I like the questions, UB, fanaudical's as well. Edit: Missed the post above: Nice!
We have an intern program in the summer for both HS and College students, all types of engineering students or wanna-be engineering students.
The first summer we pair them with our composite manufacturing and assemble folks at different stages in the process, from lay-up, tooling, assemble jigs, etc.
The second summer they still work the floor but we get them more involved with design.
We also make our new engineering hires work the floor for three months...a little empathy for the shop folks is a very good thing and that only comes from working the floor.
Invariably the Interns tell us that their experience on the floor shaped how they viewed their CAD work, wiring schematics, tooling design, etc...designs need to be built with cost and schedule in mind.
They learn a lot about trouble shooting and repair, make mistakes and learn from them.
So I like the questions, the practical nature of working a problem.
The grease gun would be my Kobayashi Maru: I still, hundreds of tubes in my life, goon it once in a while
