What Self Taught Skills Do You Have?

[Edward]

Don't count something that you went to school or training for. Don't include skills you learned on the job...

I'll go first. I'm kind of a jack of all trades, Master of one. (One can not call themselves a master at anything...until someone else calls you a master, first.

When I was about 23 or 24, my dad bought me a set of electric snake machines so I could unstop people's drain s in their house and make money. (He was a Master Plumber).
So in unstopping drains I basically taught myself repair plumbing by being around it.
That took me into HVAC and they made learn most of it on my own. I never did go to HVAC school, but attended a lot of related classes (which had nothing to do with the job, lol!)
So being in HVAC let me work around the Sparky's (electricians) and, honestly there isn't a whole lot to know to be a basic journeyman electrician. Amp draws & wire run lengths for wire & brkr sizing are all charted out and the inspector looks for certain things. I actually even wired a house (and set the Service panel (breaker box) in a new home being built. It was a homeowner permit, and it all passed inspection the first time! So I'm sorta an electrician too, but not to be confused with other (real) electricians that may even be Master's here on the board, lol.
Both my brothers are flooring installers so I've helped them enough to be able to do it, (But hate it and have enthusiasm about hiring my flooring done if I need it.)
So I can plumb, Electrical, ducting & heat & air, flooring...almost everything in a house, except drywall and painting, bleh.

Plus, when I was young I read a lot of psychology books and social books & body language and All that. I prolly coulda easily been a social worker or something, lol.
Auto mechanics is self taught also for me. Depending on the job, I'd much rather hire that done. Only when funds are tight am I forced to fix my own vehicle! That's one reason I like older vehicles. That I have a chance on, unlike all the new stuff nowadays. Just buy the Chiltons or Shop Manual and go at it...

I learned young, learn something about, everything...and everything, about something. I've been called a Master, about my hvac...twice now. That doesn't mean I can fix everything, but have a better chance at it than the journeyman & apprentices does, lol

What's your skill sets?

 

[Tessa]

The books you read are similar to some of mine Edward, psychology,body language, different illnesses both physical and mental (If someone I knew was suffering from something I studied it myself so that I could understand them and what they were going through). Knitting I taught myself, love complicated patterns.
My mother was a dressmaker, and a very good one, so I felt I had to learn. I hated it but can get by.
I used to try all sorts of crafts, really enjoyed that. When I got married I didn't know how to cook so had to teach myself that. People seem to like what I cook, or else they are being kind
Good with cats and dogs.
I think that's it. Simple things but enjoyable.

 

[KevinK]

I taught myself how to sing and play guitar.
I taught myself basic Japanese.
I taught myself how to draw engineering schematics.
I taught myself the basics of Japanese swordsmanship.
I taught myself how to shoot guns.
I taught myself how to construct databases.
I taught myself how to invest money.
I taught myself how to start and run a business.
I taught myself how to care about others.
I taught myself how to cut my own hair.

(The first two I started with formal instruction, but took it the rest of the way on my own.)

 

[HeIsRisen2018]

I taught myself how to rap,.. and that's pretty much it lol

 

[Edward]

The books you read are similar to some of mine Edward, psychology,body language, different illnesses both physical and mental (If someone I knew was suffering from something I studied it myself so that I could understand them and what they were going through). Knitting I taught myself, love complicated patterns.
My mother was a dressmaker, and a very good one, so I felt I had to learn. I hated it but can get by.
I used to try all sorts of crafts, really enjoyed that. When I got married I didn't know how to cook so had to teach myself that. People seem to like what I cook, or else they are being kind
Good with cats and dogs.
I think that's it. Simple things but enjoyable.

That reminds me, I've read quite a few medical type books too. First aid & cpr and my dad sent me a DSM IV a long time ago and I read it a lot.
(I didn't like that book and prefer the first aid stuff better).
I can cook pretty good too.
Learning to shoot was basically self taught. Reloading ammunition too.

 

[Edward]

I taught myself how to sing and play guitar.
I taught myself basic Japanese.
I taught myself how to draw engineering schematics.
I taught myself the basics of Japanese swordsmanship.
I taught myself how to shoot guns.
I taught myself how to construct databases.
I taught myself how to invest money.
I taught myself how to start and run a business.
I taught myself how to care about others.
I taught myself how to cut my own hair.

(The first two I started with formal instruction, but took it the rest of the way on my own.)

That's cool! (You cut your own hair?!) Wow.
I'm kinda trying to teach myself to be able pay a harmonica right now. I ordered 3 of them, a C, a D, and a G ...(It goes slow lol)

I never picked up an instrument until recently. I kinda regret not picking something up sooner...

 

[Christ_empowered]

my big thing is that i taught myself how to write well. When I got genuinely saved, I had a 115-120 IQ and a surprisingly good writing style. Now, I have the "high(er) IQ" and I write well (writing style is better, plus...I dunno...overall quality has improved...), and that's clearly a big gift from The Lord...

oh, and I did my own Orthomolecular vitamin protocol. The version I do dates from the 50s...it was once called "Mega-Vitamin Therapy for the Schizophrenias" (note the plural...there's more than 1 form of Schizophrenia out there...). The Orthomolecular people recommend that those who do it have an MD or a DO to supervise, but...

I was living in middle of nowhere, no insurance, etc., so I did it myself, tweaked it over the years, and now...

My "severe mental illness" is a lot better, so is my physical health. I also now tolerate my tranquilizer...no tics, twitches, mega-depression, etc...and I'm down to -2- prescribed psych drugs, both at normal doses.

 

[KevinK]

That's cool! (You cut your own hair?!) Wow.

I just kept watching the stylist do it and finally said, "Hey, I can do that". I figured the worst that can happen is getting a bad haircut that would grow out, but even my first attempt came out OK. I read a little on techniques like layering and texturizing, then tried those too. I haven't paid for a cut in almost 20 years.

 

[WIP]

I just kept watching the stylist do it and finally said, "Hey, I can do that". I figured the worst that can happen is getting a bad haircut that would grow out, but even my first attempt came out OK. I read a little on techniques like layering and texturizing, then tried those too. I haven't paid for a cut in almost 20 years.

How do you do that in a mirror? Just trying to use a clippers to trim my sideburns has proven to be a challenge. I would be a fool to attempt cutting the rest, especially the back.

 

[Pizza]

I learned electronic soldering on my own (early attempts were AWFUL but I got there...)
I then taught myself how to solder copper pipe and did several mods to the house.

I learned a lot of RF circuit theory as well as radio wave propagation on my own over about 20 years, starting at the age of 14. Finally got a degree in the late 2000s, after over 25 years in the industry as a technician.

Most of my less-than-stellar mechanical ability comes from decades of doing it myself until I got it right.

 

[evenifigoalone]

Oh mai you can see me :o

This video is 11 years old. Sadly Cookie passed away in 2011.
I learned tricks and training from books. A dream of mine as a kid was to have my dogs compete in canine sports. My dogs knew most obstacles in an agility course. But, they didn't enjoy it enough to be able to do it competitively. They only did it for the treats and praise. Treader just wasn't at all reliable off leash, and Cookie tended to be too distracted by the presence of strangers and other dogs.
I also tried for the CGC (canine good citizen), but my dogs never made it that far either. (Recently I found the papers from Cookie's attempt at it, though.)

Still, I did teach them a lot of tricks. And I could impress people at the park and such. I taught Treader to jump over my arm.

 

[WIP]

When I bought our farm the home was still able to be lived in but needed to be upgraded. In the process I learned that we needed to completely strip the interior to the wall studs because there was no insulation and being in central MN, it is hard to believe. This is what I did for the first time in the process.

• I rewired the entire house from the main service drop on the power pole outside. Was too cheap to rent a ditch witch so I dug the underground line in by hand, about 100' long. This included electric range, electric water heater, electric dryer, and electric baseboard heat throughout. I studied the NEC and learned about the local codes. I did all the calculations to determine the heater sizing for each room, service entrance sizing, wire sizing, and branch circuit lengths and sizing and laid out the circuit accordingly. I was not 100% green when I started. I had just graduated from an Automated Machine Maintenance program at a technical institute and this is where I was first introduced to the NEC and other codes as well as some wiring but none of the training was related to farm house wiring so I spent a lot of time bouncing around the NEC codebook to get 'er done. It was completed in steps as I would save my money and then do what work I could afford and then have it inspected. I passed all inspections without a hitch so I was pretty happy about that.
• I reworked a lot of the plumbing in my home so I taught myself how to sweat copper pipe.
• I drywalled the entire interior which was something I'd never done before. I should say we drywalled it because I remember hauling 4'x8' sheets of drywall one at a time upstairs to the second story and when it was time to put the sheets on the ceiling I did not know there was a jack that could be rented. So, my wife who was 8 months pregnant at the time was my helper. She would stand on the ladder to help hold the sheet on the ceiling while I run enough screws in to hold it in place. Quite the trooper she was.
• Only 1/3 of the house had a full basement. The center section only had a hand-dug basement large enough to fit the furnace and some space for what I expect was originally coal storage. It was lined with rocks and concrete that I suspect were installed by hand. The other third had no basement under it. One day while I was putting wood on the fire (we also had a wood stove along with the fuel oil furnace) I noticed some of the rocks were coming loose in the walls and decided we should put a full basement under the house. One neighbor had an old backhoe mounted on a truck frame and he dug a ramp. Another neighbor came with his skid loader and began digging under the house. We added adjustable posts as he went and slowly dug out to put in the basement. I remember we found a sand vein just below the floor level and when we poured the footings for the new foundation, we were pouring the cement into running water. Needless to say we installed a drain tile around that new section. Once the footings were set we laid in the block walls for the foundation and then poured the floor. All of this was a new experience for me.
• So in a nutshell I learned or taught myself home wiring, plumbing, drywalling, setting a home foundation, block laying, and cement finishing. It was actually kind of fun even though it took about 10 years to complete the remodel. In the end I figured I spent about $20,000.00 but paid myself (saved) about $40,000.00 in labor.

Also, when I bought this farm, the closest thing I had with regard to farming experience was a small vegetable garden when I was growing up. When I first bought the farm (no pun intended) I contracted with a neighbor to let him farm it for a cash rent. After about two years he informed me that he needed to cut back on his workload so I was faced with either finding a new renter or farming it myself and so began my education in farming.

I had a Farmall M tractor that I bought for snow handling in winter and so I decided to look for suitable equipment for it. I farm about 60 acres and figured I should be able to handle it with my full-time job. Looking back, it was actually a bit bigger bite than I thought even though it was doable but I was younger then.

I found an old pull behind 3-14" mold board plow, a John Deere VanBrunt grain drill on steel, and a small 12' cultivator on steel, a small 10' disc, and an old mounted row crop cultivator for the M. These pieces of equipment would get me to the point of putting seed in the ground and some level of weed control with corn. Well, my first year I chose to try planting corn and oats because we have horses and thought we could grow part of our own feed.

That first year I learned a ton about the importance of weed control as I failed miserably. When all was said and done and I paid my bills I figured out that I had about $60.00 left over. That was my salary for the year. I guess I was lucky that I came out in the black anyway even if my personal salary was only a few cents per hour input. I also learned that I had no desire to grow corn. Way too much of a pain in the neck for various reasons so I switched to growing wheat, soybeans, and some oats on occasion.

Part of my crop included some hay ground for our horses. I found an old pull-behind sickle mower and a conditioner that I used for cutting hay until I eventually bought my haybine. Over the years I have had plenty of failed hay crops. I find that to be one of my biggest challenges every year to put up good, clean, horse quality hay. Horses are very particular and their systems are not able to handle moldy or dusty hay. It will get them very sick and potentially kill them.

I hire my neighbor to do my harvesting but he often will just tell me to use his equipment and do it myself.

So, in a nutshell, I learned how to plant and make hay and also plow, cultivate, plant, fertilize, and harvest small grain (wheat, soybeans, and oats).

I also remember one time when my Farmall M needed some transmission work and so I took it upon myself to rebuild the transmission. This required splitting the tractor in half (rolling the rear from the front) and then finding good used bearings, gears, and shafts to replace them. New parts are nearly impossible to find anymore. That was a new experience for me which I learned as I went using a service manual that I bought. It wasn't a perfect rebuild but it worked.

 

[HeIsRisen2018]

Oh mai you can see me :o

This video is 11 years old. Sadly Cookie passed away in 2011.
I learned tricks and training from books. A dream of mine as a kid was to have my dogs compete in canine sports. My dogs knew most obstacles in an agility course. But, they didn't enjoy it enough to be able to do it competitively. They only did it for the treats and praise. Treader just wasn't at all reliable off leash, and Cookie tended to be too distracted by the presence of strangers and other dogs.
I also tried for the CGC (canine good citizen), but my dogs never made it that far either. (Recently I found the papers from Cookie's attempt at it, though.)

Still, I did teach them a lot of tricks. And I could impress people at the park and such. I taught Treader to jump over my arm.

Cute doggie, you did a really good job training him. I'm pretty sure that he will be waiting for you at the Rainbow Bridge :halo and greeting you with tons of doggie kisses. :kiss

 

[JohnDB]

I've taught myself how to have "Jazz Hands". It's a new thing.
I was going for lethal weapons and just missed. (Only by a little bit IMHO).

 

[Luminous_Rose]

It is always interesting to learn new skills. It is amazing what one can learn and how God designed us to always be learning!

Attempting to teach myself Japanese on and off, but it probably takes more time and effort than I put in =P

Otherwise, I am self taught in piñata making, American Sign Language (although I have taken classes after self teaching to deepen my understanding), HTML, some aspects of cooking, and typing on a keyboard.

 

[Papa Zoom]

It's a tough question to answer since at 66, things I started teaching myself (learning by doing) I now have the advantage of skilled friends who "furthered my learning" and also have taken various courses to further my learning as well.

I taught myself to play guitar @ 17 but in truth, unless we live on an island where no one else lives and we've never seen a guitar before in our life, when we "teach ourselves" how to play we really mean we find resources to help us learn (books and in today's world, youtube.) Not to mention the many people that have taught me little skills along the way.

After 5 years of learning guitar on my own, I took two years of lessons - where I learned how to write tablature and finger-pick guitar Travis style. Then 40 years later I took another 5 years of higher learning (musical composition, theory, advanced playing concepts, sight reading)

The worst teacher I had was myself (because I didn't know what I was doing and I taught myself improper techniques.) These last 5 years of learning from a pro helped me fix my self-taught errors.

I could name a bunch of other things I learned by doing but those things I'm good at (storytelling and puppetry - music) I had help along the way. In fact, I can't think of anything I totally taught myself. Even my latest redoing of all the sink plumbing was aided by very good youtube videos.

I built a deck but....it shows I didn't have training. Thankfully a friend helped with the framing.

 

[Tessa]

That is so true Papa Zoom. Most of the things I have learned are from books or listening to/watching other people.

 

[KevinK]

Attempting to teach myself Japanese on and off, but it probably takes more time and effort than I put in =P

Ganbare!!

 

[KevinK]

How do you do that in a mirror? Just trying to use a clippers to trim my sideburns has proven to be a challenge. I would be a fool to attempt cutting the rest, especially the back.

I started with a mirror, but after a while just did it by feel. In truth, I doubt if the back is perfect, but no-one has said anything so I'll just roll this way for now. Plus, I'm not the one who has to see it.

 

[Luminous_Rose]

Ganbare!!

Gambarimasu!