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How to network as a young machinist

thefutureisnow

Plastic
Joined
Aug 24, 2018
Hey guys,
I’m a young machinist (23) I’ve been working on a shop for two and a half years. I started out as labor and I’ve been on machines for a little over a year. I find machining to be an interesting an exiting field and I’d love to make a career out of it. I’d like to find a new job because management at my current shop is terrible. In order to avoid getting hired into another bad situation I would like to do some networking and actually talk to people face to face and I’m wondering if anyone has any advice on how to do it.
Most everything I know about machining has come through an obsessive amount of reading and research on the Internet. I didn’t go to school for machining and I don’t have any family or friends in the trade. I’ve found there’s a lot of good information on the Internet. Modern machine shop.com, nyc cnc and a lot of you tube stuff, forums, different manufacturers websites etc, etc. I would love to sit down in a roomful of machinists and shop owners and just pick their brain. What it like to work in a big shop vs. a small shop vs. a medium shop? What’s it like to work in a production shop vs. a job shop vs. a prototype shop? Which shops are willing to train? Which shops locally have a good reputation and which don’t? What’s the maximum amount of money I’m worth? I’ve got about a million questions. I’d love to go on a few tours and see some different shops. Obviously there is some of this info that can be found on the Internet, but there’s a limit to how in depth you can actually get when you’re not face to face with people.
Talking to the guys in my shop has helped some but there is only 2 others and I’m looking for broader perspective, also there is a good bit of drama in my shop. Going to machining school might help but I’m not sure if it’s worth it, considering I already have a good bit of experience. Talking a class or to might be good but ideally I’d find a company that would pay for me to take a few classes. There is a few trade shows and machine demos I found online but they are all during the week during the day.
With all this talk about the skills gap and labor shortages one would think there would be organizations or other industry related groups trying to facilitate networking events for younger people who are interested in getting more educated about and involved in the industry. Does anybody have any advice on how or where to find something of this nature?
 
Does anybody have any advice on how or where to find something of this nature?

well your kind of here, ask questions get answers. your 23...you dont know shit and as long as you know you dont know shit there will be people here and in the workplace that will teach you everything you need to know. the moment you think you know shit you stop learning everything.

How on earth is there drama is a 3 person shop :willy_nilly:

do you like working on the same machine for weeks at a time making the same part?? if so producitoion is a good choice for you(although probably pays the lowest.

do you like working on one part for weeks at a time with no spares and no fuckups and going home and having nightmares about your work?? protoyping can be like this. high stress high reward

job shops are something of an in between


but what do i know
 
1 year = a good bit of experience? I've have always hated the word "networking". That is a Wall Street word. I don't know any machinist that will ever make into that group nor has a desire to. Put your nose to the grindstone and get on with the work at hand. Just because there is "drama" going around you doesn't mean you have participate in it. There are ways to let other people know how you feel about certain things without it being dramatic. Be subtle. They will eventually get the picture and leave you out of it. Had to do just that several times in my life, so far.
 
networking is keeping in contact with people you have met especially machinist. usually for letting others know about jobs. often old company that laid off many people usually the first ones to find jobs let others know about other companies hiring. of course some people dont keep in contact by email or telephone and or just plain talk to other people.
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i have worked in shops where they gave $1000. if you could recommend somebody who gets hired for more than 90 days or gets hired permanent. of course some people you have no doubts and others you have some doubts about recommending for jobs. like why would anybody not try to get a extra $1000. recommending people they know to get hired for jobs
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of course nowadays people often send text messages about job questions and could later keep in contact by text messages. all you got to do is ask others cellphone number and send a text to make sure you got correct telephone number
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some people who decide to open their own shop might be very interested in hiring people they know. i have seen that before where some get hired as a boss at a shop and again might be interested in hiring people they know or have met over the years.
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other thing is job references. at the very least find others who will agree to be a job reference that if called will recommend you for a job. had a guy get hired as a boss who when called said he is new supervisor but if he was allowed to hire people he would hire me immediately. usually cannot get much better than that as a job reference. of course it works both ways if you agree you might get called by others to put in a good word where they are trying to get hired..... of course some people dont want to be bothered or even give out their unlisted telephone number. always a few like that
 
Last edited:
Hey guys,
I’m a young machinist (23) I’ve been working on a shop for two and a half years. I started out as labor and I’ve been on machines for a little over a year. I find machining to be an interesting an exiting field and I’d love to make a career out of it. I’d like to find a new job because management at my current shop is terrible. In order to avoid getting hired into another bad situation I would like to do some networking and actually talk to people face to face and I’m wondering if anyone has any advice on how to do it.
Most everything I know about machining has come through an obsessive amount of reading and research on the Internet. I didn’t go to school for machining and I don’t have any family or friends in the trade. I’ve found there’s a lot of good information on the Internet. Modern machine shop.com, nyc cnc and a lot of you tube stuff, forums, different manufacturers websites etc, etc. I would love to sit down in a roomful of machinists and shop owners and just pick their brain. What it like to work in a big shop vs. a small shop vs. a medium shop? What’s it like to work in a production shop vs. a job shop vs. a prototype shop? Which shops are willing to train? Which shops locally have a good reputation and which don’t? What’s the maximum amount of money I’m worth? I’ve got about a million questions. I’d love to go on a few tours and see some different shops. Obviously there is some of this info that can be found on the Internet, but there’s a limit to how in depth you can actually get when you’re not face to face with people.
Talking to the guys in my shop has helped some but there is only 2 others and I’m looking for broader perspective, also there is a good bit of drama in my shop. Going to machining school might help but I’m not sure if it’s worth it, considering I already have a good bit of experience. Talking a class or to might be good but ideally I’d find a company that would pay for me to take a few classes. There is a few trade shows and machine demos I found online but they are all during the week during the day.
With all this talk about the skills gap and labor shortages one would think there would be organizations or other industry related groups trying to facilitate networking events for younger people who are interested in getting more educated about and involved in the industry. Does anybody have any advice on how or where to find something of this nature?


This is a great place to "network".

... and you may even get a few folks to read a post like that, but I'm not.

If you want to "network", I'd start by posting something readable w/o getting a headache.



edit:

With my screen settings, it actually looks WAY better in my quote box than it does in his post! :eek:


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Think Snow Eh!
Ox
 
many a boss has said send him no emails that he has to scroll down. basically he didnt want anything long
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i heard a study less than 2% of high school people have actually read a whole book in the past year. nowadays people have short attention span. like watching tv and person flipping channels all day never sees all of just one tv program
 
I didn't mean the length of his post, but the fact that it all runs together. After seeing it in my quote box, it seems as tho he did write in paragraphs, but he didn't put a space between them, and with my screen settings, it looks like all one block of run-on to me.


-------------------------

Think Snow Eh!
Ox
 
I didn't mean the length of his post, but the fact that it all runs together. After seeing it in my quote box, it seems as tho he did write in paragraphs, but he didn't put a space between them, and with my screen settings, it looks like all one block of run-on to me.


-------------------------

Think Snow Eh!
Ox

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i remember a shop with a simple prototrak mill and it had a 100 page manual on operating and programming. surprisingly very few actually read the manual. they couldnt handle a 100 page booklet
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not sure what they would do with a bigger cnc with 2000 pages of manuals.
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just saying many 98% of people do not read books anymore. sure they read short articles and stories but they do not read 200 to 1000 page books anymore. they surf the internet read a few minutes and move on like person flipping tv channels all day
 
I will just answer the size of shop question, usually the bigger they are the more work place politics. The bigger they are the easier it is for a slacker to hide and a go getter who improves quickly by leaps and bounds to go unrecognized. Also in some large shops it is hard to learn at a fast pace. Another case where annoying politics can run rampant is when the main supervision is not very familiar with the processes they are over seeing. the last job I had working for the man over 20 years ago the owner was a great salesman who had no aptitude for anything mechanical. He was impressed by people who "looked" like they worked hard. The tail chasers that ran around in a panic impressed him, while at the same time the guy that had everything under control and moved like a golfer lining up a putt he didn't like and constantly badgered.

If you are young, ambitious and a quick learner I would lean toward working in smaller shops and move around a bit. For some reason, back in the day the place that trained you didn't bring your pay along at the rate they should. I worked at 8 different shops over a 16 year period before striking out on my own. The shortest job was 4 days the longest 4 years.
 
i prefer bigger shops. my experience is there are more opportunities about internal job postings you can apply for that never make it to the outside the company job postings.
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bigger companies tend to eventually weed out the bosses who do odd things as oppose to small shop where boss might be the owner and aint going anywhere
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bigger shops tend to have better pay. cnc operator making over $80,000/yr is not unusual with overtime.
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bigger shop usually have more machines and if you can run more machine types usually you are rated higher and get paid more. the ability to learn from others is easier when there are more people in the shop to learn from.
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my belief is only small shop owners are going to tell you its better to work in a small shop and tell you lower pay is better some how.
 
There's benefits to working for bigger and smaller companies.

Bigger companies usually can pay more and offer better benefits. But typically you are just another number.

Smaller companies usually are more like close knit families(good ones anyways)and usually have a bigger variety of work that you can do so you learn faster. From what I've seen the smaller companies seem to be the majority of places that are still offering apprenticeships.

Whatever you do, try to find a place with an apprenticeship program. These are typically the places that try to do good for their employees and their communities.
 
There's benefits to working for bigger and smaller companies.

Bigger companies usually can pay more and offer better benefits. But typically you are just another number.

Smaller companies usually are more like close knit families(good ones anyways)and usually have a bigger variety of work that you can do so you learn faster. From what I've seen the smaller companies seem to be the majority of places that are still offering apprenticeships.

Plus 1 on being just a number in a big place. 42 years ago I was #1028. None of the supers knew my name. That was last big place I ever worked at. Small shops for me thereafter.
 
Plus 1 on being just a number in a big place. 42 years ago I was #1028. None of the supers knew my name. That was last big place I ever worked at. Small shops for me thereafter.

Sometimes just being a number at a big place isn't a bad thing. A lot of people are well known for all the wrong reasons.
 
First, take stock of your abilities as an employee. Are you always ready to start work when the bell rings? Do you pull out your phone while on the clock? Can you pass a drug/alcohol test? Can you figure out things on your own, and do you have a good imagination? Do you retain knowledge, or do you have to be retrained after weekend?

Your best chance to improve your knowledge base is to find a new job. Spend your interview time asking about the work, the machines, the seniority of the employees, and everything else about the shop. Actual wages are toward the bottom of your list of requirements. If you can represent yourself as a good employee, you will have them trying to sell you on working for that shop.

For learning opportunities, I don't think you can beat a jobshop that does prototype and short run production. There is always something new coming in the door. Sometimes that jobshop is the internal toolroom to a large manufacturer.

You probably don't have the funds to travel to IMTS in Chicago, but many large cities have smaller shows of similar content. Take a half or entire day off work and go see what is there. Only you know if you can tell the boss why you need the day off or call in sick that day.
 
QT:[management at my current shop is terrible.]
First off you are not there to judge management, you are there to do your job and learn new skills you might use to get the better job.
You did not say one thing about your skills in your first post.
The shop keeps its door open so it is not doing that bad IMHO.
A year at machining? what is that? loading a CNC or actually doing some thinking? Do you teweek numbers on a CNC program, run a lathe, grinder, mill, file off burrs, sweep the tool room floor or what?
You need skills and a good story to get into a big/better shop with high pay and benefits...know how to get a better job. Big shops have college trained people trained pick the right people..Are you right people?

Qt:[to avoid getting hired into another bad situation] walking out with a pay check is not a bad situation.

I look and smell good/ I can do these things / Here is a letter from my last employer / on the side I like to do these things / my goal is to../ I seem confident, I am doing this to improve my skills / I feel I would be an asset to this company because.

QT: [everything I know about machining has come through an obsessive amount of reading and research on the Internet.]
What, in a year you did not learn anything at your shop?.. I bet the other guys did.

Networking? what is that? a catch word?
Networking | Definition of Networking by Merriam-Webster

The letter...Joe Blow hated working at my shop. in a year he learned nothing. He hates me and his boss. He never appreciated getting his pay check.

Sorry to pick on you but life is tougher than that.
 
in general get involved outside of work one suggestion maybe checking out to see if you have a local SME (Society of Manufaturing Engineers) chapter. we put together several tours of local plants for our members and student chapter. also have a couple networking events throughout the year as well. build up a network and make a name for yourself, never have to worry about a decent job moving forward. remember these days it may not always be what you know its who you know....
 
Guess we scared away Future. Add be tough enough to not give up at the first hurdle..All/Much good advice here.
But working up the ladder is not a simple tasks. There are things to learn,sweet and hard nose masters to show one the tricks and proper way to do things, reasons to stick it out even with seeing a little crap to tolerate, times to move along, ways to say good bye,reasons to listen to everybody and discern who's advice should go in the dumpster with not offending anyone.
Still one has to stick it out past the first bump in the road.
Add to what you know and who you know..who you are, to often say thanks, be willing to pack your bags, keep old contacts, know that often you way may not be the best way and when you don't consider good advice you limit opportunity.

Future if you have not made note of the good advice in all the above posts it will be a tough road for you.
 
in general get involved outside of work one suggestion maybe checking out to see if you have a local SME (Society of Manufaturing Engineers) chapter. we put together several tours of local plants for our members and student chapter. also have a couple networking events throughout the year as well. build up a network and make a name for yourself, never have to worry about a decent job moving forward. remember these days it may not always be what you know its who you know....

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years ago i was a member of the American Welding Society and American Foundrymen Society you pay yearly dues and get discount on books. American Welding Society often they have a monthly diner where new equipment or videos is shown on new technology. obviously if you go to the diner you can ask about work or get advice on who might be hiring. often the welding equipment store owners are members of the American Welding Society and some Welding Stores even run schools on welding classes or training and they often can recommend where to look for work
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never heard of machinist equivalent. the groups or Societies even Printers have them often setup by a book publisher. you can still buy books without joining the Society but usually if you buy more than one book the discount from paying the yearly dues is more than the yearly dues. basically save $60 on books by paying $40 dues to join a Society. some Societies have a magazine too.
 








 
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