[widgitmaster]

I recently heard that the Community College in my area had closed down its entire Machine Shop training courses! They still have the Auto Shop, The Electrical Shop, The Carpentry Shop, And enormas computer labs.

I really don't understand why they would do such a thing, when it is so obvious right here on CNCzone's Forum, that there is an insatiable desire to learn this trade! The quantity of beginner questions is evidence enough, that there are people who want to learn this trade either for a profession, or as a hobby!

In a time where there are so few apprentice programs, I would think the universities would cater to the Non Degree or Applied Science degree programs!

Back in the 70's, I was fortunate to have a machine shop in my highschool, which caught my attention, and followed me in to the USN! After that I landed a Union job in New Jersey, and entered the companies Apprentice Tool & Die program for 4 years.

Do these programs exsist in your areas, as there is little to none in Florida these days!

Eric

[lakeside]

The local vo-tech closed the shop a few years ago no kids were signing up. If any kid asked me what I thought about them going into the trade I'd tell the to forget it. There is so little money in the trade in my area you would never own a house, let alone afford a wife and kids. Your better off banging nails or becoming a hairdresser than a machinist

[wizard]

I don't know aboout Florida but the tooling industry is still big here in Rochester NY. Unfortunately it isn't the boom town it was for the trade. That mostly due to one corporation reaching the end of life on a core product. Even so there are companies here looking for qualified people be they machinest, welders, programmers or what ever.

Part of the problem, as lakeside pointed out, is that people with these skills are only appreciated when the demand for them is high. Companies otherwise try to seriously low ball wages when things are slow, thus one really has to consider the value of going into these sorts of trades. Especially when you are talking about wages barely over the rate of a burger flipper.

Towards the end of last year people where looking for welders and willing to pay $10 an hour, now it is up to 15 or $20. Bit of a change in a couple of months, further you can't really expect the guy that got hired into a job at 10 an hour to really appreciate the company he is working for. Same thing goes for machinest though the demand is a bit higher.

Yeah I understand supply and demand but burning bridges with potential employees is not a good thing either. Many of these people have gone on to other sorts of work and will not likely return.

One trend I do see around here is tooling shops are now "hiring" people with their own DBA's. Sometimes when you walk into a tool shop it is hard to tell who is a company employee and who is an independant businessman. Some specialist travel from shop to shop picking up jobs as the work comes and goes.

I'm more convinced than ever that you have to be willing to go into business for yourself if you expect make a good living as a machinest or any of the metal crafts related fields. Ideally you ought to have a product or porduct that you can market yourself or atleast produce for somebody else to market. Even at that tool and die makers and such never where as well paid as some people imagine. Certianly not in proportion to how they impact industry. In many situations your tool room is about equal in numbers to the plant management staff and are just as responsible for the functioning of the plant. You don't see them making the wages that the managers make. Not even close.

In a sense i have to agree with Lakeside if somebody asks me I would say look somewhere else for a career. If you really love the technology or the business either go into business for yourself or look for a partnership or small shop.

Thanks
Dave

[ignatz]

There is a school near me called Mid-Florida Tech that offers a night time continuing education course on Introduction to Machining. I took the class for a little over a year as a way to get my feet wet with a small investment. The class was subsidized by the state so I only paid $180 per semester including materials. Just the instructional videos would've cost that to rent. I learned so much and you're right... it's a great way for a beginner to get started in the hobby.

[widgitmaster]

Of all the jobs I've had over the years, machine shops have always been a dependable high dollar income. As with any employment, the more you have to offer, the higher the wage you can expect! I have had many a machinist friend tell me to never stay in one shop for more than a year, to learn everything I could and move on. With every new employment, came a significant increase in wage! Then they told me I was over qualified, which means they couldn't afford me!

For many years, I lived in the tr-state area of New Jersey, Connecticut, and New York, the industry in that area is extreemely strong, and there were machine shops on every corner! Here in Florida, they are far and few between, and the wages are 1/3 less! But I did manage to find a good job shop and exceptional wages for the last 15 yr of employment.

So I would suggest you move on to greener pastures if all your getting is minimum wages!

Eric