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Profiled Career

Robotics Engineer



Technology: Product and Process Design, Equipment and Machinery, Automated Manufacturing & Assembly

Robotics engineers design robots, maintain them, develop new applications for them, and conduct research to expand the potential of robotics. This is a rapidly developing field, with advances in computing constantly opening up new possibilities for robotics applications. (Image from Lake Superior State University's website, Robotics & Automation Lab).

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Sheet Metal



Technology: Forming and Fabrication

The term "sheet metal" refers to any metal that can be formed into flat pieces of varying thicknesses. Using specialized tools, sheet metal workers cut, roll, bend, and shape these pieces to make a wide variety of objects such as ductwork. airplane wings, car bodies, refrigeration units, steel sheets, tubing, signs. Metals used in the sheet metal industry include cold rolled steel, mild steel, tin, nickel, titanium, aluminum, brass, and copper. (Source from http:\\www.sheetmetal-iti.org/about/what_is_sheetmetal.shtml).


Image is from Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology http://www.stevenscollege.edu/303122.ihtml.


Sheet metal workers in manufacturing plants make sheet metal parts for products such as aircraft or industrial equipment. Although some of the fabrication techniques used in large-scale manufacturing are similar to those used in smaller shops, the work may be highly automated and repetitive. Sheet metal workers doing such work may be responsible for reprogramming the computer control system of teh equipment they operate.


Sheet metal workers learn their trade through both formal apprenticeships and informal onthe-job training programs. Formal apprenticeships are more likely to be found in construction. Most sheet metal workers in large-scale manufacturing receive on-the-job training, with additional classwork or in-house training as necessary. The training needed to become proficient in manufacturing takes less time that the training for proficiency in construction. (Source from http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos214.htm).