OT Survey: Age & Years of Machining Experience

Dan:

OK.

Age. 61

Ran my first lathe when I was 18 turning commutators on armatures when I worked for Black & Decker as a tool repairman. That must have been in '63. Worked as a machinist for a radar Wave Guide manufacturer a few years later. Then came my 4 year Tool & Die apprenticeship. Worked as a die maker, mold maker, prototype machinist, and Bridgeport CNC programmer for a company in Burbank from '78 to '83 (paper tape Flexiwriter days). Worked for the studios as a machinist for awhile, made some neat stuff for movies and TV. Fun job, just the 12 hours days and sometimes 7 day weeks got pretty old after awhile.

I've been at my current job since '95. We do all kinds of stuff, medical, aerospace, automotive, etc. Here's a clamp I finished Thursday.

BottleBob wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.net:

Dad?? Is that you??

Just kidding. I'm starting to realize time sure does fly by.

I've been here twenty years. But I've had lots of different jobs within the company.

Nice work. I like the first pic. Sitting here without my glasses on I'm getting an optical illusion off of it. Kind of like the three prong widget thing.

I take it that this is prototype/low quantity type work?

Dave G.

Dan:

Jeeze, don't you just know it. It just seems like yesterday that I actually had hair.

You know, I got a similar visual anomoly. And I know what it should look like! LOL BTW, the part was about 8 inches tall with the base close to 3 inches square.

It varies. We do a lot of onezie-twozie work, but then I programmed for a series of 70 plastic parts before the weekend. We do repeat 1,000 part runs for some titanium implatable battery cases. The variety tends to keep the interest level up.

D Murphy wrote in news:Xns97FAE070BE14CBW12BU20MU38SY@130.133.1.4:

BottleBob wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.net:

Nice work Bob. I hope you are compiling statistics for the responses to post. Looks like the average years of experience is going to be way up there, which is why the knowledge base on amc is so diverse.

BB,

Age 52 Years machining 27

Tom

BB,

I would really like to see Cliffie the Clueless Buzzword King's answers to these two questions.

LOL, Tom

BottleBob wrote:

Starting my 4th year of apprenticeship. 3 years before that in school.

Regards,

Robin

Current: 2 Previous: 12 Previous: 12

Join the club. :-)

Anthony:

For the survey, or the clamp? LOL Thanks in either case.

Actually I'm writing down the respondents names and keeping track of the average age. Up to and including Robin's post/age (which brought down the average by about a year and a half ), the average age is

I have been in business for myself 7 years. Longer than I was an employee anywhere. I spent 23 years moving from job to job out of boredom and a desire to learn new things and make as much money as possible. 1-2 years typically. I was at one place 4 years and another 3 years. Job shops mostly. Foreman/Programmer/CNC Lathe and Mill Set-up/Whatever else was my last job. It lasted a year and a half. It was the last bad experience I needed to be independant and I couldn't be happier now.

32 with a 4 year break in college, 7 at this job

Dan et al, I started working in a job shop where my Mom was a secretary at 17, shortly before graduating high school. I was in a program at my high school where you had half a day of English, math and social studies, and half a day of shop.

I started started working at Lawrence Livermore Labs at 19 and completed a formal 4 year apprenticeship which included 2 nights a week of classroom work.

After completing my apprenticeship I knocked around for 4-5 years before landing at a medical device company, where I worked for about 4 years.

Been an entrepreneur for 30 years now.

Best, Steve

BottleBob wrote in news:44B0A92F.CA226B45 @earthlink.net:

I really think that's why I've stayed where I'm at for so long.

BottleBob wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.net:

Early on, I worked two full time jobs at one point. 55 hours/wk in the first and 40 at the second. I also have had part time jobs.

I decided that sucked and went to school instead. The trick is to find a job that offers tuition reimbursement.

Well, he used to come by my shop after the car shows were over & play pool or watch some of the 20 or so car people that did. That was