Last year, I started a podcast called “Work Sucks, But I Like It.” It was definitely inspired by the aerospace industry heat-treat requirements in that the work of adhering to the requirements of AMS2750 can “suck,” but there are also times when it doesn’t. In interviewing Victor Zacarias, the owner at GTS (Global Thermal Solutions, LLC) in episode 12 on the podcast, he reminded me that sometimes our best work isn’t necessarily because we chose to do it, but rather when we allow the work to pick us.
Victor didn’t pick heat treating as the profession he particularly wanted to get into, but rather it picked him in that the opportunity came and he took it. From this he has gone on to lead this team and make this pyrometry service company very successful. So, as we head into another calendar year, even though we don’t really want to pick up AMS2750 and read it again, or study the Nadcap checklists we need to complete for the upcoming audit, we do need to start realizing that meaning in what we do extends beyond just identifying how many nonconformances we have or receiving merit status after a successful Nadcap audit.
Instead, we need to let the work “pick us” — or, rather, allow these opportunities to be a part of the work we do based on feedback we get from our work. Heat treatment can be a high-pressure environment. Parts need to be scheduled perfectly to fit the manufacturing cadence to meet the on-time delivery. Times and temperatures must be strictly adhered to, to meet the microstructural and mechanical properties required. This makes feedback tough sometimes. We don’t want to hear that we are behind with orders.
We don’t want to hear the operator put the parts upside down and have now become distorted during the quench process. We don’t want to hear that the furnace failed TUS. Every day can feel like an audit when you are working in quality. There are furnace failures when you live in a region with snow storms and potential power outages. And operator blunders when you have a third shift operation and not enough resources to properly support the team.
All around there is high risk in aerospace heat treat. Quite recently I have been adopting a sense of focusing on the positives. This isn’t to say I have succumbed to the Pollyanna effect of everything is positive and fantastic, but rather that progress is made when you recognize the positives more than the negatives. Rather, I have changed my vocabulary to the point of the word “negative” being, instead, a “delta” — meaning that it is an opportunity for change and not just something bad that we can complain about.
Why is this important? Because just as getting the terminology correct with instrumentation types and furnace classes for heat-treat pyrometry, we need to use the correct terminology with the team to be successful in the overall heat-treatment process. And when you start to make that shift, you start to realize a few things. First, you influence the safety of the product you are processing. Second, you get to solve real problems. And third, there can be a deep satisfaction of completion and mastery of the requirements. From sensor requirements to temperature uniformity surveys, there are certainly points of friction — but they are also sources of opportunity.
So why does work sometimes feel like it can suck? That we don’t always have a chance to choose what we want to do? This is because we need to redefine how we look at work. Just like Victor, who allowed these opportunities to come to him, we need to be open to what comes our way with the work. We also need to get over the fact that some things are just going to be a part of the process. Like AMS 2750. Like Nadcap audits. A lot of my articles are focused on optimizing a concept called flow. And when you start to think in terms of flow, it doesn’t really matter what you are doing. The friction of heat-treat requirements are overcome.
Whether it is performing an SAT or setting up a TUS or sourcing a signal to check the mV to °F conversion — when you establish a clear goal, determine the skills needed to overcome the challenges, and open up to the “immediate feedback,” we start to do our best work. Victor allowed the feedback from his world to help shape how he flowed into heat treat. And most of the time this is the most important element to consider as we are often quite aware of the goals. We are aware of the skills needed.
Pyrometry technicians need to be trained and skilled on running TUS, calibrations, and SATs. Quality personnel must be skilled at reviewing and processing maintenance order requests and then signing off for any appropriate testing. As we step into 2026, it serves us well to remember that heat treat doesn’t reward those who only chase perfection; it rewards those who stay open to feedback. Clear goals matter. Skills matter. But what ultimately shapes mastery is the courage to receive the “deltas” without defensiveness and to let those small course corrections guide us.
Whether we choose this line of work — or it chooses us — is irrelevant once we realize that every TUS, every SAT, every checklist, and every unexpected furnace failure is simply the process nudging us toward better flow. When we stop resisting the parts of the job that “suck” and start recognizing them as feedback loops built into the craft, something shifts. We begin to see that AMS2750 isn’t just a requirement; it’s a roadmap. Nadcap isn’t just an audit; it’s a mirror. And the work itself isn’t a burden; it’s an opportunity to refine not just our processes, but ourselves. Heat treat will always come with pressure, risk, and complexity. But if we let the work pick us — if we feed on its feedback instead of fearing it — we find that we can flow every day in the heat-treat department.
