What Does it Take to get a Good Manufacturing Job?
Grandpas everywhere love to regale listeners about times when manufacturing was booming and there were hundreds of good jobs to be had at every plant in town. While common wisdom says that those jobs were all eliminated as times changed, here's a well-kept secret: many of them are still around!
They've just changed significantly in terms of duties and necessary qualifications. With the right training and education, especially in the field of mechatronics, you can still effectively turn back the clock and secure one of these coveted jobs for yourself.
How Manufacturing Has Changed
Tales of abundant prosperity from old-timers are not exaggerated; the manufacturing sector alone once employed just over 19,500,000 people. This number has declined nearly 40% in the intervening years, though, and it isn't because all of those early production facilities have shut down.
Many such factories are still in operation, but they no longer hire nearly as many people to work production lines. Instead, automation has largely taken over this work. This is a good thing in terms of efficiency; the machines are able to work with a level of precision, speed and faithfulness that most humans could never hope to match, allowing the factory to greatly increase its output and profits.
Instead of these ground-level functions, the bulk of factory work today involves taking care of those machines to ensure that production can keep going with as few interruptions as possible; however, these machines are extremely complex combinations of circuitry, software and moving robotic parts. That's where the field of mechatronics comes in.
This fusion of mechanical, electronics and computer engineering principles is what makes the modern factory possible, and those who are trained in this discipline are perfectly suited to the new manufacturing job market.
Labor Demands of the 21st Century Factory
Day-to-day work in advanced manufacturing settings is largely rote, but it's important to get it right. Testing, maintenance and repair work done on the machinery all help to keep it in peak condition and maximize the time it can spend in operation. Employers want workers who have the attentiveness to spot small problems before they snowball into big ones, as well as the technical skills to successfully take care of the issues as they arise. A single hour of downtime can mean hundreds or even thousands of lost product units, so every little intervention makes a big difference.
In locations where automated manufacturing has yet to be fully leveraged, many workers are also needed to help develop and implement the proper solutions. Companies want the most efficient, adaptable systems they can possibly get, so workers who can design custom machinery to fit specific criteria have a very valuable service to offer. This means not only coming up with a working design, but also providing all the necessary CAD drawings and doing thorough testing to ensure that the design functions safely and as you intended.
Excelling Through Education
There is no doubting that the manufacturing jobs of the present and future require different, more advanced skill sets than those of the past. While there are generally fewer positions available overall at any given manufacturing plant than there were at the industry's zenith, these new higher requirements mean that there is less potential competition in the manufacturing job market.
Job numbers are even expected to rise as increasingly sophisticated automation technology makes it more feasible to move off-shored plants back within US borders, raising demand for capable staff. The key is to make sure you have the technical skills that these employers need and the documentation to back them up.
What Good is a Degree in Manufacturing?
Earning a full-scale bachelor's degree in mechatronics helps prove your competence in this domain in a way that will satisfy a great deal of potential employers. Because these programs involve a healthy mix of theoretical and hands-on learning, graduates are uniquely equipped to innovate practical solutions that can make a real difference to a company's bottom line. From designing and drafting to welding and machining, the curriculum provides you with all the tools you need to get the job done.
Not only that, but having your work and studies guided by seasoned instructors from within the industry ensures that you're able to understand and adhere to the applicable safety standards. This is extremely important due to the way in which humans and machines now work in such close quarters; only you can keep the machines you work on from becoming huge hazards on the factory floor. These jobs are typically quite strict about requiring applicants to hold a relevant degree, and for good reason: there's just no substitute for the quality assurance a degree provides.
Are you interested in a career in manufacturing? If you want to earn a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electronics Engineering Technology with a Concentration in Mechatronics, consider ECPI University for the education you’ll need. For more information about our accelerated programs, connect with a friendly admissions advisor today.
It could be the Best Decision You Ever Make!
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Gainful Employment Information – Mechatronics - Bachelor’s
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