I started working in a fab shop running cold saw and gang drills. I then moved up to running a manual punch press and helping the sheer operator and also helped out the guys running the turret lathes once in a while. The old sheer broke down and they bought a real nice new one. I got the job running it on second shift. At the time there was only three people on second shift myself "running the sheer and wire wheeling parts" the supervisor "he ran the CNC Trumpf punch press" and another operator that ran a CNC plasma table. The guy that ran the plasma table got a job in R/D so I asked about running it and I got the opportunity. The thing was riddled with problems and was finicky as heck. I was pretty good with computers and always had a real good mechanical aptitude. After working with the techs and trouble shooting the thing almost on a daily basis I learned cnc pretty quick. A CNC programmer job opened up on first shift and I was pretty much handed the job "with no experience". I pretty much grew board setting in a corner and programming for five years so I got a job in engineering at a different place. The skills I have acquired over the years are as diverse as planting corn to designing software "CNC" is just one of them. I always thought when you are playing in a world market you better set your sights just as wide. And the older I get the more it seems I need to learn.
