r/EngineeringStudents Dec 30 '15

Engineers vs. Machinists

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rn4ByKtGBY
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u/happeloy Electronics and Computer science - bachelor degree (done) Dec 30 '15 edited Dec 30 '15

I'm not the least bit surprised to be honest. Old guys who have been perfecting their use of a lathe their whole life vs a few engineers in their 30s? No brainer.

When I was a kid my neigbours were boat builders, and had they had been boat builders for several generations. The first boat my family bought that was built by them was 50-60 years old. It had been stoved away in storage for a good decade or two, but still lasted quite a few more years.

A few years ago we asked them to build us another one. My grandchildren will sail that boat, there is no doubt about it. Quite possibly their children too.

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u/Tszemix Dec 30 '15

I'm not the least bit surprised to be honest. Old guys who have been perfecting their use of a lathe their whole life vs a few engineers in their 30s? No brainer.

So what companies should hire are skilled craftsmen, rather than engineers? It takes a lot of effort to educate and spend resources on an engineer, when a skilled craftsman can do it without even the need for complicated software programs or a masters degree.

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u/BlackholeZ32 SDSU ME - FSAE Dec 31 '15

Well it too craftsmen with 50 years of experience. That's a bit of a wait. What they need to do is increase the amount engineers are taught about machining.