Quote:
Originally Posted by Koko Ed
The FTA is only the most important (and powerful) volunteer at an event.
Your knowledge and competence can make or break an event. No pressure.
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But they get all the
cool toys! 
In all seriousness though, there is also more to FIRST than FRC. I would suggest maybe trying to start with FTC and do FTA/CSA/WTA there first, as it seems to be a bit less stressful dealing with 20 teams that are more local and utilize less complex control systems than dealing with 60 teams who expect every match to run (if you're not in districts) as they pay $500+ per match. Also FTC seems to be laid back quite a bit more -- maybe because their matches are WAAAY less expensive than FRC is (and they could really use some of the pizzazz that FRC brings along
Another option is to work with and mentor a team, however I strongly suggest against that your freshman year (and my team actually won't allow freshman mentors).
Also, don't forget to hit up the
FIRST Alumni network as well once you graduate to get your foot in the door with some employers!
Feel free to hit me up! I'm still trying to find how I want to give back to the program that I fell in love with
Quote:
Originally Posted by ratdude747
I once said the same thing as the title (or something similar), and the reply I got from the several FTAs training me as scorekeeper, dare I say in unison, is "You don't want to be an FTA!" (or something similar). I've come to find it's not because they hate their role (well, not all the time that is), but because FTAs don't become FTAs because they seek power or influence. It's because they have the skills to work as one and because they are gluttons for punishment and/or have a strong drive to promote FIRST in such a way.
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I saw this and thought I would add on the VERY important part that it seems like (not being a FTA, but doing a LOT of troubleshooting myself in my work) that an FTA needs critical thinking skills/ability/reasoning even before technical skills. If you're not able to think critically under pressure, then I'm sure it'd probably not be very fun.
Finally to go back to the point above, MAKE SCHOOL FIRST (if you're going to college). MAKE FIRST SECOND. Being an FTA requires you to be there Wednesday Morning through Saturday Night. If you are in classes, it'd be pretty hard to miss a few events worth of classes. I would second what everyone says about starting slower and finding your niche. For me it was utilizing my passion/artistic ability of photography at events to be a photographer. Not at events it was attempting (still working on that first blue banner) to mentor teams to success.