One of the biggest mistakes I made in my educational career is not taking shop class in high school. I was fortunate in that my school had well outfitted metal and wood shops, yet I never set foot in them. Honestly, I think I was even a bit afraid. The kids taking shop classes weren’t like me and I couldn’t see myself in that environment. Instead, I spent all my time across the hall taking engineering classes and hanging out in the drafting lab. I learned a lot, but I wish someone would have told me how useful hands-on skills would be for a career in engineering. Only now, fifteen years later, after working largely out of a manufacturing technology center doing my own machining and spending time at a semi-professional makerspace, do I feel like I’ve come close to making up for that missed opportunity.