Starting Machine shop training

[dr stan]

Originally Posted by wesdavidson

Pick a school that is ABET acredited. Many comunity colleges and vocational centers are not. Many of these are a waste of time. There are many good 2 and 4 year State colleges and Universities with high standards and solid accreditation to select from. Don't short yourself. There are loans and grants, and you can work your way through.

Wes,

I fully agree with most of your comments, however ABET is not the primary accreditation body for community college or vocational school technical programs as ABET's focus is on engineering programs. The appropriate accreditation to look for is through ATMAE (formerly NAIT). Even then there are many very good programs that are not accredited by either ABET or ATMAE. It would be better to check with local employers and ask about good machining programs.

Full disclosure. I'm a member of ATMAE and a Senior Certified Technology Manager. For details on this certification and their accreditation standards go to the ATMAE web site.

My previous comments regarding Tooling U still hold. Unlike community colleges and public vocational-technical centers it is a for profit organization. Therefore, it's primary goal is to generate income. That speaks volumes.

Stan