Help me pick a job tittle

Ive been a machinist for about 18 years and was recently promoted to running our shop where I work at.
I say I was promoted, but there were no fancy tittles, it was more a case of
"you run the shop now, here's a raise".

Tittles have always been meaningless to me, and even more so where I work at because we all do what we can to benefit the company. Never the less I have always been a "machinist" plain and simple, and was happy still being called a machinist until I moved more into this position.

Now the more I deal with suppliers and tooling companies I find myself repeatedly being asked what my position is. One conversation with a tool salesman the other day actually went something like this:

Salesman: So what's your position with the company?
Me: I'm a machinist
Salesman: Well, I'll need to talk to a supervisor who makes the purchase decisions
Me: That would be me. I'll evaluate and test the tool decide if it's for us.
Salesman: Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you were "just" a machinist. (his words)


So, my question is what tittle would be a good one when when dealing with customers, vendors, etc.? Something that is direct and still shows that I'm a machinist (it's a matter of pride for me). What I have so far is:

Machine Shop Supervisor
Machinist Supervisor
Shop Supervisor
Head honcho of the metal makers and chip slingers (my personal favorite)

Production Director.

Operations Manager.

General Foreman. Most get the idea there.

Heck, make yourself a Superintendent of Mfg

Metal Czar

Any of the top 3 you selected sound great!

Shop superintenent has a nice sound to it.

Jim

I always tagged myself as "Production Manager" when I ran somebody else's shop. I think it was because I was the only one that managed to produce anything.

Foreman or supervisor tends to make you look like your not a decision maker, just a babysitter. "general manager" makes you sound too much like a general manager, which means you couldn't tell an endmill from a crack pipe.

I like MudFlaps ideas also.

machine shop super

i used to say i was chief cook and bottle washer makes em smile and opens a conversation

VP Operations

Vice President of Operations

And tell the Salesman if he wants to sell anything to you company he will have to go through you.

SM

SlicerMan said:

And tell the Salesman if he wants to sell anything to you company he will have to go through you.

SM

Click to expand...

And the winner is...this one.
He's right - your answer goes a little something like this...

"I'm the guy who makes the decision on what to and from whom to buy."

Senior Metal Removal Specialist

Shop Leader

Lead Machinist

HMFIC

Lord of the Lathe

Master of Metal

Milling Machine Maestro

Grinding Guru

How about CMFWIC (chief mutha - what's in charge)

Used to be the top supervisor of a shop with two echelons of supervisors under him was a "Master Machinist" This was a supervisory and technical role not necessarily a title indicating complete mastery of a trade. The master machinist approved all hires and fire, set policy, ran the shop including layout and inspection, riggers and crane operators, the drawing file, fork lift and truck drivers, planners and estimators, welding dept, maintenence dept, janitorial and chip disposal, time and account clerks et. The master machinist ran it. Under him running the production shop were leadingmen (first echalon supervisor) and quarterman (second echalon). Quite often there were lead-off men, people of special technical responsibility, and other earning premium pay for specialties.

These days a top supervisory machinist reporting to the owner or the board of directors is called superintendent regardless of the size of the shop unless its under say 25 production people. Then he's called a foreman. If he has technical AND administrative control of the production activities of other parts of the organisation he might be the production manager. If your responsibilities are administrative rather than technical then you might be a vice president in some kind.

Your job title depends of the size of the shop, the formality of its organization, and how it's linked to the outside world. If you hire and fire and set shop policy you're a foreman or superintendent regardless of scale. Regardless of your self-image and how you may disparage climbers and seekers of glory, labels are important. People have to know how to classify you. Don't dodge an appropiate title. Like it or not you're a representative and your title is a tool enabling you to relate your shop to the outside world and your peers in industry.

I've held a couple of titles over the years (really not trying to brag here, honest.)

The one I liked best was "Group Leader of Machining Development". It was long enough that no one EVER called me that. They just called me Ken, and that was fine.

How about Vice President Of Really Really Improtant Stuff?

Lafferty Equipment said:

Salesman: So what's your position with the company?
Me: I'm a machinist
Salesman: Well, I'll need to talk to a supervisor who makes the purchase decisions
Me: That would be me. I'll evaluate and test the tool decide if it's for us.
Salesman: Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you were "just" a machinist. (his words)

Click to expand...

That had to have been a little bit satisfying at least.

My first job out of school colored me forever on titles. There the company owner gave me three cards, with titles "Computer Programmer", "Software Engineer" and "Director of Software Development". He instructed me to use whichever card would further the company's goals the most in a given circumstance. I was always free to create new titles for myself.

(I was not free to give myself a raise, however.)

Now I prefer to use Computer Programmer, even though I could legitimately use CEO or Founder. Unlike management titles that describe what your authority is, a title like Machinist describes what your contribution is: what your skills are, what you produce, what you make. Machinist is an honorable title, summing up in a single word your greatest contribution to the company and instructing whoever you give a card to why you have whatever authority you have.

As others have said, you can simply tell the salesman that you're the one evaluating and authorizing a purchase. It is they who should feel sheepish if they assumed that a mere machinist wouldn't have purchasing authority.

Or, failing all that, Your Highness.

rfrey said:

There the company owner gave me three cards, with titles "Computer Programmer", "Software Engineer" and "Director of Software Development". He instructed me to use whichever card would further the company's goals the most in a given circumstance. I was always free to create new titles for myself.

Click to expand...

I was doing everything from integrating robots, showing maintenance how to fix machines, to IT before the company went under. Title eventually became plant engineer.

As far as op's question, titles don't matter that much, the salesman, if he is smart, figures out who has purchase authority and sucks up to that person.

Looks like you set him straight and he recovered.

Clutch

Your title could be "Dealer" ---"I decide deal or no deal." or "DOMAP" Director of machining and purchasing.

The old standard title of 'Plant Superintendent' will probably get you the appropriate 'grovel' response from the type of salesman you describe.........it carries some of the old connotations of the 'no-nonsense', 'I'm the boss', 'the buck stops here' etc., etc., type of management person who would describe his attitude as 'I don't get ulcers, I give ulcers'. Practicing a bit of 'growl', and the 'don't waste my time' sort of 'hard stare' would help with some of those salesmen, I'd think.

Titles like 'Manager' or 'Director' may be applicable, but are so commonly used in bureaucracies in many different fields that the 'emotional impact' is not quite as effective.

I can't do it myself, to be sure, but I've known some old-timers who could reduce salesmen who thought they were 'tough' to quivering lumps of jelly in half a minute or less......Its quite a skill, actually.... : )

cheers

Carla