#3058241 - 12/01/12 12:22 PM
Any machinist on TND ??
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FOX FIRE
6 Point
Registered: 08/01/11
Posts: 793
Loc: Mt. Eagle
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I've been pondering on attending a votech to become a machinist, have talked with sevral people in the biz (shop owners & supervisers) & all have told me it was a good time to get into the trade & they were having trouble finding hired hands.
Just curious if ther mite be anyone on here thats a machinist & what you had to say about the way things are looking for the trade. (job availability, pay scale, ...)
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When I was just a baby, my mama told me son, always be a good boy, dont ever play with guns.
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#3058267 - 12/01/12 12:59 PM
Re: Any machinist on TND ??
[Re: FOX FIRE]
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CATCHDAWG
10 Point
Registered: 04/02/04
Posts: 3208
Loc: Bradley co. TN
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At least in my area there is not a big demand for machinist. The jobs available don't pay very well. A good programmer pays better (cnc) but its not hard to find someone that can run a mill or a lathe. I took electro mechanical and is what I would suggest. I can weld, machine and do most electrical work but my main job is mechanical working on mostly servo drives and plc's. I would not take a course that limited my skill set to just one thing when there are better courses that will open up many more oppurtunitys.
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woods n water
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#3058296 - 12/01/12 01:55 PM
Re: Any machinist on TND ??
[Re: CATCHDAWG]
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Rackseeker
10 Point
Registered: 09/26/02
Posts: 4776
Loc: Franklin County
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Been in the trade for 20 years. Just like any trade it has its good and bad points. I've made a decent living but haven't got rich. I work in Tullahoma at one of the top shops in the area. We have had a hard time finding good young people that want to learn the trade. Most of them come in and think they know everything and want to make top money. We have hired a good group of young guys this year and they seem to be doing good.
Really don't know whats going to happen when and if all the defense cuts take place.
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#3058307 - 12/01/12 02:20 PM
Re: Any machinist on TND ??
[Re: RUGER]
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buckaroo
6 Point
Registered: 06/18/09
Posts: 878
Loc: easttennessee
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I work in a small shop, make 21$ hour, good trade been doing it for 26 yrs. I build alot of machines, doing something different all the time. I can run cnc but I'm more of a hands on man.
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#3058403 - 12/01/12 03:43 PM
Re: Any machinist on TND ??
[Re: buckaroo]
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pressfit
8 Point
Registered: 12/28/09
Posts: 1828
Loc: Giles Co. Tn
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I have ran a machine shop for 30 plus years.. When my dad bought a mill and lathe and started showing me how to run them he told me.. if your a machinists.. you can always find a job.. the problem is.. you go to school.. buy 3-4k dollars worth of tools.. and start out at min. wage.. then after a couple of years you make as much as some one that swaps parts on car engines.. or paints houses.. with minimal investment that.. I have hired guys that have graduated vo tech as a machinists and they couldnt fix a ham sandwich.. let alone turn a bearing fit to a few tenths tolerance..
_________________________
10 years ago we had
Steve Jobs,
Bob Hope
and Johnny Cash
- Now we have no Jobs, no Hope and no Cash!
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#3058611 - 12/01/12 06:09 PM
Re: Any machinist on TND ??
[Re: pressfit]
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Dienamic
4 Point
Registered: 10/22/10
Posts: 408
Loc: East TN
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Go cad. If you can relocate you have your pick. I've been a tool designer for 10 years or so. Took me to the other side if the world and all over the US. No degree. Just a technology center diploma and a break getting a tool and die apprenticeship. Learn Solidworks if you can. Thats the software in demand now. Nashville area is crawling with jobs.
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TANSTAAFL...
Rejoice dear hearts!
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#3058958 - 12/01/12 09:58 PM
Re: Any machinist on TND ??
[Re: Dienamic]
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FOX FIRE
6 Point
Registered: 08/01/11
Posts: 793
Loc: Mt. Eagle
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Thanks for the input guys, most of the peole I've spoke with have been in the biz for quite a while & should be in the know, all have seemed to be straight up no nonsense people, plus what ya'll are tell'n me really encourages me to take the plunge.
I spoke with the people at the McMinville, Shelbyville votech & also Chatt. state and the out the door cost will be $6,200 including books but I have to buy my tools, also told me that a lottery scholarship will give me $2,100 & I should apply for a pale grant, plus ther are more scholarships I should apply for, but its gonna be next Sept. before I can get into a class, this should give me time to get the rest of the money up & avoid making a loan.( they also mentioned something about a co-op that students do to help with some OJT, I need to find out more about this)
All in all I'm kind of stoked about it, but want to speak with others in the biz & gather as much food for thought as I can, if ya'll dont mind I mite send a few PMs & pick your brain a little.
Thanks a bunch guys, ya'll have been encouraging.
_________________________
When I was just a baby, my mama told me son, always be a good boy, dont ever play with guns.
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#3059044 - 12/02/12 03:27 AM
Re: Any machinist on TND ??
[Re: FOX FIRE]
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Crow Terminator
TnDeer Old Timer
14 Point
Registered: 10/23/99
Posts: 7929
Loc: McMinn County
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It's what I do. The CNC variety anyway. The others have told you right. Some people make okay at it...from what I gather from my asking around other machinists and operators, $18-19 an hour is about average top end pay at most places. $20-25 could be nabbed from contractor jobs and such but that is top end pay and in a lot of cases, with you paying insurance cost out of your checks. Not really as high of paying field as I was hoping for to be honest. You can live off of it...but just not comfortably unless your spouse also makes about the same as you.
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#3059594 - 12/02/12 01:49 PM
Re: Any machinist on TND ??
[Re: FOX FIRE]
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TAFKAP
12 Point
Registered: 11/06/09
Posts: 6996
Loc: Memphis
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I've been pondering on attending a votech to become a machinist, have talked with sevral people in the biz (shop owners & supervisers) & all have told me it was a good time to get into the trade & they were having trouble finding hired hands.
Just curious if ther mite be anyone on here thats a machinist & what you had to say about the way things are looking for the trade. (job availability, pay scale, ...)
I would say that learning to fit up and weld would give you better flexibility than a machinist. It's one of those specialized fields that is getting more computerized anymore, plus, you're a lot more dependent on the industries that are more susceptible to economic downturns.
However, a qualified welder that can read prints and fit-up the assemblies can just about command a salary these days.
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Everything important in life was learned from Mary Jo Kopechne.
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