Learning to program without a thorough understanding of machining is going to make piss poor code.    It will either trash tooling, or waste a ton of shop time.

That's how I got my current job.  Learning the electriacal and controls aspect when stuff broke.  
Romanian and Soviet machines are a bitch to trouble shoot.

Czechoslovakian Gear hobber.

I have purchased thousands of dollars worth of books and gadgets on my own dime.

Very true. But most Cnc courses help that part too. You got to start somewhere

Just be aware of what kind of work you're going to be doing and what kind of company you'll be working for.  Machining can be a fun and rewarding career, or a soul crushing torment, depending on those two factors.

I started out learning manual machining from a crusty old Korean War vet in a small shop that did custom work, prototypes and one-offs.  The company folded and I had to find another job.  My last few years in the industry were spent as a cylindrical grinder for a company that didn't give a rat's ass about their employees.  I got out of the business.

As long as I have a paycheck coming in, I don't have a problem with that.
Basic rules=more money coming in than going out.

You can make much more in this trade my friend. Just open your mind

You should publish your rule and put it on the bookstore shelf next to Dave Ramsey.    

That top one. What the fuck?

In Soviet Russia, wire manage you!

I guess if they could afford someone to label wires, that guy would be better used pulling more wire on another machine.  

I run a small moldmaker shop in support of an injection molder. I didn't read everything so this may have already been stated. Manual skills make you a much better CNC programmer.

You can teach a guy to sit in an office and use MasterCam but there is no substitute for some manual experience.

You sound like a catch and I'd take a flyer on you in a heartbeat.

Good luck. Manufacturing, creating wealth, is one of the most satisfying careers possible.

You can't teach real programming. It comes from true experience on manual machines

That is completely ridiculous.  I have worked on, designed, built, upgraded machines for over 22 years.  If I saw that, I would have to at least rewire and document it before I would touch it.  That shows a complete disregard for every principle a good machine builder stands for.  

 

Theres decent money to be made in the business. Manual machinists are gettting rare nowadays. My company has a hard time hiring experienced people, so we have started hiring "trainable" people. Im a machinist/millright/welder in the oil business. 2013 was my 5th year with the company and i made a tick over 140k. Make sure it is known that you are willing to learn things you dont know, and improve on the skills you already have in place. Also if you havent run a machine before, dont say you have to impress anyone. I see it happen all the time and it ends up in chucked parts or worse.

Never grab the Job handle, crank to 100x and do your best impression of "IT SPINS!!!"

Replaced 3 spindles (2 Mori 1 Makino) in 1 1/2 weeks once.. That was an expensive couple of days!

I have worked in the Machine /Tool and Die industry since 2000.

I started sweeping chips, cleaning machines, sharpening drills etc.
Did a few years in a specialty foundry/ machine shop, and run my own business with my brother now.

My advice would be to contact a foundry or injection molding facility and try to get trained in tooling repair.

The starting pay is better , and you will have the opportunity to learn a large variety or skills and machines.
All too often in many shops you can end up pigeon holed on 1 or 2 jobs; Being the Lathe guy, mill guy, surface grinder guy, or TIG guy.

I think with your pharmaceutical experience you have the opportunity to slip into a tooling repair position and gain the skills there to transition into a specialized shop atmosphere.

The trade has been very good to many of the people I have worked with over the years myself included. The big thing is putting the time in and learning everything you possibly can.


If you need any additional advice , or ideas please I.M. me and I'll be glad to help where I can.

Good Luck!

Looks like one we used to have, a SAYJO?

You should be a career counselor.  I like that line right there.





CHRIS



 

Well said!
What type of injection tooling do you guys repair?
I feel that the repair industry is overlooked all too often and some really skilled guys spend their entire career running a couple machines in a production environment.

I have a buddy who focuses on small plastic injection tools in a 1 man repair shop and makes a killing. Turns down new customers daily due to the incredible volume of repair work these small tools bring in.

TOS Celakovice OFA-71A.
We also  had a TOS FO-10.    A LOT easier to work on.  

I own a CNC shop and have had such a hard time finding employees lately that if you had on your resume that you had a pulse and would show up for work everyday you would be considered.

Seriously though, convey a good positive attitude and willingness to learn and adapt. Don't try to make yourself appear to have more knowledge or experience than you actually posses. I can't stand posers and have interviewed many over the years, one or two slipped through the interview but didn't meet my expectations when things got real. Let an employer know who you really are and where you want to go with your career up front and you will get much better results than if you pad your resume.

Here's my experience, in the greater Seattle area. Keep in mind this is one of the most expensive places to live in America so salaries tend to be higher.

When I got out of the Marines I took a job as a delivery driver, $15+ per hour and only needed a straight Class B CDL with no endorsements. I may have gotten extra as I had a Class A with double/triples, passengers, and tankers.

I left that because I wanted to be a machinist. Got on with a small production shop north of Seattle, $14+ per hour for sweeping, emptying the trash, and general bitch work. The hiring foreman made it sound like an informal apprenticeship where I would have a chance to learn. In practice that was not the case. I left pretty quickly, lack of opportunity for advancement in a reasonable time frame. "Maybe in a few years someone will retire and then you can do more than carry stuff." No thanks. And it was a crap environment to work in, foreman stop watching you every time you took a piss etc. In talking to an experienced machinist, he was pulling down... Maybe $25, $28 with decades of experience.

I left to be a commercial building engineer. Started as a "junior" which is basically an apprentice for non union shops. I'm making around what that machinist did after 6ish years, and I could be pulling down half again as much in a union shop. Got my electrician's license, and whenever I can make time to get downtown during working hours I'll get my refrigeration operator's.

Lots of money in the right trades. But low lots of shitty low wage jobs for people with 20-30 years experience too. From what I've seen machinist tend toward the latter group.

I am curious about the folks reporting significant wages working out of their garage part time. What are you doing to make that happen?

I literally got my job 18 months ago by showing up on time, having a pulse, not being a crackhead, and waiting an hour (fucking OSHA showed up, I had an appointment, fuck them). Not as a machinist, but as a CNC laser operator. Absolutely ZERO experience.

In that time I've learned 2 different lasers, a 5-axis water jet, how to program all of them, and how to use Solidworks. Also increased my rate by $4/hr and about to go for more, in my former career it was all but impossible to do that.

I agree with everyone else, you should be able to find something EASILY. Heck, you might want to interview your prospective employers as much as they are interviewing you. If I had taken a position elsewhere I could very well be pushing a broom right now.