Newbie Machinist Seeking Advice

[chineshop_guy]

what are you earning now? and does it hold any potential to do better in the future?
if you're truly interest in being a machinist and having trouble getting started i would have taken that 18$ offer and seen where it went. if it didn't work out you would at least had the experience to add to that resume for your next attempt. along with that some practical gained knowledge. think of it as sort of an investment in your self.

i now have been at it almost 40 years. the first 2 years were really rough. at 5 years things started coming together for me. somewhere around my 4th or fifth employer things really started clicking. i had a great boss always challenging me to do better, learn more and more and from there i have pretty much been able to name price.
worth noting. in 40 years i have only ever collected 2 unemployment checks. one of those was due to a real bad ice storm and the shop i was at didn't have power for over 2 weeks and i was eligible for the unemployment.

to often these days i see younger people that want instant gratification and not willing put in the time to actually get some place. don't be that person.
i have had jobs that were not a good fit for me. on the other hand i've had 2 i was 10 and 13 years. the one i'm at now is probably where i'll die. it has been really good trade to me.
knowledge and experience are key. bad experience is still experience with the knowledge of don't do that again.

signed, Boomer

 

[Turretturn]

When you were a lathe machinist for 6 months, do you know who the customers were and if they're hiring?
It's easier when you can tell a potential employer that you have already been doing their work.

 

[michiganbuck]

QT Op: (And I also paid for an interview prep session.)
Did the interview prep session actually give you an interview? and tell you your good and bad points? What did that cost?
Are you tied down to LA area to Florida?
QT OP: (worked as a lathe machinist for about 6 months)
How did that lathe job end? Can you turn wire-checked external threads all on your own, bore a bore to a half thow, measure and match an OD taper, and come in to pick up an existing thread for repair?
You may have to go bag and baggage out of Florida.
Do you have a minimum basic toolbox, perhaps an 8-drawer Kennedy size.?
If an employer thinks somebody has to lead you on every job then you are worth only half pay. Getting the lowest job in a shop that has a parking lot full of nice cars is a decent start. If you are young, or just look young that is another hurdle.
An $18.00 job in a $30.00 average-pay shop may be the best you can do, so to get 5 years in the trade.

 

[crickets]

QT Op: (And I also paid for an interview prep session.)
Did the interview prep session actually give you an interview? and tell you your good and bad points? What did that cost?
Are you tied down to LA area?
QT OP: (worked as a lathe machinist for about 6 months)
How did that lathe job end? Can you turn wire-checked external threads all on your own, bore a bore to a half thow, measure and match an od taper, and come in to pick up an existing thread for repair?
You may have to go bag and baggage out of California.
Do you have a minimum basic toolbox, perhaps an 8-drawer Kennedy size.?
If an employer thinks somebody has to lead you on every job then you are worth only half pay. Getting the lowest job in a shop that has a parking lot full of nice cars is a decent start. If you are young, or just look young that is another hurdle.
An $18.00 job in a $30.00 average-pay shop may be the best you can do, so to get 5 years in the trade.

He is in Florida, not in California

 

[DanASM]

It sounds like you need to take whatever machining job you can get and put it on your resume. Keep looking for more opportunities all the time and build your knowledge and experience to gain confidence in what you are doing.

I dont know of any shop around that wouldnt hire someone on the spot who showed up on time with their own vehicle and a go getter attitude.

Interviewing is funny to me. People try to prepare for them by answering questions the way they think they should be answered, and the whole interview can seem "off". Just be a normal person and let them know what you are looking for, and see if they can offer you something that will better your life.

I suggest showing up at companies before its time to punch in and act like its your first day. Ask who is going to be training you and where will you be working. Look like you are ready to work, and they might just put you to work.

This can also put you in touch with the right people who can get you hired as well. If they call you out on it, just let them know you want to work and who do you need to speak with to get the ball rolling.

Good Luck, keep at it and dont give up. Always learn, learn, learn. Anything you learn can benefit you in the future.

 

[cg285]

Don't tell them that you love bar fights.

ha. that was my uncle. he had no skills as we see it but could manage people. retired as a postmaster and continued being a loan shark at the dog track

 

[just Dave]

I managed the skilled Craftsmen at a power company for several years before retiring. My Director insisted on testing applicants at a local trade school so of course I complied. I can tell you I would not have hired the Instructor at the school for a Journeyman position.
Once you show an owner/manager over a period of months you can make them money you will begin to be heard. A full voice takes years to establish and can easily be lost due to mistakes.
Low pay hard work non union jobs will teach you the most ,if you are a seeker. It generally takes that experience to land high pay, great benefits, and a comfortable retirement. I did twenty years in the pit before going union and I don’t think I would change a thing.
Good luck

 

[MrWhoopee]

I suggest showing up at companies before its time to punch in and act like its your first day. Ask who is going to be training you and where will you be working. Look like you are ready to work, and they might just put you to work.

 

[Bobbycarter]

The old adages if you got a job, you can get a job, if you don’t have a job, you can’t buy a job.

 

[Cole2534]

That being said, I think that experience is overrated. It shouldn’t matter if the you have 2 or 4 years of experience. What really matters is whether or not you can do the job and do it wewell.

How could one possibly know the latter without the former?

 

[eKretz]

How could one possibly know the latter without the former?

FYI, that user and OP are one and the same. IPs match.

 

[just Dave]

FYI, that user and OP are one and the same. IPs match.

Does that mean they are suspect of non sense?

 

[AARONT]

You have to remember most people fresh out of a trades program are really only capable of being an operator. There are some that can come in and hit the ground running without much supervision, but it's rare. As mentioned you will probably have to take a lower wage, but do so with an agreement to reevaluate at a certain date. Say 1 month after starting, then again at 3 or 6 months.

Have you reached out to the Florida Department of Education to get a list of companies in your area that have apprenticeship programs? If not, contact the representative in your region. Since you already have schooling done, they would be more willing to bring you on than someone who has no schooling for an apprenticeship position.

 

[MrWhoopee]

The old adages if you got a job, you can get a job, if you don’t have a job, you can’t buy a job.

Women too, except you can rent one.

 

[Cole2534]

Women too, except you can rent one.

A low stress way to use late model equipment with all the newest features.

 

[eKretz]

Does that mean they are suspect of non sense?

Not necessarily. Maybe he was just trying to avoid the new name being connected with the old to avoid embarrassment. But in his original response before mine where I asked about two usernames, he responded as the OP before he then edited it. Must have forgotten to log out and back in on the other one. If you look at the other, older one's post history, you'll see quite a lot of beginner level questions.

 

[DDoug]

Not necessarily. Maybe he was just trying to avoid the new name being connected with the old to avoid embarrassment. But in his original response before mine where I asked about two usernames, he responded as the OP before he then edited it. Must have forgotten to log out and back in on the other one. If you look at the other, older one's post history, you'll see quite a lot of beginner level questions.

Sounds like someone that no-one should be replying to, nor wasting time trying to help them.
EDIT: OP is playing games, should be banned for 1 month

 

[chineshop_guy]

eh. seems we are putting more in to this than he is. no responses from him
.i remember early on i was always wondering how/why that old guy was so grouchy.
uhg. now i are one

 

[boslab]

I’ve had the pleasure ( not) of interviewing lots of people, the ones that got the job usually were well spoken, qualified etc but the ones that were an easy choice had done somthing the others hadn’t, reasearched the company, they knew what we did, for who etc etc, knowing who your applying to is really important, not just stuffing a cv in an envelope, find stuff out!
Then ask about it at the any questions bit at the end, your name will get remembered
Mark

 

[michiganbuck]

Regardless of the Op, It is a good title and so if posters stay to the subject it can be a useful thread for any newbie seeking a start in the tooling trades.
So far it looks like the best recommendation is to take a tooling job at a decent shop and figure that you will make low pay for 3 to 5 years to gain talents.
*I think a newbie could create personal projects to get experience by asking to work over on non-pay time to learn and on-the-sly show off talents the boss or company did not know you have. For example, study truing an angle plate to .0002 by going to youtube for a few weeks to learn every detail and with having all the tools and gauges ask the boss if you can stay over to tweak-in your angle plate. The boss will have a new appreciation for the newbie, you.
*The same goes for the mill or lathe..make some Do Dad for your toolbox, with part of the intention being to show off a talent.
*Becoming a master of a certain machine like a lathe or grinder can enhance one's pay advancements, take the book How to Run a Lathe and learn everything in the book...start with the
"Application Of Lathe tools" ..and do the whole book.
Get a Surface Grinding Book and study every talent, often tool guys shy away from the grinder so you might become the shop's grinder hand.
* Another thing is to be helpful to the shop and to the boss (even if the boss is a jerk).
***Do these things after you have worked at the shop for a time and have proven the you are reliable and trust worthy to carefully do jobs as you are directed/told. Most shops expect the new guy to not question every method, and the old timers who have much to teach like a new guy who is modest..Even the least of the old guys has some valuable advice you don't wantbto miss.
->Yet another possibility is to take a lesser job in a big tool shop like John Deer or the like and put in for an apprenticeship.