Professionalism Comes
With Experience
I use the title “tool engineer” because that is
what I do [“A title tells only part of the story:
One engineer fights for the right to be called
an engineer,” Editor’s Corner, The FABRICATOR,
May 2010, p. 10]. You may recall we had our
own society, the American Society of Tool Engineers, which became the Society of Mechanical Engineers.
There is essentially no formal training for our own profession.
It starts with a love of machinery and tooling along with a
good apprenticeship, in my case Western Electric.
I make no claim to be licensed as a “professional engineer.”
You attain professional status through your work record,
which requires a good understanding of mechanical engineering, material science, and manufacturing methods.
Keep up the good writing.
David Alkire Smith
Monroe, Mich.
A Lean Idea
You really ought to consider going through all the back issues
of The FABRICATOR and reproducing all lean manufacturing
articles as a collection of readings, “Lean for Job Shops.”
Nobody else (SME, AME, APICS, ASQ, PMPA, etc.) under-
stands lean for job shops as you do. Kudos!
Shahrukh A. Irani
Associate Professor
Department of Integrated Systems Engineering
The Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio
Getting the Respect They Deserve
Editor’s Note: The following e-mails are responses to the May
2010 Welding Wire e-newsletter that featured an article about
the value society places on college degrees as opposed to vocational training. If you want to sign up for this e-newsletter or
others , visit www.fma-communications.com/Newsletters.cfm.
I agree with this article on several points.
I have a college degree that took six years and led to professional qualifications. I did not enjoy the professional work and let
the qualifications slip. I used that experience and other training
to gain employment in manufacturing for building construction, and I have worked in the field for more than 30 years.
The parts of my makeup that have worked well for me are
my manual dexterity and the ability to learn from and relate to
construction site activities. More of my (sometimes) valued experience comes from the hands-on field and shop interactions
than from any education. If anything of value came from the
university, it was learning how to learn, rather than what I
learned. The real education for my life came from talking to
people with experience or from reading publications addressing the issues at hand.
Now, near the end of a working life, I am looking at community college courses in welding to set me up for a smaller,
self-employed job doing custom welding for boats, both power
and sail. Drawing, designing, and building boats was my first
love even before I went to the university. I might have had a
happier working life had I listened to my own advice rather than
responding to the considerable pressure from my dear parents.
I have encountered among European tradespeople a real appreciation for their trades, by their co-workers and the general
public. A joke relates how a young lady in Germany comes home
and tells her father how much she loves a young tool- and
diemaker at the local plant. “A man with a position and a career!
Where did you meet such a man?” was the father’s supposed response. The same story, now unfolding in the U.S. and Canada,
leads to a different outcome: “Well, if you really love him …”
John Hodkinson
Toronto, Ont., Canada
I am a certified welder who has just completed a four-year
degree. I agree for the most part with what you are saying,
but at the same time I think there is something to be said
about having a four-year degree.
I completed my associate’s degree in welding technology
in 2002 and have been working in the trade since high school.
I decided to go back to school when I was passed over for a su-
pervisory position. I was more than qualified, but I didn’t have
the degree. I also asked the question, “Is this what I really want
to be doing when I am pushing 50 years old?”
I agree that college is not for everyone. Sometimes kids
getting out of high school are sick of school and want to dive
right into a career that has the potential to make some money.
Just don’t rule it out forever!
Brian Ainsworth
Vista, Calif.
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