Metalworking occupations include:
The oldest of the metalworking occupations
The machining trades
- Production machinist, which may involve various related machining occupations that often overlap:
- Manual machine tool operator
- CNC programmer, the person who takes the drawings made by engineers and draftspersons and creates a CNC program to cut the part
- CNC setup hand, the person who sets up the machine and its tooling before the operator takes over
- CNC operator, the person who feeds stock to the machine, changes cutting inserts, checks quality, cleans and lubricates the machine, etc.
- Tool and die maker and related machining occupations:
The fabricating and erecting trades
Other occupations within a metalworking plant
- Laborer, unskilled and semiskilled workers who support metalworking operations and who often develop their skills to move into the other occupations listed here. Sometimes laborers' positions may be called by more specific names, such as oiler. Technology in general, and automation especially, tends to exert pressure against laborer-type job creation, with the lowest-skilled positions being most at risk. For example, so-called labor gangs, groups of men assigned to shoveling or other manual tasks, are not employed nearly as much as they formerly were, especially in developed economies. Some jobs, despite being classifiable as semiskilled work, actually require quite a bit of talent and experience to be done well, for example, band saw operators or buffing and polishing workers.
- Rigger, a person specializing in the skills needed to move large, heavy objects
- Heavy equipment operator, a person who operates engineering vehicles (also known as heavy equipment)
- Shipping-and-receiving workers, such as forklift drivers and packagers
- Manager, a businessperson who manages the work of others
- Metallurgist, a person who assures the chemical and physical traits of the metal
Occupations closely related to metalworking
- Miner of ore or minerals
- Scrap processor
- Union representative, sometimes a currently practicing tradesperson doing the job part-time, other times someone doing the job full-time
- Truck driver, a person who drives trucks (also known as lorries)
- The various engineering disciplines, especially:
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
