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What percentage of machinists/ moldmakers at your company under the age of 40?

I don't see any at my shop.

Probably like 7 or so out of 130 employees. It's scary thought. I'm one of the under 40 myself. And wonder how this industry will keep up in 10 years if the talent isn't there.
 
Here at the shop I work at, we have 1 Machinist under 40 out of 7, and he is pushing 40. 1 Moldmaker under 50 out of 3, and that man is pushing 50. So the percentage here would be 10 percent now and getting close to 0 percent. Which is probably close to the average answer you'll get I'm betting. Young people don't run to this trade anymore, they run away from it.
 
100% of our machinists are under 40, and I'd even guess that 80% are under 30.

Twelve guys, 8 running lathes and 4 running mills.
 
willing to train

100 %. I have 6 guys, and I have been finding them in trade schools. Somebody has to train them...
.
you just said it. you are willing to train them.

too many companies just want to hire people with 10+ years experience and do not have a training program
 
I'm 22, the highest I have seen is 4 out of about 40 across all shifts in this shop. Right now, there is just me and another guy. The gap in age tends to be huge.

One place I worked at had a much larger majority, nearly 40-50% of the guys were under 40. But it was full production, and all anyone ever did was load a part, push the green button, check for dimensions and put in offsets. They thought they were hot shit "machinists". I just shook my head. They could work there for 20 years and still wouldn't know how to indicate a vice. Hell, the tools were even preloaded in holders most of the time.


They didn't tell us about this stuff. Blue Collar was for failures in the eyes of High School Counselors. They told us that if we didn't get into a good enough college we were jacked and would end up flipping burgers or loading boxes onto a truck. This job... Machining, has taken every ounce of my intellegence and concentration and still continously kicks my butt. I have to be better than I was last week every damn week. Because this stupid piece of stock is going to become a good part damnit! The Shop Floor has a way of beating the laziness out of you and instilling hard work, determination and manhood that is just lacking in my generation.

I cannot tell you how frustrated I get when my friends in college post about their finals week, 1 week out of the year they spend working like they should have the whole year and they bitch up a storm about it. But then I remember I have a way cooler job than them, a career path, I don't have 50K in student Loans and most of them graduated this year and are working at Barnes and Nobles,Starbucks, and Whataburger.

We need to stop sending smart kids into cubicles and put them back into making the backbone of this Country strong again.
 
I should say that most all of our machinists came off the street. Some stayed for a few years, then went to school and came back. Some are content pushing the green button, but luckily the boss man makes advancement stupid easy if you show some initiative.

I'm only 23, with four years experience started as a button pusher. In those four years I've learned to program lathes and mills, set em all up, how to surface grind to tenths, heat treating, running a waterjet plus the press brake, ol' mastercam 9 programming, and now Solidworks modeling. I've also done some machine building, as well as landing wires for rockwell automation controls, plus initializing the PLCs. Sometime next month I'll be running a Zeiss Duramax CMM and doing a whole lot more RE work.

Somehow I'm still the only one here who can run anything at any time, so life is good. College is for chumps!
 
I would think to be considered a machinist you should at least be able to square up blocks or do a simple threading operation on the lathe. Something more than load and push button. I would call them operators.
 
I'm 22, the highest I have seen is 4 out of about 40 across all shifts in this shop. Right now, there is just me and another guy. The gap in age tends to be huge.

One place I worked at had a much larger majority, nearly 40-50% of the guys were under 40. But it was full production, and all anyone ever did was load a part, push the green button, check for dimensions and put in offsets. They thought they were hot shit "machinists". I just shook my head. They could work there for 20 years and still wouldn't know how to indicate a vice. Hell, the tools were even preloaded in holders most of the time.


They didn't tell us about this stuff. Blue Collar was for failures in the eyes of High School Counselors. They told us that if we didn't get into a good enough college we were jacked and would end up flipping burgers or loading boxes onto a truck. This job... Machining, has taken every ounce of my intellegence and concentration and still continously kicks my butt. I have to be better than I was last week every damn week. Because this stupid piece of stock is going to become a good part damnit! The Shop Floor has a way of beating the laziness out of you and instilling hard work, determination and manhood that is just lacking in my generation.

I cannot tell you how frustrated I get when my friends in college post about their finals week, 1 week out of the year they spend working like they should have the whole year and they bitch up a storm about it. But then I remember I have a way cooler job than them, a career path, I don't have 50K in student Loans and most of them graduated this year and are working at Barnes and Nobles,Starbucks, and Whataburger.

We need to stop sending smart kids into cubicles and put them back into making the backbone of this Country strong again.

Wow! A lot of wisdom in this post. And you're only 22! What North America needs--have to say that since I'm Canadian--is a few hundred thousand more youngsters like you to get us back on track. I agree completely about the fact that our collective education systems have spent the last one or two generations focusing on college or university education--to the detriment of all the trades. I have maintained for years that for a country to be great it needs to "make" things, not simply buy them and use them. Sure it's tough to compete against cheap labour in other parts of the world but with a trained and motivated workforce I think it's possible. The sad thing is that even if we start right now it's going to take another whole generation to turn things around and re-focus our education systems...
 
"I agree completely about the fact that our collective education systems have spent the last one or two generations focusing on college or university education--to the detriment of all the trades."

And here's the reason why, our public educational system is designed (from kindergarten through post secondary education)to produce individuals who view themselves as being wards of the State. It is intentionally designed to fashio a mindset in which individuals see the government as their care-taker. It is all about controlling the masses.

People who can actually DO things, can think independently - and do.

The deplorable condition of our country and economy will not change unless and until the public educational system is dismantled.


"We need to stop sending smart kids into cubicles and put them back into making the backbone of this Country strong again." Whatley - I 100% agree! Good for you.
 
Wow! A lot of wisdom in this post. And you're only 22! What North America needs--have to say that since I'm Canadian--is a few hundred thousand more youngsters like you to get us back on track. I agree completely about the fact that our collective education systems have spent the last one or two generations focusing on college or university education--to the detriment of all the trades. I have maintained for years that for a country to be great it needs to "make" things, not simply buy them and use them. Sure it's tough to compete against cheap labour in other parts of the world but with a trained and motivated workforce I think it's possible. The sad thing is that even if we start right now it's going to take another whole generation to turn things around and re-focus our education systems...

not that i dont agree with watley...because his additude is on par for sure...but imagine what that would do to they pay scale adding a few hundred thousand peple to this trade. pay scale needs to go up first. this will attract people our age. right now, making 40000 a year with all the stress and OT isnt going to attract anyone that hasnt already been exposed to the industry. Some people think tool and die makers make screw drivers and ink. No simple solution, we need a major reformation. but it'll never happen...wanna know why? we all shop at mthafkn walmart.
 
Here at the shop I work at, we have 1 Machinist under 40 out of 7, and he is pushing 40. 1 Moldmaker under 50 out of 3, and that man is pushing 50. So the percentage here would be 10 percent now and getting close to 0 percent. Which is probably close to the average answer you'll get I'm betting. Young people don't run to this trade anymore, they run away from it.

Same here..1 of 7.. . The one guy under 40 is 39. I'm next at 42
 
not that i dont agree with watley...because his additude is on par for sure...but imagine what that would do to they pay scale adding a few hundred thousand peple to this trade. pay scale needs to go up first. this will attract people our age. right now, making 40000 a year with all the stress and OT isnt going to attract anyone that hasnt already been exposed to the industry. Some people think tool and die makers make screw drivers and ink. No simple solution, we need a major reformation. but it'll never happen...wanna know why? we all shop at mthafkn walmart.

I both agree and disagree. It seems to me that most people want to be paid after training prices before the training even starts. If you so much as hint at learning something new you get that "not my job" mentality. Then guys wonder why they never get a raise?

I came in (mostly unpaid) weekends and learned to do what I do, and I still spend way too much of my own time getting better at solidworks and mastercam. Plus I sponge information off the guys on here like crazy. I'm now in a position to get what I ask for (because I am reasonable!) and it's a lot more than 40k a year.

Public education in this country is an abomination. I'm almost proud to call myself a high school dropout.

Weasel - I sure would like to move to Colorado, the scenery is so much nicer there! I've got a pretty good setup where I am now though, don't really think I could convince myself to move.
 
Our economy is market driven. The push in the past few decades for kids to go to college was a good move. Advancements in automation have greatly reduced the demand for those in the skilled trades. When the supply of skilled workers outstrips demand, wages go down. There will still be skilled trades in the future. How many guys are needed to run a shop is anyone's guess.

There are always skilled people a available. How badly you need them and what your business model will support will determine their pay. When the supply of college grads exceeds the demand, wages will become depressed for thise skills.

Everyone should be true to themselves and seek a vocation that fits their natural abilities. College isn't for everyone. Just like a skilled trade isn't for everyone. The day may come where machinists are getting relocation packages on top of signing bonuses. The perception of skilled trades will surely change.
 
I both agree and disagree. It seems to me that most people want to be paid after training prices before the training even starts. If you so much as hint at learning something new you get that "not my job" mentality. Then guys wonder why they never get a raise?

I came in (mostly unpaid) weekends and learned to do what I do, and I still spend way too much of my own time getting better at solidworks and mastercam. Plus I sponge information off the guys on here like crazy. I'm now in a position to get what I ask for (because I am reasonable!) and it's a lot more than 40k a year.

Public education in this country is an abomination. I'm almost proud to call myself a high school dropout.

Weasel - I sure would like to move to Colorado, the scenery is so much nicer there! I've got a pretty good setup where I am now though, don't really think I could convince myself to move.

I make more than 40k as well, but i came into the game at age 14 and i came in hot. I left alot of my elders in the dust, and my pay grade reflects it. But i am probably the exception, more than the rule. I have a good name around town and that helps too. But lets face it, when you boil it right down, and dont misinterpret this as money is everything, but people need to get paid. i remember during my apprenticeship making peanuts and gas was 4 dollars a gal, and i was driving 120 miles a day to work and school. It wasnt for the money, it was because i wanted to be damn good in an industry that i grew to respect. I lived in a migrant shack, paying for rent by working for the farmer part time. Whats the attraction for some young individual, on the outside looking in? get dirty stress the fk out and under paid in comparisson to a lot of other career choices. I work 50's every week now without fail, and i feel lucky to be making more than 20 an hour. But i have a lead position...and there arent a lot of lead positions. and as the industry becomes more automated, you need less hands per machine tool. We need to make more products on our soil to be able to take on a couple hundred thousand more employees. and you need to make it financially appealing to those you dont get thier rocks off making chips fly. NOt the only solution, and i dont have all the answers, so plz dnt take me for a know it all.
 
The owner is the only machinist that is over 40 out of 6 guys. It jumps up to 71 when you factor in his age.
 








 
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