Thread: want to be a machinist for a job

Can't help on the pay, but I know 20 years ago my brother wasn't getting much (under $10 and hour 1st year)
The mines would be a good spot and would be a good pay. Have a talk to your career supervisor at school and they will help you out and let you know what options are around.
Some companies like you to finish year 12 before hiring, where others will take you after year 10.

Dave

hi i cant help you out but i am in year ten this year and next year i am trying to get a school based apprenticeship which is one day at tafe, one day at work and 3 days at school. so you are one year ahead on an apprenticeship and get an hsc.

Originally Posted by welder

hi i cant help you out but i am in year ten this year and next year i am trying to get a school based apprenticeship which is one day at tafe, one day at work and 3 days at tafe. so you are one year ahead on an apprenticeship and get an hsc.

Sounds like the way to go. My son has a guy at work that did something like that, as he is a 3rd year, but has only worked their for 2 years.

Dave

Hope you like maths and computers. You will need them for CNC machining. Maths is relevant to any machining and all kinds of other things. I wish I payed more attention to it at school. And I think most machining - at least production stuff - is all CNC these days. Er sorry, that means Computer Numeric Control. Manual machining skills - like most of us backyarders here use - are great to have as background but I don't know if there's much future in manual machining. I hope someone with more industry background will comment.

and get an hsc.

whats a hsc?

I might go for night courses for tafe when i turn 16 which is next year and maybe study mechanical engineering. maybe

The Higher School Certificate, or HSC, is the credential awarded to secondary school students who successfully complete senior high school level studies (Years 11 and 12 or equivalent) in New South Wales

HSC (NSW) is the equivulant of South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE).

Mate
I'm a Fitter and Machinist by trade, and when I was on the tools I was mainly a fitter. When I was your age, it was the only thing I wanted to do. Now 35 years later, my advice is, if you are any good at maths, and are not colour blind, try and get an apprenticeship as an electrician and do your machining at home as a hobby.
My reasons for saying this are.

1) Elecos have traditionally got higher wages than Fitters and Machinists (might not apply in the mining sector)

2) F & M (particularly fitting) is usually a physically demanding job. (ok when you are young but not so good as you get older) Most fitters end up with bad backs and stuffed hands.

3) As an eleco, if you get your contractors licence, you can get set up in business for yourself (if you want to) a whole lot cheaper than you can as a machinist. ie Eleco -used van $25K, say $15k for equipment and stock.
Machinist - Shed $/week $200 -$300??, used, decent sized lathe in good cond $25K?, Mill $10K, tooling at least $10K to be competetive, and thats not counting other gear like grinders etc plus a bit of material stock.

4) As an eleco there are a lot of paths you can take- ie electronics, mechatronics (robotics) instrumentation & control etc to name a couple, and its relatively easy to change career path. With F&M its a bit harder to change as the range of options is more limited and most of them are still physically demanding.

5) You have to keep in mind what you might be doing in your life in 10 -20 years etc. By the time you are 26 you might well be married with a couple of kids and a mortgage. This is when it becomes extremely hard to change career as you get locked in financially and can't afford to take a drop in wgaes while you retrain.
I know for a young bloke your age 26 or 36 seems like a long time away, (I used to think the same) but I can assure you (as most of us oldies here would) that it comes up really quick.

6) As a machinist you will always smell of coolant, the smell gets into your skin.

Sorry if this sounds a bit like a lecture, but you get like that when you are a parent

What ever you end up doing, I wish you all the best with it, as there doesn't seem to be that many young blokes interested in working with their hands these days./
regards

Bollie7

Having a son who was dead set on becoming a Fitter and Turner, and having given him the same lecture almost verbatim, I would have to agree wholeheartedly with the above advice, and so would said son.

He didn't at the time though!

He hasn't worked on the tools for a long time, has a good job in supply management for a national company and makes decent money.

He often says he wished he had become a sparkie.

Like you said, only way to make decent money on the tools is to "go north young man" and work in the mining industry.

I only have one thing to say "GOOD ON YA"
Not too many 14 year olds out there thinking about their future. These days it seems to be all about partying and drugs...So 10 points for joining us in the real world..
I have always said if you want something bad enough.......
Matt

Im considering of being a mechanical engineer but in sa there isnt much places that do mechanical engineering unless you go to the bigger states like melbourne and sydney and you also get good pay.
my parents dont want me to be a sparkie because they reckon its really dangerous because my grandfarther has had a friend die from being a sparkie. He also gives me lectures saying: you have one chance and thats it.

Also woulnt mind being a weapons engineer since i like guns, hopefully you guys dont take it the wrong way and think im going to be a serial killer.

Going to the mines would be pretty good, dad would probably do it with me if hes still working by the time i start work and if i go to the mines.

Another good job that u heard is a cnc programmer apparently.

Dont let your parents know this but people die in most if not all occupations,albiet a little more common in some.
Seems there are quite a few people die in machine shop related incidents and the mines.
Would be good if your choice of future job/s was your own final decision after investigation,no sense being in a job that you dont look forward to going to.

Dont let your parents know this but people die in most if not all occupations,albiet a little more common in some.

thats very true.

Would be good if your choice of future job/s was your own final decision after investigation,no sense being in a job that you dont look forward to going to.

It would be good and a very good point.

If I were starting out again, I would go straight into mechanical design. I grew up as a draftsman, then specialised into designing, then retired. Designing will involve you in taking a client's thoughts, and turning them into reality. You will be challenged every day with new problems to solve.This will give you a terrific grounding in all things mechanical.

The dough is good at $60 an hour an upwards.

Still purchase a lathe and mill, or at least a lathe to start off, as a hobby. Start mowing the lawns and washing dad's car every week, then put the squeeze on for a loan. Point out to dad he is investing in your future.

Good luck.

Ken