Should I become a machinist?

[WyattD]

Hi, I am new to this forum and figured I would make a thread.

I am trying to figure out if I should become a machinist. I am currently in school for welding and I recently finished school in diesel mechanics. I have always loved building and fixing my own stuff and I love watching videos of machinist working on youtube. I am very interested in possible becoming a machinist when I finished school but I am not sure if it is even worth my time. I am aware that there is a lot of money to be made in the welding industry but I want to keep my search for a career wide. Basically I am asking if any machinist/ machine shop owners could chime in and tell me some of the pros and cons of being a machinist. Would it be better to just stick to welding, maybe open a shop in the future doing fab and machining, or is worthwhile for me to try and get a job in shop as a helper and pursue this as a possible career?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated and please be honest. I am currently based out of Southeast Louisiana, have experience in mechanics and drafting/CAD software.

 

[technocrat]

Do you want to keep making the same thing, better and faster? Do you want to design, make and improve prototypes? Do you want to fix things? Do you dream of working for your self or be told what to do and go home when work for the day is finished? What is your dream job? I know you are just starting, but some idea of where you want to go along the career path will help everyone give recommendations. Being versatile is great, but it can come with limitations on how deep you can go on a job. A welder, diesel mechanic, fabricator with some machining skills will open a lot of doors, but it's a lot of work be a nuclear grade welder and ace machinist as well.

 

[metalmagpie]

I recommend you look into an apprenticeship in sheet metal. If you work sheet metal you're clean all day and you go home clean. And after you work for someone for a few years and learn the business you can open your own sheet metal shop without needing a billion dollars worth of machines.

I used to spend a lot of time in a particular inner city tavern back in the '70s. A guy sitting next to me on a bar stool asked me what he should do with his life. I gave him the same sheet metal pitch I just typed in above. I ran into him about 8 years later and he told me he owned 3 sheet metal shops in Alaska and bought a new pickup truck every year.

metalmagpie

 

[CarbideBob]

It takes months to be good welder. Maybe a year in the fancy stuff.
It takes 4 to 6 years to be decent machinists.

 

[michiganbuck]

If you have decent grades hiring into to a big safe shop might be a lifetime job.

Being a machinist is an enjouyable inside job, diesel mechanics may be out in -20 degrees working on a down truck, welders can breath bad fumes.. lobester fisherman can fall off the boat and get eaten by a shark.​

 

[Freedommachine]

but it's a lot of work be a nuclear grade welder and ace machinist as well.

It's not as hard as you might think. You do have to be a good welder to start out, but most shops that weld nuclear components have full time staff running an on site certification program. They also utilize on site MT/PT and Radiology inspection similar to pipeline welding. If someone's welds start failing, they get their certs pulled.

@WyattD I went to votech high school and took machine trades. When I graduated, I went to OTC in Cleveland Ohio for Performance Diesel Technologies; I stayed 6 months and realized that it was a complete joke.

After various conversations with the busted up old men we had for instructors; they had convinced me to GTFO and not look back; I am very glad that I listened.

My advise would be to pass on the machining courses for now, take some basic business management classes or something instead. It will give you a more well rounded education. Do it while you have the time because if/when you decide to go out on your own, you won't have time for school.

Get a year or two under your belt welding for someone else - not semi trailers though, stay away from those places because they do not pay well.

 

[MCritchley]

Fab work is not easy on the body, machining is a bit more friendly. If you enjoy doing CAD and want some daily computer time get into machining. The sky is the limit with career choices. Get a part time gig at a small job shop, see if you like it.

 

[john.k]

Id advise EV servicing ........despite what people say ,EVs will have lots of problems ,and at the moment its almost impossible to get efficient repair workers .

 

[challenger]

Just do what Michael Scott, from, "The Office", did.
"I declare I'm a machinist"
Everyone i know, who have become, "machinists", are not at all (nor am I for disclosure) are nothing more than machine operators PERIOD and they will say as much.
I have no idea how one would, in this day/age, become a proficient manual machine operator without having the rare opportunity to spend a LONG apprenticeship in the dwindling world of old school fab shops. Even the old school shops are going to CNC machines in bulk.

 

[Joe Gwinn]

Id advise EV servicing ........despite what people say ,EVs will have lots of problems ,and at the moment its almost impossible to get efficient repair workers .

To service EVs (and most current cars for that matter), computer skills are very helpful.

 

[basalt]

Hi, I am new to this forum and figured I would make a thread.

I am trying to figure out if I should become a machinist. I am currently in school for welding and I recently finished school in diesel mechanics. I have always loved building and fixing my own stuff and I love watching videos of machinist working on youtube. I am very interested in possible becoming a machinist when I finished school but I am not sure if it is even worth my time. I am aware that there is a lot of money to be made in the welding industry but I want to keep my search for a career wide. Basically I am asking if any machinist/ machine shop owners could chime in and tell me some of the pros and cons of being a machinist. Would it be better to just stick to welding, maybe open a shop in the future doing fab and machining, or is worthwhile for me to try and get a job in shop as a helper and pursue this as a possible career?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated and please be honest. I am currently based out of Southeast Louisiana, have experience in mechanics and drafting/CAD software.

Find what sets your soul on fire and go do that - if you really enjoy your career you will never have to work a day in your life. As a Machinist every day was different and challenging. Also, now that I am retired I have a mini lathe and continue to enjoy my trade immensely. Are you looking for a job or a career?

 

[HWooldridge]

Even with the right PPE, there are fewer old welders left alive than old machinists (or tool and die makers). Even less if they started smoking early in their lives.

I never took up smoking but I've been around welding for most of my life; it was a surprise when I was going through a routine MRI scan a few years ago and the tech asked me outright whether I worked in the welding industry. I said, "how do you know?", and he replied welding sheds a lot of material that people inhale, which shows up in an image. He said cigarette smoking combined with welding as a career choice multiplied the risk of serious illness several times over.

On the other hand, old machinists just have an oil slick in their lungs...LOL

 

[MwTech Inc]

As mentioned, big difference between a machinist and a CNC operator.
If you can, find a machine shop close to you and just step up and tell the owner what you are doing, testing out this type of job.
You probably won't be running a machine in a week but a least you will "see" what goes on, if the place is a dump when you walk in keep going...LOL
Now, if you like to troubleshoot and actually fix things then there are other options, HVAC, commercial food equipment/refrigeration are two that I am familiar with and techs make very good money.
And you can always start out welding, save your money, get a place, find some older good equipment and like some of us go out on your own. That will depend on your area and how much demand there is.....can get complicated rather quick...lol
Have you watched Pierson Workholding on Youtube? Very nice shop.......
Of course there are shops that are freezing cold in the winter and sweat shops in the summer.

 

[Joe Gwinn]

Even with the right PPE, there are fewer old welders left alive than old machinists (or tool and die makers). Even less if they started smoking early in their lives.

I never took up smoking but I've been around welding for most of my life; it was a surprise when I was going through a routine MRI scan a few years ago and the tech asked me outright whether I worked in the welding industry. I said, "how do you know?", and he replied welding sheds a lot of material that people inhale, which shows up in an image. He said cigarette smoking combined with welding as a career choice multiplied the risk of serious illness several times over.

This is also exactly the process in asbestosis, silicosis, coal dust, et al. Smoking turns scarring into cancer - how bad depends on the kind of dust.

 

[challenger]

Find a clean shop because you will (and should) start by pushing a broom, cleaning coolant troughs, removing chips and so on.
Keep your head down & your mouth shut and YOU MAY be rewarded with someone that sees some dedication and promise who will begin to show you the ropes. Don't do anything that could remotely be deemed unsafe. Wear the proper attire 1st day. Get there early and stay late.
Learn how to read every micrometer you can get your hands on and learn the jargon on your own and, finally, keep your ears wide open and watch the guys who make the company $ closely.
Whenever I went to for any type of of job I'd tell the jeffe that im there because I want to make them money.

 

[rons]

Any advice would be greatly appreciated and please be honest.

You want to be a machinist? Visit shops or have metallic prone friends that are older?
Look at somebody 20 or more years older and there is your future.

And it doesn't hurt if you change your mind later. I changed my favorite color once.

 

[1967MM]

Maybe.
Its been a good career choice for me. But only because I found my way into a good shop and then identified a need and moved around at that shop. Starting your career as a machinist doesnt neccesarily mean ending your career as a machinist. There are alot of possibilities once you get seasoned. Advice I gave my nephew when he started in the trade....dont pigeon hole yourself as a "mill guy" or "lathe guy" etc. You can certainly enjoy one type of machining more than others....but embrace them all. Grow with the trade / technology. Most of the guys I know who were in the trade when I started, but no longer are, decided they were manual machinists or mold makers or die makers.....be a good enough machinist to do any of those.
Side note....you said you went to school for diesel mechanics and now you are finishing school for welding and considering school for machining. Are you sure you dont want to be a student as your career? (slight dad type criticism).
You may already have the skills needed to be very succesful. I know 2 brothers who were welders, diesel mechanics and truck drivers. They started their own shop doing semi trailer repair. They make a butt load of $$$ and they own their own business.

 

[John Garner]

Before I say anything else, my usual disclaimer: Nobody has ever knowingly paid me to run a machine tool, and none of my own job descriptions ever mentioned anything about machining or machine shops.

With that out of the way, I've spent a fair portion of my 50+ year adult life in machine shops and around machinists. Some of that time was as some form or another of student, and most of it was as some form or another of customer representative. I do -- perhaps obviously -- have a strong personal interest in machine tools and their use that has made my time in the shop more pleasure than work, and I'm far more inclined to work with the shops and their people to solve problems than to be a pompous jerk.

Having said all that, I've found that throughout my career that a basic understanding of machine tools, their applications, and capabilities has been very helpful in living up to my job description. Having developed a rapport with the machine shop personnel -- owners, supervisors, and the hands-on guys -- has helped even more.

Having hopefully "established credentials", my suggestion for you is simple: No matter what career path you find yourself on, if that path intersects a machinist or mechanical engineer job path, I believe that your journey along that path will benefit from a fundamental understanding of machines and machinists.

Finally, when you yourself become an old-timer, I hope that your look back over your career you will find the satisfaction that I find in looking back over mine.

 

[Cole2534]

Broad question, broad answer- focus on diesel mechanic. New units aren't getting any more simple or easy to work on and old units (pre-def, egr, etc) are getting more valuable by the day.