How much does an average machinist make? - Page 3


View Poll Results: How much do you make an hour (CNC only, no manual machinists)

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  • up to $17

    161 16.18%
  • $18

    71 7.14%
  • $19

    50 5.03%
  • $20

    111 11.16%
  • $21

    50 5.03%
  • $22 and over

    552 55.48%
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Thread: How much does an average machinist make?

  1. #41
    Member handlewanker's Avatar
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    Hi Ruger, that just about sums up the work for pay scenario.
    The more you earn the more tax you'll pay.
    Sombody has got to suport the bureaucracy that lives and thrives on us.
    Ian.



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    10-50th starting - 13.00
    50-90th mid range 19.50
    90th highest 26.50
    So says the wage stats website

    Still going to be fun trying to buy a house with room for a shop at 20 bucks a hour.

    owning your own shop still reminds me of

    That joke about the machinist who won a million dollars in the lottery and when asked what he'd do with his winnings said "I'm going to open a machine shop and run it until the money runs out."

    Shops around here cost 60 or less a hour. They have to cover tooling,machine wear,insurance and wages for the workers.(rent,power,gas ect)

    Heck just private health insurance is a arm and a leg. Owning your own business might be great but they're not making hand loads of money. If they were others would be doing it. Atleast in most cases.



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    I am at the top of the scale in upstate Ny. and I started at 7.00 and learned the trade thru a 4 year apprenticeship then applied that to the CNC now I am resposable for progaming 5 cnc machine all long hand we have no cam systems or any thing like that I am able to walk out and into anouther shop for the same rate. ( I have been at the same shop for 7 years) The only problem is that at the high price you also are usally the first to go when things get slow. At the moment I am looking to relocate to a warmer climate but the mom and pop shops don't advertise on monster.
    Dadeslot



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    If you want to know how a company pays, check the condition of the cars in the parking lot.
    Lou



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    Quote Originally Posted by L.Estey View Post
    If you want to know how a company pays, check the condition of the cars in the parking lot.
    Lou
    I'm not sure how valid that is. Until six months ago the oldest one there, with rust holes through the roof and sides, was mine; a 1985 Kia Van which I bought in 1993. And I own the company. The newest vehicle less than two years old was owned by almost the lowest paid employee.



  6. #46
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    Hi Geof, I seem to recall a saying about 'the best mechanic usually has the worst car', or was it the 'best cobbler always had the worst shoes', something like that.
    I can't think why, but then I suppose it takes a fair bit of skill to extract the best from any bit of machinery, and keep it running till the bitter end.
    That's one of the perks of being in the rarified ranks of the skilled craftsman, there's nothing that he/she can't fix and keep going.
    One thing's got me worried, how did you keep the rain/snow out of ya' van with all those rust holes in it.
    I've been down that path in UK, but it was a '54 Morris Minor with rust holes in the flooring, couldn't go through puddles or you'd get a right shower.
    Ian.



  7. #47
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    Quote Originally Posted by handlewanker View Post
    ....One thing's got me worried, how did you keep the rain/snow out of ya' van with all those rust holes in it....
    Hole in top...hole in bottom. What's the problem?



  8. #48
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    That reminds me of a raincoat I once had in late '68.
    It was one of those 3/4 length jobs, looked real cool.
    The waterproofing liner in the shoulder area had rotted away and shredded out. Water got in big time but didn't get out.
    I only wore it in the car when the rain was too bad.
    The very first job I got after I finished my time was with a small firm making gear blanks of all sorts.
    I was put on a 10" swing lathe, if you can call it that, to blank out various gear blanks from chain sprockets to bevel gears etc.
    Now the lathe was coupled one end to the wall 3PH socket by several lengths of wire that just fell in a heap on the floor, and the other end was connected to the lathe switch box.
    As soon as the lathe was switched on the belts flew off, and I soon learned that you had to pull the chuck round to get it going and then drop the switch, to offset the torque reaction of the motor.
    Once the chuck was turning, the lathe moved around with the vibration, so you had to grab the end legs and move it back again to the starting position.
    The coolant system was just a large drum in the middle of the shop floor that everyone went to with a jam tin to get some coolant, which was poured on the work, oh , and there was no drip tray for the swarf or waste coolant, so it just formed a puddle on the floor.
    This was not a problem, the boss got one of the labourers to chisel a groove in the concrete floor to lead to the back door. It was known as the river of no return.
    I lasted there for two weeks, with swarf almost knee deep some days, no duck boards, and feet so wet from the coolant that I had to throw my boots away, they fell apart anyway.
    That was in South Africa in 1962, and I came in one morning, after two weeks to find a bare spot where the lathe had been.
    That was it, the boss just said," I'm going to have to let you go, I've just sold the lathe". Was I glad to get out of there.
    Out of ten other workers, I was the only one who was a skilled fitter & turner.
    The others ranged from an unskilled Polish fitter, who kept trying to borrow my tools, to a young farm worker, with a low IQ, who just went round oiling anything that moved.
    A lot of water has passed under the bridge since then.
    Ian.



  9. #49
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    Hey, new guy here. Here's the poop. I work in an Aerospace/flight parts shop in central CA. These are the hardest parts I have ever worked on, and I've been doing machine work for 27 years. A lot of Ti, Invar, other high nickel alloys, and such in a prototype, short run shop. I'm making right around $20 an hour. The area I live in has an average house price of about $535,000. I live in a cheesy little apartment with the wife. We are tryiing to buy a house here, but at the rate I am paid, and the wife works too, all we can afford is a little piece of crap house. I really like the company I work for, yet right at the moment, I'm pretty discouraged about the amount of money I'm making. I can make the same money delivering bread to supermarkets, without smelling like Blasocut and without the headaches of very, very high tolerance parts. We're talking true postions of .0005 on some stuff. It can be challenging to say the least. We have all the work we can handle, too much actually, pretty much unlimited overtime. Yet, ten years ago, I worked in a flat rate tractor parts shop, really kicked butt as far as money went. I figured that as I got older, I would make more money with less work, but it isn't working out that way. I am really seriously thinking of going into something else. Anyone else thinking like this? Do you know how much plumbers make? Registered Nurses? Tile Setters? And I've never seen any of them have to buy a new Interapid indicator, or new Mitutoyo Mic. Thanks for letting me vent.



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    Corndog,
    Move to arizona, the wages are comparable but average home prices are 175,000- 225,000 You can rent a beautiful apartment with great views for $750.00 a month. Their are tons of jobs in Phoenix and Tucson and the weather is awesome.
    Joe



  11. #51
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    I'd sure like to see a few of you apply with our team given the knowledge you have aquired through the years. If you happen to come through Lafayette LA. just drop me an e-mail and I will be sure to make time for you. We are a production shop, which is nice as there are no Friday rush jobs but have plenty of work to allow OT if needed. Please don't beat me up for this reply, but honestly we are at the $17.00 / $20.00 hr range for CNC ''operators'' with skills far less than yours.



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    Quote Originally Posted by SKEETO View Post
    I'd sure like to see a few of you apply with our team given the knowledge you have aquired through the years. If you happen to come through Lafayette LA. just drop me an e-mail and I will be sure to make time for you. We are a production shop, which is nice as there are no Friday rush jobs but have plenty of work to allow OT if needed. Please don't beat me up for this reply, but honestly we are at the $17.00 / $20.00 hr range for CNC ''operators'' with skills far less than yours.

    Not too bad, Hmmmm...... A job opportunity in one of the poorest state in the union and a respectable payday to boot. Makes your dollar go further. Instead of living in FL where the good pay is hard to find and EVERYTHING is SO overpriced. The only thing is actually making the move. I spoke to a guy in TX who does oilfield equipment and he makes MAD money $$$$$. But that is in TX.



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    In my area, as a machinist, if you get close to $30k a year you're doing great. Everybody's a 'machinist' up here, and most shops just want button pushers anyway.



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    Quote Originally Posted by corndog67 View Post
    Do you know how much plumbers make? Registered Nurses? Tile Setters? And I've never seen any of them have to buy a new Interapid indicator, or new Mitutoyo Mic. Thanks for letting me vent.
    PREACH IT !!!!!!! BROTHER CORNDOG,


    I have a friend whose EX-husband is a RN and he pulls down $74K. I said to myself. Man I am in the wrong biz. This guy has a hard time screwing in a light bulb but makes a payday like this!!!!! I do a lot of fabrication with a bit of "reverse" engineering. making custom CNC parts for race cars (Tons of one off stuff) as well as keeping all the mills and lathes running and am LUCKY to get 35K. I come to the grim reality that sometimes just doesn't pay to get out of bed.



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    I have a friend whose EX-husband is a RN and he pulls down $74K. I said to myself. Man I am in the wrong biz. This guy has a hard time screwing in a light bulb but makes a payday like this!!!!! I do a lot of fabrication with a bit of "reverse" engineering. making custom CNC parts for race cars (Tons of one off stuff) as well as keeping all the mills and lathes running and am LUCKY to get 35K. I come to the grim reality that sometimes just doesn't pay to get out of bed...
    Add to that the clueless HR lady that told me:"...it's too bad you don't have a skilled trade..." she went on to tell me how hard it was to get qualified people to assemble and ship their (simple) product. A lot of HR people don't see why a machinist/Tool&Die maker should make almost as much as a highly skilled forklift operator.



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    Quote Originally Posted by WA Toolman View Post
    .....A lot of HR people don't see why a machinist/Tool&Die maker should make almost as much as a highly skilled forklift operator.
    Driving a forklift must be more highly skilled. According to workplace safety laws I have to send my guys for forklift training so we can post a bit of paper on the wall that says they are trained. There is no requirement like that for CNC Operators or Machinists so obviously these must be less skilled positions.

    An open mind is a virtue...so long as all the common sense has not leaked out.


  17. #57
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    Hi all, think about this, you own a business, couple of NC's going flat out and 6 wage earners to pay each week.
    One of your NC's makes funny parts suddenly on a friday afternoon, who do you call in to check it out?
    When I worked last century, in '97, we had a bump on one of the Nakamura NC lathes.
    They flew a guy out from Japan, and had the machine stripped down for a week at $1000 a day.
    No matter what you do or where you would like to do it, if the money isn't on your doorstep, some folks just wouldn't be bothered to try further down the road.
    In my life I have worked in South West Africa, South Africa, Europe, United Kingdom and last but not least OZ, where I finally called it a day and hung up my overalls and calculator.
    Sometimes you have to view the world as just another pasture that is a good place to be at the time, till the grass runs out.
    One thing's for sure if everyone else is doing what you're doing, better move on to where you're really wanted and then you can call the tune.
    In 1981 the world was in a state of recession, not a good time to be looking for another job or changing one, but there was a big demand for skilled workers down under, so that's where I went with my family and stayed.
    To be perfectly honest, I couldn't stand the weather anymore so that's what really clinched it, apart from the fact that the cost of living was far better.
    Ian.



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    Hi All, I'm now 50 and have been in engineering for 37 years, I now work for a small contract company which is trying to grow, I work thier latest CNC lathe which cost $200,000 (£100,000) and has $50,000(£25,000) worth of powered tooling fitted on some jobs, I get $60,000(£30,000) a year, no sick pay, no pension and lots of pressure, all jobs are hand programmed as we have no cad and its useless on a lathe anyway. I do all the repairs on the lathes(we have 3)and cost up jobs for the lathes as the bosses are millers. Why didn't start my own company? I never had the capital and my young family always came first and could never take the risk. In the next life I'm going to stay away from engineering.



  19. #59
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    Hi Grip, I worked in UK last in 1981, all I can say about the pension or superannuation bit is if you haven't put something by or tied into a super plan for your retirement then at 50 you've got a steep uphill run before you miss the boat.
    I know what you mean by the "wanting to set up in business for yourself" bit, as I bought an old 1-1/4" Taylor capstan lathe for $150 and worked at it part time for 6 or 7 years at home.
    Most folks have the dream to retire at 55 and tour the world. What's yours?
    Think hard, this moment is the beginning of the rest of your life.
    A guy told me that, in Bristol, 1981, when I decided to seek pastures new and move to OZ. I never looked back.
    Best of British mate.
    Ian.



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    Quote Originally Posted by gripper View Post
    Hi All, I'm now 50 and have been in engineering for 37 years, I now work for a small contract company which is trying to grow,..... Why didn't start my own company? I never had the capital and my young family always came first and could never take the risk....
    You have another 15 to 20 years ahead of you, that is almost half the time you have spent in engineering. Why not start your own business now? Capital is not necessary; just ingenuity and a willingness to work like crazy for a few years. When I started my business in the early 1980s I held a fulltime afternoon shift job to pay the bills. One summer I worked graveyard shift, taught in a local college during the evenings and ran my business during the morning. It is surprising how little sleep you can get by on when you have to.

    An open mind is a virtue...so long as all the common sense has not leaked out.


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