CNC Programming certificate?

I'm not sure what forum to ask this in so if it needs to be moved go ahead. I'm aspiring to start programming. I started out taking some courses in San Diego at the local college there, and then moved out of state. I've tried picking this back up with the local community college here in Michigan but I'm having issues. Some COVID related scheduling issues and some just bad luck it seems. As such I'm debating trying out online such as camInstructor and getting a Mastercam certificate instead of an actual accredited certificate from a community college. I'm not aiming to be a Youtube programmer, I need some structure to learn this stuff. Have any of you gone this route, is it worth it or are there any better alternatives? Thanks.

Check out Titans of CNC. Can't say if it is any good, but I think it is all free after registering. They cover cnc basics, some programming, and some Mastercam specific stuff.

Free CNC Training Courses | Titans of CNC

Sorry, doesn't answer your question directly about a certificate, but from my experience a cert doesn't mean anything, what matters if you can do what you say you can do.

edit: I have a cert from Mastercam, and just like my tool&die cert from the USDOL, nobody asks to see them so...

Mike1974 said:

Check out Titans of CNC. Can't say if it is any good, but I think it is all free after registering. They cover cnc basics, some programming, and some Mastercam specific stuff.

Free CNC Training Courses | Titans of CNC

Sorry, doesn't answer your question directly about a certificate, but from my experience a cert doesn't mean anything, what matters if you can do what you say you can do.

edit: I have a cert from Mastercam, and just like my tool&die cert from the USDOL, nobody asks to see them so...

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Thanks, I'll look into that. I have a feeling I might not need to actually go through a college for this.

Are you already a machinist? If not get an entry level job as one and continue to learn the CAD/CAM on your own. You won't get hired as a programmer having not walked the walk. No one is going to bring in a guy with zero hands on experience just because they can doodle some shit on the computer.

AJ H said:

Are you already a machinist? If not get an entry level job as one and continue to learn the CAD/CAM on your own. You won't get hired as a programmer having not walked the walk. No one is going to bring in a guy with zero hands on experience just because they can doodle some shit on the computer.

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I’ve been machining for about 4 years now. I’ve learned a ton in the places I’ve been and am thankful to have found people willing to help. Unfortunately I have also seen a few times where people don’t walk the walk, either machinists who can’t program or programmers who haven’t touched machines. I don’t want to be on either side of that.

Codyyy said:

I’ve been machining for about 4 years now. I’ve learned a ton in the places I’ve been and am thankful to have found people willing to help. Unfortunately I have also seen a few times where people don’t walk the walk, either machinists who can’t program or programmers who haven’t touched machines. I don’t want to be on either side of that.

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That is actually pretty common. My last job we had 6 or 7 programmers in the office area, and 1 person for each machine in the shop. All we did was program, and they set up and ran parts.
The next part, programmers who haven't touched a machine is very very bad. They are some of the worst guys to have in a shop IMO. They have no idea how the part is going to be held, what a "good" fixture might be, how to efficiently process a part, or sometimes even figuring out if you cut this first, you have no way to establish the next setup, or think about how the next to last setup will be held/measured, etc...