Are we Nerds, Geeks...etc.??

You know I wouldn't consider modelers Geeks or Nerds.  We are all a little "eccentric" but then again it is a requirement since we are all "artists" by avocation.  Our craft needs a certain amount of skill to be good at it.  This skill requires that we think "out of the box" (with all due respect to the OOB builders out there... :) )  Anyway, we are still a long way from becoming Van Goghs and shunning the world... that, in my opinion is the definition of Nerd and Geek - social outcasts.  I've known a lot of modelers and the term "social outcast" never came to mind.  We are a bunch of happy-go-lucky, foot-loose people who enjoy expressing our feelings through our craft.  That is not being Geeky.

John

Good post!

Ever since I was a kid I had an apprehension of telling people what I do in my spare time.  I did get picked at by school mates and my father. 

But to H*ll with them all! 

The coolest thing about these boards is there are people from all walks of life that share the same interests...after a long week or even a rough day it is nice to escape for a while in here...Thanks!

wow... a lively bunch here!  first, I build models and I love it!  My coworkers love it because whether or not they at first thought it quaint, geekish or whatever... I now supply their childrens' bedroom ceilings with authentic replicas of WWII aircraft and beyond!  So they love it!  Some were even quite surprised when they saw what my models looked like.  "I thought you built things like my little brother did when he was a kid" was one response... I thought it a horror when I realized I was running out of room at the house for models... now it is nice because I have people asking me if I am doing any models soon as their son/daughter were asking about it... I even found one guy who snickered when I was talking about models once, finally fess up and tell me before he got married he was big into car models and was getting good at doing flames with his airbrush...

2.  As far as IT being geeks or nerds... I challenge that!  Let them call me that the next time the switches at their location go down and I have to fix it.. let them tell me that the next time the server abends and I am the only one who can find a cure for it!  And lo and behold you KNOW my response if they ask me a question about their home PC!!!  (::blank look::  you want me to WHAT??  I'm sorry you'll have to take it to Best Buy... I don't do work after hours)  ***edit***  and if they still insist on calling me a geek I will throw my rubiks cube at them!!! 

And as far as smokinggun3... how close are you to Phoenix?  that is becoming a miniature Silicon Valley, as is Salt Lake and Provo, Utah... rent is cheap for them, and so is the non skilled labor!  you need to go post a resume on www.monster.com and let some people see it!  Don't wait for the college job placement people.  www.computerjobs.com is good too... go online and find as many places to post a resume as possible... even back when I was not as marketable, I got a lot of calls just by posting a resume everywhere I could... someone will give you a break.  Certifications help.. even the www.brainbench.com ones... I almost got hired for a NT support job once just because I had a brainbench cert for it even though I didnt have the Microsoft ones (declined it as it was in the middle of downtown and I was new to the area)...   if you haven't already, learn some Linux... it is becoming a big thing in the field to find someone who knows Linux as well as the big-name NOS's...  and good luck!!  don't act nervous in an interview and talk like you know what you are talking about!  (it helps to know what you are talking about as well but if not, sometimes the people who are interviewing you won't know a lot about it either)  Also.. biggest thing... look for an IT placement agency... it's contract work and not steady but some even provide you with funding for certification tests!  And in the meantime you have experience on a resume...

And the biggest... don't be proud.. if you have to get a job at Best Buy just to make money and get experience do it... I am on the hiring team at work and even that is experience, if we see a huge gap we question it.. but if we see they were even working in the field it is USUALLY acceptable!  I started out at my current job as a general PC tech... 6 years and several certifications later I am a Network Engineer making an easy 20k more than I started at...

Dude, it's all a matter or perspective.  Professional athletes are paid millions of dollars to play children's games, and it's perfectly acceptable to most of society.  How is that any different than what we do?

I'll do you all one better -- in addition to my love of models, I collect Lego sets.  Talk about getting some weird looks at the store . . . .  I just figure, if they got a problem with it, screw 'em.  I figure you should be able to do whatever makes you happy, as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else.

-Jonathan

David Voss wrote:

Whoa!  Hold on there.  Anyone in the IT field knows it's not that simple.   In fact, the last Nerd Dinner I attended, there was a clear distinction between the nerds and the geeks.  That came down to a Rubiks Cube.  The geeks were the ones discussing the theory behind the Rubiks Cube and the least amount of moves to solve any puzzle.

OMG, I have one right on the shelf in my cubicle at work.................  but then again I am 22 and never once finished or seriously tried to finish the cube.  I often found that fact almost shameful.  but good, at least i am nerd, not a geek!  (degree in engineering, got glasses, read a ton of books, own a modded sportswagon, ex-editor at school paper, job in engineering, a condo decorated/littered with unbuilt kits...  but a girlfriend and a good circle of friends in liberal arts majors plus the gym hours balance them all out.  see models will only be that little minute factor that makes me a true nerd!)

Well, at least our hobby hasn't degenerated into a bunch of guys shuffling around the lhs refusing to make eye contact like it was some sort of back room at the video store.  Not that I've ever been in one of those.  Come to think of it, maybe that does describe my lhs. 

Hey, at least we can all share our pains here. Personally, I'm the only person my age, mid-20's that I know whom builds models. I met another guy once, and it did give me a strange sense of relief to know I wasn't the only one.

Benchman, dont worry what other people think, I too dont have anyone except this forum to talk to about models, i find most people who are'nt modellers just dont GET IT, what we do, for instance i mentioned the other day to a friend at work that i was really excited about starting on a 1:35 Humvee and it was like i might as well have said nothing as he completely ignored me and started to talk about something he was concerned about. My wife and kids support me but they do think my hobby is a little "quaint" and my 16 year old daughter thinks i am a supernerd! This is a hobby i do because i find it interesting,educational and relaxing . I also think a lot of outsiders dont realize the effort and hours of work that  go into a good model and how realistic they can look, i think they have a conception that thay are just toys but look at the models in the galleries and FSM and they are awesome.

benchman wrote:

I'm a closet modeler. If I mention in my daily life what my hobby is I usually receive comments like, "I thought building models was something that kids did. I'm 48 and I still remember when I was in high school and a buddy of mine was in my basement and saw some of my models. Nothing was said at the time, but when hanging out before school with some classmates my "buddy" decided to try to humiliate me by declaring that I still "played" with models. This still bugs the sh*t out of me that I can't openly talk about this interest in this community. I live in the midwest in a town of about 10,000 people. In this whole town I know no other adult modelers. I do travel to neighboring towns for modeling shows, etc. I think the general thought in this community of a person that builds models is somebody that has no social life, lives in his mothers basement and is in some kind of fantasy world. Just had to get it off my chest!!! benchman

Mate as much as it pains me to say it, I'm with you 100%.  The best things I have done as far as modeling is concerned is get involved with this forum and make some great friends here as well as join my local IPMS chapter.  At least between FSM and IPMS I can talk models without feeling like an outcast.

David Voss wrote:

benchman wrote: I think the general thought in this community of a person that builds models is somebody that has no social life, lives in his mothers basement and is in some kind of fantasy world. No thanks to that one model builder who lived in his mother's basement, had no social life, and lived in a fantasy world, now all modelers have to suffer the stereotype.

David Voss wrote:

smokinguns3 wrote: I always thought that people that built computer or worked on them where geeks,nerds,etc, Whoa!  Hold on there.  Anyone in the IT field knows it's not that simple.   In fact, the last Nerd Dinner I attended, there was a clear distinction between the nerds and the geeks.  That came down to a Rubiks Cube.  The geeks were the ones discussing the theory behind the Rubiks Cube and the least amount of moves to solve any puzzle.

Hey cant blame me for tryin right Dave. to bad i cant put this darn degree to the test might have to get a job mcdonalds. The IT industrie stinks out here.

smokinguns3 wrote:

I always thought that people that built computer or worked on them where geeks,nerds,etc,

benchman wrote:

I think the general thought in this community of a person that builds models is somebody that has no social life, lives in his mothers basement and is in some kind of fantasy world.

I did a bit of research in my immediate area ,here is what I found:

I model

My wife models

My next door neighbour models

My brother Models

My brother in law models, his twin godsons model

Two of my friends modeled when young.

My female cousin built a F-86 Sabre in her teens after seeing my Mig-15

My cousin's husband and his brother modeled.  The brother now owns a Ferrari memorabilia shop.

There are sure a lot of geeks, yes ?