What is a millwright?
I’m still trying to figure that out!
If you’re trying to find out what a millwright is, me too!
When I began learning about the trades, I didn’t know what a millwright was, and now that I’ve been learning about the trades for a few weeks, I’m still not sure that I know.
A lathe (probably?) in a millwright classroom at Humber College
Published July 12, 2026
I would like to fix anything that breaks!
When I began the STAR-4 Women program with the YWCA, I hadn’t even heard of the word “millwright.” After a couple of college and polytechnic school tours to see their skilled trades labs, I was able to see some of the machinery that millwrights use.
I was recently at a Women On Site meetup where I was asked what I’m interested in. One thing I said was “I would like the ability to fix anything that breaks!”
As I learn more about the trade, it seems like millwrights are skilled trade workers that have fundamental knowledge in all aspects of machines so that they can diagnose problems and fix machines.
This actually sounds really familiar to what I do as a full stack software developer currently: I work with complex systems and I’m able to build on them, as well as diagnose issues and fix things when they break. Rather than being a specialist in just iOS or just Android or just the backend or a specific database, I have a thorough understanding of how systems work in software development end-to-end and can build features in any aspect of the stack, as well as I know where to look if something breaks. A millwright sounds a lot like a full stack software developer but with machines in real life.
Maybe she’s right, maybe I should look into becoming a millwright. It sounds like it would be a good fit.