Hey!
I'd like to share my experience as a student participant of both, SkillsUSA and FIRST.
• They are two different organizations, and as stated before- it's more of an apples to oranges comparison.
• SkillsUSA, I would say is more focused on the individual, with the exception of team work oriented competitions; which even then still emphasize individual performance when factoring into the "group score"
• FIRST is definitely much more intense and energetic, which I think lead's to a much more fun experience when students are not in "competition mode." I feel that this energy allows for more interaction between students on other teams, and provides an opportunity to make some amazing friends.
• SkillsUSA's judging criteria, I agree, is very rigid. This clear definition of how students are ranked makes it easier for one to understand why they received 2nd place, instead of first. SkillsUSA leaves a contestant with little to wonder, whereas sometimes during FIRST events, team's receive very little closer (if at all). There
might be some bias from the judge, or maybe your team got lucky during alliance selection, team's picking during alliance selection may go for the "big name teams" even though there were plenty of better performing teams, etc. In short, if you win or lose in SkillsUSA, you know why, but in FIRST it's
sometimesopen for interpretation.
• Something that SkillsUSA has, that FIRST doesn't emphasize to a strong degree is the grievance system. If a contestant believes that they are being treated unfairly, someone is receiving and unfair advantage, or that something is wrong with their contest, they can file a grievance immediately, and the matter will try to be resolved. Along with this, when I was competing at districts for Skills, instead of school names or student ID, we simply had our contestant number written to identify us, which I guess eliminates bias some what..
• FIRST has a way more supportive community, both inside and outside the events. I simply love how *everyone* has a competitive and technical attitude, but will also do what they can to help you. Some of my favorite memories this 2016 year, where when I was helping other teams, and vice versa.
• I think for some, not all contests, students have the chance to win something significant. Whether this may be a complete set of Snap On tools, or a $5,000+ scholarship, students have the opportunity to really compete for their reward, which FIRST does to some degree. My only issue with the FIRST scholarship system is that it's dependent of the post secondary institution one choses to attend, so you could've participated very actively in FIRST for 4+ years and then go onto not receive a scholarship because the institution you chose to attend was only awarding one, which is frustrating at times.
• I don't know if it was just me, but I got really bored when I wasn't competing -- there wasn't much to do during the off times when you had to wait for the everyone else to finish their contests - at least at the district level.
• FIRST was a lot more captivating and engaging for me, for several reasons. I think the idea of building something from the ground up, really attaches you to it and makes whatever you do very personal - so going to events and seeing all these different solutions and designs, really makes you take pride in your work and team. FIRST is very fast paced, not to say SkillsUSA wasn't, but there's something about a motor failing, a drive belt snapping, or code not working that really puts you in moment in the pits - I love it so much, nothing else compared.
• I think being involved in FIRST has allowed me to explore/utilize all my talents, for instance, I was involved in both the technical and non technical aspects of my team. Some days I would be working to wire sensors, build gearboxes, and manufacture parts, while other days I could be making calls to companies or organizing events.
• SkillsUSA, I think has a little better recognition if you are vocational student, applying for a job while in high school, because it's so closely related to industry specific tasks.
• FIRST is also very industry specific, some of the components and practices that we used on our robot this year are some that you'll surely see used in the real world.
So in the end, I'm glad I participated in SkillsUSA, it was fun, but I didn't enjoy it half as much as I did FIRST. So it all boils down to which one you spent your time and heart into more, and for me that was FIRST. I'm glad that someone mentioned these two amazing organizations in a post, usually people I've met know of one, but not the either, so thank you for brining this topic to life..
- Mo