Would you pass your knowledge on for free?

[ImanCarrot]

I'm the only person at my place that does Diamond Machining. I do it quite well... in fact so well that orders are ramping up to the point where i got so much work that I come in early, leave late and work through lunch... aint had a holiday (including Xmas) since October last year.

My boss wants me to train someone up. M & G Code programming for CNC turning, ACAD design, QA measurement on Talysurf etc etc.

My question is... would you lot do it for nothing? or am I just being selfish?

Cheers.

Iain.

[Carel]

Legally it is quite simply. The Intellectual Property is owned by the business. If you are self-employed the IP belongs to you. If you are employed the IP belongs to the boss. They created the environment making it possible to create the IP for.... them. I have had customers who wanted detailed drawings, source software etc. . There is no way they get it. A boss asks in principle for what is his. You should see their valuing of this situation by the end of the month on your bankaccount. The labour of training can be seen as a different type of employment, a trainer-trainee situation, which should put you in another scale. So story told, if you take the last choice as employee, they can call it obstruction.

Carel

[Verfur]

Strange situation,

I to have ben there. Here is the thing to keep in mind is it took you years to get realy good at what you do and it will most likly take a long time for some one else to get as good as you are now this is a piont that need to be told to your boss. This is a two sided coin in the event he (your boss) is getting you some help (I.E. all work no play, will age you very quickly) AKA burnt out.

Seeing as you will have to teach and be responsible for what is learned I would think a raise in pay would be in order. Else the alternate is a new job or self imployment.
This is a strong possition to be in, handle it more commen sense and less emotion and it should work out great for all.

John

[HuFlungDung]

You may notice while you are training someone that your combined productivity rate goes in the toilet for a while, but that your wage continues to be paid. If you were the boss, this would mean that you would be working overtime to still complete the work until the new employee becomes productive enough to help attack the pile of work.

Believe it or not, work is not the be all and end all of your life. It is a diversion. YOU need to have a life, and take vacations, because at the end of the trail, work is a means to an end, not the end in itself. A new trainee can help you get your life back.

[lakeside]

If you don't pass the skill along than no one would know anything the only thing that should die with age is a bad attitude

[sdantonio]

It depends on what you mean by "training him for free". If I were asked to come in on my own time and train him (after work... for free) then I would say "hell no". If it were part of work, and getting paid for it, then it is part of the job.

In some cases, machining simple parts is just a matter of throwing a substrate on the CNC and pushing go. In other cases, and I assume diamond machining is one of them, it's an art. No matter how good you are as a teacher, and no matter how good your student is, you may not be able to pass alone the "art" part of it. I know some people who are very good at doing, but suck at teaching. I also know some people who are very good at teaching, but I wouldn't let them near a machine if they were the last technician in the place.

In my case I make violins. I can take a piece of wood and flex it in my fingers or tap on it and listen to the tone and tell a lot from it. One skill I have been developing recently is the sound of the scraper or plane as it cuts through the wood changes as the wood becomes thinner and nearer to the perfect thickness. This is the art part of my work that really can't be taught, but must be experienced over many years. And either you feel it or you don't. I'm assuming that at least half of what you do is at the art level like that.

It sounds like what your talking about is putting together a whole cariculum (writing out a teaching plan, lecture notes, getting it approved by the boss for completeness, and then teaching it). May take several weeks of dedicated work. Can your boss really afford to not have you on the machine for that long?

And if there were another company in the area who could use your skills for a higher wage. And if you left without the time to train a replacement (two weeks would not be enough). Then you boss would be really screwed and your skills would be safe.

Steven

[mxtras]

If the knowledge was gained 'on the clock' then you have no choice but to pass it on 'for free'. In this case, the company paid you to learn it therefore the knowledge is not your property.

Scott

[lakeside]

The Knowledge maynot be yours but the skill is and when you go so will the skill

[sdantonio]

Believe it or not, work is not the be all and end all of your life. It is a diversion.

The VP of one of the companies I used to work for used to tell me family is first. Family is up here (yeah you can't see the hand gesture)

Work is second. It is down here.

But it is a long way between family and work. Family is always that much more important.

[ImanCarrot]

Many thanks for the replies... keep em comming.

I can clear up one point. My 20 years of optical knowledge was not gained at this job- I've only been here for 6 months. I gained it at various companies- Barr & Stroud, Atomic Weapons Research Est, British Aerospace and MBDA Missile System to name a few.

I can see both sides and am all mixed up... dunno what to do.

Iain

[lakeside]

if you were hire to machine that your job not to train without compensation it your skill the want you to share if the want you to share knowledge give them a book

[sdantonio]

if you were hire to machine that your job not to train without compensation it your skill the want you to share if the want you to share knowledge give them a book

Better yet, if you have the time, write the book and charge them for it.

A lot of the stuff their asking for is basic though, the cad/cam stuff. For that you can just give them a book or tell then to send your student out for a course.