Every single day, you use or interact with products that were manufactured by workers in the CNC machining industry. The CNC machining industry is one area of the U.S. economy that has consistently thrived, weathering tough economic circumstances such as the Great Recession.
In fact, the U.S. machine shop services industry generates a whopping $55 billion a year annually. Over the course of just five years between 2009 and 2014, the machine shop services industry grew by a staggering 11.1% annually. Consider this was shortly after the economic downturn and financial crisis caused the Recession, this is an impressive amount.
As such, it comes as no surprise that many job seekers pursue career paths in the CNC and machine shop services industry in order to retain secure and stable careers. Due to the constant — if not increased — demand for many goods, workers in the CNC machining industry enjoy a level of security that many other career fields simply do not have.
While the CNC machining and U.S. shop services industries have traditionally been considered male-dominated fields, many women also enjoy successful careers in both these fields. During the height of World War II, women were forced into these rolls as replacements for men, as the majority of the male workforce had been drafted. It was during this exact time that the concept of Rosie the Riveter was created in order to showcase the prowess of the American female workforce.
Fast forward to today, and there are a variety of career options available in the CNC machining industry. The majority of employees working in the industry attended a trade school program in order to learn the ins and outs of the field, such as learning how to use the best precision cutting tools such as threaded shank cutting tools and aluminum cutters. In addition, students also learn now to control end mill speed safely and with expertise. End mill speed is typically controlled via CNC, or computer numeric controlled.