I would’ve wanted to be a freelance builder, crafter, designer and engineer. Here’s why I know I can’t, it’s because I am terrible with just knowing things. An experienced craftsman knows their tools by heart, can pick one up that they absolutely need for the job at hand. They know their workshop, inside and out. They can calculate measurements with barely thinking. They just have it together.
That’s not me. You can show me 3 different types of a philips screwdriver and for every one, I’d be like “erm…uh, still philips to me!” when there is subtle differences between them. I can barely measure things to save my life. I am just stunted to learn so many of these things, but I’m only capable of doing small projects at the very least.
People like Adam Savage really have inspired me, having seen the things he can do and how passionate he is about what he does. I love that. I wish I could be that. But I’m not.
I spent my working life sitting at a desk, so I have regularly thought about how my life would have turned out had I turned one of my high school side interests into a career instead: carpenter; electrician; or metal fabricator.
One career path I considered, but I was put off by the maths: engineering. Never picked a field/speciality. I just was always interested in how stuff worked, and wanted to have the skills to design cool solutions for problems.