Ed Doherty- CNC Machinist and Instructor, Suncoast Technical College
I did not go to college as planned back in the early 70’s in Boston metro area. Did not take my SAT’s. Worked in a warehouse driving a forklift and then in auto parts on the counter.
I bumped into a friend of mine and he said he was retrained as a machinist. I asked what the deal was and he said they just need machinists and a local group – Boston Tooling and Machining Assoc. had started a school for training. So I left auto parts and went to school.
I thought to be a machinist you had to know someone or have your dad train ya. My dad sold fruits and vegetables. Anyway I completed the school. I have been working as a machinist for over 30 years mostly in the CNC area.
I have worked in small mom and pop job shops as well as large medical and defense contractors running $950,000 CNC machinery. My pay has always been good, jobs were always there. What a difference!
Now I teach apprentices what I know and learned. I am in my third year at Suncoast Technical College in Sarasota, Fl.
Suncoast Technical College Precision Machining 