Today marked another beginning for me, one of many in the past seven months. Late last week 8th Light offered me a resident apprenticeship and after thinking it over and asking myself some tough questions I happily accepted. Today was my first official day as a resident.

So what exactly is a residency and what was there to think about? For me the biggest question was, “am I ready?”. My impression of the 8th Light apprenticeship is that it’s a mix of a traditional craft apprenticeship with a graduate program that you receive a scholarship for (since resident apprentices are compensated). The standards and expectations are extremely high and just because you may “make it through” your apprenticeship there is still no employment guarantee at the end. I remember the first time Mike showed me the list of requirements in order to be an 8th Light craftsman I asked him, “How much of this did you learn during your apprenticeship?” and he answered, “Pretty much all of it"— and I’m sure I asked him again just to clarify that I heard him right.

So when I was offered the residency that was my question, was I ready: to learn "all of it” and to push myself even further than I have these past seven months. After thinking about it the answer was definitely yes, and because the challenge is a little scary it’s all the more reason to take it on. That’s a lesson I learned from this guy in a previous job and what now feels like a previous life.

Myles, one of 8th Light’s craftsman, had a recent post about his own decision to become a craftsman and many of his considerations mirrored my own. Micah also recently had a good post about “Apprenticeship Over College”. 8th Light’s apprenticeship program follows a tradition of challenging work/learning experiences and I’m proud to be a part of it.