Can I become more mechanically inclined?
November 4, 2014 5:38 PM Subscribe
I'm looking to change career paths and I'm considering getting a technical certification, but I've never really considered myself to have "mechanical aptitude." Can I become more mechanically apt? Is this something I can gain?
My background is pretty arty, but I feel like my "career" is really going nowhere. I have a BA and I've been stuck in retail for a few years. There's a particular technical program I am really curious about taking and hopefully developing a career in, but I'm not sure how well I would really do in it. On the program's website they state that prospective students should have a "mechanical aptitude." I've never considered myself mechanically inclined, but this is an area I'd like to develop. Or is it too late/impossible?? Are there exercises/activities I can do to understand mechanical processes?
I've always been an okay student in science/math and this isn't a field that I'm entering blindly, I do know people in it. I'm just afraid of entering the program and being completely unsuited for it.
My background is pretty arty, but I feel like my "career" is really going nowhere. I have a BA and I've been stuck in retail for a few years. There's a particular technical program I am really curious about taking and hopefully developing a career in, but I'm not sure how well I would really do in it. On the program's website they state that prospective students should have a "mechanical aptitude." I've never considered myself mechanically inclined, but this is an area I'd like to develop. Or is it too late/impossible?? Are there exercises/activities I can do to understand mechanical processes?
I've always been an okay student in science/math and this isn't a field that I'm entering blindly, I do know people in it. I'm just afraid of entering the program and being completely unsuited for it.
It might be helpful to know what the program is. One thing I can say is that my husband has a career in the skilled trades, and at his current supervisory level he benefits from having "mechanical aptitude" in the sense of having an intuitive-level understanding of how mechanical systems work and spatial relationships on a level that I think I would not match even if I had his training and experience. But underneath him, a lot of the tradesmen who are never going to be supervisors or troubleshooters or decision makers and pretty much just follow directions and checklists are not especially mechanically inclined, and some are mechanical idiots, quite frankly.
posted by drlith at 5:58 PM on November 4, 2014
posted by drlith at 5:58 PM on November 4, 2014
I think there's a difference between "I have never really had decent instruction in mechanical stuff" and "I have had very patient wonderful teachers who have tried to instill mechanical aptitude and I have flooded bathrooms, lit dining-room chandeliers on fire, and had all my Ikea bookshelves and desks collapse on me."
I grew up in a non-mechanically-inclined family, and just kind of assumed I was bad at that stuff. I've had roommates and partners and friends who are more confident with it, and they've taught me a lot and, more importantly, shown me the process of how to figure stuff out. I may not be as good at it as they are, but I've very much increased my skill set.
There was a study probably about a decade ago that showed that teaching young girls how to throw a football increased their scores on spatial-manipulation tests (previously considered gender-based) so that they were equivalent to boys'. A lot of this stuff is much more "taught" than "in-born."
posted by jaguar at 6:37 PM on November 4, 2014 [1 favorite]
I grew up in a non-mechanically-inclined family, and just kind of assumed I was bad at that stuff. I've had roommates and partners and friends who are more confident with it, and they've taught me a lot and, more importantly, shown me the process of how to figure stuff out. I may not be as good at it as they are, but I've very much increased my skill set.
There was a study probably about a decade ago that showed that teaching young girls how to throw a football increased their scores on spatial-manipulation tests (previously considered gender-based) so that they were equivalent to boys'. A lot of this stuff is much more "taught" than "in-born."
posted by jaguar at 6:37 PM on November 4, 2014 [1 favorite]
I don't know that I have an particular mechanical aptitude, but I have done a fair amount of work with power tools and home repair along with basic car maintenance, and I can tell you that it is more about getting an instruction manual that tells you how to do something and allowing yourself a bit of leeway for trial and error and figuring it out.
A bunch of surgeons I know tend to be big on tackling home renovation projects themselves, not because surgery endows them with some great mechanical talent but because their attitude is, "I cut people open for a living and put them back together. How hard can it be to learn how to put up some dry wall?"
posted by deanc at 7:11 PM on November 4, 2014
A bunch of surgeons I know tend to be big on tackling home renovation projects themselves, not because surgery endows them with some great mechanical talent but because their attitude is, "I cut people open for a living and put them back together. How hard can it be to learn how to put up some dry wall?"
posted by deanc at 7:11 PM on November 4, 2014
It kind of depends on what you mean by "arty" and "mechanical aptitude". If you're a sculptor and you're asking about going into trades that involve 3D visualization, machining, and welding, you're in great shape. If you're in creative writing and you're wanting to be an electrician, you've got a shift in your way of thinking ahead of you, and plenty of hands-on practice. The good news is, it's really an acquired skill; like with many things, a large portion of "talent" is really just being enthusiastic enough to keep practicing until it's intuitive, and then it looks like something you've always known.
Without knowing what it is you're interested in, I can only hope that this is relevant, but here goes. I'm a female lab scientist. Things that I found challenging when I hadn't done much lab work yet were:
- knowing the names of all the tools (easy to study, and even easier after a week on the job, once you know which subset of the basically infinite number of tools you'll be using)
(bonus points - recognize what size/number a screw/bolt is and what driver/wrench to use)
- knowing how hard to push on the average thing (this just takes practice, and even now I tend to wimp out):
-- is this thing I want to remove just a snug fit (push harder!) or is there a latch/lock I need to undo first?
-- is this tightened, overtightened, rusted in place, basically broken, etc; if I keep pushing will I break the bolt, strip the screw, snap the plastic, etc. or will it magically start turning?
-- Have I tightened this screw enough, or will it wiggle loose as soon as I turn my back? Or am I over-tightening it?
- establishing good habits, learning how to disassemble something (or just take the cover off) and lay out all the pieces in a way that I'll know how to put it back together again, and not lose any screws. Also relevant for keeping you personal toolkit organized enough that you don't lose things.
- tool-use just takes practice! You will drop a lot of screws, possibly also screwdrivers. The wrench will slip and you will bang your knuckles into neighboring parts. You will learn new swear words. You will slide the screwdriver blade off the screw head and put deep gouges in the finish of your project. The more projects you've done in your life, the less frequently this will happen, so it's great if you have things you can practice on at home (assembling a lot of IKEA furniture?) so that you don't have the "all thumbs" look while your coworkers/teachers/bosses/peers/customers are watching.
- Learning how often during a project to pause and make sure I was still on the right track; being thorough without being super-fussy. Take a moment and be sure everything really works before you close the box up.
- Being safe mostly just means not doing anything stupid; there is such a thing as being overcautious, but it's a lot less common than being reckless. Know which side you tend to err on. Mostly I just try to be informed; if I know what could be dangerous, I know when to be careful. If you anticipate being in a regulated environment, familiarize yourself with the protective gear so it doesn't make you clumsy, and make sure your gloves aren't too large.
- visualize what I want the end result to look like, and think of ways to use the pieces I have to make that happen. There's always more than one solution, and it's hard to choose one you're happy with, and hard not to be defensive when someone says they'd do it differently. A lot of my lab pieces are like tinkertoys, and a lot of my lab tasks are "hold object A at position B". To generalize, this comes down to knowing a few general ways to solve a common problem; when we remodeled the kitchen, for example, an analogous problem was how to build shims that would keep the cabinets and countertop level.
- Learning to work independently, and how often to check in with the other people on the project to make sure your task fits with the bigger picture. Most mechanical tasks are one-brain tasks, even if they occasionally take 3 hands; it is difficult to be an effective helper, and even more difficult to effectively direct a helper.
- Gaining basic confidence; learning to identify what not to do, so as to assume that everything else is fair game. I used to make fun of how my mom won't click into computer menus to see what they do, as if opening menus is going to somehow lose her data, and how the two clicks of a doubleclick get farther apart the less certain she is of what she's clicking on, until she can't actually doubleclick anything. But this is basically how I acted when I first got into physical tool use. Relax. It won't bite you.
In short, just practice; also, hang out with people who do the kind of thing you want to learn and you'll pick up a lot of vocabulary and habits.
posted by aimedwander at 7:14 PM on November 4, 2014 [7 favorites]
Without knowing what it is you're interested in, I can only hope that this is relevant, but here goes. I'm a female lab scientist. Things that I found challenging when I hadn't done much lab work yet were:
- knowing the names of all the tools (easy to study, and even easier after a week on the job, once you know which subset of the basically infinite number of tools you'll be using)
(bonus points - recognize what size/number a screw/bolt is and what driver/wrench to use)
- knowing how hard to push on the average thing (this just takes practice, and even now I tend to wimp out):
-- is this thing I want to remove just a snug fit (push harder!) or is there a latch/lock I need to undo first?
-- is this tightened, overtightened, rusted in place, basically broken, etc; if I keep pushing will I break the bolt, strip the screw, snap the plastic, etc. or will it magically start turning?
-- Have I tightened this screw enough, or will it wiggle loose as soon as I turn my back? Or am I over-tightening it?
- establishing good habits, learning how to disassemble something (or just take the cover off) and lay out all the pieces in a way that I'll know how to put it back together again, and not lose any screws. Also relevant for keeping you personal toolkit organized enough that you don't lose things.
- tool-use just takes practice! You will drop a lot of screws, possibly also screwdrivers. The wrench will slip and you will bang your knuckles into neighboring parts. You will learn new swear words. You will slide the screwdriver blade off the screw head and put deep gouges in the finish of your project. The more projects you've done in your life, the less frequently this will happen, so it's great if you have things you can practice on at home (assembling a lot of IKEA furniture?) so that you don't have the "all thumbs" look while your coworkers/teachers/bosses/peers/customers are watching.
- Learning how often during a project to pause and make sure I was still on the right track; being thorough without being super-fussy. Take a moment and be sure everything really works before you close the box up.
- Being safe mostly just means not doing anything stupid; there is such a thing as being overcautious, but it's a lot less common than being reckless. Know which side you tend to err on. Mostly I just try to be informed; if I know what could be dangerous, I know when to be careful. If you anticipate being in a regulated environment, familiarize yourself with the protective gear so it doesn't make you clumsy, and make sure your gloves aren't too large.
- visualize what I want the end result to look like, and think of ways to use the pieces I have to make that happen. There's always more than one solution, and it's hard to choose one you're happy with, and hard not to be defensive when someone says they'd do it differently. A lot of my lab pieces are like tinkertoys, and a lot of my lab tasks are "hold object A at position B". To generalize, this comes down to knowing a few general ways to solve a common problem; when we remodeled the kitchen, for example, an analogous problem was how to build shims that would keep the cabinets and countertop level.
- Learning to work independently, and how often to check in with the other people on the project to make sure your task fits with the bigger picture. Most mechanical tasks are one-brain tasks, even if they occasionally take 3 hands; it is difficult to be an effective helper, and even more difficult to effectively direct a helper.
- Gaining basic confidence; learning to identify what not to do, so as to assume that everything else is fair game. I used to make fun of how my mom won't click into computer menus to see what they do, as if opening menus is going to somehow lose her data, and how the two clicks of a doubleclick get farther apart the less certain she is of what she's clicking on, until she can't actually doubleclick anything. But this is basically how I acted when I first got into physical tool use. Relax. It won't bite you.
In short, just practice; also, hang out with people who do the kind of thing you want to learn and you'll pick up a lot of vocabulary and habits.
posted by aimedwander at 7:14 PM on November 4, 2014 [7 favorites]
I always try to push people into woodworking with hand tools. Paul Sellers has great videos on youtube and on his website. This three legged stool tutorial covers a lot of really important stuff about wood structure.
Allow yourself to make mistakes. I love this saying, "Foresight comes from experience. Experience comes from lack of foresight."
posted by bonobothegreat at 7:23 PM on November 4, 2014 [2 favorites]
Allow yourself to make mistakes. I love this saying, "Foresight comes from experience. Experience comes from lack of foresight."
posted by bonobothegreat at 7:23 PM on November 4, 2014 [2 favorites]
I might be a little concerned about a program that suggests someone be "mechanically inclined" going in. I translate that as having a kind of baseline/prerequisite ability, however the instructors may define it. Perhaps you could inquire as to the expectations from instructors themselves.
That being said, I would define "mechanically inclined", at least partly, as having a curiosity and willingness to take stuff apart without much fear about the process. Unfamiliarity with tools and mechanisms is understandable. But someone who has no curiosity and excessive hesitancy around such things might indicate a poor choice.
That being said, I think an art background can be very helpful for some very hands on technical skills such as carpentry/machinist training.
posted by 2N2222 at 7:27 PM on November 4, 2014
That being said, I would define "mechanically inclined", at least partly, as having a curiosity and willingness to take stuff apart without much fear about the process. Unfamiliarity with tools and mechanisms is understandable. But someone who has no curiosity and excessive hesitancy around such things might indicate a poor choice.
That being said, I think an art background can be very helpful for some very hands on technical skills such as carpentry/machinist training.
posted by 2N2222 at 7:27 PM on November 4, 2014
Hard-work trumps natural ability every time, and twice on Tuesday.
If you dedicate yourself to your mechanical area of expertise, you absolutely can learn.
posted by Flood at 4:10 AM on November 5, 2014 [1 favorite]
If you dedicate yourself to your mechanical area of expertise, you absolutely can learn.
posted by Flood at 4:10 AM on November 5, 2014 [1 favorite]
I'm going to assume that "mechanical aptitude" here means something closer to "willing to work with tools, skin a knuckle or two and get dirty." If you need more information about what they mean, call them up and ask what skills and knowledge they expect of new students.
I had a copy of this WWII Navy book on tool use, oh here it is: PDF download of US Navy guide to using tools.
When you use mechanical things, feel them. Does your doorknob turn smoothly or does it have some roughness? Do you close the cash register with a metal on metal bang or a gentle bump? When you open your car door does the plastic of the handle flex?
Once you have developed this feel for mechanical things, then develop the physical skill and modulation of force to handle them with dexterity. Don't yank, turn it. Don't slam, slide it.
I suggest that you just spend some time every night working on mechanics. Pick some basic tasks related to your trade of interest that you can do at your place and do them every night. I don't mean reading things or browsing youtube, get your hands on something.
Take things apart. Small broken appliances are great. Taking them apart is educational. Look at how they are made and attempt to decipher the intent of their physical features. Why is there a shoulder here? What is this opening for? Here they used a ball bearing but here they just used a brass tube, why? Buy an old hand drill at a yard sale, take it apart and put it together so it works again. Do it again the next night. How long did it take? Can you do it faster on the third night? Try to get a non-working lawn mower off craigs list for free and take that as apart as you can.
Braking things is great to learn about materials and their limits. Over torque screws in plastic, metal and wood. Glue two pieces of wood together and pull them apart.
Each person in a trade is a person with strengths and weaknesses. The average person in a trade can do just about everything they are called on to do. A trade person with an artistic eye or good human skills is valuable in a their own right.
posted by bdc34 at 8:20 AM on November 5, 2014
I had a copy of this WWII Navy book on tool use, oh here it is: PDF download of US Navy guide to using tools.
When you use mechanical things, feel them. Does your doorknob turn smoothly or does it have some roughness? Do you close the cash register with a metal on metal bang or a gentle bump? When you open your car door does the plastic of the handle flex?
Once you have developed this feel for mechanical things, then develop the physical skill and modulation of force to handle them with dexterity. Don't yank, turn it. Don't slam, slide it.
I suggest that you just spend some time every night working on mechanics. Pick some basic tasks related to your trade of interest that you can do at your place and do them every night. I don't mean reading things or browsing youtube, get your hands on something.
Take things apart. Small broken appliances are great. Taking them apart is educational. Look at how they are made and attempt to decipher the intent of their physical features. Why is there a shoulder here? What is this opening for? Here they used a ball bearing but here they just used a brass tube, why? Buy an old hand drill at a yard sale, take it apart and put it together so it works again. Do it again the next night. How long did it take? Can you do it faster on the third night? Try to get a non-working lawn mower off craigs list for free and take that as apart as you can.
Braking things is great to learn about materials and their limits. Over torque screws in plastic, metal and wood. Glue two pieces of wood together and pull them apart.
Each person in a trade is a person with strengths and weaknesses. The average person in a trade can do just about everything they are called on to do. A trade person with an artistic eye or good human skills is valuable in a their own right.
posted by bdc34 at 8:20 AM on November 5, 2014
In my specific case, I felt a lack of mechanical aptitude through my childhood. I was arty, but not mechanical, and my Dad the Engineer always fixed stuff for me and I never felt competent in that domain.
As an adult, I started getting some understanding of using tools and fasteners when I did some fix-it projects in our first few apartments, and particularly when we bought an older house.
But when I really started *thinking* mechanically in terms of problem solving was when I got interested in fixing up old bikes. Buying and swapping out parts, learning how gears and bearings and bolt torque and fender attachment all work, fashioning little mounts and connectors, all delivered a new sense of actually understanding the individual parts and how they work as a system. And I stripped enough bolts to know when to stop pushing the wrench. I now find I can approach new things like lawnmower engines or fixing old guitars or working on plumbing or wiring without fear.
You may not have the interest in bikes, or the cost of parts and tools may be a little prohibitive, (much less than cars or motorcycles!) but you're golden if you are interested and you have a local recycle-a-bike workshop somewhere nearby. Otherwise look up the rich motherlode of Sheldon Brown's bike site, find a cool old lugged steel bike on Craigslist, and get wrenching.
posted by BlackPebble at 8:41 AM on November 5, 2014
As an adult, I started getting some understanding of using tools and fasteners when I did some fix-it projects in our first few apartments, and particularly when we bought an older house.
But when I really started *thinking* mechanically in terms of problem solving was when I got interested in fixing up old bikes. Buying and swapping out parts, learning how gears and bearings and bolt torque and fender attachment all work, fashioning little mounts and connectors, all delivered a new sense of actually understanding the individual parts and how they work as a system. And I stripped enough bolts to know when to stop pushing the wrench. I now find I can approach new things like lawnmower engines or fixing old guitars or working on plumbing or wiring without fear.
You may not have the interest in bikes, or the cost of parts and tools may be a little prohibitive, (much less than cars or motorcycles!) but you're golden if you are interested and you have a local recycle-a-bike workshop somewhere nearby. Otherwise look up the rich motherlode of Sheldon Brown's bike site, find a cool old lugged steel bike on Craigslist, and get wrenching.
posted by BlackPebble at 8:41 AM on November 5, 2014
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Some things seem just a mystery, I needed to change a tail light, could not see anyway to get at it, well for, er, years... but when I noticed that the screw on the INSIDE of the trunk had felt glued on the head to look invisible, well, trivial at that moment.
Be careful with things like electricity but just keep digging in.
And ** youtube ** there are an amazing number of how-to videos. Gotta be patient with the jokey jokes, but seeing a part removed, wow, can make a lot of ah ha's.
posted by sammyo at 5:50 PM on November 4, 2014 [1 favorite]