what is the average salary of mastercam programmers in usa

[Bob W.]

There is a good reason a programmer would be making $100k+ per year, and that is because they are a rain maker, plain and simple. They get it done efficiently and they are making their employer some serious cash, thus making it easy for the employer to justify the serious salary. If the results aren't there you will not be making $100k+ per year for very long. Economics 101.

 

If I had a guy that brought in $1 million per year I would gladly pay him $400k. There is a reason these guys aren't out walking the streets looking for jobs. They are the golden geese and their bosses will not let them go. They are money makers and their bosses are happy to pay them accordingly.

[Bob W.]

So if you want to make more $$$ you need to look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself how much income you are generating for your employer. What do you bring to the table? Do you have skills that the next guy doesn't? Are you more thorough than the next guy? Do you work on improving your skills or knowledge base in your spare time? Are you efficient at getting the job done? Does another guy have to follow you around and check your work? How many times have you screwed up and crashed the machines? I view repair bills as part of the cost of an employee. If a guy is making $50k per year and he crashed the machine resulting in $25k in repairs, I minus well have gone and got a more capable guy for $75k.

 

Shops are beating the bushes for those guys that want to grow and improve and learn, that show up on time and genuinely care about what they do and how well they do it, folks that really take pride in their work. They are hard to find and they are valuable.

[Rotary Ninja]

I want to work for Bob

[GnoGueyJose]

Very well put Bob.

 

There's 3 of us (soon to be 4. Companies should not mistreat their golden geese if they know what's good for them - ESPECIALLY nowadays. Bosses reading this take note) Our newest guy (starting mid-month February) will be our lowest paid guy. $100k even. Came from making $85k, crappy working conditions, dude can't take a vaction... total corporate bs situation. I was glad to take him off that other Company's hands. We've been looking for the right guy for probably 6-8 months. If he works out that way I think he will, after his 90day probation, he'll be looking at another $10~$15k and a generous 5 figure year end bonus.

 

So, if you're reading this and thinking to yourself "where can I make that kind of money?" read Bob's post. Line by line, starting with the look in the mirror.

[BOATDUDEGUY]

So if you want to make more $$$ you need to look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself how much income you are generating for your employer. What do you bring to the table? Do you have skills that the next guy doesn't? Are you more thorough than the next guy? Do you work on improving your skills or knowledge base in your spare time? Are you efficient at getting the job done? Does another guy have to follow you around and check your work? How many times have you screwed up and crashed the machines? I view repair bills as part of the cost of an employee. If a guy is making $50k per year and he crashed the machine resulting in $25k in repairs, I minus well have gone and got a more capable guy for $75k.

 

Shops are beating the bushes for those guys that want to grow and improve and learn, that show up on time and genuinely care about what they do and how well they do it, folks that really take pride in their work. They are hard to find and they are valuable.

 

 

Id like to know where those shops are

 

Im one of those guys spending my own time and lots of money improving myself on my own time

I lose sleep just to take advantage of the time the pros when their giving away info weekly so that I may observe and take in what I can

Im dedicating lots of home time while raising and providing for my family so that ill have the skills to really take care of them while satisfying my own ambition

[Newbeeee™]

......read Bob's post. Line by line, starting with the look in the mirror.

In my experience, THIS is the one thing that people are not good at. Truth can hurt...

Some excellent comments here.

[GnoGueyJose]

Id like to know where those shops are

 

Ever hit up a real head hunter (like Brian Cerkas who posts here)? What about your machine tool dealer Applications or Service guy? Your local Mastercam reseller? Ever try asking them where the money is at? They get around and hear things. AND, if your skills impress them, often times they are willing to pass along contacts. I mean they have to be careful about that, but when they see a good guy getting mistreated...

[BOATDUDEGUY]

Ah ya it hadnt crossed my mind and ya ive spoken with brian a few times

I think ill investigate the others you mentioned though

[TERRYH]

I work in Ohio and work for a fairly large company that does tool and die work as well as robotic assembly lines for GM, Ford Chrysler and several others like BMW and VW its a long list. I have a seat in front of a computer, there are 6 of us feeding the shop we have 9 machines 7 of which is large enough to park your pickup on the tables. I also have over 15 years on the machines, I do 5-axis live and locked as well as 90 deg. head programming, and I know I one of the lowest paid guys in here, last year I made a little over 63K but 1/3 of that was over time we practically live in here. The company does not appreciate it they expect it, you owe them and they do not look at any of it's employes as an asset. For this area I would guess we are in the top 5% as far as wages but way under paid for the industry. We have a hard time finding experanced people and like myself 3 others in here came up from the machines, which to me someone who is an experanced machinist "cnc" makes a better programmer. I would really like to make the money some of you say you are.

[BOATDUDEGUY]

I worked at a place like that till I knew my future there

Learned all I could then hit the bricks places like that will just plop someone else right in your spot the next day

And never miss a step its harsh but thats the way some spots are

[Zoober]

Zoob don't tease them like that. you know what it has taken to get here. lol

Now when are we doing lunch?

Whenever you are hungry, Jay. I forgot to say I also have 1hr lunches.

But ya..... I've paid the dues.

But now, I not only make good money, but I work for a fantastic owner and company. I truly WANT to make him a 1%er.

The last place payed well, but the politics and the way people were treated made it feel like minimum wage.

I'm a blessed man. With good friends.

[RaiderX]

So if you want to make more $$$ you need to look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself how much income you are generating for your employer. What do you bring to the table? Do you have skills that the next guy doesn't? Are you more thorough than the next guy? Do you work on improving your skills or knowledge base in your spare time? Are you efficient at getting the job done? Does another guy have to follow you around and check your work? How many times have you screwed up and crashed the machines? I view repair bills as part of the cost of an employee. If a guy is making $50k per year and he crashed the machine resulting in $25k in repairs, I minus well have gone and got a more capable guy for $75k.

 

Shops are beating the bushes for those guys that want to grow and improve and learn, that show up on time and genuinely care about what they do and how well they do it, folks that really take pride in their work. They are hard to find and they are valuable.

Unfortunately you are a unique business owner yourself. Not many machine shop owners, managers understand the value of a turnkey programmer. Oh and not many upper crust programmers sit in the seat and just program where I come from you have to help the guy they just hired off the street setup and run his machine (train) then after lunch you have to train him-her again lol.

So often it goes unnoticed and unappreciated am pretty tired of being taken for granted meself but it is a living and the shop appreciates my support.

I wish you well.

.

[mkd]

Whenever you are hungry, Jay. I forgot to say I also have 1hr lunches.

But ya..... I've paid the dues.

But now, I not only make good money, but I work for a fantastic owner and company. I truly WANT to make him a 1%er.

The last place payed well, but the politics and the way people were treated made it feel like minimum wage.

I'm a blessed man. With good friends.

if memory serves me, you're a big-time contributor on another forum, with some serious skills.

how did you "pay your dues"?

jump from shop to shop in younger day to glean as much info from as many sources?

stay in one shop for a long time? (not advisable in my experience)

 

how did you appraise potential employers based on your career path? (yes interviews are two way streets)

[Bob W.]

I worked at a place like that till I knew my future there

Learned all I could then hit the bricks places like that will just plop someone else right in your spot the next day

And never miss a step its harsh but thats the way some spots are

 

You need to find the shops making the difficult parts. Simple knife handles and brackets can be done by anyone and there is no tribal knowledge or skill in it. These parts are $2-$4 each and programmers that can program them are a dime a dozen. If you are working on thee parts you are easy to replace, which is the problem. You want to make yourself difficult to replace, which means learning creative ways of making impossible parts. It also means learning 5-axis well and also CAD modeling. If you can be given a project and you can set the whole thing up in CAD, design all the fixtures, import into Mastercam and program to completion you can handle the entire project. If you are good at CAD that is a huge bonus because it makes you that much faster at designing fixtures. It also allows you more flexibility in the work you can do.

 

The comment "never miss a step" says it all. You need to put yourself in a position where it would read like "they would be up a creek for six months until they found my replacement". You need to find the right company to work for.

[TK-32™]

I know Zoob.

[TERRYH]

Not to brag but I feel that in this area as far as skilled labor goes and what I have seen in my 18 years here they would have a hard time replacing myself and several others. But with that being said I do not think they look at us as assets to the company every person they have is replaceable they make you feel like a dixie cup, use it and throw it away. I really and truely like my job even when I was on the machines for 15 years I liked it, it was all the political "family owned business" BS you had to put up with that sucked.

[Rotary Ninja]

Like I said, I want to work for Bob.

 

I've cut my teeth in Aerospace. I've done medical parts. I've cut some of the nastiest unforgiving material on the planet. Now I work at a shop where I just cut aluminum and sometimes steel. It's like i graduated college to teach Kindergarten. But fortunately I get a lot of the fun 4-axis work. Some days are boring as hell, and others are somewhat challenging. But I really think my boss respects me for what I can do. I don't make anywhere close to what some of you guys are making. But then again I have only been programming with Mastercam since X, and I haven't programmed any 5-axis stuff. But I know I could. But where I am now I am happy. I would be happier with more pay, but it is what it is. I get to make cool stuff for some really cool customers and that makes it all worth while. It's not always about money, at least for me.

 

But I do wish Bob had a shop here. He seems like he would be a great boss

[Oscar R.]

Man, some of the comments on here a depressing to hear. Only because I've been through it in the past and know the feeling first hand.

Damn shame it still goes on out there especially with a dwindling competent work force that the industry is faced with.

 

And at the other end, some of those big dollar comments make me want to throw my hat back in the ring to achive my true earning potential.

[Bob W.]

But where I am now I am happy.

 

At the end of the day that is what really matters. With more pay comes more pressure and stress, and less job security. If things slow down it is hard to swallow high overhead and changes need to be made sooner rather than later.

 

For me, I would never work at a shop (or job) where I didn't feel my skills and efforts were appreciated. I would look elsewhere. A lot of people are content to just get a paycheck every two weeks and exist with no passion for their job whatsoever. Too much time is spent working to accept a job that one isn't passionate or excited about. Everybody runs their shop differently and for me, I like to be on the same side as my employees. We are all on the same team with the same goals and that is to get work, get it done efficiently, and stay busy. If we do it well the business is profitable and we all have job security. If we don't do it well we lose customers and we are less profitable and tough decisions need to be made. Some folks are in business to wring out every last nickel of profit available and that just doesn't sound fun to me. There is a lot more to life than the bottom line.

 

Hope I am not rambling with these posts, just giving the point of view of an employer.

[Oscar R.]

But ya..... I've paid the dues.

But now, I not only make good money, but I work for a fantastic owner and company. I truly WANT to make him a 1%er.

The last place payed well, but the politics and the way people were treated made it feel like minimum wage.

I'm a blessed man. With good friends.

 

Zoober, amazing how a good owner and a well run company can contribute to ones "intangible" portion of the paycheck.

So, what's your secret?

Do you stil work for the same company you did 3-4 years ago?

If I recal correctly I meet with you and the owner of a company about that long ago and my prospects for even a low 6 figure salary were bleek at best.

Granted I'm not as well rounded as you are , but can hold my own with about 85-90% of programers and CAD guys out there.

Need to sharpen my skills, I guess.

[Del.]

Bob, Your outlook and posts are refreshing !

[mkd]

currently in the chump change category and never been happier.

^^^forgot to mention this is only during my day job!!^^^

at night, part time, I run my own little machine shop. gross sales were almost equal to my gross full time pay. loving every minute of it.

 

make your living 9-5, make your fortune 5-9

[Oscar R.]

Hope I am not rambling with these posts, just giving the point of view of an employer.

 

Ramble on buddy, it gives me hope.

There are too few empoyers out there like you now days. IMO

[TERRYH]

I agree it does make it alot better if you are happy with what you are dong my job keeps me interested and sometimes is a challenge to figure out how to effiently do something we are not a machine shop where we do hundreds if not thousands of the same parts for months on end almost everything we do is one off so it keeps me on my toes. I think thats what has kept me here for so long is that I actually like what I do and it would be better without the BS. That and the fact it's close to mine and my wifes families. We both do not want to relocate unless we absolutley have to. And another personal perk of the job is that I drag race and race offroad short course trucks in the winter months, so doing this allows me to see a part I would like to make or improve, and I can model what I want and program it and machine it without having to pay someone. So yea money is not everything but it sure would help.....

[robk]

I have never accepted a job based on $$ alone. I always looked for a place that I would not be bored at. I always looked for a challenge. The money always seemed to follow.