• TOPICS
    • Design
    • Manufacturing
    • Inspection
    • Heat Treating
    • Lubrication
    • Materials
    • The Gear Industry
    • Gears by Type
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Departments
    • Archives
    • Subscribe
    • Advertise
  • NEWSLETTER
    • Subscribe
  • VIDEO
    • Gear Technology TV
      • Ask the Expert Live
      • Revolutions
    • Industry Videos
  • BLOGS
  • BUYER'S GUIDE
  • NEWS and EVENTS
    • Product News
    • Industry News
    • Events
  • ADVERTISING
    • Brand Awareness
      • Print: Display Advertising
      • Online: Web Banners & Keyword Banners
      • Online: Native Advertising (Sponsored Content)
      • E-mail: Custom, White Papers & Webinars
      • E-mail: Newsletter Sponsored Content (Native Advertising)
    • Response & Lead Generation
      • Online: Sponsored Content (Native Advertising)
      • E-mail: Newsletters
      • E-mail: Newsletter Sponsored Content (Native Advertising)
      • E-mail: Custom, White Papers & Webinars
      • Online: Buyers Guide
    • Print Advertising
      • Print: Display Advertising
      • Print: MPT Expo Showstoppers
      • Print: Buyers Guide
      • Print: Manufacturing sMart
      • Print: Specifications
      • MPT Expo Show Guide Advertising
    • Online Advertising
      • Online: Web Banners & Keyword Banners
      • Online: Native Advertising (Sponsored Content)
      • Online: Buyers Guide
      • Online: Specifications
    • E-mail Advertising
      • E-mail: E-Newsletters
      • E-mail: Newsletter Sponsored Content (Native Advertising)
      • E-mail: AGMA Industry News
      • E-mail: Custom, White Papers & Webinars
      • E-mail: Specifications
    • Special Promotions
      • Print: MPT Expo Showstoppers
      • Print: Buyers Guide
      • Print: Manufacturing sMart
      • MPT Expo Show Guide Advertising
  • CONTACT US
  • AGMA
    • Membership
    • Events
    • Education
    • Emerging Technology
    • AGMA Media
    • Standards
Subscribe
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Home » Blogs » Gear Talk With Chuck » Summer Jobs

Gear Talk With Chuck
Gear Talk With Chuck RSS FeedRSS

Materials / The Gear Industry / Plastic / Management / Jobs / Plastic Gears
Charles schultz
Chuck Schultz is a licensed engineer, Gear Technology Technical Editor, and Chief Engineer for Beyta Gear Service. He has written the "Gear Talk with Chuck" blog for Gear Technology since 2014.

Summer Jobs

May 18, 2017
Charles D. Schultz
No Comments
Recent reports indicate that business is picking up in the gear sector so I hope your firm is thinking about bringing on some summer help. The current term-of-art, at least when college students are involved, is internship, but I still think of these temporary assignments as “summer jobs.” Not many aspiring teachers, lawyers, or actors will ever have the opportunity to perform grunt work and their lives will be much poorer if they “work in their field” all the time. From conversations with industry leaders I know that some of them had no plans to become “gear people” until a temporary assignment exposed them to the satisfaction of making things few “civilians” ever understand. It used to be expected that college kids would work construction or as industrial laborers. As an apprentice I was regaled with stories of even the Falk kids themselves having to help dig ditches and pour concrete. A retired pastor friend spent his summers during seminary cooking for U.S. Forest Service fire crews and he counts it as some of the best training he ever got. We have very few opportunities these days for our “future leaders” to actually get dirty, accomplish something lasting, and mingle with regular working people. It is difficult to believe in stereotypes when you have worked along side people you would never meet on your campus. The days when almost every family gathering included a laborer or tradesman ended many years ago for most college students. How can we expect young people to appreciate our industry and its contributions to society if they never set foot in a shop? I am not advocating charity or “make work” projects. There were reports that the senior Falks threatened discipline for any supervisor who did not extract an honest day’s work from every summer employee. There is always something that needs cleaning, painting, or moving. My son and our shop superintendent’s son emptied a second floor pattern storage area; Derrick was so covered in dirt he had to throw the clothes he wore away after the first week. Colleges and high schools are letting out for the summer. Why not ask your employees if they have some “volunteers” willing to attack your thing-to-do-list? You just might give some kid a life-changing experience.

Recent Comments

Thank you for this - Happy Saint Patrick's...

Post a comment to this article

Report Abusive Comment

Free Gear Technology Subscriptions
Subscribe
Free Gear Technology Subscriptions
Subscribe
FEATURED VIDEO
  • A Look at Helios Gear
December 14, 2022
RECOMMENDED
  • 2022 Gear Technology Buyer's Guide

    December 5, 2022
    gt1122-buyers-guide.jpg
  • Reigniting the Educational Infrastructure

    December 5, 2022
    gt1122_Page_20_Image_0001.jpg
  • Profile: Continuing Education and Training with the AGMA

    December 5, 2022
    gt1122_Page_26_Image_0001.jpg
  • Polished Up!

    February 13, 2023
    gt0123_Page_38_Image_0002.jpg
  • Remaining Competitive

    February 13, 2023
    gt0123_Page_42_Image_0001.jpg
  • Polished Up!

    February 13, 2023
    gt0123_Page_38_Image_0002.jpg
  • Remaining Competitive

    February 13, 2023
    gt0123_Page_42_Image_0001.jpg
  • 2022 Gear Technology Buyer's Guide

    December 5, 2022
    gt1122-buyers-guide.jpg
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • Contribute
  • AGMA
Powered byAGMA
Copyright © 2023 Gear Technology
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact