General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Fast-Food Strikes Expand Across U.S. to 50 Cities [View all]Lurker Deluxe
(1,041 posts)I haven't been in the production side in over a decade, I saw the writing on the wall.
Now I take whatever part needs repair and machine it down, weld it up, perform stress relief, machine back to original (or modified) specification so it can be placed back in service.
I am able to do complex drawings in AutoCad in 2D, and simple drawings in 3D, and am still pretty good with pencil and paper. I write well enough that I can get the reports out so our customers understand what work was performed in the shop to justify the costs involved, and through the years have picked up enough skills to perform the entire rebuild process from quote to invoice covering all facets of the process including maintaining current welding certs to make it all legit.
I could have moved to a full time desk job anytime over the last decade ... just not my thing.