Employers

Back in the old days of machining a machinist had to take years to become a master at this trade. They were well thought of by an employer and treated with respect for all their knowledge and wisdom. In today's world a machinist is thought of with little or no respect from the employers. Granted I haven't worked in every machine shop in the country,so for those employers out there that do treat their employees with respect you have my admiration. I contribute the downturn in respect for the machinist primarily on the advancements that the CNC machines have brought to this trade. With the CNC machines you can basically take a person who has no knowledge of machining and in a short time after some training you can place this person on the job and he or she can immediately start making profits for his company. That is what I see happening today. You can take an inexperienced person and pay him little or no money and immediately start generating profits with them. That in turn drives down the wages of the people who have been in this trade for awhile. Either by very small wage increases or deductions in benefits. More on this rant later . Write into this blog and feel free to express your opinions. I would like to hear from you. More on the topic of CNC machining on the next post.