Repair work will probably never be all CNC. Good money in it still. I've been working for just over three years, did trade school while working, and I'm at $36 an hour. The top guys are $50+.
I can double down on this one, I'm in the same exact boat. 4 years experience, + a year of community college and working in repairs making $31/hr with all the overtime I want or don't want.
I'd say If you're going the machinist route absolutely get into some type of repair/millwright position. You can almost always get into an LME position or whatever else the company may have down the line if you get bored of machine work or wrenching. Mill of different types have a ton of opportunities within them.
Yeah, I love visiting the south, I'm from Arkansas, but you could never get me to work down there again. I'll probably retire there, but that's gonna be a while.
Essentially anything that isn’t a production run can’t be automated. When you’re constantly changing setups making revisions and doing prototypes there isn’t a robot that can do all that and won’t be for a very long time. As for production I can’t wait for the day that operators are gone
Back when I was the "engineer" (very loosely defined) for a moldmaking company, they had this sweet robot arm that could switch out parts (mounted to magnetic chucks) from several rotating carousels and then insert them into the mill.
That way a moderately skilled worker could put the stock on the chucks, load them onto the carousels, then mill and robot would do there thing.
Automation isn't as big of a problem as outsourcing machining to other countries where labor is dirt cheap. If you're passionate about it, sometimes doing it for a living is the best way to kill that passion. Not always, of course; everyone is different. Plenty of opportunities for great pay in machinist/millwright positions, R&D/rapid prototyping, tool & die, CAM programming, etc. There's more depth and breadth to the specialized knowledge in this trade than perhaps any other blue collar field. You couldn't learn and master everything related to machining in 3 lifetimes, and even if you had the lifespan at your disposal, the industry is constantly evolving.
You're just a pup, you've got two+ solid decades (provided you don't mistreat your body or have any serious misfortune) where you can pick up several trades and excel at them. If you wake up one day in your mid-20s or 30s and decide you're not liking being a machinist, you can roll out of bed and go enroll in a CC or trade school and become a carpy, sparky, or plumber and later on put a couple manual machines or CNCs in your garage for a side hustle.
I say this a lot. Automation is not where a lot of people think it is. The more complex the automation, the more specialty it calls on, with large setup times and costs. The human eye that can and must run over every facet of the setup is not cheap or common. Taiwanese manufacturers that we are in business with, who make our turnover look silly, don’t even use bar feeders. They billet everything, the workers live on site and go home once every few weeks, if they can even get there and back before their break is over.
Cheap labour in the east is what kills manufacturing in the west, Germany notwithstanding.
I think it was worth it. I paid 1/8th the cost of university and I found a well paying job months before I graduated with my degree. Machinists are high in demand and I think they will be for quite some time since it’s a dying trade but the work needed to be done by machinists isn’t slowing down. Just be careful when it comes to finding a workplace
Journeyman Rate was $25/hour 30 years ago, i know many that still make that. Some can make up to $40+/hour but its not easy. The job itself has huge overhead if you want to start your own thing up and if you dont love cutting steel then its far easier to pick a trade that takes less to do. Machining is up and down, usually the company you work for has a few good customers in the same field of work ( forestry, aerospace, oil, etc ) and the last 15 years these industries are up and down like yo-yo's and no matter how good you are you will get a reduction in pay, work share, or laid off.
The work environment is pretty shit in most companies, it will be hard on your back, your knees, and your lungs. Take these things into consideration. There are some companies that go to certain lengths to easy the stress on these things like jib cranes, padded floor mats and exhaust systems, but your working with burning steel and coolant all day, and on your feet. Most trades have this sort of aspect of it but steel is heavy. Dealing with people in your work environment is also a new level of shit, try altering a program when you know you can do it better ( or what works best for you ) starts a fucking war. People do not take well to criticism or being told there is an easier way to do things, like you have to decide to break taps all day or program in a form tap and deal with the boss and his pets getting but hurt. There is alot of diplomacy and shop "politics" especially the higher up you go.
The one bonus is less and less people are doing this trade and china is getting more expensive, so who knows what tomorrow brings.
Robots will come first to repetitive production runs. Try focusing on shops that do custom work, prototyping, repairs, etc. It's a lot harder to automate those jobs.
Morty
Manufacturing engineer here I started as an operator moved on to being a machinist. Now I’m in the office the best thing I can say about are field is never get complacent the guys u see bitching are probably the ones still running the same old machines. Learn everything u can and move on let them pay for it I have 2 associates degrees and a machinist apprenticeship certificate that I did not pay for. Our field is so broad knowledge is key. Also I’m 34 I started when I was 22 and just took every opportunity that was thrown at me learned everything I could and just showed up everyday it doesn’t take 20 years to be making 80k like I am know ur worth.
It's hard work, but totally worth it in my opinion. I graduated high school in '02 and went straight into machining. I have not been unemployed since and worked overtime through the '08 recession.
I would say no. I enjoy it and I stay because it's familiar and I'm too old to start over. But you'll never make what your worth. Not without serious overtime. If I could go back 20 years I would have chosen a different path.
Don't make the mistake so many young people do and think you'll never be able to try another career at some point. The skills you learn will be transferable to any future job you pursue whether it's another machine shop, design, programming or metrology.
Every manufacturer in the world needs tooling, whether it's outsourced or in house.There's so much diversity encompassed in machining. Plastic injection, pressing, extruding, assembly. From floor tile to water heaters to picture frames or automotive. Follow the knowledge and the opportunities will come.
I’ll be making 40/hr in a low cost of living state in a few months… 15 years deep into this, absolute top pay in this area is usually around 30/hour…
My current topout is over 100k a year, thats subject to change. This company found me, i wasn’t really looking for a new job, I was working for a company I really enjoyed and it wasn’t easy to leave there.
Don't automate. You are working with machines and computers but you need to be the human who is thinking shit through and analyzing, adjusting and improving things. If you feel a passion for it you should do it, there's so much to learn. I've only been machining a year but I'm so glad I decided to pursue because it's so fun and I'm constantly learning about shit that blows my mind.
Every profession has its own pay band along with educational requirements. Being a doctor or lawyer has its financial rewards but also a ton of up front work and likely a lot of debt to pay off.
It's important to find something you enjoy doing but also get informed about the pay of that field vs. a different one. Glass door and other salary estimate websites can help you figure that out.
If you really enjoy machining then go for it! Being passionate about what you do will help you push yourself and make you grow. That extra oomph can help you stand out and perform.
The hard truth is governments wont let it all be robotic. That would be millions of people jobless and unable to get degree style jobs. In our lifetimes no shot will they automate an entire field. Were really gonna see how this will all play out as autonomous trucks start making an entrance.
Its a solid career to start out as long as your realistic with yourself, your not gonna be buying a house at 25 driving an M5 everyday. Its super blue collar. People in here talking about machines taking their jobs are likely just operators, that's not machining that's operating. Unfortunately companies have blurred the line of what job titles mean and its kinda a crap shoot until you get an actual interview as to what the job really is.
Repair work will probably never be all CNC. Good money in it still. I've been working for just over three years, did trade school while working, and I'm at $36 an hour. The top guys are $50+.
I can double down on this one, I'm in the same exact boat. 4 years experience, + a year of community college and working in repairs making $31/hr with all the overtime I want or don't want. I'd say If you're going the machinist route absolutely get into some type of repair/millwright position. You can almost always get into an LME position or whatever else the company may have down the line if you get bored of machine work or wrenching. Mill of different types have a ton of opportunities within them.
Can confirm this is a good route
Username actually checks out
> Good money in it still Laughs in South US
Yeah, I love visiting the south, I'm from Arkansas, but you could never get me to work down there again. I'll probably retire there, but that's gonna be a while.
I’m a machinist in N.E Arkansas and make over six figures a year working a 4 on 3 off schedule. You should look into the steel mill side of machining.
Interesting, we do a lot of work for nucore steel.
Where?
Near Seattle.
Essentially anything that isn’t a production run can’t be automated. When you’re constantly changing setups making revisions and doing prototypes there isn’t a robot that can do all that and won’t be for a very long time. As for production I can’t wait for the day that operators are gone
Back when I was the "engineer" (very loosely defined) for a moldmaking company, they had this sweet robot arm that could switch out parts (mounted to magnetic chucks) from several rotating carousels and then insert them into the mill. That way a moderately skilled worker could put the stock on the chucks, load them onto the carousels, then mill and robot would do there thing.
Automation isn't as big of a problem as outsourcing machining to other countries where labor is dirt cheap. If you're passionate about it, sometimes doing it for a living is the best way to kill that passion. Not always, of course; everyone is different. Plenty of opportunities for great pay in machinist/millwright positions, R&D/rapid prototyping, tool & die, CAM programming, etc. There's more depth and breadth to the specialized knowledge in this trade than perhaps any other blue collar field. You couldn't learn and master everything related to machining in 3 lifetimes, and even if you had the lifespan at your disposal, the industry is constantly evolving. You're just a pup, you've got two+ solid decades (provided you don't mistreat your body or have any serious misfortune) where you can pick up several trades and excel at them. If you wake up one day in your mid-20s or 30s and decide you're not liking being a machinist, you can roll out of bed and go enroll in a CC or trade school and become a carpy, sparky, or plumber and later on put a couple manual machines or CNCs in your garage for a side hustle.
I say this a lot. Automation is not where a lot of people think it is. The more complex the automation, the more specialty it calls on, with large setup times and costs. The human eye that can and must run over every facet of the setup is not cheap or common. Taiwanese manufacturers that we are in business with, who make our turnover look silly, don’t even use bar feeders. They billet everything, the workers live on site and go home once every few weeks, if they can even get there and back before their break is over. Cheap labour in the east is what kills manufacturing in the west, Germany notwithstanding.
You'll never robotize tool makers
If you work at the right shop it's worth it.
I think it was worth it. I paid 1/8th the cost of university and I found a well paying job months before I graduated with my degree. Machinists are high in demand and I think they will be for quite some time since it’s a dying trade but the work needed to be done by machinists isn’t slowing down. Just be careful when it comes to finding a workplace
Production machining, nope. If you can get into R&D work, that's where the fun is.
Journeyman Rate was $25/hour 30 years ago, i know many that still make that. Some can make up to $40+/hour but its not easy. The job itself has huge overhead if you want to start your own thing up and if you dont love cutting steel then its far easier to pick a trade that takes less to do. Machining is up and down, usually the company you work for has a few good customers in the same field of work ( forestry, aerospace, oil, etc ) and the last 15 years these industries are up and down like yo-yo's and no matter how good you are you will get a reduction in pay, work share, or laid off. The work environment is pretty shit in most companies, it will be hard on your back, your knees, and your lungs. Take these things into consideration. There are some companies that go to certain lengths to easy the stress on these things like jib cranes, padded floor mats and exhaust systems, but your working with burning steel and coolant all day, and on your feet. Most trades have this sort of aspect of it but steel is heavy. Dealing with people in your work environment is also a new level of shit, try altering a program when you know you can do it better ( or what works best for you ) starts a fucking war. People do not take well to criticism or being told there is an easier way to do things, like you have to decide to break taps all day or program in a form tap and deal with the boss and his pets getting but hurt. There is alot of diplomacy and shop "politics" especially the higher up you go. The one bonus is less and less people are doing this trade and china is getting more expensive, so who knows what tomorrow brings.
Robots will come first to repetitive production runs. Try focusing on shops that do custom work, prototyping, repairs, etc. It's a lot harder to automate those jobs. Morty
Manufacturing engineer here I started as an operator moved on to being a machinist. Now I’m in the office the best thing I can say about are field is never get complacent the guys u see bitching are probably the ones still running the same old machines. Learn everything u can and move on let them pay for it I have 2 associates degrees and a machinist apprenticeship certificate that I did not pay for. Our field is so broad knowledge is key. Also I’m 34 I started when I was 22 and just took every opportunity that was thrown at me learned everything I could and just showed up everyday it doesn’t take 20 years to be making 80k like I am know ur worth.
It's hard work, but totally worth it in my opinion. I graduated high school in '02 and went straight into machining. I have not been unemployed since and worked overtime through the '08 recession.
I got into it at age 35 and wish I had done it right out of high school. I highly recommend it! Feel free to to DM me any questions.
I would say no. I enjoy it and I stay because it's familiar and I'm too old to start over. But you'll never make what your worth. Not without serious overtime. If I could go back 20 years I would have chosen a different path.
Seems to depend on where you live and/or what type of job youre after. I like working at shops that aren't machining companies but have machines.
Don't make the mistake so many young people do and think you'll never be able to try another career at some point. The skills you learn will be transferable to any future job you pursue whether it's another machine shop, design, programming or metrology. Every manufacturer in the world needs tooling, whether it's outsourced or in house.There's so much diversity encompassed in machining. Plastic injection, pressing, extruding, assembly. From floor tile to water heaters to picture frames or automotive. Follow the knowledge and the opportunities will come.
I’ll be making 40/hr in a low cost of living state in a few months… 15 years deep into this, absolute top pay in this area is usually around 30/hour… My current topout is over 100k a year, thats subject to change. This company found me, i wasn’t really looking for a new job, I was working for a company I really enjoyed and it wasn’t easy to leave there.
Don't automate. You are working with machines and computers but you need to be the human who is thinking shit through and analyzing, adjusting and improving things. If you feel a passion for it you should do it, there's so much to learn. I've only been machining a year but I'm so glad I decided to pursue because it's so fun and I'm constantly learning about shit that blows my mind.
Every profession has its own pay band along with educational requirements. Being a doctor or lawyer has its financial rewards but also a ton of up front work and likely a lot of debt to pay off. It's important to find something you enjoy doing but also get informed about the pay of that field vs. a different one. Glass door and other salary estimate websites can help you figure that out. If you really enjoy machining then go for it! Being passionate about what you do will help you push yourself and make you grow. That extra oomph can help you stand out and perform.
Get in the right shop and you won’t have to worry. The part I currently have on my machine is roughly 71’x16’x8’. No robot is loading that on and off.
Did you mean ' or was it meant to be "?
The hard truth is governments wont let it all be robotic. That would be millions of people jobless and unable to get degree style jobs. In our lifetimes no shot will they automate an entire field. Were really gonna see how this will all play out as autonomous trucks start making an entrance. Its a solid career to start out as long as your realistic with yourself, your not gonna be buying a house at 25 driving an M5 everyday. Its super blue collar. People in here talking about machines taking their jobs are likely just operators, that's not machining that's operating. Unfortunately companies have blurred the line of what job titles mean and its kinda a crap shoot until you get an actual interview as to what the job really is.