Changing trades of a machinist

Been a machinist right at 30 years of manual and cnc and it's just not a trade to be in no more so what would be good that falls along our skills so looking to advance into something better that after so long of skill building that it be worth more than 20. A hour like in our trade seems today's time people seem to think anyone can do our job and thinks it has no value.

Samcb said:

Been a machinist right at 30 years of manual and cnc and it's just not a trade to be in no more so what would be good that falls along our skills so looking to advance into something better that after so long of skill building that it be worth more than 20. A hour like in our trade seems today's time people seem to think anyone can do our job and thinks it has no value.

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Am in the same situation as you....30yrs, etc. Yes, management (in my area anyway) thinks that anyone can come in and do the job with no training and be very good within a month or two. I say good luck.....

Samcb said:

Been a machinist right at 30 years of manual and cnc and it's just not a trade to be in no more so what would be good that falls along our skills so looking to advance into something better that after so long of skill building that it be worth more than 20. A hour like in our trade seems today's time people seem to think anyone can do our job and thinks it has no value.

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I really (and I mean REALLY) don't mean to offend here, but if you want to advance into areas outside of machining that pay well, one thing that will help you enormously is to improve your writing. For better or worse, how we write (spelling, formatting, grammar, etc.) is important and influences how people respond to you and judge your intelligence and education.

Your post is one long run-on sentence, with grammar, spelling, and case errors. Again, not trying to beat on you, it's just that if you write like this when responding to job offerings you're likely to not be treated seriously. [Edit: I take back the spelling errors, I read your post again and didn't see any]

If your posting is how you generally write, it will help you to take some HS or college writing courses, and do some self-study by reading books on subjects that interest you. But as you read, observe the writing style, how the sentence is structured, tenses, contraction usage (making sure to get your - you're right, that sort of thing), homonyms (hey, hay - wear, where - to, too, two), and the other "fun" rules of English.

FWIW, my spelling sucks, and I dread longhand writing. If forums and email didn't have spell checkers I'd look like an idiot. But even as "just a machinist", my decades of reading for knowledge and for fun have left me with a good vocabulary and a decent handle on sentence structure. You'll note that the vast majority of the folks who post here are the same, most of the writing here is quite good.

So take the time to get better at how you write - it'll help you for the rest of your life.

[Note: yes, doubtless there's mistakes in my post, have at me good sirs]

I have no advice, as I'm in the same boat, only I have over 40 years in tool making. I'm too old now to change. The most money I ever made in one year was in 1992, some 26 years ago! I was working for a big company, and worked a lot of overtime. In the last 26 years, the cost of most things has at least doubled, meaning I actually make HALF of what I used to!

Since we've farmed out jobs like ours to third world countries, I would look into jobs that can't be out-sourced- plumber, electrician, HVAC, etc. Have you hired a plumber lately?

MushCreek said:

Since we've farmed out jobs like ours to third world countries, I would look into jobs that can't be out-sourced- plumber, electrician, HVAC, etc. Have you hired a plumber lately?

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I'm sure there will be H1B plumbers coming along shortly....


Have you thought about being a Mortician ?

MushCreek said:

I have no advice, as I'm in the same boat, only I have over 40 years in tool making. I'm too old now to change. The most money I ever made in one year was in 1992, some 26 years ago! I was working for a big company, and worked a lot of overtime. In the last 26 years, the cost of most things has at least doubled, meaning I actually make HALF of what I used to!

Since we've farmed out jobs like ours to third world countries, I would look into jobs that can't be out-sourced- plumber, electrician, HVAC, etc. Have you hired a plumber lately?

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It must be the world over that pushing a pushfit on a piece of tube or pipe makes you a god , why is this?

digger doug said:

...Have you thought about being a Mortician ?

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dd - that cracked me up.

That aside, I sincerely wish I had an answer for Samcb, but I don't. I suspect the issue he raises has been on more than a few minds.

-Marty-

Uber driver?

I think one answer is that not every job needs a super machinist. You need to be finding more challenging work to do. Making the same widgets for 20 years only counts for so much.

When I got into machining I was told by the teacher at the community college, "If it's easy, anybody can do it, and you won't get paid much for doing it."

And then again, if you want to chase money it seems you simply need to bounce around every year or two.

For me, at this point in my life, there are other besides just money. But obviously, money is always important......

A good old fashioned job change could give your rate a decent kick.

plastikdreams said:

Uber driver?

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Now there's a job with a future...

Samcb said:

Been a machinist right at 30 years of manual and cnc and it's just not a trade to be in no more so what would be good that falls along our skills so looking to advance into something better that after so long of skill building that it be worth more than 20. A hour like in our trade seems today's time people seem to think anyone can do our job and thinks it has no value.

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1) larger companies tend to have more jobs that pay higher
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2) try to transfer where larger parts are made. often more expensive parts are more critical not to cause scrap and rework and thus tend to pay more to make
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3) overtime pay is like a temporary pay raise. not unusual to make over $20,000 more a year working a lot of overtime compared to job that might pay $7./hr more but have no overtime
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4) often to be appreciated at some places you have to leave. many bosses think employees are not that good until they try to replace employee then find out old employee was actually very good

I agree w find a place where u make bigger parts and run bigger machines. I also agree that u should work on ur writing. I had to read ur post 3 times to figure out what u were asking. Basicly u want more than 20 dollars an hour?

20 years ago, as a shop owner, I was frustrated that shop rates would not allow me to pay my good hands much more than $20. I am not surprised that the situation has not changed. In our world, if you get your hands dirty there is no respect and therefore no money. Plumbers and auto mechanics make decent money because people understand what they do and understand the need. When the toilet backs up or the car quits running, they're willing to pay what it takes. That kind of work can't be off-shored to China. Conventional employment has very limited opportunities these days, good pay and benefits have been strangled in the pursuit of more profit for those who don't actually do anything. I have friends and former employees who have gone into business for themselves doing niche specialty machine work. Custom motorcycle, boat and firearms related hardware are some of the possibilities. People will pay more for what they want than for what they need. For the last 20 years, I've been doing free-lance computer repair, currently at $60/hr. I only work 10-20 hours per week, but I make as much, have a much smaller investment in tools and don't get my hands dirty.


If you want to make real money, you have to manipulate money, siphoning off as much as you can without getting caught.

I agree with milland. I read posts on forums where people don't seem to know the difference in their, there and they're. Or then and than.

Mississippi pay scales may be quite a bit lower than other states. Are you willing to relocate?

Samcb said:

Been a machinist right at 30 years of manual and cnc and it's just not a trade to be in no more so what would be good that falls along our skills so looking to advance into something better that after so long of skill building that it be worth more than 20. A hour like in our trade seems today's time people seem to think anyone can do our job and thinks it has no value.

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Let me say the following as kind as possible.
You must start by working on your grammar:
“not a trade to be in no more” - you must STOP the double negatives ASAP!!!

California isn't much better. Small shops can't afford to pay and corporate shops don't pay. Now a days a corporate shop hires cheap labor (people that think they're machinist), put tons of pressure on the supervisor (who usually is a machinist) and overpays the engineers that can't do anymore than draw a picture and don't understand the program spit out by whatever cam system they're using. Plumbers and mechanics make good money because people see immediate results. Jobs being farmed overseas has all but killed this trade. Not to mention the majority of the next generation doesn't even know how to turn a wrench, if there's no app then they're lost. God forbid they get hot, sweaty and dirty. I to have thought about what else I could do but being 51yrs old I'm pretty limited on who would hire me as a rookie. Good luck.

i lost job at 50 years old and got a job as a cnc operator starting at $20/hr and have been getting raises past 6 years and usually make over $75,000 yr now with overtime and 401K match
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sure you usually start job often at lower than a old jobs pay. i applied for job transfer internally in company after a little over a year. department i am in now has more overtime if i want it.
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just saying often better jobs are not being given away. you have to apply for them and prove yourself often starting at lower pay and rank or position. also working inside in a shop is better than working outside in the rain and snow. also when applying for a new job often they treat a new person far worse til you prove yourself.

I don't know if I believe all the doom and gloom, I am closer to 40 an hour than to 20, stay on top of emerging technologies and techniques, and work in a higher value industry if possible.

Relocate if needed, or take a job traveling, I used to rake in cash when I was younger as a field machinist.

I just recently (last Thursday) retired. I was getting fed up with the company's attitude toward its employees. They use to treat their employees as assets but they no longer do. I seen it start with their so called SJI (standard job instruction) that they brain washed everyone to fill out and create. Seems like no noticed they were cutting their own throats ( refused and never did one) Now they think they can get some jo-blo off the street hand them the SJI and have them do your job. I wish them luck because it is not working as well as they planned their so called SJI no matter how hard they try just can't get them right ( that's where employee experience come in)
Anyway thats my 2cents worth