Chinese woodworking class for kids - GIF

[bruce.desertrat]

Yeah you can see that in this chart from FRED: manufacturing employment pretty much fell off a cliff starting in 2000 (it doesn't look too scary, until you look at total employment over those years and realize that at the peak of US manufacturing employment in 1979, there were 19.5 million people employed in that area out of 89.8 million employees total (total nonfarm employees covers about 80% of all employees in the US economy.)

By 2009, there were only 11.9 million people employed in manufacturing, out of 134 million employed Americans. 22% of Americans to 8.9% in 30 years.

Your experience tracks the employment in those sectors.

[hemmjo]

Yep, there was a BIG push toward the end of my career, "Everyone has to go to college" Now we have a whole generation buried in debt with only a useless degree to show for it. As a result, we have few left to manufacture, build, repair, etc, all of the new "stuff". NOW, with solar farms covering so much of the farm land.....

Sorry, I get carried away sometimes...

[baja]

Going to big state Research 1 university my shop electives were more limited; there were some but they were mostly filled up right away by the MechE's. I did get in a jewelry-making class, and there was a scientific glassblowing class that I never was able to get into; it was taught by one grizzled old glassblower who was picky about who he let in his classes.

Was it Charlie Amling?

[bruce.desertrat]

Was it Charlie Amling?

No idea, it was 47 long years ago.