From the course: Skilled Trades: Manufacturing Careers

Preparing to apply

- So you want to work in manufacturing? This is great, but where do you start? A good first step is to check out various training programs and trade schools and other technical institutions. These programs are looking for students who are curious and dependable. - So the type of student who walks through the door and says, you know, I think pre-engineering or electronics engineering technology is somewhere that I might like to go. That student has to be ready to work every day. There's never a day where we have a down day, air quotes. We're constantly learning, constantly on the cutting edge. There's always something new that we're ready to teach. Very little down time. Some students wrongly associate mathematics with what we do. Yes, math is very important, but we're not looking for top of the line math. You just have to have competency in math. You have to be able to read. But it's many of the same skills that you find all over. Self-motivators. Not afraid to ask questions. Willing to be a good classmate. Those are the types of students that we're looking for all the time. - It is important to make sure this is a field that you're interested in. - What I enjoy most, absolutely, is helping people. Helping them find something that they're passionate about, or even their calling. There's students in here that have come in and said, I would do this for free. I'm like, you're crazy, but okay, you know. - So I happen to be going down my timeline on Facebook, and on my newsfeed was this outstanding, awesome offer to become a machinist, so I had a, just filled out a very simple application, which then forwarded the information to the director of the program here, and he contacted me right away. And it was very quick. It was like he interviewed me over the phone. I had to come in and take a test. The teacher called me, and I came in for the second phase where we got to use the micrometer, which is actually a very important tool we use here to measure all of our, most of our cuts, not all of them, but most of the cuts we make with the machines. And I took to that very quickly, so I think that's what sold the deal for me to get into the program, and it happened very quick, and I'm excited. I mean, I never see myself being a machinist, but I like to get dirty, so I guess I'm in the right field, huh? (laughs) - It's worth it to check out local Maker Faires, and other Maker related activities. - You can look up maritime. You can look up aerospace. You can look up all sorts of different keywords or components, or you can just start looking up the Maker movement and you'll start to see all of the training facilities start popping up, and all the new options that are out there. - It also helps to research companies that you may be interested in, in order to develop a basic knowledge of the work environment and the tasks that you'd be responsible for. So the first step, go out there and start exploring. Discover what's possible. You'll find plenty of things that you might want to learn more about. Ask questions, and explore manufacturing job fairs where you can reach out to people who work in the industry. Get different perspectives to determine which path is the right path for you.

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