The problem is that many Americans (including certain politicians) keep claiming they will bring back “traditional” manufacturing jobs that require limited skills, but will pay high wages and offer full benefits.
The sector that is growing is advanced manufacturing; it’s the type of operation described in the article and other posts on this thread. Lean, hyper-efficient operations with extremely skilled workers who have mastered skills ranging from IT and production planning, to trouble-shooting and team management.
It’s not the type of job you can enter directly out of high school—but with 6-18 months of highly specialized training, you can get in on the ground floor. Entry-level technicians with a Siemens Mechatronics certification (Level I) start out at about $50K a year, plus overtime and full benefits. With a Level II credential in the same field, your starting salary moves up to $70K a year, plus a complete benefits package and overtime.
At any given time, there are roughly 500-600,000 advanced manufacturing jobs that are unfilled in this country. Unfortunately, too many people have been taught that manufacturing is an “inferior” career and you must have a four-year degree to be successful. There’s also the matter of our “government” schools. Too many kids graduate and lack the basic skills needed to make it through an advanced manufacturing program. But for the kids with the right educational foundation (and the drive to succeed), they can transition into a solid career while a lot of their classmates—with worthless undergraduate degrees—are ringing up orders at Starbucks.
Too many kids graduate at an 8th grade level, unable to work at community college 101 levels. Our colleges have remedial classes to bring their primary skills up to 12th grade levels. Thank you pubic school teachers and your NEA for that.
Excellent points. Nice post. But don’t expect many to believe you.
Who said anything about high wages? No one. I've heard the term "good" jobs which to me means above minimum wage and some medical insurance.