I couldn’t find a job for 9 months, so I decided to learn new skills. I’m now assembling electronics with no experience.

• I lost my job in the public service nine months ago and have been unemployed ever since.

• I accepted a random position assembling electronic parts, so I’m learning new skills.

• Soldering and creating printed circuit boards helps me while I’m waiting for a job in my field.

When I was 20, I spent a summer working as a maid. cleaning houses.

Working hours were long, wages were terrible, half the day was spent in traffic, and our work was often not appreciated by our customers.

But this job had an excellent benefit: I learned a lot about home and housekeeping. commercial areasSkills that have paid off by allowing me to keep a clean and healthy home for the last two decades. Whenever I dust, I remember to start with the ceiling fan and work my way down the walls. I know steel wool works wonders on old bathtub soap residue. And I know cinnamon covers any odor.

So when I’m trying to find a new job in my field public service After losing my position last year, I was reminded of how unconventional skills and non-traditional career paths have helped me in the past. So when my engineer friend offered me a job assembling electronic parts, I jumped at the chance.

I’m learning to read a Bill of Materials

Before this job, the only machine I operated regularly was the office printer. But last year I used 3D printerslaser markers, compressor-powered wire crimpers, industrial-grade milling machines and circuit board ovens.

But the first thing I learned was how to read a circuit board’s bill of materials, or BOM. A designer-created bill of materials lists every component needed to create a functional circuit board.

The BOMs I work with are listed in a list Excel spreadsheet in ascending order so that assembly machines can be programmed to place small components on the circuit board in the correct order.

The bill of materials also doesn’t contain helpful reference notes for a beginner like me, so I have to use a separate reference guide to identify parts by serial number.

It’s a great feeling to read a bill of materials accurately and use it to assemble a working circuit board.

I also learned how to solder

Soldering, the act of creating something by melting a pencil-shaped iron with a hot iron while trying not to burn yourself or inhale toxic fumes, has been an odd skill to learn in unemployment.

As an office worker with a bachelor’s degree, my only previous experience with soldering was watching Tony Stark use it while soldering. Iron Man armor.

But now I know it depends on temperature and timing. Too much heat can melt the wire casing. I’ve learned to be frugal with solder, as my boss frequently reminds us that solder is getting more and more expensive.

PCB (Printed Circuit Board) making is another skill I learned

Working with printed circuit boards involves placing a group of electronic components, most smaller than a poppy seed, onto boards ranging in size from a silver dollar to a smartphone.

While most components can be placed by a machine, some parts require hand placement; This means I now spend long afternoons hunched over a desk, looking through a giant magnifying glass and using tweezers to place components on the board.

Sometimes I feel like I’m playing a game board game “Operation”, only with smaller game pieces and a final production date.

I plan to continue learning

The job market was brutal last year. In the last nine months alone, I’ve sent out hundreds of resumes, attended a dozen interviews, and dealt with the frustration of a stagnant job market.

But like my months as a maid, my current job continues to provide me with opportunities to learn skills through a variety of applications.

I’ve already asked about opportunities to learn welding. Cutting metal with fire seems like a good skill to pick up in your 40s.

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