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I'm a blue collar IBEW electrician that inevitably injured myself working in confined spaces. Summer 2022, I set out on my quest to become a technical writer, b

I'm a blue collar IBEW electrician that inevitably injured myself working in confined spaces. Summer 2022, I set out on my quest to become a technical writer, but by Holidays 2022 I was generating images and tip-toe-ing into the emerging ChatGPT stuff. By January 2023, I was already certain that professional writing would be increasingly-difficult to enter (as a career field) as a novice content creator: I was already able to generate extensive copy and then just act as copy-editor-"writer" Thankfully a natural disaster (landslide creep) has forced me to re-prioritize my life, down to potentially building yet another house — I'm not sure at this point I have the physical energy, but I certainly know that my brainpower cannot keep up (competitively) in a paid-market content onslaught (which is inevitable). Whatdo? My body was so excited to sit in a desk, just shy of 40... and now I just don't see a point competing with all the more-qualified laid-offs (redundant white collar worklings, some replaced by AGI-like services, competing against novices like me... which GPT certainly outperforms, at 1/100th the price).

ChuckNorris89 4y ago
There must be work in your area that isn't backbreaking physical labour or computer knowledge work revolving around rapidly changing fads. How about working for the government or public companies or institutions? ChatGPT knows a lot when it comes to information that's public in the internet or open sourced a lot, like web dev, but a lot of business require institutional knowledge that's always in the heads of the workers and never opensourced online like electrical engineering, embedded programing, train operators, plumbers, electricians, PLC programming, etc. Knowledge work is so much more than web dev or copyrighting.
safety1st 4y ago
Here's one thing you've got going for you: you can reason about electrical work far better than the general population as well as ChatGPT, which can barely reason at all. It can regurgitate what it scoops up from its training data very well. When it has to combine ideas in novel ways it starts to hallucinate and requires an operator with genuine expertise to separate fact from fiction. As a general purpose novice copywriter I think yeah a lot of people are gonna struggle in this new world. But you are an electrical expert. Maybe that's your angle.
- ProllyInfamous 4y ago
  I have been observing GPT responses to basic circuit design (specifically in battery cell arrangements for EVs, a client's specialty) and although it is not able to understand "big picture" overall objectives — at present — once re-trained, it is then able to derive correct solutions to similar and same problems. Thank you for your motivational participation — I have actually copyedited tons of technical documentation (some even paid, lol =P ) but definitely would need to specialize fiercely and apply realworld knowledge into the computer systems.
ericmcer 4y ago
Another front page thread is about how in demand electricians are. Maybe there is some way you can make get money out of it?

ChuckNorris89 4y ago

There must be work in your area that isn't backbreaking physical labour or computer knowledge work revolving around rapidly changing fads. How about working for the government or public companies or institutions? ChatGPT knows a lot when it comes to information that's public in the internet or open sourced a lot, like web dev, but a lot of business require institutional knowledge that's always in the heads of the workers and never opensourced online like electrical engineering, embedded programing, train operators, plumbers, electricians, PLC programming, etc. Knowledge work is so much more than web dev or copyrighting.

safety1st 4y ago

Here's one thing you've got going for you: you can reason about electrical work far better than the general population as well as ChatGPT, which can barely reason at all. It can regurgitate what it scoops up from its training data very well. When it has to combine ideas in novel ways it starts to hallucinate and requires an operator with genuine expertise to separate fact from fiction. As a general purpose novice copywriter I think yeah a lot of people are gonna struggle in this new world. But you are an electrical expert. Maybe that's your angle.

ProllyInfamous 4y ago
I have been observing GPT responses to basic circuit design (specifically in battery cell arrangements for EVs, a client's specialty) and although it is not able to understand "big picture" overall objectives — at present — once re-trained, it is then able to derive correct solutions to similar and same problems. Thank you for your motivational participation — I have actually copyedited tons of technical documentation (some even paid, lol =P ) but definitely would need to specialize fiercely and apply realworld knowledge into the computer systems.

ericmcer 4y ago

Another front page thread is about how in demand electricians are. Maybe there is some way you can make get money out of it?