I had just started my new job at an engineering and research lab. Working with engineers was a first for me.

My initial task was to take a huge blueprint and get the measurements of certain parts. I had so much fun tracking down each part, finding its noted measurement, and recording it. After some hours, I finished and was incredibly proud of what I had done.

I brought my results to my boss, Dr Zenon Zudans, the head of the lab, for his review. He did so and told me it was done perfectly.

I stayed two years, and I loved that job from beginning to end. Zenon was all about making certain that I was challenged and encouraged at the same time.

I learned so much about what it means to be a member of a team: to depend on others to do their parts, and to deliver on what was mine to do.

Years later, talking with engineers, I learned that the blueprint assignment was a common test in the industry. It showed how carefully someone worked and whether the lab could depend on them to be accurate.

It may have been a test, but it was real for me. That task taught me that everything in that lab began with design, even though I never did engineering design myself.

I’ve never forgotten that exercise.

And I’ve never forgotten the value of a boss who understood that a young person needs more than schooling to learn the job.

In this weeks Grounds for Thought, I’ll talk about the principles that guide how to bring a young staff member up to speed, why AI is making that harder, and how to address this in spite of AI.