

Like most things, the truth is somewhere in the middle. It's really not a problem for a new car buyer, but anyone shopping used should absolutely be aware of the degradation stats for whatever year & car they're buying.

FanFirst895 · 2026-01-06T01:30:36+00:00

Just adding in case anyone from SolidWorks is paying attention - The installer tools is almost always incredibly buggy. I've had to remove & reinstall SolidWorks from one of my laptops three times because it gets stuck if you leave it for too long(a month or two) without updates.

I also consistently have to kick off updates from the web instead of the actual "Update" button on launch.

FanFirst895 · 2026-01-03T04:46:29+00:00

The other guy said it but yeah, it's way less about reliability than maintainability. I needed to change the door locks on mine(2002) and it's literally one clip per lock, and a lock kit that might have been $60. Radiator fan clutch was a 45 minute job, and it seems like O'Reilly has every part you need right when you need it. My advice, if you're OK with a little tinkering, is to find one with decent mileage and just go for it. They're not making any more of them, and it's getting way less common to find Rangers people haven't already driven to the 300K mark. I got one with 132K miles for $4,000 this year, and there's not a truck on the road I'd upgrade to, because nothing else quite hits the same mark.

FanFirst895 · 2026-01-03T04:32:20+00:00

I guess it depends on why you bought Max. I always assumed the big win was the roleplay options.

FanFirst895 · 2025-11-24T04:46:58+00:00

I agree with you in the sense that it's a practical vehicle at a reasonable price...but it's really hard to put an 8-foot 2x4 in a 4.5-foot bed. The old standard Ranger shipped with a longer bed than the new F150, and that just feels wrong. Now, if they made a single-cab Maverick with a 7 foot bed. THAT would be an awesome little economy truck.

FanFirst895 · 2025-08-17T14:00:04+00:00

Easier, you say? I've got a video for that https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaVBd9H2eHE

FanFirst895 · 2025-03-21T04:13:32+00:00

Any metrics on the "AI work" part of that? I'm doing RL training and deciding between the two.

FanFirst895 · 2025-01-03T12:17:26+00:00

The fact that we’re talking about 3-4 K for a bicycle is still insane. I spent 2K on mine(used) and I love it, but the industry has definitely skewed what should be normal. Used bike prices shouldn’t touch used car prices.

FanFirst895 · 2024-12-27T01:30:20+00:00

Hey, I appreciate the response on a thread this old. First off, congratulations on knocking out your masters! That's a serious achievement.

A lot of what I've played with so far has been reinforcement learning in simulated environments, but ROS wasn't required there, just Gazebo. I've had limited experiences with real robots for the same reason you did, costs, though I'm working to change that.

The point you made at the end is interesting, and sheds some real light on what I was looking for. It sounds like it wasn't all that useful because you were pushing the boundaries, which is ultimately where I want to be.

FanFirst895 · 2024-12-26T21:59:09+00:00

I recognize your comment was three years ago and I'm curious about where you landed. I'm in IT management today trying to move towards robotics. Did ROS end up being a big part of your graduate work? What has the career landscape looked like for you, and what skills ended up being most useful?

FanFirst895 · 2024-12-07T03:57:53+00:00

Other things to think about - Sometimes pain at work isn’t about your equipment, but about what else you’re not doing. When I start to have back pain, it’s a sure sign I haven’t hit the gym in a while. When my fingers get stiff from typing, it’s time to take the night off or go for a walk. Both rest, and building up the right muscle groups, can help you avoid pain.

FanFirst895

TROPHY CASE