PA Gunsmith School
I am a college graduate from West Virginia University. Go 'eers. Now I have to find a job that I can make some money at. I decided that I would like to go to gunsmith school and I'm not really interested in doing the at home thing. So I applied and got accepted to PA Gunsmith School. I would just like to know how it ranks among the nations best gunsmith schools and the quality of the graduates from that school. thanks
Beer is good. Extreme beer is extremely good.
Beer is good. Extreme beer is extremely good.
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Check with Der Gebirgsjager, he should be able to tell you. 0 -
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Sorry 21, but I've got to give you the same "tough love" I gave my own children: "You've got a degree. Now, get a real job!"
The fact is, "gunsmith" did not make Newsweek's top 10 list of the hottest jobs for 2005. Actually, it didn't make the list at all. Sad to say, the need for gunsmiths gets smaller & smaller each year. Many of the well known gunsmiths started as machinists, or armorers in the military. I'm sure that some gunsmith school graduates are doing OK, but look at the competition you will have for very few jobs. I can only recall seeing a single "help wanted" ad for gunsmiths in the last few years (that was Brownell's, & you had to move).
My guess is that every single person registered to go to gunsmith school would jump at the chance to change resumes with you. You have the opportunity to get a job that is not only satisfying, but which will pay a decent living. Carpe diem!
Neal0 -
21,
Dude, I can't help but wonder why you spent 4 years of your life at WVU studing something that you had no interest in persuing.
I too am interested in a campus type gunsmith school. The one in Denver has been highly recommended to me. I talked to them last month and may sign-up. You can find them on the web. Neal is correct - you aren't going to get rich as a gunsmith. Heck you might have to take a second job to feed yourself!
My situation is a little different. I plan to retire (for the second time) and am looking for something to keep me busy. The plan is to move from scenic IN to northern NV. I couldn't find even a part-time job in my field closer than Reno or SLC. The thought of paying customers is hardly a factor for me.
Here is a thought:
1st - Find yourself a real job using you education. Remember your chosen field isn't that important in many jobs - just the fact that you have a degree.
2nd - Sign up for one of the many home study gunsmith schools. That will at least teach you the lingo and some of the basics.
3rd - After the home study is finished get yourself a part-time minimum wage job with a local gunsmith. You will learn more from him than you did with the home study. What the home study will do is get you in his front door. Heck you might learn enough to realize that you don't want to be a gunsmith!
Good luck,
cbxjeff<P>It's too late for me, save yourself. <br>0 -
Hey, hey, hey!! Come-on guys, give the man a break. He e-mailed me off-forum and I gave him a long, long answer (as I am prone to do) and the best advice I could. Afterall, you can follow your brain and logic, or you can follow your heart. Carpe diem? What the heck is that? Daily fish. Like per diem. No..that would be carp. Oh..probably dead French fish.[;)] 0 -
Actually, I thought I gave him a little of both. As my late dad once told me when I was a young guy, "You can't live on love".
cbxjeff<P>It's too late for me, save yourself. <br>0 -
In the for what it's worth category: Good gunsmiths are hard to find anywhere and when you do they are in great demand and the turn around time is unbelievable. Planning to specialize right out of the box would be difficult as it is hard to find an undiscovered niche. Trying to compete with well named established operations is starting at a huge disadvantage. Despite all that, there is still plenty of work in the field. Many people have problems running an owner operator business not matter what the field. The biggest thing to remember is that it is a business and you are entering it to make money. If you try to run it like a hobby and enter into projects where you can't make a reasonable hourly rate you are sure to fail. You can't put $500.00 work into a $50.00 gun, it just doesn't work. Talk to the people who run the school, part of the course of instruction is business operation. Tell them what you are interested in and they can make appropriate suggestions based on experience. Good Luck 0 -
All you self proclaimed experts are unbelievable! What a bunch of crap. All the guy asked was a question. This forum owes him an answer not a flip reply.I graduated from Trinidad State Jr. College in 1971 with no intention of doing this full time. I got too busy part time,so I bit the bullet and dove in. There is so much work out there WHEREVER you go-whether you specialize or not-If you are worth a damn. I have not looked back in 30 years. I have a job that I look forward to being at every day. I'm not nor will I be the richest guy in the world, but I've done ok. Got two through college and the third will be going this fall. Any serious questions please email me for further info. Alfonse 0 -
You ALL are making good points.
When I went into the "business" in the early '70's, I did so along with a Sporting Goods store, which couldn't really compete with the big discount outlets. But having a mechanical engineering background and gunsmith training made it for me, and soon enough I was being published and touted about by my clients. Finding that niche in the gunsmithing business is very important in these days of disected specialization. Find out if you just want to take guns apart and change parts and "refinish", which is a meat and potatoes job, but pays the bills, or a "factory grunt", which brings home the bacon.
If you want to be a big shot "a la Wilson or Baer, Brown, McCormick," etc. then you have to be more of a businessman than a gunsmith. Hopefully your college education may help you there. After all, there are basically two positions in "any career": boss or employee.
So, either you have money to back yourself, (rich uncle that likes you?) while you build up, or do the grunt time.
When I had my early shop in New Jersey, many graduating students from the various schools would send in their resumes, offering to work for next to nothing in order to get "a foot in the door"...
Yes, it is a competitive world, with a few "cutthroats" as in any field, but if it is something you enjoy, go for it. How many people can say they have a job they truly enjoy? I, for one, left the field for a time, to pay myself more than "fifty cents an hour"and made my money "elsewhere". Eventually I came back to my first love, but being realistic about it. After all, we all have to make a living somehow.
Just watch out for the "political" end of it, as you wake up every morning wandering what new b.s. our "leaders of the day" are concocting to run us out of business... [:D][:D][:D][8D][8D]0 -
OK, OK, maybe I was a little too harsh. But, it's just parental instinct. And, maybe it isn't always right. When I was in college, one of the guys on campus made his own hand puppets & put on puppet shows on weekends. I thought this was a waste of time & money. Anyway, several years later I ran into him again, & he was making a living with his puppets; a good living: this guy was Jim Hensen (the Muppets empire). I guess that if you have a dream, maybe you should give it a try.
If you're still with this thread 21, I have some constructive thoughts for you. While I have no knowledge of this particular school, one of my children works in the placement office of a local college, so I do have some expert help in this area. The reputation of a school, or the quality of the graduates, doesn't necessarily tell you how their graduates do in the real world. Don't ask the admissions counselor (who may be a commissioned salesman); go (don't call) to the placement office (if they don't have 1, that's a red flag). Ask to see the write ups of their current internships; find out how many they have, where they are, & what they pay (if most are unpaid, that's a red flag). Ask to see the job postings from employers, & read them carefully. Ask for a list of last years graduates with contact information (if they say it's "confidential", that's a red flag). Contact as many of their "seniors" & graduates as you can, & see if their experiences can help you decide if this is the right place for you. It's better to do your research now, rather than spend a couple of years of study & then be disappointed.
Neal
"Trust, but verify." --- Ronald Reagan0
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