I did a 6 month field rotation at my first job, so I got to go see the products in a bunch of different environments, which was very cool. The literal “coolest” was in Appleton, WI in February. Had to borrow a block heater in the morning to get the rental RAV4 started… The best was ft Lauderdale, FL a couple weeks later, and only being allowed on site from 5-10pm meant a lot of beach time!

We also had some panels installed in the high freq trading server room at a large bank. Anytime I worked in the room, I was always escorted by armed security and a senior IT person, to make sure I didn’t break the money printing machines.

I worked on a construction site next to a large nature reserve with several manmade lakes which used to be an old quarry. There were 2 eurasian kingfishers that made a nest in the side of a small cliff under a bunch of overhanging roots. I got to see them perched on nearby bushes over the water, hunting for fish and protecting their nest. Kingfishers are one of my favourite birds now, and I think this kind of experience really cemented my love of nature. I remember everyone being told off about stopping on the walkway to take pictures but I did not care in the slightest, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to get some nice photos and enjoy these elusive birds.

Best job I had was working in a super smol community at a millwright’s shop where I took care of p/u, cleaning/repairing, and delivering gear cases and oil coolers for locomotives (boss took care of the private manufacturing for CNC and locomotive stacks). I was the only employee and planned my own day … utterly awesome.

Second best was cooking at a fly-in fishing camp. Love the wilderness and feeding people was fun. Dealing with the rich entitled American clients was rough sometimes tho :/ Sorry America.

Early in my career I worked for an HVAC contractor that did large commercial & government jobs. The best field trip was going through the steam tunnels under a major university, which included big utility vaults under some of the buildings. I learned that the chemistry building was full of glass waste plumbing due to all the nasty stuff students poured down the lab drains.

Afternoon tea with the king of Tonga. (Very formal - tiny sandwiches with the crusts cut off, Limoges china.)

The most far-flung islands of Vanuatu, travelling with a medical team vaccinating against yaws. Amazing people, one of my favourite countries.

Down a coal mine. Hot, noisy, claustrophobic.

Got to visit Gdansk Poland. Wonderful place with great people.

My work has been a bit varied, so places I’ve been (professionally) that might count as unusual include the bottom of a canal, the “cemetery” of a steel works, various test tracks, a ballistic armour plate testing facility, sled impact testing facilities, a restricted government facility, the basement of a haunted Victorian manor house, a slaughterhouse, inside the front of a ship that had been cut off and was sideways, and behind the wheel of most hypercars currently on sale.

How it felt was never as surreal as it sounds to other people when I’m talking about it, because I was working. I often felt that I’d like to just poke around and have a play, but that’s never really happened and not being able to take personal photos really puts a dampener on things.

I’ve gone on several customer visits over the years to give training seminars, marketing pitches, and troubleshoot PCBs in their various labs. Some of the standouts include well known semiconductor fabs on the West Coast, high profile consumer companies in Korea and Israel, plus some automotive clients in the Rust Belt.

Israel definitely stands out as the coolest place hands down. I’d go back in a heart beat. Eating lunch in Jaffa, sitting on the Mediterranean, during an off day is burned into my mind.