[jm82792]

I have been self employed five years and it's not been much but held my life together. I started this hobby when I was 18, then it grew over 7 years, and I've been with my folks the whole time while pursuing my BSBA half time (low vision, cannot drive but i am fine with detail work). Now my BSBA is almost finished (low debt and it's almost done) and I am in Austin, TX this big tech city... I'm out of place since I'm not a millennial at heart but have been working from age 12 on and am one of 7 kids. In addition to producing the work I do all my own online marketing, and I could get a tech job--but I feel perhaps the manufacturing is the way to go...

I am experienced with operating small CNC routers, making designs on the computer with CAD (Blender, Inkscape, and just the basics), and CAM (Meshcam, Cambam, and notepad honestly). I understand basic electronics, programming, and mechanical workings of said machinery. I do NOT know how to operate VMCs, big routers, ATCs, multible offsets, vacuum tables, rotary axis, flood coolant, or more crazy things since I've never needed them for my work.
I can explain TIR, backlash, feed/speeds, chatter, and what not. I can fix things readily, read schematics, solder, explain realtime motion control, deal with customers, etc.. I enjoy learning, watching technical videos, and working with my hands--I don't like theory without practice.

I work with wood primarily and dabbled with non ferrous metals. My products weight a couple pounds but cost $300 to $750 a piece. I have several hundred happy customers ranging from John Doe to the US Pentagon. I've sold 120K or so gross, and 1% of my orders are returned.. I'm highly adept with sanding, finishing, and the overall fit/finish--as my father was a hardwood flooring contractor, and we'd work in very high end places.

The trouble is my volume is too low--I work maybe 30-40 hours a month, and net $50-$75 an hour. The product is highly specialized and the niche cannot be enlarged--I am working on new ideas but they're slow and I'll be married soon. I'm almost free from college and will have more time but feel consistent employment and working the weekends for myself/us is my best bet.

I have a portfolio, 50+ customer reviews, a ton of high quality photos, I'm good with people, and I admit--I am not "production ready" but I learn really fast, work hard, and am not a know it all...

Realistically speaking I see jobs from $12 (fastfood wage here) to $25 (that's pretty darn good to me) here in Austin. But I don't know Mastercam, XYZ brand big router, or whatever else. I have a student free pass on the software but there's too many packages to learn, etc.


Where do I start? What am I worth? I know those are vague questions--but I figure I'll see anyways.
I suppose I need to produce a solid resume, contact some signage shops, and see what happens.
I think I'm worth something here--but I don't have the confidence right now, and it's hard to say. I realize I'm speaking of myself with a couple words online--but perhaps that's enough to show where I'm at.

[Jim Dawson]

What you did not mention is what you want to do, what would be your dream job?. It is said that if you love your job you will never work another day in your life. It sounds like you have some good skills and knowledge. Maybe make it your goal to find a position that will use all or most of that knowledge.

[jm82792]

My goal is to work for me, myself, and I--but I realistically know that's not always the case. So if I have to do something I'm not loving or hating then I'll take it for $15 an hour. Realistically I like solving problems, and making things happen. I like doing quality work. If a signage company wants me to make killer signs so be it. Paint, stain, lacquer, metal patinas, waxes, vector tracing logos, etc--that would be second best to my own thing... I'd prefer to not do cabinets or what not. But I need to support my wife due to her work situation, and so I'll work where I'm able.

[ger21]

Your best bet would be to find a shop that's just getting into CNC, and has noone with any CNC experience.
Otherwise, you're going to have to start at the bottom, and work your way up. You're hobby CNC skill set won't often translate to a lot of industries, so there will be a learning curve. And if it's a new industry to you, you'll have a lot more to learn than just the industrial CNC stuff.

[Jim Dawson]

Maybe you could hook up with one or more local sign shops and do custom signs for them. I am sure some of the shops get requests for signs that they are not equipped for. You could fill that gap. You could work out a reciprocal arrangement with them to send work their way if you get requests for sign types that you don't do. I have thought about doing this locally just to keep my router busy.