The next big blue collar job is coding

Mechanical engineering has become a form of coding. Creating a structured design in CAD strikes me as being similar to creating a software design in code.

I'm not an ME, but I work at a site that employs a number of engineers: Mechanical, electrical, embedded systems, software, manufacturing, etc. Granted, the kind of work done by engineers varies from one industry to another. At my site, most of the engineers do very little engineering per se. They spend most of their time creating parts and assemblies in CAD, dealing with suppliers, and engineering bureaucracy (sprints, JIRA, document control, etc.), and troubleshooting manufacturing problems. The software engineers are doing pretty much the same thing, with different tools (IDE instead of CAD).

Part of the issue is degree inflation: People who used to attend trade school and became draftsmen or designers, are now getting 4 year engineering degrees, but the work for draftsmen and designers is still the same, albeit with more efficient tools.

Consider these quotes:

* "What if we regarded code not as a high-stakes, sexy affair, but the equivalent of skilled work at a Chrysler plant?"

* "teachers and businesses would spend less time urging kids to do expensive four-year computer-­science degrees and instead introduce more code at the vocational level in high school. You could learn how to do it at a community college"

The problem is that manufacturing jobs, or their equivalent, is going backwards. We want to go forwards, improve opportunity, income and quality of life for each generation. We want higher-paying, higher-skill jobs.

Rather than find ways to not go to college, what if we continued the trend of each generation being more educated than the last? What if we sent people to college? Sanders proposed college for all, arguing that high school was sufficient a century ago but now college is needed. Clinton proposed something similar, free college for families making The idea that 'college isn't for everyone' is elitist. It really means that 'college isn't for the children of the working class, only those of the wealthy'. Think about it: Will the children of Senators go to college? I think so. The children of most people reading this? Of SV millionaires? Of Apple and GM executives? Do they tell their kids, 'college isn't for everyone; learn a trade at community college'? Somehow college is for all their kids (with few exceptions), so the evidence seems strong that with the proper resources, it's for everyone.