A Brief Rant Inspired by Proverbs

Proverbs 22:29 (NIV)
Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve before kings; he will not serve before obscure men.

Many years ago when I first started work at the lab, I became the de facto manufacturing engineer for our branch since I had 9 years of factory experience. The other engineers asked me for reality checks on the feasibility of their designs before they sent them to our shops. There was one hole in my experience. I knew very little about welding. I sought out a short course on welding for supervisors. During this search I discovered my county offered an enriched magnet high school program in the trades. I spoke with the welding instructor. He informed me not only did his students learn the basics of their trade but were exposed to experimental techniques being developed at the then National Bureau of Standards. The teacher expressed both pride and despair. The staff of this school had developed one of the best such programs in the country, but no parents wanted their children to learn a trade. Instead they all wanted them to go to college, wear dress shirts, and become professional cogs in the great machine. A quick web check seems to indicate there is no longer a magnet school for the trades in this county, but there are still programs offered at two high schools.

Eventually I located an appropriate 2 or 3 day class offered by Lincoln Arc Welding. I took this information to my supervisor, a man who has long since gone on to bigger and better things. In a very subtle sensitive manner, he attempted to guide me away from such folly. He gently indicated, courses in the trades were really beneath experimental engineers. I took the hint and dropped the request, but I did not agree with his conclusion.

The fact is, I know two plumbers. They both lived in nicer houses than I could afford at the time. Someone cut the marble or granite counter tops that were installed in Dan Snyder’s mansion. I assure you he was not an ordinary construction worker. He was a skilled master craftsman. He did not stand before ordinary men. He practiced his trade before a billionaire. I assure you, he was not paid minimum wage. His skill can not be outsourced to China or replaced by the Internet.