u/Dirk_Dingham

I just graduated college with my associates degree in cnc and manual machining. Right now i’m working for a local shop that i signed on with last year and am currently making $15/hr. I assume i will be getting a raise soon but i don’t think it will be what i’m hoping for as we only do manual machining and it’s a small shop.

I enjoy my current job but i just don’t see myself making enough money to live comfortably if i stay there. I have put my resume out on ziprecruiter and have found quite a few jobs about an hour or 2 from my location.

The issue is, even with a college degree these job listings are only paying up to 75k/yr maximum, even jobs for DOD contractors like Lockheed Martin. I enjoy being a machinist but i worry that the amount of effort i have put into getting my degree has been a letdown.

I was only in school for 2 years, and while the program that I went through does a lot of things well, it was much heavier into manual machining than cnc. I started a semester late so i missed out on certain things that were important to my experience.

I just feel stuck and am trying to get an outside perspective from other machinists who may be able to give me some helpful advice. All input is appreciated

Whenever i’m feeling stressed i like to step outside and have a cigar and a glass of whiskey while listening to some celia cruz, it just makes me feel some type of way i can’t describe. I’ve just recently started listening to her music because i was replaying black ops 1 and the opening scene is in a bar in havana that starts with one of her songs playing. Then all of the nostalgic memories that i had of playing that game came flooding back and i thought, this would be a damn good song to listen to while i light up a cigar. Can anyone recommend me some good cuban music with a similar vibe to her early songs? Any recommendations are greatly appreciated