Is A Career In Machining For You? (1971)

[Music] What you going to do when the time comes and you have to earn your way what you going to do and what And you have to learn your pain. What will you do when you're finally on your own? What will you do when you're finally on your own? What will you do? Sooner or later, each of you will say goodbye to your classrooms. to enter the world of work. A world none of you made, but you can help make better. A world that permits you to be self-reliant, to pay your way from the salary and wages you earn for work performed in a variety of career occupations. Time spent now planning for that world may be the best investment you ever make. This film will tell you about one career area open to young people, mostly young men. Before it is over, you should be able to answer for yourself the question, is a career in machining for you? The wonderful machines of today and those of tomorrow, amazing to everyone, young and old, those inclined toward engineering as well as those merely curious. You yourself, no doubt, have watched these machines in action at construction sites, on the road, in laboratories, on the TV screen, surprised many times astounded by the complexity of their many parts. But do you wonder how these machines came into being? Not only how they are invented, laid out on drawing boards, but who it is that takes raw metal and cuts and shapes, drills and fits all the parts so that they assemble first into prototype design models. Prototype models that serve as patterns for the thousands and thousands more to be produced on assembly lines. If actual fabrication of machines interest you, if cutting and filing and grinding metals of all kinds and other materials too have a fascination for you, if making and fitting parts together the way a blueprint will tell you to, working to tolerances as close to 10 millionth of an inch, then you may be in line for a job in machining. Job specialties employing over a million skilled people, paying well above average, providing training to young people for continuous improvement in their skills and still better salaries. One warning, physical demands on machining workers can be great, more than many women are willing to stand. Okay, you say maybe that could be my thing. Work with my eyes and my hands. What about a machining job? Is it a dead end? Can you get ahead? Good question. There are workers at many job levels in the machining occupations. Each level is an opportunity for advancement. Among the skilled are allround machinists, tool and die makers, instrument makers, machine tool setup men and layout men. Then there are machine tool operators. the largest category and less skilled. Like to know what an all- round machinist does? Putting it simply, you might say he uses metal tools to make machine parts. He may set up and operate every one of the machines in this large shop. When the machinist turns this block of metal into the intricate part called for by precise specifications, it could be a part for this unusual vehicle used at airports, or a part for a new type of generator being installed in a nuclear power plant, a part for any of a 100 different modern machines. Because machinists understand what each machine tool can do. And because they know the working properties of many metals and plastics, all round machinists can plan and carry through the operations necessary to machine a specified part. The skill of the allround machinist is reflected in the accuracy of his work and he constantly checks using precision measuring [Music] instruments. Often the machinist finishes the work by hand and assembles the parts by hand. Tool and die makers are highly skilled and creative. Their products, tools, dyes, and special holding devices are the basis for mass production in metalwork. Tool and die makers know how to use almost every type of machine tool and precision measuring instrument. [Music] have a broad knowledge of shop practices and mathematics and all manufacturing metals and alloys and can do precise handwork. Toolmakers are rated high among machining workers. Scientific and engineering research in medicine and medical devices. Research in space machines, research in pollution, in underwater living are translated into laboratory models by instrument makers. These skilled people work from rough sketches or detailed blueprints, many times from a verbal idea. Their skill in operating machine tools as well as their ability to handcraft metals enables them to develop parts which do not vary from specifications by at times more than 10 millionth of an inch. Plants and machine shops that do large volume machining use skilled specialists, setup men. They are the ones who set up the machine tools so less skilled machine tool operators can use them. They set the operating speeds, operating sequences, adjust the guides, stops, and other controls. Although many metal cutting machines today are controlled by punch tapes, the setup man has the job of making sure the machine is operating properly. Another type of skilled worker, the layout man, marks metal castings, forgings, and other metal stock to indicate where and how much machining is required. The layout man uses many instruments to prepare a piece for machining. He must work with extreme accuracy. He's familiar with the operation and capabilities of all standard machine tools. His instructions are easily followed. Machine tool operators work with a variety of machine tools, though most of them specialize on one or [Music] two. These are the tools that turn out the thousands of identical parts needed on lines where all sorts of products are assembled from trucks to typewriters, cranes to computers. A machine tool operator places rough metal stock in a machine tool and makes minor adjustments as necessary. The operation sequence and speeds have been set in the machine by a more skilled worker. With experience and training, the machine tool operator can advance to a more skilled category. Where will you find all the people and all the machines you've seen making everything? You'll find the bulk of the more than a million machining workers where machinery is being built, transportation equipment, fabricated metal products, electrical machinery and electrical equipment. And you'll find some working and railroad repair shops, in maintenance shops, in textile factories, and paper, glass, and chemical plants, and of course, in the armed services. Other machining workers are employed in research laboratories where unusual creative ability is required to carry out the requirements of research scientists and engineers. And machining workers are required by the armed forces at military facilities throughout the world where they repair and modify metallic and non- metallic parts for all types of military machines. Training in the armed forces includes learning how to operate all types of machine tools, which enables service personnel to get highpaying, interesting jobs in industry when their time in the service is completed. You'll find that wages in the machining occupations compare most favorably with those in other industrial occupations. Rates vary in different areas of the country. Apprenticeship is the usual way you enter the skilled machining occupations. Tests and interviews help determine whether an applicant has the aptitudes and temperament to perform this type of exacting work. Good vision and judgment of depth and distance are a basic requirement, as is good hand and eye coordination. During the apprentice's formal on the job training period, he learns all aspects of his chosen work. He gets to know the hand tools and the different machines, their operations, their capabilities. He's taught the use of measuring instruments from the very simple to the very complex. Classroom training includes blueprint reading and mathematics, usually taught in the local high school through special arrangement with public school authorities. Those with special aptitude may become programmers, preparing the coded tapes which operate numerically controlled machines. Many move ahead to become machinists, tool makers, instrument makers. A good many advance to supervisory positions and to technical positions such as tool and die designer. Some open their own shops, becoming subcontractors to the firms they originally worked for. Since industrial plants and research establishments requiring machining workers are located in almost all parts of the United States, you can almost pick the section of the country in which you'd like to [Music] live. If you think you might be interested in a career in machining, take this quiz. Simply answer yes or no to each question. Ready? Let's go. Do you like to work with your hands? Are you handy with tools, with equipment? Can you be counted on to carry out assignments to completion? Would you like to help bring to reality the ideas of research people? Would you like to program machines to operate automatically by the numbers you punched on tape? Would you like to understand the properties of metals and make them conform to your [Music] demands? Are you imaginative and can you visualize end products from rough sketches? Our quiz is over. Now, let's see how you made out. If you've answered yes to more than half the questions, a career in machining may be for you. However, before you decide, be sure you know or find out about the many other careers open to young people in the world of work. You'll want to see the other films in our library of career counseling films and choose from among all the careers you like and feel you're suited for. If you still feel your choice is machining, get all the information you can about it. Discuss your interest with your high school, machine shop, or industrial arts teacher and your guidance counselor. Listen carefully to their advice. It won't hurt to check in at your local US employment office either. Ask about machining apprenticeships in your area. Visit your local recruiting office. There you can find out about the opportunities available for training in the machining occupations. And if your choice stands up, get moving toward your goal. Take the courses your counselor advises you to courses that will help in your apprenticeship. Enroll in the machine shop program in your high school. Or if there is none, take instruction part-time at an area vocational school while continuing your regular studies at your regular high school. If you do, chances are good you'll start on the job as an advanced apprentice and receive higher than starting wages. The prospects are that you will be given credit for your inschool training and will be permitted to finish your apprenticeship and receive the top rate in less than the regular four years. Instruction after high school in the machining occupations can be obtained at technical institutes and some junior colleges and of course in the armed services. Plan ahead so you'll be ready to take your place, your rightful place in the world of work. Ready and able to advance in skill, to develop your ability to grow in stature, to take responsibility in the career you have so carefully chosen. [Music] What you going to do when the time comes? And you have to earn your way. What you going to do when the time comes? And you have to learn your pain. What will you do when you're finally on your own? What will What will you really do?