The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics categorizes toolmaking as a highly skilled profession. Toolmakers create tools and machinery that bend and cut materials to meet an engineer’s specifications. Typically, toolmakers are also diemakers who make forms — called dies — that shape metals for industrial operations. Along with creating new tools and machinery, they also repair old implements. Toolmakers must be able to use computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software, and may operate and write programs for computer-numerically-controlled (CNC) equipment. There were 4,560 tool-and-die makers in Illinois, according to the BLS, with a mean annual wage of $50,040, as of May 2010.
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Attend a tool and die program at a technical school or community college. There are 14 schools offering tool and die programs in Illinois, according to Illinois workNet.
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Complete an apprenticeship. Your school will provide you with a list of tool and die companies that have apprenticeship programs. While some programs will hire apprentices with a high school diploma, attending a postsecondary tool and die program increases your employment opportunities.
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Join the Illinois State Council of Machinists. Many employers in Illinois must hire union employees due to collective bargaining agreements. Belonging to a union can provide more job opportunities for toolmakers.
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Join an association for toolmakers such as the Fabricators and Manufacturers Association, International (FMA). FMA member benefits include job boards, seminars and continuing education courses to its members either for free or at reduced prices.
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Submit your application with various manufacturing facilities and register with your school’s job placement department. You may be able to transition from apprentice to full-time employee with the same company, depending on the requirements of the employer.
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