How to find good help in a production machine/toolmaker shop

Bryan, the thing that bothers me about inflation is what it actually means. It means that the money you and I held yesterday is not worth as much today. It also means the hour you worked yesterday was worth more to you than the hour you worked today, because it would buy more. You are worth less, you are the loser. Who is the winner? Well, somebody gets rich every day, and the rich get richer every hour. Inflation is a name for the offset of wealth between me (small potatoes) and a billionaire. The billionaire loses NO money due to inflation, his portfolio assures it. All of the inflation losses are offset to the wage earning class. The less your money is worth to you, the more it is worth to someone who has enough of it to play the game. The profit they earn is the inflation cost we pay, dig?
 
Like the auto bailout and the bank bailout. Those businesses got greedy and cut themselves short. The taxpayers (under representation of elected congress) chose to bail out the failing businesses. Now none of the investors have to cry, their money is safe, but nobody gets tax return checks, either. That wouldn't be bad if I could buy a new truck for $10k. Since the bailouts, the trucks start at $35k and don't stop until your 1/2-ton looks like a tinsel-decked Peterbilt. Where's our kickback? They just took the bailout, jacked up prices, and screwed the rest of us. The economics did not work as THEY predicted. It did work based on the scheme I predicted, though- they took the money and ran, and our kids will still be paying the check for those failed industries.
 
Find out if your local high school(s) have a FIRST Robotics team. Most will have RADICALLY better tool use skills, speak some electrical, and some will be running cnc machines. Summer intern?

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As a side, the aerospace company I worked at had a decent engineering manager. At the bar one night, he was complaining about the last people he hired. Valid complaints. About the third beer I told him I had already picked out 2 of them as schmoes. He asked me how, and I told him. When we were introduced I shook hands with them. No grease under their fingernails. No splinters. Not even a callous. He looked at me like I had a chunk of firewood hanging out of my ear and asked me why.

If you've never assembled, repaired, welded or use a tool, how the heck can you decide what that fixture would do?
 
pontiac428 said:
Bryan, the thing that bothers me about inflation is what it actually means. It means that the money you and I held yesterday is not worth as much today. It also means the hour you worked yesterday was worth more to you than the hour you worked today, because it would buy more. You are worth less, you are the loser. Who is the winner? Well, somebody gets rich every day, and the rich get richer every hour. Inflation is a name for the offset of wealth between me (small potatoes) and a billionaire. The billionaire loses NO money due to inflation, his portfolio assures it. All of the inflation losses are offset to the wage earning class. The less your money is worth to you, the more it is worth to someone who has enough of it to play the game. The profit they earn is the inflation cost we pay, dig?
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Agreed. Fully.

Back to the new worker. Freshly minted. Experienced? No. Stupid. Hardly. If I were them….I’d be asking and getting as much as I can to start out in order to beat future inflation.

We are products of our environments.


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vtcnc said:
Agreed. Fully.

Back to the new worker. Freshly minted. Experienced? No. Stupid. Hardly. If I were them….I’d be asking and getting as much as I can to start out in order to beat future inflation.

We are products of our environments.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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There is truth to that (products of our environment). I just didn't expect to see such a glaring generation gap. I am part of that hard working Gen X group that worked to live up to Boomer expectations.

My complaint isn't so much about this guy walking in off the street and getting MY salary because we're desperate. My complaint is the praise he got for "being published."

I had to **** remind my boss to look at my **** resume- I published 3 times, as an undergrad, including for the World Health Organization and the University of Delft. Where are my flowers, huh? It's the times, I know, but I'm not the kind of employee that tells people that they'll miss me when I'm gone.
 
It is frustrating, I took a job I never would have a few years ago, driving truck on the night shift,(dead set against nights). Well, Lo and behold, a guy was running the place that I drove with years ago, when we did it old school, big motors and 100mph everywhere we went, at least a couple logbooks. I told him that I didn't really want any overtime, I have other things to do, let the others have it that want it. So, I go about my business for a couple of years, finally got on days, life was good. Well, the new hires see me hauling 2 loads a day, so they start hauling 2 loads. The difference being, I'm clocking 6-7 hours a day, and they are clocking 12, raking the overtime in. Well, lightbulbs went on, and inquiries, and it was brought up "we're doing as much as him". They got shut down finally and had to earn their money, but it's very frustrating having more experience, and watching someone do the same job and make twice the money.
 
At multiple times in my career I've found out that the new guy was making as much, or more, than me. Bummer. OTOH, if I was satisfied with that pay, why should that change just because some new guy is making the same - more power to him! Perhaps I should negotiate harder (I've never been much of a negotiator, but I think I've done fairly well even if someone else has done the same or better). If someone else costs the same as I do, then it's down to capability and productivity when cuts come along, which seems inevitable in tech. At least I don't have to try to compete on being the cheapest...

GsT
 
Like GeneT45 I have also had newcomers start at or near the same salary I was getting even though I had been with the company several years. It's a bit of a blow to the ego, but not necessarily unexpected due to the difficulty of finding qualified help, and the education and work experience of the new hire.

At one point my ego was severely bruised. Sometime after completing a multi-year multimillion dollar project, I found the executive members of the "team" had thrown a big party showering themselves with adulation and bonuses. I found after the fact that the invitations didn't extend to my salary grade. It was particularly painful since I was the only member of the team in the field making sure the project was on budget, on time, and the handoff to the production facilities was seamless.

In several instances I had to identify modifications necessary for the new machines to seamlessly feed product to existing machines, make the appropriate drawings, contract with a local machine shop to make the necessary parts, and have them installed. I spent over 200 days a year on the road for over 5 years to get the project completed. Needless to say, I thought I was a highly skilled and valuable member of the team and as such deserved the same recognition as my superiors.

The day I found out about the party and bonuses I came home in a particularly foul mood. It was obvious to my wife that something was bothering me, so she asked why I was so grumpy. I told her the story and waited for a response. At the time I wasn't quite prepared for what she had to say, but it did ring true and eased the pain. The first thing she asked was whether I was paid incorrectly for the job I'd been asked to do? Question number 2 was whether I had had been cheated out of a bonus I was promised for completing the job on time and on budget? The final question was did I take on the job for the credit and recognition for what had been done. When the answer to all the questions was NO it was again obvious that the only damage that was done was to my ego.

As things worked out it was best that I kept my mouth shut and lived with a slightly bruised ego. Not long after the project ended, I got an unexpected promotion and a substantial raise. Over the next several years I continued to get difficult projects but was well rewarded when each was completed. When the department downsized from 28 members to 9 I was one of those asked to remain. Before I took a buyout in 2006, I had gotten several more promotions, and salary increases. Had I spoken out over what I thought was being slighted after the completion of a single project I doubt things would have worked out as well as they did.
 
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I just back back from my 3rd interview in the past few weeks. People are crying for “machinists”. I have over 40 years. Manual machines and 25 years of programming and running CNC milling centers.

All 3 places were perplexed as to where I would fit in. They all basically just want machine operators load parts and other simple tasks. Or people with engineering degrees.

I seem to be an odd man out. The last guy was honest with me and said there is not a real demand for the spread of experience I have. More single skill workers is what people want.

So my search continues.


Cutting oil is my blood.
 
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