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Machinist looking to advance career

R.Chapman

Plastic
Joined
Feb 19, 2017
Location
Rochester, NY
I am 39 and am reasonably content with the shop I am in currently. I program/setup/run mazaks mostly now. Started on manuals, have been in shops since I was 18 etc. Ive been making about 55-57k. I am considering going to school part time. Options I've been looking at are ME, MET, or just a certificate for CAD. I am thinking the tail end of my career I'd like to spend doing less intensive hands on work. It's late in my life to try to switch paths to much, but to early just to be content with where I'm at now. My salary is on par with my skill level and location. Switching shops won't help with advancement without increased skill level. Trying to think of ways I can work on my marketable skills on my (limited) own time in addition to trying to advance while at work. Thank you for any insight.
 
If you enjoy working with mechanisms, and think you'd like a future in mechanical design and engineering, then by all means, study to be an ME.

Just be aware that we may be entering a time when engineering services become just as commoditized as manufacturing. "White collar" jobs are going to be stressed as we've seen in blue (GM layoffs of thousands of engineers), and you'll have to think carefully on how you'd maximize your worth in any profession.

This isn't to put you off, I think it's a great to go (back) to college, but have your eyes open as to what's the most effective path for you. If you think you might want to design and manufacture your own line of products, there might be important additional skills to learn, like business management.

Tell us more about your ideal future, that will help with suggestions.
 
It certainly sounds like you’ve got plenty of hands-on experience as a machinist...what about managing other machinists? It’s one thing to be some whiz-bang machinist that can do the work of two average machinists but if you can effectively manage six or twelve other average machinists (with real experience backing you up) you would be much more valuable to an employer and it would allow you to be a little less “hands-on.”

The thing about ME is it’s a ton of work (and expense) and at the end you’re kind of at the same point all those kids are that walk into the shop with their “CNC Certificates” or whatever yet don’t know how to fill up a bucket with coolant or change a band-saw blade...my point is it will be years before you have years of experience in mechanical engineering just like it took years for you to get years of experience in machining. But maybe you’re up for that and that’s cool! Just don’t think your diploma certifies you to build the next SpaceX is rocket. I always said a diploma in engineering means you are now certified to learn whatever you really have to learn on the job.

Management is where the money is at if you’ve got the personality for it. Consider looking for a bigger shop if that’s what you want to do and there ain’t enough room at your current one. You could also maybe ask your current employer? Maybe there’s something they would want and maybe even pay for your to learn?
 
You could also maybe ask your current employer? Maybe there’s something they would want and maybe even pay for your to learn?
If you like where you work, that's the first thing I would do - have a talk with your current owners. Tell them you'd like to move up, what would be the best way to do it ?

If you don't like where you are, then better keep your mouth shut :)
 
It certainly sounds like you’ve got plenty of hands-on experience as a machinist...what about managing other machinists?

Management is where the money is at if you’ve got the personality for it.

I tell the people I hire you can only make so much on a machine...or two or three depending on how jobs are timed and running. BUT, if you can keep other peoples machines up and running, oversee, be able to use your machining talent to help get other jobs running better, do some QC...instead of just taking a portion of your production you get to take a portion of every ones intake with less hands on...but it comes with more responsibility and stress for some. Kinda go from machinist to lead man, foreman/ management depending on size of place.
I know for me it is what I lack...tough as I'd make more going out getting better work then overseeing production on top of business duties.
It's not for everyone...its not for most.

39 is not even kinda close to make a move in advancing or changing a career.
 
I am 39 and am reasonably content with the shop I am in currently. I program/setup/run mazaks mostly now. Started on manuals, have been in shops since I was 18 etc. Ive been making about 55-57k. I am considering going to school part time. Options I've been looking at are ME, MET, or just a certificate for CAD. I am thinking the tail end of my career I'd like to spend doing less intensive hands on work. It's late in my life to try to switch paths to much, but to early just to be content with where I'm at now. My salary is on par with my skill level and location. Switching shops won't help with advancement without increased skill level. Trying to think of ways I can work on my marketable skills on my (limited) own time in addition to trying to advance while at work. Thank you for any insight.

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i used to program setup operate mazaks too. sure i took night school courses in mastercam programming but its basically useless if shop uses a different CAD CAM program. and some places might have 1 programmer to 10 or more operators. so very little jobs available
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i saw a job opening in large machining department and applied internal job posting. i heard it had plenty of overtime and larger parts often program runs are 4 to 12 hours. basically do other setups while machine is running a program. plenty of M0 to stop if operator needed for something.
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so just a CNC operator job making $75,000 to $95,000 a year depending on how much overtime worked. only programming is at control for simple ops like milling a slot or adding a drilled hole.
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less programming but higher pay. larger part usually longer program runs. after you learn parts, setups and prog runs and add warnings on what to look out for its not a bad job.
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just my experience larger parts you make larger pay
 
I am 2 -4 years from retirement and closing or selling my shop. I make products for my own business maybe look for someone like myself to buy out you will make more than your current salary and you will know before you get laid off just a thought.
 
I don't know that I would get an engineering degree, but I would set a goal to become a subject matter expert in the CAD CAM systems that are most prevalent in your current company and in your area. Out here, it is a Mastercam and Solidworks show. Having those two in your wheelhouse makes you extremely employable. I don't just mean being able to turn them one and extrude a block and then run a 2D tool path around the part. I mean striving to become an expert. Fortunately, there are tons of resources to get such expertise... community colleges, online, heck just getting the home learning addition for both of them and then devoting time to figuring them out.

Those are the type of "engineers" that I hire. 20 years of machining and then self-taught engineering skills. The real money (in my opinion) is in product design. If your worth to a company is calculated by how many machines you keep running, then there is a finite limit to how much you can make. If you are making a company millions of dollars with new products and intellectual property, it's a whole different equation.
 
I'm kind of in a similar position at 33 years old. I'm lead machinist now with some supervisory responsibilities. I have 12 years experience now and make a decent living wage with overtime. I would say it is getting harder and harder for me to deal with the stress. Managing people and making parts to meet production isn't for the faint of heart sometimes. Especially if that part is a $150k part with critical fits and dimensions. It's easy for me to get burnt out. If I had it to do over I think going into a full time management position is the next step for me. I like helping people and am getting to where I don't have the passion to do the difficult stuff anymore. The most important thing to me is time with my family and that is hard to arrange sometimes when you have to work 50 plus hours a week to live comfortably. Just a rant from a similar position.
 
Are you willing to move to advance your career? I'll use myself as an example. I started my machinist career in Texas working in job shops, mostly oil field stuff. Got interested in aerospace work so moved to California and immediately started making a lot more money. Then got into programming and then contracting and moving all over the place and was making top money. I'm single and no kids.
 








 
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