CNC Programmer hiring in 2009 in the USA

[Todd Palmer]

I am curious to hear any thoughts on CNC Programmer hiring projections or specific industry need for 2009. In Michigan I have several talented CNC Progammers who I am working with and would like to provide them with nationwide feedback as to what other's think will happen regarding hiring in 2009.

[springlakecnc]

Todd,

I am in Michigan, by Grand Rapids, and have programmed cnc since the reel to reel NC days, and am a Mastercam user for about 15 years. I have personally owned maybe 80 cnc machines since the early 80's.

All I can say is; I'm dang lucky to be inside of 6 years of retirement! Maybe after the people you represent get a Journeyman’s card, and say, 5 years experience, they may land a job for $12 per hour!

Manufacturing is dying in America; we simply can’t compete against other countries. Last year Grand Rapids Community College was advertising on the radio for young people to take cnc machining for a great career! I thought people that ran Colleges were suppose to be smart!

Check Michigan Works, the State’s web site, or Craig’s list, for job openings in Grand Rapids, and you MAY get lucky, IF one is listed, and land that $12-$15 per hour job for your people!

Sorry for the grim outlook, maybe things are better in Kansas.

Good Luck,
Buck

[ckm]

I am not in the trade, but I do have some really strange anecdotal evidence that about the state of manufacturing

About a month ago I was talking to a sales rep for one of the local (San Francisco Bay Area) tool dealers and he said business was booming, he's never been busier. I was extremely skeptical and he told me that all of his major accounts had been adding machinery or replacing old machines. What on earth were they working on? Medical devices and green tech. One company just bought to huge horizontal machining ($1 million+ ea) centers to machine vacuum chambers.

Another odd conversation with a used machinery dealer recently (I was looking for a small, old cnc lathe) and he said there was no used machinery on the market, nothing decent locally, anyway. It seems that all the good used local machinery is snapped up immediately at premium prices by shops that are growing. All that's left is heavily worn or broken.

Another strange piece of evidence is a guy I know who runs what used to be a small shop (5 VMCs), but has now expanded to 25+ VMCs running 24/7. He's also doing medical devices.

Obviously, there are a combination of factors here. The SF Bay Area used to be a major industrial area until the late 80's/early 90's when it shifted to software and biotech. A lot of shops went bust during this transition, and the survivors are benefiting from this. There has also been huge amounts invested in green tech (solar, biofuels and companies like Tesla), probably a few billion dollars in the last few years, and most of this is going to either R&D or light manufacturing capacity, with CNC in heavy use.

Granted, this area is not typical, but still, I think that work prospects are highly regional in nature. Of course, none of this means that wages for operators are actually any better. In fact, in some cases I have heard of companies importing cheap Chinese and Vietnamese operators to keep costs competitive. But it does show that there is manufacturing growth in some industries...

The other odd trend I can't put my finger on is the rise of really small operations, just a step up from hobbyist. Like the guy who has a VMC or lathe in his garage.

HTH,

Chris.

[RAT454]

Originally Posted by springlakecnc Sorry for the grim outlook, maybe things are better in Kansas.

Things aren't too bad here in Ks! I work at an aerospace supplier and we are adding machine tools like you wouldn't believe. I imagine things look pretty grim in MI, though. Good luck!