BSME but now i want to make chips!

Hi guys,

I wanted to get some opinions on the path i should take to pursue a career change into CNC machining.

Just to give you a brief summary of my background, I am in my late 20's, working as a mechanical design engineer in Greenville, NC. I have a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering (BSME).

In high school, i took 1 year of a two year machine tool technology program, which i dropped out of for year 2 because i decided to take the engineering path and take all the advanced math and science classes i could in my senior year.

2 years into engineering school, i worked one summer at a local machine shop operating a cnc lathe, 3 axis cnc mill, and manual machines (no programming). I learned far more in those 2 months than i did in the year of tech classes. I have a long way to go, i know, but at least i have that experience.

As an engineer, i have experience using multiple cad packages and making drawings (including GD&T). Solidworks, Pro/E, Creo, & NX. Which software should i acquaint myself with? Mastercam? Gibbscam?

I think ultimately i would like to have my own shop, which would be equipped with a cnc mill and lathe, along with all the other common machine shop tools (wouldnt that be nice!) - and a fabrication side as well. I have more experience in the steel fabrication world than i do with machining, but i enjoy both. I would love to be a machine programmer for one of those radical 5 axis machines that i have seen videos of on youtube. It is just so cool how you can take a huge chunk of useless aluminum and turn it into something like an engine block!

I am not sure where to start with this. I could go the engineering route, maybe as some kind of manufacturing engineer and try to get in from that angle. Or maybe a tooling engineer? All that is under the umbrella of "mechanical engineer" so that's where that thinking comes from. Another option may be to work part time as a machinist assistant like i did a few summers ago. I don't dare jump right in because i know the pay is nowhere near what i have become accustomed to. A machinist friend of mine told me 1 year of schooling is worth about 3 months on the job!

Thanks for the feedback!

Dylan

Stay working with your ME. If you really want to work with CNC then do that part time somewhere. Or save your pennies to start your own shop. If you forego the ME in favor of machining, and then some years down the road you want to get back into using your ME. You will have problems getting back in. It would be considered that you are too far removed from the ME. Good luck in whatever you decide to do.

I did it the other way around. Apprenticeship and 15 or so years machining before the BSME. I worked myself into a nice little spot at my current employer. As an engineer, I do some design work and manufacturability reviews on other's design packages. But since I have the machining background, I'm in the shop nearly every day for a little while. I get to do a bit of everything.

Don't get me wrong, I love machining, but it was getting a little old doing the same stuff day after day for someone else. Now I get to see the bigger picture.

Stick with your BSME, at least for now. Start your home CNC shop, and then go from there. At some point you can weigh salary options of being: Mech Engr/Mfgr Engr vs shop owner.

I personally think running a shop, doing some design work, and running a machine or two in whatever time is left over is much less boring than watching a cnc make chips full time . . . all the fun is in the programing / first part. Keep the ME as your mainstay and dabble with cnc as development project.

I agree that you should maintain your BSME while pursuing machine shop endeavors. As you learn more about the machine processes you will become more and more valuable as an engineer. I work with a few engineers who have machine shop experience and am able to say that those are the ones who I would rather work with. They know how to DFM and understand tolerancing better than the folks who don't have experience.

You will certainly want to weigh the options on what you want to do for a living vs. hobby. I have plenty of hobbies that people slightly more foolish than myself have made into careers. Its not fun making chips when your hungry...

Keep in mind you had better be a really great engineer to rebuild a burnt bridge. Take your time to figure it out.

great advice thanks all. I think i just needed to hear it/read it from someone else. I need to be challenged, and in addition to that, i have a strong desire to start my own thing as soon as it makes sense. I have dabbled in the freelance design world and my dad already has a fab shop i may be able to utilize with some upgrades... pennies will be saved though - still digging myself out of school debt which makes it slow going but someday i can get there maybe!

Thanks again.

Been there, done that.

I got my BSME and joined the corporate world. What a pain in the dick. I was quickly looking for the escape hatch.

I knew a lot about machining, but nothing about CNC. So, I bought a desktop CNC mill sight unseen on ebay. I put it in the garage and started trying to learn how to use it. About one year later, I had a good handle on milling.

Then I BSed my way into a manufacturing engineering job doing CNC programming. That's where I really learned the trade. Fast forward a few more years and I have my own shop and seem to be scraping by.

Another route you could go would be to get a job as an engineer for a machine shop. That is where I am at right now. I have only been working here for a few months, and I have already done some redesign on parts for machining, programming, maintenance, and cnc operation. This is all on top of my responsibilities as an engineer. I came from a light background in manual machining, so being here as really opened my eyes and given me a lot of education. I am basically getting a free education (although limited), and cnc machining. It would be a good way to get some base knowledge and experience before venturing out on your own. And you get to keep your engineer pay.

Despite your desire to get out on the floor and be a machinist, any employer, (including yourself) is going to push you toward the office doing engineering, supervision, design, and sales. Your ME is too useful to be kept in the locker. I would (did) look for a job that will use your talents and education to give you a wider range of tasks and responsibilities. Use that job to set up your own shop so that you can take advantage of opportunities as they arise. An engineer who knows his way around a machine/fab/welding shop will have no shortage of work. Remember, the most important element in a business is paying customers. Regards, Clark

your engineering degree will give you a much better dollar/hr return on investment. I have a bsme and msme and then started my own shop. now while I make more at my shop than I did as an engineer, there is no off button. you can't not work on a Monday unless you've got people work for you who are handling the details. I'm a bunch of years away from that now and hoping to get there one day. decent me's should make in the 60-80 k range and machinist will be making in the 25-50 range. you do the math. get yourself some machines to play around with at home and learn cnc on your own time. if you got through engineering school cnc is a breeze.

start a home business, the first 2-3 years can be all losses, but check with your accountant. you don't need big cncs to make a living either. small ones will do just as well, but buy good quality stuff.

Advise to you,

What ever you want to do. Do it. Don't let anyone stop you. Start reading here! So much information.

As for CAM programs I would go Mastercam due to all of the support on Youtube. If you to take a class or two find a local community college with a Machining Program

Sounds like you are a young engineer who is getting antsy in the early years of his career. I have been there. For me, the more I learned, the more I wanted to do other things besides what I was doing at work. It can be very frustrating being young, having a lot of energy and ideas, with no way to make it all happen. In time, you will figure out how to bring it all together and start really doing the projects you want to do. I found all of those creative outlets outside of my 9-5 job. It started with a few projects that I wanted to build. Over time, I built up quite a lot of experience. Now I've got a machine shop at home that allows me to do small contract work. But I still have my 9-5 job.

In fact, your first one or two engineering jobs will tend to be unsatisfying. Once you get a view of the engineering field, you can search around and get the engineering job you want. You will also find, like others have mentioned in the posts above, that the experience you gain in your side work will help you immensely in your day job. The run-of-the-mill engineer doesn't know which end of a screwdriver to hold. If you have experience in a machine shop, you will be very marketable indeed. Good luck.

-Justin