I think this is a ok place to put this topic.

Im wondering, is there a good job market for machinist? I though maybe cnc machining, maybe taking courses in CAD, etc etc..

I have had a job as a CNC operator, where I spent all day long pushing a button.. is this the sort of job one gets as a machinist? Or is there more varying things to do?

Your old job was an opperator job. A machinist will get tech school training, apprenticeship (4) years and then you will be a first teir machinist 1 and from there it is up to you on how many years it takes to reach journyman or even leadman. I am a 20 year Moldmaker from southern Missouri and the injection mold market is dyeing here.So goes the machinist jobs here. Chyna, India, Canada ect.

I think the machine tool trade as we once knew it is gone. Companies are closing their own shops and taking the business over seas. I live in Seattle where Boeing had the largest shops and there were many related shops around town which have now closed.

If your young, take the money that you would have spent for a machine trade school and learn something more marketable. We now live in an age where you can become obslite in months instead of years.

Although my job was not in the machine tool industry it did go over seas. India to be precise. I have two boys in high school and I am encouraging them to learn a trade that requires phyiscal presence. Something like and electrician, plumber etc.

On the other hand, you live in Norway, not the U.S., so in a sense, you are overseas. Pretty preceptive huh?

What is the Machine trades market like in your part of the world?

I would say that if you are interested in developing machining and mechanical skills, then go for it. You can apply what you learn in a number of trades. And believe me, there is nothing quite as satsifying as being able to grab a chunk of material and making something useful out of it. Good luck!

Leave it to malm to apply logic!

quote:

Originally posted by Bill Soverns:
Although my job was not in the machine tool industry it did go over seas. India to be precise. I have two boys in high school and I am encouraging them to learn a trade that requires phyiscal presence. Something like and electrician, plumber etc.

Good choices. After lots of college, and an office job, I went into HVAC. If I had the choice again, I'd go with electrical. Plumbers make more money, but electricians don't get called out at midnight.

Also, I have nothing helpful to add about machinists in Norway.

Well there are 1000's of machinist jobs in Houston know. If you can operate a CNC you can get a job, if you can program a CNC you can get a job, if you can run a VTL, or a mill, or a long bed lathe you can get a job. Of course we are dependant on the oil patch, so the market swings with the price of oil.

I kind of want a "international" education/work, where I can find work atleast in europe, north-amerika, new zealand and australia.

I have applied for geography, and with some courses I could maybe find a job in privat sector, but Im afraid most geographers gets a job in the goverment, pushing papers around. Not my ideal carrier move.

While mechinist sounds fun, IF its a varied job, not spending three weeks pushing the same button (been there, done that), I could see it beeing fun.

Electrician sounds like a smart move.. dont have to do the shitty jobs outside when its pouring outside. Was not fun while I was helping my father build a summerhouse. Can imagine dooing it in the winter..

quote:

Originally posted by Nortman:

Electrician sounds like a smart move.. dont have to do the shitty jobs outside when its pouring outside. Was not fun while I was helping my father build a summerhouse. Can imagine dooing it in the winter..

Good luck with that, I've been an electrician for 12 years and I work it the pouring rain and the snow.
-Don

I'm not at all optimistic about the future of production machining.....even tool and die and prototype making seems to be heading overseas.....

The idea of plumbers and electricians etc.....it's good but who'se going to be paying their bills?.....

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:
I'm not at all optimistic about the future of production machining.....even tool and die and prototype making seems to be heading overseas.....

The idea of plumbers and electricians etc.....it's good but who'se going to be paying their bills?.....

Prototype machining is still here; there are limits to CAD programs and people change their minds a lot during that stage of things. CNC is a must; I work now and then with a fellow who is a good machinist but doesn't want to do CNC, and has to hire outsiders to do his setup work. It is easier for a machinist to learn programming than for a programmer to learn machining, in my opinion.

The economy has bifurcated; jobs that require physical presence are staying ( always jobs for welders and roofers ), high-tech jobs are not being given up casually either. The problem is making enough to buy a house, and retiring on enough to afford medical insurance.

Lots of old farts are leaving corporations before the corporations leave them, starting consulting/contracting businesses. It's best to get out before you develop pre-existing medical conditions that make it difficult or impossible to get medical insurance at a decent rate. Companies pay your way while you're there but once you're gone the insurance companies don't have to take you. It's not nice to have your medical insurance dependant on a company's needs.

As the owner of a machine shop, which has expanded, we are looking for qualified candidates.
Our facility uses CNC and Manual lathes and Milling Centers.

Even the "pushing of buttons" on expensive CNC machines requires knowledge and experience.
It is best to learn from the the ground up. There is no substitue for education. That education can be in many forms, including formal and on the job training and experience.

Education and experience take time. Do not try to cheat yourself. Learn!

I think Rusty has given you a very good answer.

There is always a market for machinists with a good basic background in set-up, feeds & speeds, metal-cutting machines, machine tooling, and a thorough understanding of mechanical principles in general.

Con-Vey is the largest machine shop locally here, and they are always advertising for help. Basically, they are a "job-shop" which has grown enough to cover an entire city block (and it's a bigger than normal block). Plus, the very nature of job-shops sounds like what you are looking for.

A customer brings in a problem....either an idea, a broken or unuseable thing-a-ma-jig, or a drawing. It may be a one-off (one of a kind) or something he needs done quite regularly. One or more of the shop crew get together, and figure out what they can do to solve the customer's problem, and about what it will cost. If he accepts the cost, they set up the machine(s) and the item(s) to be worked on, and do it. There is really no practical way to send that kind of work offshore, from any country.

Life is too short to spend it NOT doing something you really enjoy. Carpe Diem!

I'd agree with Rusty and Alberta. In the area I live many of the machining jobs are gone but there is still a demand for good machinist. The old thought used to be to get one's journeymans card, hire in with the big three (GM, Ford, Chrysler). Those days are gone but they still keep a few of us around for emergency repair jobs. There aren't any shops open 24 hours a day so when a line goes down they need their parts like yesterday. There's no way an outside shop can respond fast enough to fill the need. Theres quite a few shops in the Detroit area that pay well for experienced people. Some shops are moving into the medical field producing tools and replacement body parts.

I've been working for over 25 years as a Toolmaker, have made a great living at it to this point!