Quote:
Originally Posted by Brandon_L
Try telling your potential boss "I'd like the job, but you're going to have to hire my mentor as well".
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Usually, they already did. Most companies will have a time period where new hires have a mentor to help them adjust to the company.
If you have an infinite supply of scrap material, that's one thing. But, not every team will have that. There are teams out there that have to buy all their material. And, some of those teams are on a shoestring budget (as in, before they buy material, they have to look at can they afford it, or can they find a donation). For those teams, making it right the first time--or screwing it up so it CAN be used--is important.
Now, regarding it being cheaper for you: I also said that you should factor in labor. With materials being a non-issue, let's assume that each mistake or miscalculation costs you 15 minutes of 2 students working to fix it, on average. That's about 1/2 man-hour (that would otherwise not be used), and if one man-hour is 8 bucks, that's 4 bucks for an average mistake if everyone was paid. I'm not going to ask how many you make per season, because there are a lot--but let's assume that over a full build/competition season you make 100 mistakes to make calculations easy. $400 for fixing mistakes, in the entire season. Not too bad, unless you're on a shoestring budget. (Yes, I AM AWARE that all time in FIRST is volunteer time, so all labor is free unless you're dealing with an outside shop. I'm also quite aware that I didn't factor in major "Oh great that part will not work at all" redesigns, which take substantially longer.)
This isn't the real world: but it is meant to
reflect the real world. Your team is a business, or can be looked at that way. If your team was a business, with paid employees, you would have far less room for error. Some planning before you build is necessary.