Experienced Tool & Die Maker seeking employment.........

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Marksman

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I am a seasoned Journeyman Tool & Die Maker with experience in most all areas of Tool Room work. Most recent employer was a Fortune 500 $4.3B manufacturer in the Indinapolis, IN area. Two youngsters in college necessitate staying in the Indy area. Will consider opportunities with companies large or small, special project contract assignments and small entrepreneur start-ups too. Prototyping, new product development and custom machine building are areas I am most experienced in. View my LinkedIn profile at: http://www.linkedin.com/in/bobtwining
 
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I really hope you can find a job, my father and uncle both "got retired" in the last couple years after over 30 years of being tool & die makers. They were both the oldest in their respective shops so they were the first to go but, not the last sadly. It's not looking too good for the tool & die shops with China being such a big player in the market.

I would say that the gun industry would be the best place to find a job with your skill set, it seems to be about the only thing doing well these days. Good luck in your job search.
 
Our company, in Mid-Tennessee, closed 17 months ago. I was the manufacturing engineer there. None of our toolmakers has of yet, found a job.

I have 30 years + in the screw machine and CNC industry. I've sent out countless resumes, not one reply as of yet. Our work went to China.
 
When I got into the trade , a good toolmaker could write his own ticket. Though most places treated a good toolmaker like gold , if we got fed up at one place , we packed yer Gerstner or Kennedy boxes and went down the road to the next manufacturer that couldn't find a good toolmaker. We never thought our trade would die. We were the Jedi Knights of manufacturing. Unfortunately , with jobs going overseas , and cheap imported CNC machines coming in , the trade has died. Most toolrooms now use Proto-trak type Bridgeport mills. No ones know how to use a rotary table , dividing head or Volstro attachment anymore. And most of us never bothered to learn CNC.
I'm lucky to have found a good 'prototype and development machinist' class job after two years of looking.

Good luck brother!
 
I too had found my niche doing Prototype and New Product Development work, I was working for a Fortune 500 $4.2B Manufacturer making $62K until they decided that after 12 years of service at age 59 1/2 that my services were no longer needed. It has been 13 months now, lots of resumes sent out and very few responses. I never thought the trade would die before my retirement date. The prospect of working for 1/2 the pay I had become accustomed to is not very appealing but it looks like it may be a reality.
 
The Washington Post did an article recently regarding the number of people holding Top Secret security clearances and all the companies who hire them. Homeland Security is the main driver of this, along with various other branches of government.

This article gave out the names of companies all over the country. You might try looking up this article and finding the companies that are close to you. I would almost guarantee they are hiring because Homeland Security is throwing money at these companies faster than they can spend it.

Toolmakers are very much in demand at these places because they do a lot of prototype work.

Good luck.
 
just when we thought the house senate and the various agencies had all the tools we cared to handle ... they want more.
I suppose that might work in the short term but I dont see a long term career investment in government run anything.
What we REALLY need is for people with skills like the OP to start up manufacturing businesses so as to replace the finks that sold us out to China and Mexico.
This is the REAL American way, and probably the only way we'll ever hope to save our homeland.
the hardest part of this is determining what you will produce. No one will tell you how, What, where or when to produce something on this side of the fence. Admittedly this is quite challenging after a life of having a bossman telling you what to do, but it desperately needs doing.
This, afterall, happened long before your former employer made the fortune 500.
step up. Roll the dice. and play a part in saving us all.
If we make it, lets not forget why we started this time
 
BTT for the weekend. What are those of you who are unemployed Tool Makers doing for work?
 
This question is for Tool Makers whose jobs like mine have been eliminated. What are you doing for work now? I have even tried standing on the street corner with a sign asking for Tool & Die work, no luck at all. I find it hard to believe that employers are not interested in finding something the highest skilled worker in manufacturing can do to advance their objectives. Forty years of experience just walked out the door........... Are ther any Forum members in the Indy area whose employer could use a dedicated, enthusiastic employee willing to learn new things?
 
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OK ... So I tend to approach this with a straight razor kind of attitude.
You nor I have the time to play the entire history of country music backwards in order to deprogram so I go frontal assault.
the situation is a nightmare for all.
Yes your job is still done... by a Chinaman somewhere along the Yangtze river. sad but true.
You'd like to finish your career in your field. Its not possible until such time as you embrace the ideal of employing yourself. This scares the snot out of most people. I swear most would rather face a fire fight than roll this set of dice.
if you cant bring yourself to take the gamble, our options are limited to retail and service since out industrial base is dead. this leaves WalMart, supermarkets, and fast food.
I for one would rather roll the dice and employ myself.
put a www. and a .com around my name. Ive known this since 2002 and its not getting better with age.
 
There are two tool & die maker jobs on Monster.com right now, in North Vernon.
 
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