11-02-2018, 04:25 PM
Personally, I find that there's a world of difference in enjoyment levels between paid work and hobby work.
I keep the former to a very low level. I admit that the cash is nice, but the work itself is a very different animal - it's someone else's property, so you've got the worries of making things worse or causing cosmetic damage or worse, plus the possibility of a "bounce", or unrealistic customer expectations (like assuming a new fault 2 years down the line is in some way related to the work you did).
Against that, there are no pressures at all with hobby work. You work at your own pace, and you enjoy the various bits of the process, from design, prototyping, debugging, constructions and final use. Different people enjoy these parts differently - for example, I enjoy turning the prototype into the "finished" thing - which will be neat and tidy (and serviceable), even if it's only on Veroboard - but others might rush this, preferring other parts more. We're all different. But relaxed hobby work means that mentally, we're in a place where we get the most from the activity. I certainly think more clearly when I'm not under pressure from customers (and even if you're dealing with the most understanding customers possible - which is the only sort I work with - pressure is self-generated because I'm pretty conscientious).
I'm lucky that my day job is a good mix of different aspects of engineering. I once worked doing electronic design work, and it nearly put me off electronics completely. That was a serious shock, as that was all I'd ever wanted to do since I was a small kid. I particularly hated the way that people with little understanding of electronics would pick through your design trying to shave off every fraction of a penny (and this wasn't cheap consumer tat by any description). I also learnt how some people would think nothing of taking full credit for your work if they could. Standard office politics, I know, but I was glad to leave. No regrets, 25 years later.
I keep the former to a very low level. I admit that the cash is nice, but the work itself is a very different animal - it's someone else's property, so you've got the worries of making things worse or causing cosmetic damage or worse, plus the possibility of a "bounce", or unrealistic customer expectations (like assuming a new fault 2 years down the line is in some way related to the work you did).
Against that, there are no pressures at all with hobby work. You work at your own pace, and you enjoy the various bits of the process, from design, prototyping, debugging, constructions and final use. Different people enjoy these parts differently - for example, I enjoy turning the prototype into the "finished" thing - which will be neat and tidy (and serviceable), even if it's only on Veroboard - but others might rush this, preferring other parts more. We're all different. But relaxed hobby work means that mentally, we're in a place where we get the most from the activity. I certainly think more clearly when I'm not under pressure from customers (and even if you're dealing with the most understanding customers possible - which is the only sort I work with - pressure is self-generated because I'm pretty conscientious).
I'm lucky that my day job is a good mix of different aspects of engineering. I once worked doing electronic design work, and it nearly put me off electronics completely. That was a serious shock, as that was all I'd ever wanted to do since I was a small kid. I particularly hated the way that people with little understanding of electronics would pick through your design trying to shave off every fraction of a penny (and this wasn't cheap consumer tat by any description). I also learnt how some people would think nothing of taking full credit for your work if they could. Standard office politics, I know, but I was glad to leave. No regrets, 25 years later.
