Manufacturing accounts for a large chunk of Phoenix, Arizona's economy, so if you're looking for a job in the city you might find yourself thinking of taking a position in an assembly line at a factory. Will you be able to get the lead weights out and do a physical job if you're used to working in an office? This article will outline what things are like on an assembly line and what people who work in factories do. Hopefully with this information you will be able to make a decision on your future employment.

An assembly line is a manufacturing process invented in the early 1900s by auto maker Henry Ford. Prior to the assembly line's invention, workers had to be able to do many different jobs, from operating a tube cutting machine to painting, because a group of them would be responsible for making a whole car. In an assembly line, labor is divided up so that one person has one job, each performing their task as the partially assembled car travels along the belt. This greatly improved the speed of manufacturing.

Of course, that was a hundred years ago. Here in the 21st Century, things are different than they were at Henry Ford's old factories. Advances in computers and automated technology have made it possible for the really difficult and dangerous repetitive jobs to be handled by machines. Almost everything from the pruning tools you use in your garden to the string cheese in your fridge was made on an assembly line by automated machines.

So where do people fit into this equation? There are some parts of the manufacturing process that machines still can't do. Anything that requires judgment, creativity, artistry, or working with inconsistent materials needs to be done by humans. So under a clothing factory's daylighting you might find people pinning leather, painting figurines, or picking out the damaged products. Additionally, machines must be serviced, supervised, and sometimes operated, which all must be done by a person.

There are over 130,000 people in Phoenix who work in the manufacturing industry. If you were to take a job in a factory in Phoenix too, there are many different products you could end up helping to make. You might be assembling airplanes, manufacturing electronics, inspecting industrial valves, turning out agricultural products, or building mobile homes. Some other things made here include Native America and Mexican souvenirs, air conditioners, dairy products, and liquor.