Yeah I know a bit about the engineer vs. tech issue. My first real job was in a lab. We had 5-6 techs for 80-100 scientists and engineers.
The sad thing was though that as a senior in college and still an intern I made more than the techs who had been there 7-10 years and once I graduated and went full time I made more than the guys with 30+ years in. I always felt a bit bad for those guys and thought they deserved more.
I don't know what industry you were in but when I worked for General Dynamics and Lockheed on several aircraft programs, virtually all of the flight line mechanics made more than low seniority engineers. Most of us made substantially more than the engineers, but they did get their own parking spots.
Story goes...the skunkworks project for the SR71....they had the enginerds and machinist fabricators in the same building, in close communication. Nerds would ASK if ____was possible, not just draw a picture and say "make it."
What a concept! It applies 100% to a story my Father told me when I was about 14 years old. He was a master fabrication welder for a heavy equipment manufacturer. Two young engineers brought him a blueprint for an improved bracket and asked him to produce a prototype. He studied the print and told them it looked like a good idea but unfortunately would not work. They insisted it would and the prototype would prove it. My Father said OK. Later that day the engineers came back and their built to spec prototype was sitting on his welding table. The engineers hurried off to get a mechanic to install it. Later they came back and sheepishly admitted the part would not work. They asked my Father what would? He reached under the table and produced a different prototype. Of course it worked perfectly. When I was 17 years old in "The Summer of 69" I worked there for a few weeks I just did odd jobs keeping my eyes and ears open learning many new things. I asked the "Big Boss" about the story of my Father and the engineers. He chuckled and said something like: "A college education is a wonderful goal and accomplishment but does not automatically make people smart. Smart comes with years of experience that includes learning from mistakes. Your Father is the smartest man I know". My Father had an 8th grade education!
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I don't know what industry you were in but when I worked for General Dynamics and Lockheed on several aircraft programs, virtually all of the flight line mechanics made more than low seniority engineers. Most of us made substantially more than the engineers, but they did get their own parking spots.