Im a principal at AWS and hobbyist metal worker. Your welding analogy holds in more ways as well. The hobbyist or art welder simply may be able to make somethin

Im a principal at AWS and hobbyist metal worker. Your welding analogy holds in more ways as well. The hobbyist or art welder simply may be able to make something thats attractive or satisfies their own needs. But it absolutely wont be suitable for production, critical use, or efficient manufacturing. Conversely your journeyman welder has spent thousands of hours drawing beads in all sorts of materials and positions. They also have the skill to recognize what kind of setup and technique to apply to solve the jobs requirements. Following that line… > programmers are the new blue collars. Yes, very much. If “you” want to make a living creating art then godspeed, and I may even appreciate your creation. But solving problems through efficient production takes a very different skillset, tools, and organization. And companies employ developers to solve problems, not create art.