by helghardt on 9/4/23, 3:25 PM with 41 comments
I believe these site visits played a meaningful role in developing my engineering and entrepreneurial interests/thinking. Although I only vaguely remember the details, I do have a strong lasting impression of the locations/factories we visited and people we met.
I got to see a plastic pipe molding facility, coke cola bottling factory, first wind power turbines in Cape Town area and assembled a door alarm prototype at the neighboring university. This was all before the age of 13.
In university I had similar practical exposure doing an internship at a boiler manufacturing factory, chicken processing plant and finally a tech startup.
I truly cherish these experiences and glimpses into the real world. Obviously I knew very little of what was really going on, but these experiences helped me build a sort-of mental map to unpack my options at the time.
Do you think practical site visits as a teenager is a good idea? Have you had similar exposure and did it have a lasting impact on you too? Do you think we need to create more opportunities like this for students?
by vogt on 9/4/23, 5:07 PM
I went to what was called a “vocational” high school in the US. In schools like this you rotate between a week of academic class and a week of your chosen specialization. Every week for four years. I was in the “graphic design and publishing” shop so I was learning Photoshop, Illustrator and running offset lithographic printers (small ones lol) with actual industry vets. Other students had auto body, facilities management, electrical, cosmetology, nursing. Freshman year is called your “exploratory” year, where you select something like ~8 of the available trades the school has on offer, with the end goal being you try them and figure out which to commit to. I remember going through Culinary Arts and nearly spilling a bowl of hot soup all over a table of elderly people. That line of work was never in the cards for me.
I’m not in graphic design anymore and “desktop publishing” barely exists as it did then, but the path certainly lead me to where I am today. I have NO clue what I’d be doing without that education.
by blueridge on 9/4/23, 5:14 PM
If you're more interested in the fire side, you can get on an engine. You'll respond to structure fires, car accidents, lightning strikes, and all sorts of well-being checks for people who just need help getting up off the floor.
If you're interested in medical stuff, you can get on an ambulance. You'll run 911 calls and get some real exposure to the human condition. It's a great way to learn about pre-hospital and emergency department care. It's also a great way to get a reality check on how the US healthcare system works, and how it helps or hinders the people who need care the most.
In many parts of the country fire and EMS are part of the same service and system, so you'll get exposure to a little bit of everything. I'd highly recommend fire and EMS as an alternative career path for anyone who is looking for something different, other than tech.
by fastneutron on 9/4/23, 4:32 PM
by _hzw on 9/4/23, 4:35 PM
[1]: "THE MAKING" is the Japanese equivalent of "How It's Made." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ps_X1TqiJZQ&list=PLOEDIkStOh...
by javiramos on 9/4/23, 4:16 PM
by ddhhyy on 9/4/23, 4:16 PM
by yellow_lead on 9/4/23, 4:31 PM
by phreeza on 9/4/23, 4:02 PM
by pseudolus on 9/4/23, 4:24 PM
by solardev on 9/4/23, 4:16 PM
Outdoors, we visited national and state parks, national forests, wastewater treatment ponds, community farms, private hobby farms, ranches, zoos, renewables projects, and more -- from both the visitor's side and also from a behind the scenes perspective, talking to the employees and owners there about how they work.
Indoors, we went to aquariums, landfills and transfer stations, sewage processors, high efficiency refrigerator manufacturing shops, private net-zero energy homes, schools, museums, city councils, public meetings, arboretums, barns, and whatnot.
It was a good swath of the parts of society that touch the environment and outdoor recreation, and profoundly shaped how I view Americana and rural areas in particular. No longer were they globs of indistinguishable wastelands, but filled with interesting (if sparsely populated) peoples and functions that operate largely beneath the radar, unknown to most of the country. That was especially the case after having spent time in the Silicon Valley tech and strip mall bubble.
Most places in my experience would be happy to organize a group tour like that if you just ask nicely (I ran a few). Totally worth it.
by piva00 on 9/4/23, 4:01 PM
We went to:
- A Coke bottling facility (when the bottles were still mostly returnable glass ones), it was mesmerising.
- A chocolate and confectionery factory (as you may have guessed, kids were ecstatic about this one).
- A recycling plant processing paper and plastics.
- A nuclear power plant.
All of those between the ages of 10-13 as well, mentioning it now made me realise how vivid those memories are, thanks for helping me to remember them :)
by huevosabio on 9/6/23, 1:12 AM
As part of the master's degree we went to multiple industrialized construction sites in Sweden over the course of a week.
I sort of wish I could do something like that every year as an adult. This year semi conductors. Next year, cars. The next one, TVs.
by simonbarker87 on 9/4/23, 4:26 PM
by anfractuosity on 9/4/23, 6:15 PM
https://www.jetro.go.jp/en/eccj/ind_tourism/foods.html is the link for food, but there's a lot more categories such as life sciences and heavy industry.
(I found that link from HN a little while ago, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33680460 is the HN submission, which might have other interesting info on it)
by reghardtpret on 9/4/23, 6:02 PM
As economies develop and more specialization is allowed, it takes longer and longer for young people to "actually do work". Which is a good and bad thing.
by vinay_ys on 9/4/23, 5:34 PM
by kevin_nisbet on 9/4/23, 5:03 PM
I have no idea the exact impact, but I would suspect that these types of experiences are important to build intellectual curiosity.
by edmundsauto on 9/4/23, 4:14 PM
by mtmail on 9/4/23, 4:14 PM
by angmarsbane on 9/4/23, 7:58 PM
by PeterStuer on 9/5/23, 5:55 AM
by TuringNYC on 9/4/23, 4:21 PM
by suyash on 9/4/23, 5:40 PM
by ragebol on 9/4/23, 5:49 PM
by madengr on 9/4/23, 11:43 PM