It's finally over.

Training. Boeing Training. 10 weeks.

Let me back up here to clarify a tiny bit. After I graduated from Bellingham Technical College (BTC) with an AS in Civil Engineering, things didn't pan out. I moved back with my parents and picked up two part times jobs with a 3rd doing yardwork. I dinked around on AdSet at Kohls (working truck and in the end, other random places) and was an on-call janitor for the Riverview School District.


Late in 2010, we heard that Boeing was on a hiring spree. Sure, I had tried to get on but didn't know what sort of job I was looking for. They didn't have a 'civil engineering' position. I had no clue where to start and their job site is hell to navigate in the first place. Sometime in Winter, the Seattle Times ran a couple of articles about Governor Gregoire spending millions to get this Washington Aerospace Training & Research Center going. It was to be an aerospace training facility/program to help get people the novice/beginner skills that would help them get a job at Boeing (who was hiring cuz they need bodies for the 787 plane). We got more information about this program and by late July, I started the online portion of the Assembly Mechanic certification program. The AM program lasted till 10.21.11.


Fast forward a bit. I officially started at Boeing 2.17.12. That's after a month or so of getting all the paperwork in order. Now, one doesn't just start at Boeing. There's a training period. For some, it's a 10-week standard program. For other's they get a week or 3-weeks. (I won't get into the WHYS of that).

The 10 weeks of paid training was a mix of computer-based classes, instructor led classes and hands-on work. The last 2 weeks (w/ the exception of 2 days) was in the High Bay (aka Lab). Last Thursday, I had finished up my projects and took the written exam (04.26.12) which was a bit harder than expected. (Mind you, none of us really knew what was on the exam and it's not like we could study for it.)

Last Friday (04.27.12), we started the hands-on final project. It was to be a 10-hr project but I doubt we were really given that proper amount of time. That Friday, things went to hell. I oversized holes. I countersunk holes in the wrong place. I couldn't focus, couldn't move my butt out of 1st gear, etc. The whole weekend, I had it over my head (now, others still had to retake the written so they had 2 things over their head...). I kept making plans in my head of what to do. How much time to allow for each step. Literally, I was thinking, "ok 5 mins to get the holes by the Winslow passed off, IF they are passed off...  Then 5 mins to install the nutplates w/ the cherry puller. Get that signed off. Install fasteners, 15 mins most..." Supposed to have h ad 2.7 hrs to complete. I finished with 20 minutes to spare.

Now, this project allowed one to only get docked 12 points before it was a fail. 90% + was passing. Seeing how my friday was wasted on drilling holes and REWORKING holes, I wasn't feeling at all confident I could pass and/or finish. (hence me trying to assign time limits on each step) In the end, I moved with a purpose and zipped around the high bay to get stuff and take care of business!

In the end, I passed. 95%.

Tomorrow (errrrrrr, later today), I head to the factory to see where on the 787 line I will be assigned!

Thanks to Andrea, Shannon and Jessica for giving me support. As well as several others in class who knew I could get it done and pass. :D