The difference is that there is a lot more complexity in software than there is in hardware. As a software engineer you make a million tiny decisions every day

The difference is that there is a lot more complexity in software than there is in hardware. As a software engineer you make a million tiny decisions every day. As a riveter, you follow a blue print and put the rivet in the same designated places on every every machine over and over again. The fewer decisions made on a production floor, the better. That said, the thought process which goes in to designing an assembly line is fascinating. The techniques you can use when you're producing 5 parts a day vs 50,000 parts a day are quite different from each other. You have to balance those various costs and take into consideration your supply chain and the quality of one technique over another (yay linear algebra).