I’m now an engineer but worked many years as a machinist. I got lucky and found an apprenticeship in a machine shop where I learned the trade. I also know several people who either took vocational/ed courses in machine shop in high school and/or went to trade school for a couple of years. It’s a good trade, always in demand and fun too. Math definitely helps especially trigenometry (lots of angles in machining). Also see if you can take a class in mechanical drawing/drafting. Invest in a decent calculator with trig functions.
I actually have an Auto CAD class at my high school, and I will be taking it next year. Also, a TI-83+ calculator is required for my level of math, and it has everything you could ever need (well, everything I could always need).
I did work experience with an engineering firm. Auto CAD is amazing… Work also looks alot better than school (i guess depeneds on job), it’s as if they never seem to work. They got me to draw a picture of just a fat person on Auto CAD, it was meant to be one of the other guys that worked there. Good times.
Great that you’re going to be taking AutoCAD. I use Solidworks at work which is similar. Once you learn a good CAD program, getting to know the other ones out there is usually a matter of learning some new commands/buttons/shortcuts.
I apprenticed for 3 years and was then able to go just about anywhere and get a decent job.
Hmm…3 years is a bit longer than my father apprenticed (as a welder/fabricator). But, this is understandable, as a machinist seems like a more complicated trade.
Did you have to take any metallurgy classes at a community college/trade school as part of your apprenticeship? Or did you have to take any college level mathematics classes for the apprenticeship. or was it just like going to the business everyday and learning everything there? I ask this because I know my father had to do this, and he works in a metal working trade.
Didn’t have to take any comm. coll. courses as a requirement. Part of the apprenticeship included book lessons, homework and periodic tests. The majority of the time was spent doing production work on the machines. The lessons provided a good but rather limited perspective of metalurgy and math required to do the job. I actually completed the official apprenticeship coarse in 2 years but the shop I worked in was pretty good so I stayed another year. It opened up the door for me to get a much better job after I left (bigger industry, more diverse work, better pay). Anyway, look around and see what’s available. The biggest benifit to an apprenticeship is the on-the-job training and the fact that you get paid for working there and you can list some real experience when you look for work elsewhere. Trade school will give you a broader base of skills and knowledge than a shop (like the one I was in) that specializes in a small number of things. In either case get in with a reputable school or shop to increase your chances of getting a great job when your through.
