You can scratch by, get your certs, and stand by a machine for ten hours a day, six days a week. Or you can really apply yourself and focus on attaining SOME engineering-level skills and end up indespensible (usually given a part and asked to make it by coming up with a program, as opposed to working from print or existing process). You can be a glorified monkey or you can make yourself into an engineer. Up to you.

Indeed! Have you look at what's needed to be good at car repair lately?

Most blue collar work has always been technical and required a fairly high level of education. The educational path has historically been different (apprenticeships, trade schools, etc), but no less rigorous.

Yep. On top of that you better be fast and generally mistake-free or you will be broke. Oh yeah, don't rock the boat either. You have to accept the level of personal safety (gear/practices) that everyone else has accepted--or you are out the door.