Metal and Engineering Avatars
A career pathway in Metal and Engineering might sound like a “Yeah, ok sure” option for a job after school, but it could be fun. It may even be dirty work or maybe it could even be satisfying, but is it really that interesting? What if you’re just not looking at it in the right light? What if I were to tell you that jobs in metal and engineering are scattered all over the Movies and Tv shows we know and love? Interested? Please allow me to explain.
Fitter and Turner: Rick Sanchez
Now Rick maybe a callous depressed drunk with substance abuse problems and a nihilistic view of the world (insert wubalubadubdub reference here.) but he is also the smartest person in the multiverse. Whether it’s creating a helmet to endow a dog with sentience, creating a mini-universe inside a battery to power his car or turning himself into a pickle to simply prove that he could, Rick needs to build all these devices himself. For example, Gorgomax Compression Plate’s don’t simply grow on trees, well they do, but it's far quicker to build your own than it is to convince Morty to get it for you. Not even a joke, Rick simply needs to mark out the shapes of the parts he laid out in his blueprints, put the measurements into his equipment, cut, thread, bend and install the hydraulics, check the joints, make any final adjustments, assemble the compression plate and polish it before Morty can stammer out a simple sentence. Making Rick the greatest Fitter and Turner in the Multiverse.
Boiler Maker: Gendry
Now I know what you’re thinking, Gendry? The pretty boy pseudo prince turned lowly Black Smith? What’s he got to do with making boilers? First off sit down and keep reading fool, I’m getting to that. Secondly, if you really think a boiler maker only makes boilers might I suggest you go back to smashing beetles. Boiler Makers are the modern-day equivalent to Black Smith’s. Sure, you probably won’t be making swords and armour, but who am I to Judge what you do in your free time. The skills are transferable after all. Much like Gendry, you can expect your day to involve; assembling the parts and materials you’ll need for your day, interoperating scale-drawn images to full-sized objects, forging metal to precise guidelines and using a different range of tools to meld your metal to the exact right shape. With a little bit of luck, you’ll be able to complete this all before winter comes, otherwise, your kingdom may fall. Gendry skills as a Black Smith make him the most infamous Boiler Maker in all of Westeros.
Fitter Machinist: Tony Stark AKA Iron Man
I know right! A superhero? I bet you're wondering how I could possibly turn Iron Man into a tradie. Well let me ask you this. What superpower does Tony Stark have? That’s right, none, he doesn’t even have the light bulb in his chest anymore. But what’s that I hear you mutter? He’s rich, hmm that’s a good point but what is also a good point is that he built his first suite in a cave with a box of scraps. Interesting I know. Tony Stark is an exemplary Fitter Machinist, you can see this for yourself in the first movie as he builds complex tools and equipment to make his Iron Man suites possible. This is what a Fitter Machinist does. To have the skills to be able to see the need for a piece of equipment and be able to build it, is a real-world superpower. So maybe you could be the one to dethrone Tony Stark from his title “World’s Greatest Fitter Machinist” as brought to you by Time magazine.
Sheet Metal Worker: Bender
This one is a little self-explanatory as he is a robot built to bend metal… But damn does he make it look easy. Overlooking his less than desirable personality, on the rare occasion that he actually does what he was built to do and not just sitting around drinking, Bender is performing a series of complex tasks. While it is probably ruminal for him it would be challenging and even rewarding for a meat bag such as yourself. Tasks like; Interpreting detailed drawings, joining a varied array of parts together, working with an equally varied amount of materials, measuring and installing what you produce and using different equipment to bend the metal to your will. Unlike Bender, as a human you can shape metal into whatever you can imagine, putting you in a prime position to take Benders place. But it will be a difficult task as Bender is programmed to be the perfect Sheet Metal Worker of the future.
These four Characters encapsulate the trade pathway of Metal and Engineering. If you think you can outdo them why not take the plunge and start your own apprenticeship today.