That’s the joke. The mathematician based his decision on statistical averages and was a victim of the Gambler’s Fallacy.

 

Construction/problem solver/babysitter.

Grew up in the business of building restaurants all over, Dad started taking me to jobs overnight at 2, left me with carpenter for a day at 4. Sweeping jobs etc till about 9. Started travelling with a tile crew for the summer doing grunt work, did that for 5 summers. Worked as electrician helper, security co, concrete pump labor/mech, carpenter/labor on 3 story job, operator, ditch digger etc. Worked 2 diff parts store retail a few years. Started pressure washing business in college and did that on side about 10 years to support my truck addiction. Worked for about 5 yrs as asst super/super. in 2010 took off a couple years and drove a truck pulling flatbed freight full time till mid 2012, then back to construction. Been managing projects/estimating about 10 yrs now. I hate what the business has turned in to, started full time estimating this past year. Unfortunately its all I know.

I was always the one who put everything my folks bought for the house/office together, I started wrenching on stuff taking apart my go-kart motor and putting back together around 10-12. Ported head etc in two stroke four-wheeler couple yrs later. Rebuilt a 283 I got for free at 16 stabbed into a 70 c10. MY dad barely knew enough to change oil etc so I mostly self taught, he helped me a ton by buying 4z4/car magazines and tools here an there.

 

This is pretty interesting! All sorts of folks on here with such varying life experience.

My family ran a trucking / excavation company and small ranch so I got started at working the summer I turned 13. My dad started me on a D3 dozer cleaning up dump truck ruts in the bottom of our sand pit. Here is where my wrenching started, I actually ran over the hood of my dad's truck while trying to jump start the dozer. Of coarse the shift linkage was loose and it was still in gear, the starter button didn't work so a screwdriver was applied to the starter solenoid, and vwala I had a smooshed Chevy to fix. I moved on to Running larger equipment and got my CDL the day I turned 18. Being a small company we did all of our own repair work with the exception of machining. So wrenching was a must, plus I was always too broke to pay anyone to fix something I could figure out. Now I'm too cheap to pay someone to do something I can At that age it didn't take long for me to figure out I wanted an income that didn't depend on the weather or cattle prices. So, I spent two years in junior college taking my basics and working towards a process technology degree. I hired on with Amoco chemical the day after my 21st birthday. I have been a process operator in the same unit for 24 years now. The company has changed names several times over the years, currently INEOS, but the job has always been pretty consistent. I have moved up the food chain to shift foreman but thinking I'm probably not suited for any higher management type positions. I have to admit that shift work and 700-1000 hours of OT per year is getting old. Hopefully I can retire at 55 and find something enjoyable to supplement my income.

 

You Sir, are what every operator I know refers to as a Unicorn. That is awesome, we love seeing engineers with real field experience come through.