I know, the title is click-baity, what can I say, I watched too much youtube.

What I am curious about is if y'all have a skill set that has come in handy while exploring? Particularly around accessing areas safely?

I'll go first. I always felt my career has helped me a lot, I been a structural designer for 26 years and in that time have inspected, evaluated and witnessed all kinds of stages of damage and/or decay to structural steel, concrete and the like. There have been plenty of times that there are places that I would not go because I did not like the looks of stuff.

One thing that helps a lot is from audits I have performed the rule of thumb was to always inspect the bottom of the next level before accessing it. So I definitely apply this to exploring.

Next!
Or not.
Whatever.
Meh.

Well this seems like an opportunity to humblebrag, so...


My first job out of university was as a construction site security guard, which makes me at least sound like I might have some sense of how to move around those places. During that time I was promoted to a control room where I likely handled scheduling for some important sites in Ontario. I also took a human factors course in university that influenced me a lot and helped me to understand how any human-designed system is supposed to work.

My current job is at a newspaper, and I've developed a habit of running toward danger rather than away. In the last eight or so months, I've infiltrated a catastrophic disaster site and went in search of an abandoned tiger. This probably puts me at extra risk of death, but I think I also am especially able to draw attention to injustices, rather than becoming an unidentified stiff in a morgue.

I'm pretty certain I'm fated to die ironically, like being killed in a freak accident like being struck by a bus jumping a curb or something dropped from a roof, right after pulling off something epic like a crane climb or a subway tunnel. In my opinion, most of us are safer when we go into danger with our eyes open than when we sleepwalk through daily life.

I will tell you a story. Once I had a new friend and walked them to an old unfinished construction site with a crane in the middle of it. I wanted us to climb on the crane to see the view, just like I had already done in the past, some years before. Luckily there were some kids there, near the crane. They told us one friend of them died because the ladder was rusted and broke. Indeed it was broken and had some white-red tape around. I don't know if I would climb if they weren't there, as the information came before the observation. But the danger is real.

i've worked in factories and mills for most of my working life, spending 11 years at the back end of a paper mill which is more or less a big chemical plant and power plant. You get to know what to look for in regards to industrial/chemical hazards...

Posted by Roro I will tell you a story. Once I had a new friend and walked them to an old unfinished construction site with a crane in the middle of it. I wanted us to climb on the crane to see the view, just like I had already done in the past, some years before. Luckily there were some kids there, near the crane. They told us one friend of them died because the ladder was rusted and broke. Indeed it was broken and had some white-red tape around. I don't know if I would climb if they weren't there, as the information came before the observation. But the danger is real.

i was at work one night (11p-7a ahift) doing my 3rd round of tests, when i came across three chuckleheads wandering around my place of business. No boots, no safety glasses/ goggles, no hardhat, no chem gloves... just wandering around taking pics of my recaust plant. They had parked their car a mile or so away and walked up the tracks thinking that an operating paper mill would be a 'cool place to check out'. (facepalm)
I asked them to leave and to their credit, they did. I didn't have to call security.

I have several years of experience working in various research labs, including work with a variety of human pathogens. Suffice to say I know my way around a laboratory and how to handle the hazards one might find in abandoned ones.

Despite that, I still manage to get myself into trouble by getting too casual and mishandling destabilized explosive chemicals and pathogenic blood samples I find in abandoned labs (in fairness all the paperwork said decontamination was finished two years prior, so I wasn't expecting to find that), but I'm still here so I must be doing something right.

I also have a minor in archaeology, which has occasionally come in handy- especially when it comes to knowing how to write a historical research paper, which most of my big write ups these days have become.

Posted by Steed In my opinion, most of us are safer when we go into danger with our eyes open than when we sleepwalk through daily life.

This quote goes hard.

My office skills in no way helped me with my underground exploring. As I progressed from simpler to more complex and dangerous explorations, my judgement became better. Knowing what to look for, what to avoid, how to determine airflow, etc all became assets that I now use every time I head underground.

That said, not everyone learns from experience. There are times I am stunned by the behavior and techniques of "experienced" explorers.

Abby Normal

Posted by Abby Normal My office skills in no way helped me with my underground exploring. As I progressed from simpler to more complex and dangerous explorations, my judgement became better. Knowing what to look for, what to avoid, how to determine airflow, etc all became assets that I now use every time I head underground. That said, not everyone learns from experience. There are times I am stunned by the behavior and techniques of "experienced" explorers. Abby Normal

i am honestly amazed no one got maimed exploring that recaust plant in Cornwall ON back in the day...

Posted by BlackFox2 This quote goes hard.

its halfway stolen from a Primitive Radio Gods song

I will just DIE!

I have a healthy amount of anxiety

I got a PHD in Teenager so I'll probably just die 😃

I'm trained in First Aid for my job as a lifeguard which definitely helps if something does go wrong. Besides that I'm an avid rock climber which doesn't hurt.

Maybe it's because mostly only explored with people not really in the scene but I feel pretty qualified. I'm an engineer in school rn and spent the last few years living with various civil engineers who have given me some good pointers on what to look for in terms of safety. As OP said it's best practice to always get a look at the underside of a level before you decide to put your weight on it. I also always try to do explores with at least 2 other people in case of emergency, one to stay and one to go for help if things go south. That all being said there's definitely a few times Iv gone places I probably shouldn't have safety wise but we live and learn

Edit to add: I also try to be very aware of any environmental hazards and play by the handbook of unless I'm certain they aren't there, they are. Wearing your PPE can save you a lot of pain down the road so it's worth any additional struggle or discomfort to properly suit up. If I see a death mask in my party that person is usually not coming in with us

You should have been there when someone from here fell through the floor of an abandoned NYC courthouse.

Or when his pal (with a 20 year star) slipped and sprained an ankle inside a place that needs rope work for ingress and egress.

Both have survived quite well. Others have not been so fortunate.

I've been doing urban exploring for about 5 years...though I'm prone to making rather foolish mistakes; I'd say I tend to have a heightened sense of situational awareness and a mind that analyzes (often to the point of overthinking) and processes enough to allow me to not just die three steps into an explore.
I've worked several security jobs, and a few industrial places that have shown me the "art" of knowing where to look and how...and what not to touch, and what to avoid.
Though I've been struggling with depression and anxiety in the last couple years (and recovering slowly but surely), I have a social ability that seems to allow me to engage with others in a non-confrontational way that often benefits me when I run into people.
My biggest flaws are a) I often overlook the easy way in, and end up resorting to the trickier PoE...and b) when trying to be stealthy I'm often like a bull in a China shop...if it's there to be kicked, rattled, or tripped, my feets will find it!
Overall, I'd say my natural abilities have allowed me to learn even more about how to best explore, and survive each time...not to mention all the advice, tips, and experiences I've learned from my fellow UERers!
Strength-5
Perception-7
Endurance-5
Charisma-6
Intelligence-6
Agility-7
Luck-8

I'll be dead for sure. but it has to be someplace cool... hmmm.

As someone with quite crappy lungs, I think that I am qualified to say that I will die due to getting sick at some location .

Posted by MrBungle I'll be dead for sure. but it has to be someplace cool... hmmm.

Don’t worry we’ll move your body to teh quarry so you look like a REAL msp eleet.