I Am Nervous
Becoming an Instructor
My academic journey has been unconventional but yet there are quite a few who have chosen the same path. As high school was coming to a close, I applied for the Mechatronics and Robotics program at BCIT. I was too late. On the waitlist I go. Surprisingly nothing happened, I apply for the next intake. Looking back, I can only imagine the amount of luck needed for that start.
At first, none of us realized what exactly we had signed up for. Two-year diploma, get the all-important practical skills and start working in industry before anyone who went straight to engineering. Just from the title alone, two things were clear. The applicants couldn’t choose between Mechanical Engineering Technology or Electronics Engineering Technology. Mechatronics was a better mix of the two than Elecanical. When we pick courses to learn about something chances are we don’t know much about it yet….Robotics in the name, at this point, was like clickbait. Intriguing enough to sign up.
“It’s not rocket science!…well it is robotics.” The calculus instructor would apply the material to robotics. Learning how to take a step back was one of the most important skills you could in the first year. Frustration, logic, red-inked physics test. Everything thing was thrown in our direction to prepare us for the second year.
Second-year was challenging. All-nighters, rockstars, and a tensile tester. A Fluid power short answer question disguised as multiple choice. The Control Theory instructor saying “Good Morning, Isaiah” as I walked in 15-minutes late to a Friday morning lecture on cue. The single greatest butterfly effect I have seen with the submission of a lab report. One instructor told us “don’t fall in love with money”.
The instructor was a graduate of this program many years ago. He encouraged some of the younger students that we were capable of continuing our education. With that, the original plan looked like the easy way out.
Settle, make money, fast forward 40 years, and retire. This plan sucked. I graduated with distinction and a level of pride in my work ethic and achievements. I signed up for more schooling. This time in a different city. A transfer program at a local college would lead me into university as an Electrical Engineer.
The idea of making money as a goal started to feel hollow. Sure getting paid to live without excessive financial concern sounds nice but the satisfaction of taking on a difficult project with multiple fronts and a queue of challenges was much more enticing.
Living in a different city, and studying at a new school. While school wasn’t a breeze, it was easy. Especially in contrast to how hard life hits. A Ford F-150 hits pretty hard.
Starting 3rd year at University I’m at the point where some high school classmates would have been 2 years ahead. As discouraging as that sounds, it was also common for engineering students to avoid taking 6 courses each term to maintain some semblance of social life. I’ve technically studied at the university for two years but one of those years was also at home. Thanks, coronavirus.
In terms of skills, I distinguish myself by blending python GUI’s and embedded systems. I would like to learn the ropes of using RTOS but student loans gotta stop growing at some point.
So to recap, my academic journey presented me with a Diploma, an Advanced Diploma, and a Bachelors’s Degree. A journey that took exactly 6 years. After 6 years of being an engineering student, my first potential job demands skills that couldn’t be taught in class but can only be acquired in the classroom.
An Instructor. Working with the instructors who taught and inspired me only four years ago. Okay, yes I was an Assistant Instructor this past year but that was easy. Helping students is basically what I’ve been doing for free for the last 6 years. Not quite understanding a specific concept, maybe I can explain. Can’t find the bug in your code, let me take a quick look.
Being the instructor is completely different altogether. I’m not helping a peer interpret material or work through problems anymore. I would be the one to introduce the material and present the problems. Up to 36 students could be latching on to my every word, replicating the lecture into their notes. Oh no…my handwriting.
Engineering sounds so much more natural. Reports, documentation, and programming — all of these are typed on a keyboard. Speaking for an hour or two each day of the week — a 10-minute presentation with four other individuals gets the nerves going.
I’m nervous, but my instructors are confident in me. The students trust me (as a lab instructor) and I know (or knew) the material thoroughly. These words were encouraging but I had to be honest. The idea of being the instructor makes me nervous. I am well aware of rate-my-prof and how critical students are towards their instructors.
I had to learn how to fail students last year. It doesn’t sit well. I want to help all the students with the material but not all students want help. I’m sure my quirks, my speech patterns, and personality will be dissected for humor.
“I was nervous when I first started too. If you weren’t nervous, then something might be wrong with you”. That was it. That was what I needed to hear.
Up until this point, I had been challenging myself and taking chances just to see what I could do. I shouldn’t shy away from this opportunity because my speech patterns might be mocked. It’s my chance to have my catchphrase like the famous “Isn’t it” or “Yes, please”. There’s no reason to fear the student’s criticisms. I am an excellent role model for the students as someone who walked the same path recently before them. The very disgust I feel towards failure is what you would want in your instructors. Someone who would very much rather see you succeed and help you do so.
There’s a lot for me to learn in the classroom but this time not as a student.