HIT 10,000 hours of sheet metal work this month and it’s got me thinking about experience vs. certification

I work at a regional MRO in Boise and I just passed 10,000 hours of hands-on sheet metal repair. That number surprised me because I never tracked it before. On one hand, you can argue that real world hours mean more than any license because you learn tricks that textbooks don't teach, like how to work aluminum in cold hangars. On the other hand, I know guys with half my hours who have A&P certs and get paid way more than me. It makes me wonder if the trade values time logged or official stamps more. Have any of you ever hit a milestone like this and question what really matters for moving up?

3 comments

3 Comments

sethhernandez18d ago

Funny thing about tracking hours, I had a logbook from my first year of welding and lost it somewhere between three different hangars and a divorce.

diana_black18d ago

Wait, you aced a whole first year of welding and then just lost the logbook? That would drive me absolutely nuts, I'd still be tearing apart every toolbox looking for it.

emmag2218d ago

That "lost it somewhere between three different hangars and a divorce" part hits home. It's funny how life events just swallow up the stuff we think we'll keep forever. I've noticed it's like that with most things we try to measure too. We spend so much time tracking hours or miles or whatever thinking it matters, but those numbers usually end up lost or forgotten, and we still find a way to keep going.