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  1. #16
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Mt Crosby, Brisbane
    Posts
    177

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    Bollie: Couldn't agree more. Pretty much what I was going to type.

    I did my mechanics apprenticeship. I'd spent my teens restoring bikes and cars at home and already knew quite a bit. By the time my apprecticship was over I couldn't get out of the industry fast enough. Doing this for a living is completely different to doing it for yourself. Keep your hobbies at home. As said physical work becomes only harder as you age. Your not feeling it yet, nor did we at your age.

    I did engineering at tafe, no chemistry, and with both those qualifications I've had a great career. Good money, interesting work, plenty of diverse opportunities. If I had my time again I'd do plumbing and then probably engineering. Plumbing is a very well paid trade, as is electrician and of course cheaper to set up in business. You can then use that as a stepping stone to other lines of work as your interests or opportunities present.

    Finally, among the people I grew up with the ones that ended up happy are the ones that pursued careers that interested them, not just money. Having said that a compromise like plumbing is a good middle path.
    I'm just a startled bunny in the headlights of life. L.J. Young.
    We live in a free country. We have freedom of choice. You can choose to agree with me, or you can choose to be wrong. Me.

  2. #17
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    near Rockhampton
    Posts
    6,216

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    Quote Originally Posted by bollie7 View Post

    1) What do you think you would like to be doing when you are 40, or 50 or 60?
    That is when you work in the toolroom or you sit in the air-con writing up programs for the CNC machine...

  3. #18
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Illawarra
    Posts
    16

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    I've been in the fitting trade for 15 years now and I'm still enjoying it.

    I was lucky to be trained the old BHP (Newcastle) way. Before the patience task of filing a bit of square steel, you had to cold chisel it from round. But it's a lesson that sticks.

    I've never complained about the pay, but BHP was always above the award wage.

    Depending on the company you work for you can end up doing heavy equipment maint, big production plant repairs (14lb hammer and oxy torch), CNC machining, and lots of things in between.

    When my dad suggested the fitting trade to me I didn't know what it was, but as he was an Industrial Arts teacher for 40 years, it was kind of in my blood. And I've enjoyed all of it so far.

    I've also kept my skills as a hobby too, car maint, general machining and round the house handy man.

    If your mechanically adept and willing to listen to the old hands, have a go. But it can be a dangerous industry, lots of scary stories that I won't bore you with. And don't be scared to suggest something new to the old hands.... sometimes new eyes can think up easier ways of doing things.

  4. #19
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    Mid North Coast NSW
    Age
    45
    Posts
    177

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    Quote Originally Posted by the fabricator View Post
    hey guys, after a recent incident at school regarding my level of mathematical ability, i have rethought about my future and are now looking at being a fitter and machinist, seeing as this is more of an engineering feild than boilermaking. so can anyone who is an apprentice now or is trady shed some light on this occupation, please dont tell me accidents or tell me not to because im really keen on it.

    1. How is the pay, not that it really matters Good workers get good pay
    2. How often do you use the machines? Lathe- weekly, CNC Turret - Daily, Welding daily
    3. What type of work do you do? Apprentice Fabricator - Low accuracy duct work, reasonable accuracy stainless fabrication, occasional high accuracy machining.
    4. How far does you TFYT voucher get you? I had a pretty good home workshop so added a few toys I couldn't justify easily as a 'pay packet' item
    5. Can anyone give me a day in the life? One off fabrication, it could go anywhere. Currently we are flat out with electric duct heaters but I have some ss insertion heaters I have to do next week.
    6. Does you employer let you make your own quick projects every once in a while?I do foreigners in my lunch break. We work a 4 day week so I can come in on my day off and do anything I want.
    7. What tools do machinists and fitters mostly use, eg micrometres, parallels, vee blocks etc, so i can get the kit that i need for my apprenticeship? I'd get a top shelf set of mic's, verniers, marking out gear. 'Communal' tools that employers have aren't always that great.
    8. is it a good, rewarding job? Best thing I did was get out of an office and into a trade.
    9. How are fitting and machining apprenticeships set out, days on and off the job, schoolwork for tafe, classes etc. 1 day at tafe a week for 3 years. Additional 1 year work experience to get the total of 4 years.
    10. Do you start right away on the 25 foot floor borers or on 500mm between centre bench laths and work your way up. Our apprentices do a minimum of 12 months on duct heaters. It's pretty basic repetitive work but it gives a lot of the basics for sheet metal work. I wouldn't expect a first year F&M apprentice would be turning Ti shuttle parts... BUT there is always exceptions and when I was doing my trial in my current job for a welding position I was on the lathe doing a job becuase no one else at the factory could do that job. So if you educate yourself you'll be all over it. Another example is our CNC Turret. During my first year I was hindered by the time it took for the office/design guys to create/modify programs so I taught myself to write them from scratch (office uses cad to a g-code converter program) and now the office rarely does programs as I can usually get a program done quicker and more accurately than they can do it. SO - if you apply and prove yourself you'll get off broom duty quicker than 'the next kid'
    11. What machine tools do you use and how often?Machine tools we have are Manual Lathe/mill/surface grinder. CNC Turret/guillo/brake press. Various fabricated tools, We do a lot of Tig welding. Drill press is one of the more used tools.

    i think thats all lol

    thanks in advance
    I have added my reply from the point of view of a Fabrication (general) point of view. I did 3 years of tafe night courses in F&M and wanted a F&M apprenticeship but all I got was 'you're too old'. I eventually got a job where I currently am doing fabrication as the 'fiddly-er' nature of what my company does was reasonably attractive to me. It is my intention to maintain my machining skills (which I get to do) and have the welding/fabrication skills which will give me a pretty broad range of ability. Not many fitters can weld and not many welders can machine (plenty of them can though). I originally went to uni to do electronic engineering. After a couple of years of that I realised that engineers are computer operators and as I wanted to be hands on I left and got an office job LOL but now I am back on track

    On another note our company has roughly 20 people working in the factory, we have 3 qualified F&M none of which are working in F&M roles, we have one qualified boilermaker working as a boilermaker. We have been advertising a bit lately and I have been surprised at the number of F&M applying for sheetmetal jobs. Not sure what that says about the F&M industry if anything at all.

    Don't feel that you have to lock yourself in either. The F&M and welding trades have a LOT of separate fields - kinda like engineers. People don't identify as a 'engineer' they usually say what kind of engineer. So I am a welder but if you wanted me to weld earthmoving equipment I'd walk away - I don't have the skill or desire to do that kind of work.

    Bit of a ramble hope you got something from it!

  5. #20
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Mt Crosby, Brisbane
    Posts
    177

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    Engineering jobs are widely varied. I know ones that surf specifications, standards and tender documents all day, others with high stress project managment jobs, others again that spend all day up to thier eyeballs in dirt.

    Very few are "computer operators". Maybe you just got that impression at uni, where the incompetant gather...
    I'm just a startled bunny in the headlights of life. L.J. Young.
    We live in a free country. We have freedom of choice. You can choose to agree with me, or you can choose to be wrong. Me.

  6. #21
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    near Rockhampton
    Posts
    6,216

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    I would try to become an engineer first... Engineering is the most important profession mankind has ever invented..

  7. #22
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Quindanning, WA
    Posts
    175

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    I don't know much about your situation but if you really want to do something you need to be a little more determined about it. There are a lot of different ways to get into engineering if thats what you want to do, but they will require a bit of patience and may take a bit longer.

    I struggled with maths and failed a couple of units in my engineering along with a lot of others, but this just meant I had to spend more time on it. Like most things in life, results come more from practice and determination than any natural ability.

  8. #23
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Mackay North Qld
    Posts
    6,446

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    The best enginneers I have found, are those who have a trade behind them.
    Yes its more work,but trade based enginners have a better sense of mixing the practical with the theory.

    If you have done the task its much easier to design a process or procedure /machinery which takes into account the difficulies encounted in fabrication assembly and installation of equipment.

    A glaring expample of this replacing the spark plugs through the glove box aperture in a certain model of vehicle.
    If auto enginnering designers had to remove/replace said spark plug perhaps such designs would not happen,LOL!.

    Grahame

  9. #24
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Quindanning, WA
    Posts
    175

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    I may be wrong but it would seem to be harder to make the jump from a trade to being an engineer than it used to be. I have worked with lots of old guys who started out as tradies but haven't seen many younger ones despite the fact there are lots of guys who would like to and are capable.

    I think it is almost impossible to go back to uni for 4+ years once you are older and have commitments without the support of yours employer, and finding a willing employer is the hard part. At least this is what I have seen in mining and construction sector... could well be different elsewhere.

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