On Monday I start the machining program at a tech school 200 miles south of my home. I’m excited and very anxious. Any machinists on here ? How about non-traditional students? I’ll be 40 when I graduate Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Nice! The demand for skilled workers in the field far outweighs the supply. I've been working in the trade for 20 years myself and it's been pretty good to me. I went to a vocational school for high school then got lined up with a job and an apprenticeship through the school's work study program. After going through the apprenticeship program as a Toolmaker running mostly manual or conversational CNC machines, I transitioned to mainly CNC work, learning programming, setup and operation. My background is mostly job-shop work, a lot of low volume, one-off or experimental and development aerospace work. That's where I think you can learn the most, as opposed to working in a production environment cranking out the same part or family of parts day after day. There are so many different directions you can go once you have the basics. From milling, to turning, surface or cylindrical grinding, wire or sinker EDM, waterjet, laser, 3D printing etc. I think there's a niche for everyone, even if it's doing a little of everything which is what I enjoy. Best wishes to you on your journey!
Good decision zymguy...good luck at school, you should have no trouble landing a job with your new skill set!
There's a few... Screwloose comes to mind...I'm sure he will remember others too... Sounds like a solid decision zymguy
Sounds like a solid decision to me !! I basically do job shop work and low volume production. All manual, well for now at least. I never went to school for what I do though as I grew up around and hung with the old school crowd. My advice is to never ever stop learning something new at every opportunity. You don't want to get stuck in some "human robot" job. Also I recommend that you learn how to weld, preferably TIG. Real handy trick to have in your hat. Good luck in your new venture!! Just wait.....you might find yourself constantly analyzing your chainsawing experience.
I went to college to become a chemist... still doing that job. I went to seminary at age 30 and it took about 8 years... Kids complained about "MY" homework. It was mostly online and done after work.
I went back to school (masters degree) in my 40's, and finished when I was 49. I wondered at the time if it would ever be worth it, the time and the significant cost put into it. Today, looking back nearly a decade later, I am certain it was. I am now an educator in a trade school. So, I have done the non-traditional student thing, and I have seen the other side. I teach 17 year olds, and people older than I am. If you are a serious student, you will find that many of your classmates are not, especially those who have not yet had to live an adult life. They may have other reasons for being there than you do. Don't let that get to you, do your best, and let the chips fall where they may for the others. Don't let their attitudes cloud your goals or deter your achievements. Best to you, I think you will do well with it.
CNC yes, machinist no. I am fluent in CAD and have held a WABO unlimited welding cert. But most of my cutting is not held to extremely tight tolerances like a true machinist. Any machining program will include Cad training which will open doors from mechanical drawing tech to HVAC layout to critical parts design to aerospace design, depending on your aptitude and learning skills and how far you stick with it. As Eric said above, The "one off" and experimental or prototype market will really get your creative juices working ( I far prefer artwork to cutting parts). In addition you will receive actual floor experience hands on with the machines. In many economic climates the ivory tower designers are being layed off while the guys who actually get their hands covered with cutting fluid will still be working. Don't be anxious about the learning. You will be taught in steps so you will acquire each skill set before you move to the next. My skills are largely self taught and I wish I had had some formal training. I envy you in that respect (and you are also a lot younger than me, I envy that also dammit!). I think you are making a smart move! I wish you the best of success. Just consider all of us your Cheering Section!
Did the non traditional student back in the 90's.....(got the T-shirt)..... although I was a bit older than you are now. The traditional students pretty much despise us as we are the "curve busters" meaning that we actually study and earn good grades and don't run around partying I guess. You'll do well.
I got my Bachelor's in my late 20s, my Masters in my mid 30s, and my CAS in my mid 40s. A little intimidating to be the old timer in the class, but I have never regretted it. Good luck!
Odd.... I was just thinking about going back to school for some sort of business management today.... but I’m 52.... not sure if I could... don’t learn things as easy anymore..... brain is full I guess.
I want to go back to school for cnc. I'm a crank turner and only dabbled in cnc. Thing is 90% of my work we get the cad file but analyze it to a paper drawing. Feeling pretty old and obsolete right now.
I went to college right from high school and yes, we despised the non traditional students. It wasn't so much about them being a curve buster, it was that many of them thought of the professors as more of a peer and would talk to them all buddy buddy like during class. Most of them also felt the need to talk a lot in class...like everything they had to say was relevant and important and in many cases it wasn't.
When I was in high school I was taking what was called adult education night courses at the college. Some of the adults smelled like they just downed a few at the tavern. Then they wanted to co profess......... or try and take you under there wing.
Yep, annoying behavior in a classroom. I never cared what others got for grades and I always knew I deserved exactly what grade I got whether it was good or bad.
