Well, I have been a professional machinist for 30 plus years. As a trade, you kind of have to make some choices. You can play the CNC game, it helps if you are interested in computers. If chained in a cubicle with solid works working under a control freak appeals to you I would suggest that route for the future. I eventually went the manual machinist route, and have predominantly worked for small Mom and Pop job shops. You have more freedom that way, but you are never gonna get a comparable wage. I have done what I wanted and lived on less, and usually I have had access to the machines for my projects. As for gunsmithing, I would advise the tech school route. While it is true that OJT is where you will learn the most, there is some cut and dried do's and don'ts working on guns. Remember that your product is going to wind up inches from somebodies face and produce something between 6 and 30 tons of pressure. Gunsmithing has absolutely no room for impatience or shortcuts, and damn the cost. That fact alone makes it hard to make any real money. We must do it because we enjoy it. Many people in much better circumstances than I over the years, have envied my ability to build virtually whatever.
