My youngest son is thinking of going part time to high school and going to the local technical college and studying to be a machinist. I have no experience in this field. I’m not opposed to it but is it a good career decision at this time? Pros and cons would be appreciated. Finally, he may or may not go to college and if so, he is thinking about mechanical engineering or something similar. I have no idea if this would help if he became an engineer. So, any knowledge there would be appreciated too.

Thanks!

Does he actually want to design things and implement those designs? Then yes the engineering degree is almost a must.

If he is just wanting to run the equipment not so much.

There are all sorts of machine shops and the pros and cons can be quite different.

I worked in a small family owned fabrication/machine shop.

It can be quite monotonous especially if you are in a shop that has a fairly set product they produce.
If they do a lot of custom work not so much.
Most shops are not these big fancy clean air conditioned shops like you see in the YouTube videos.

Shop I worked in was balls hot in the summer. Airflow came from the garage doors being open on 2 sides of the building.

It is hard work. It can be dangerous work. You can make good money.

Is it something I would want to do as a lifelong career? Nope, or I’d likely still be doing it. But that does not mean it it not for him. Did I learn a lot the 5 years I worked there in high school and college absolutely and am glad I worked there.
I was not a machinist per se but I learned how to run the CNC machines fairly well, along with the press break, punch, drill presses, etc.

Math, Math, Math and more math!!

Lot's of machinist work her in Wichita. We build lot's of aircraft, big and small. Have friends that operate giant machine tools making small pieces of expensive metal out of big pieces of expensive metal. Have been at it for their whole careers. Good paying jobs with good benefits.

Engineering good too, all varieties. - Lot's of them needed in the aircraft industry.

My grandfather was a machinist along with the Team SGT at my old Civil Affairs Unit.

They enjoyed it.
There is a huge demand for machinist (Outside/Inside) at the ship yards and they are making a pretty good dime.

The last couple of years, I noticed that many programs are incorporating the machinist and CNC curriculum into one.

Not a machinist or engineer but read your question to ask if working as a machinist would have transferable knowledge if he pursued a mechanical engineering degree. If so I would definitely think so based on what I know of the two professions.

When I was 27 I went to a machining trade school and graduated with a degree. I didn’t set out to become a machinist. I had no idea what I was doing , I was just keeping the ball rolling after walking away from being a tech at an automotive dealership. I then overheard a guy at school mention how much he made working at a local factory, as a Tool and Die maker.

I went to a temp agency and got a production gig at the place. We make structural steel and aluminum stampings for Toyota, Ford, Nissan and others. I was going to learn how presses worked and see if they would offer a chance at an apprenticeship. 3 months later I was hired full time and 3 years later, they fired up an apprentice program that had been idle for 8 years.

In 2013,at the age of 32 I got the apprenticeship. The more specialized a field , the more it pays. I am in the repair side of large automotive tooling. So I would say if he has an interest in machining and nothing else going on, go for it. With a little luck and the right timing, who knows where his journey leads him.

Good evening, all... your friendly local manufacturing engineer here, offering some opinions.

Getting straight to BB61's point: I'll say, "heck, yes, encourage your son to explore the machinist technologies!" If he's mechanically inclined at all, it will help him gain an understanding of how things get made. If he decides it's not for him, it's still good experience to have. If he likes it, there's a world of opportunity out there.

Black92LX makes a good point: it can be monotonous in a production shop. Some like that "do the same thing all day" environment -- we've got a couple -- and some don't. Getting some hands-on time with the machines in a production environment will give him good experience to draw from as he formulates his career path. And yes, there's a lot of math involved. The newer machines can do the math, but the machinist needs to know what math to have them do.

A few notes from my experience:
- I loved the manufacturing processes classes I took. We got short stints with each of the machines in the shop -- lathe, mill, gear cutter, welder, etc. I missed out on the sand casting portion of the course, and I'm a little bummed about that. I remember creating G-code for the Dyna benchtop CNC mills using a pencil and graph paper (and a lot of erasers).
- I got into an engineering job, and the CAD/machining work wasn't in my playground. I missed it. I did get a fair amount of time on a manual Bridgeport, but it was a "single setup" operation -- load the part, make the cut, remove the part, go again. It wasn't "real" machining.
- After a job change, I got to design a few tools for a new production setup. THAT'S when I started learning about machining! I thought I had done a nice job with the design and the drawing, and I took my prints to the shop. One of the "seasoned" toolmakers had a look at the prints, grinned at me, and said, "okay, now how do you expect us to make that?" Sure, all the features and dimensions were there, but they were there without any regard to how it gets done. So we sat down with the prints and walked through the process. The value of that time with the "old timer" was immeasurable. He and I are still in touch, though my job has changed and he's moved to a different company... it's a solid friendship, for sure.

Again, some are content with the "run one part all day" function, others aren't. One of the machinists I hang out with most at work is not that sort. He's the sort who knows his machine well enough to 1) make it run efficiently, 2) know when the machine needs maintenance, and 3) be able to repair it himself. He's kept his primary machine running longer than it would have with any other person running it, because he takes a solid interest in it and knows that machine. And like the old-school toolmaker I mentioned, he's a wealth of knowledge and happy to share it. Whenever I design something now, I run it by him before I hand prints over for it to be made. Why? Because he'll show me how to think the machining process through so as to make the product easier to set up and run. He's the sort whose value is not only in what he can do with his own machine, but also in the fact that he can run the others as well. There's great value in that.

Our shop is fairly small, with some relatively old machines. We get by pretty well. A machine shop near us has newer equipment and can handle HUGE pieces of metal. If young BB61 can get a chance to see some of the shops around, that would help him too. It's good to see and compare the machinery and skills used in a two-man shop and a those used in a big-budget shop.

Back to the point: if young BB61 is inclined toward an engineering function, a solid background in machining will give him great insight, usable in later job/career positions. And if he ends up wanting to pursue a different career, the knowledge gained surely won't hurt him.

If he’s interested, have him go through a Mechanical Engineering degree program. He’ll be ahead of a lot of people and we sure need engineers.

I wouldn’t advise pursuing a career as a machinist. He might as well be a computer technician as he’ll just learn how to program cnc machines; those are the machines that do the machining now except for one off productions. And they don’t need that many cnc programmers for a given shop.

I have been a Machinists since 1982.
Started out slow in production shops.

Went to a Trade School for a AST in Tool & Die Making. After that degree, much better jobs, including a programmer for a shop that had a good variety of CNC machines.

Was laid off twice during down turns of the economy, 2001 & 2008. Went on to doing Mechanical Design work for a bit. That didn't last long though.

Looking back, I regret that I had not aimed higher by getting an Mechanical Engineering Degree.

It is easy to fall back into doing machining work. Damn near impossible to work up without that degree.

Thanks to all the comments so far. Please keep them coming. There has been some really valuable advice and experience. Thanks!!!

Went to a Vocational high school. Learned blue print reading which is essential and graduated with a vocation diploma in machine shop.

Went in the Navy and became a Machinery Repairman. Was sent to MR "A" school for more training. Made it to MR2 machinist in the Navy.

Went to work as a machinist for an elite R&D
shop in the federal government as a machinist.
Finished my 30 years as a WS15 wage grade supervisor in this facility.

I would highly recommend the field. Would have him take machine programing to run 3 and 4 axis milling machines and programable lathes.
This would put him in an elite position instead of a production machinist.

I was a CNC machinist and welder for about 10 years. Mostly long production runs of stuff, but every now and then I'd get handed a print and get asked to make a part for a 40 year old forklift on a Bridgeport or a turret lathe.
I loved taking a piece of steel and making something from it. Day to day was very monotonous but I really enjoyed the piecework.

quote:

Back to the point: if young BB61 is inclined toward an engineering function, a solid background in machining will give him great insight, usable in later job/career positions. And if he ends up wanting to pursue a different career, the knowledge gained surely won't hurt him.

While this is very true, the B.S. degree will open many more doors of opportunity and help secure the position once there. Far less likely to be laid off.

quote:

Originally posted by vthoky:

Getting straight to BB61's point: I'll say, "heck, yes, encourage your son to explore the machinist technologies!" If he's mechanically inclined at all, it will help him gain an understanding of how things get made. If he decides it's not for him, it's still good experience to have. If he likes it, there's a world of opportunity out there.

I have seen many M.E. students pursue summer jobs as machinists/CNC programmers/Manufacturing Engineering positions. It is a great way to gain first hand experience.

Just be careful of the temptation from companies that want to offer opportunities that distract from the students main career goal. I have seen some drop out to keep said jobs, only to get laid off later.

I have seen two who had finished with the offer of getting some remaining college paid for by the company with the promise of a job after graduation. The job was there, but these same could have gone onto much higher positions with other companies.

I'm not a machinist, but work closely with ours. Almost all CNC machines. We do Aerospace machining, so not a lot of 'production runs'. We recently had to hire two machinists as we had one retire and another took an offer from another company that was too lucrative to pass up. It took months to find people to replace them. It's kind of a seller's market out there now.

quote:

Originally posted by TRIO:
the B.S. degree will open many more doors of opportunity and help secure the position once there.

TRIO is correct. Having the experience and the degree will be a very good thing.

I am a retired machinist, did it for 51 years. The last 35 yrs was with American Airlines in heavy overhaul in Tulsa. It let me take care of my family with good benefits and income to have a lot of toys if so inclined. The Aerospace industry is where its at and CNC experience is a must now a days, but you should have working experience with manual machines also.

The experience in machining would definitely help him in engineering studies. When I got my BSME, graduation requirements included at least one machining course.

That said, to pursue that option he'll have to make sure his high school math and science meet the entrance requirements for an engineering major at his chosen school.

Nothing firsthand, but I know there is a shortage of tool and die men in the US, and they are well-paid.

My neighbor works for a company that makes custom valves. He said CAD designers are a dime a dozen but machinists are becoming increasingly rear. They may only need a handful of custom valves and turn to a bunch of 70 year old guys and all the young guys are doing CAD.