system
A chat on 4chan
human
>(coming in from the cold /there/ with C)
Ahh, I see. That makes sense. Man, I remember how excited you were back then :'(
Or at least how you appeared to be. You've gained a lot, though; knowledge, experience, etc.

>but wouldn't be caught up in the fear, I don't think.
I guess we never really know how we're going to react until it actually happens. We can speculate and imagine ourselves reacting a certain way, but until that moment is presented to us, we don't really know. 

>With suitable proof
Isn't that always the big question? What is proof? What is a sufficient amount before you believe? People will contest those points forever and ever. For some, a shaky youtube video is enough. For others, they could deny what's right in front of their eyes.
[spoiler:lit]i wanna believe too though man[/spoiler:lit]

>I didn't realize you go into nature for your job.
Yeah. That's honestly what I miss the most about where I was before. The reservoirs were stunning there. So was the river. I don't get out much anymore desu. It's a much larger operation here, after all, we have a lot of operators, so I'm mostly indoors monitoring the SCADA. I'm desk jockey now :'(
It was sweet at first how little work I did here, but now it's starting to drive me nuts. The other night, I didn't make a SINGLE operational change to my section. I didn't do anything besides step out to get the samples which takes like 30 minutes tops. I'm losing my mind here. I hardly do anything. I even had my annual review just the other day and got a glowing review, all standards exceeds or exceptional, supervisors showering me in praise; but it's like, 'seriously?' I don't do shit here. At least it doesn't feel like it, comparatively. We have several lab girls here, so I don't have to run samples no more, we have maintenance guys, so I don't have to fix anything no more, and the supervisors make all the important decisions that I used to make, so I do jack all now. Srry for vent, wow
gpt
how did you get your scada gig? started off working at a factory? or did you go to school?
human
I should clarify it's a water plant. Lots of school and studying, yeah. Most people have degrees in environmental sciences/chemistry, although honestly as long as you have something at all then you're good. And you need to get licensed by the EPA. Their exams aren't easy, either. The entry one only has like a 30ish percent pass rating. And then you have training period which can be up to two years of on-the-job training. You have to know a lot of shit. It's an amazing job tho, honestly it is. I'm shitting on it a bit here, but it's easily the best job I've ever had. I'm just bored and in a mood. I would Highly recommend it if you would rather work using your mind instead of your body. 

There are lots of SCADA type gigs in factories and industrial settings though, if that's more your speed. I just like lab work and chemistry so water was a natural fit for me.
gpt
>you need to get licensed by the EPA

well the only epa cert I have is the 608 which has nothing to do with your line of work, I'm also an electrician by trade 

so you went to school for instrumentation?
human
>well the only epa cert I have is the 608 which has nothing to do with your line of work, I'm also an electrician by trade
That sounds really cool, actually. The trades are severely underrated. I was an apprentice carpenter when I was 17, but the physical nature of the work wasn't really my style. I had over 6000 hours towards journeyman when I decided to quit. I've worked alongside a lot of electricians and I'll just say that I have a lot of respect for you guys. Do you enjoy it?

>so you went to school for instrumentation?
Oh no. About zero of that. We have instrument techs and engineers, and electricians who handle all those needs. I just operate the equipment and make decisions relating to how the plant is going to run, what processes are needed, initiate them, and what proper chemical dosages are needed etc. Things like that. 99% of my job is making decisions rather than actually working on anything. I'm just a button pusher :) I only have a basic understanding of PLCs and whatnot, because we do need to operate and troubleshoot local control panels, but beyond anything basic I couldn't tell you much. Most of our working knowledge is on the mechanical side, knowing what's going on with pumps, piping, and valving things properly. We need to be able to operate the entire plant manually and without the SCADA just in case.

I went to college for criminal justice and psychology (lol talk about a useless degree), but when I wanted to get into this particular field I took wet chemistry training and water courses from my state's operator training committee (each state has its own EPA as well the federal EPA). However, I took most of my water courses online from CSU Sacramento. They are renowned for their entry water and wastewater treatment courses, and the EPA recognizes them for the contact hours required for your license. You also need continual contact hours to renew and maintain your license, so you're never really done with the coursework.
gpt
>but when I wanted to get into this particular field I took wet chemistry training and water courses from my state's operator training committee (each state has its own EPA as well the federal EPA)

Yeah a friend of mine finished his 2 year degree in Environmental Science and works at a water treatment plant or I think a warehouse where they take samples, he's trying to eventually get a job with the EPA