Congratulations On finding a good job. There is so much more to life than good pay and you seem to have found it.
I wish I was not on the other side of the Mississippi from you. I am an engineer, love airplanes, (have a pilots license) and even have a small clue about machining and other shop functions. ANd would love to get into a place that did not have an iron curtain between engineering and the shop. At every place I worked at, after a few years I was able to either knock down that wall or at least get some holes in it , usually just by actually listening to the issues of the shop people and if what they wanted could be done I did it, If there was an real reason to do it the hard way I would fully explain that reason and then they would have no issue doing a PITA job.
Where I am now they just weld stuff together, all machined parts get jobbed out, I am the closest they have to a machinist, and the only machine is a knee mill that is just a bit bigger than a Bridgeport. It is pretty much only used as a drill press. I am the only one that has a clue how to run it to make parts.
HA I guess that sounded like a resume.....