Team 254 - 2014 Build Blog + Tech Binder

[Torrance]

Originally Posted by seg9585

Can I ask a logistical question here -- reading the blog (which is amazing, by the way), how were you able to accomplish just the amount of time dedication to the team during the build season? I counted a total of 3 Rest Days.

How can the mentors juggle it with work and family, and avoid burnout? How do the students handle it with homework, midterms, etc?
Our team has had to basically shut down for a week in late January because of midterm exams. Putting in 8 hours a day every single day just isn't practical.

Not only do we have a really large team (90 students, at least 30 in the lab every night) but we also have lots of mentors to distribute the workload. I have no idea how the mentors balance robotics with work/family, they are truly amazing.

Also, builds are usually not 8 hours long. Weekday builds start at 5:30 (mentors get off work), we spend an hour eating dinner together, and then most students leave around 10 or 11pm. Weekend builds go from 1pm to about the same time but sometimes end as late as 3am. However, students will sometimes come in shifts for weekend builds.

Our school does not give that many midterms, especially to underclassmen, so we don't take time off for that.

Despite all that, it does take a tremendous amount of time to be a member of this team, but in the end I think it all pays off!