Well Oldskool,
Sounds like you have some typical questions for a young machinist. Thats OK ,it's to be expected. I'll start off by telling you that I have been a machinist since 1985, And a tool maker for approx. twelve or so years. First of all congratulations on finding a job in todays economy. That's a feat in itself. The thing that concerns me at the moment is that I'll quote you, "problem is it's like manufacturing machining". It's all manufacturing,weather it's one piece or five hundred. I'll asume that you meant to say that it is production machining, where you tend to have long runs that might seem to get boring. Is this correct? Maybe you can be a little more specific as to what type of parts you are making and what type of machines you are running. I'm sure there are many machinist and or tool makers in this forum that would be more than willing to help out. My advice to you at the moment is to settle down and focus on the basics of machining.Find some one who will be willing to teach you and let them know that you are willing to master the basics of machining one step at a time, learning to square a block ,and learning how to check parts properly,and deburring properly. Concentrate on quality and specifics and slowly work your way into being a well rounded machinist. Some older tool makers might become reluctant to teach if they get the feeling that you are trying to go to fast, or jump ahead to quickly. CNC machining is advanced machining.You would not try to jump ten school buses on a motor cycle,if you have not learned to ride first would you? I worked in a machine shop for six years before I even considered myself to be a machininst, and even at that point my skills were limited.The field of machining is so vast, from building production tooling, to building molds to produce parts that have details that you can not even see with the naked eye, to building turbine blades used to rebuild a jet engine. Now I'm 51 years old and still learning. Hope this helps a little. Get back with some specifics of the job and I'm sure somone will have some answers for you. Good luck. And have patience.