[Jewelry making - Article 00176] - Re: [Orchid] Employment in the Metal arts/Jewelery Field

[Leif Midtdal]

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Hi Michael.

    I was in a similar position to you a few years ago. I was working at
    a job I didn't particularly like and one day while looking through a
    local paper I saw an add that said something along the lines of
    "Goldsmith Wanted". It got me thinking and eventually I decided that
    that was something I wanted to get involved in. 

    I had made plans to work through a program at a local college when
    through a few twists of fate I found myself working in a busy shop
    that does repairs and custom work. I worked for free for the first
    few months from 8:30 in the morning until 5:30 at night, then ran
    across town to my paying job and worked from 6:00 until 2:00 am.
    Eventually I couldn't take the hours anymore and told my boss at the
    shop I'd have to quit and he told me he didn't want me to. He told
    me to quit the paying job, and that he'd put me on the payroll at
    the shop. 

    That was about three years ago. I think, no matter what you end up
    doing, learning the basics and learning them well and most
    importantly learning how to do them quickly enough to put food on
    the table can not hurt you. Like everyone says, the pay isn't great
    when you start at the bottom, but if you like the job, the
    enthusiasm should carry you along for a while anyhow. As was pointed
    out by someone else, sooner or later the reality that this is a job
    will set in and it will become less fun on some levels. For me,
    doing the work has always been enjoyable, but it's the clients that
    make the work day less fun-filled than one envisions in their mind's
    eye when thinking about what the job will be like. 

    You either go crazy or you learn to laugh a lot when you get a
    package with 60 repairs, 40 of them stamped RUSH in red ink. Clients
    showing up five minutes before the shop is to close insisting that
    you set a 2 carat princess cut diamond, even though the stone setter
    has long ago left for the comfort of his home. 

    As for opportunities in the field, if you were up here in Vancouver
    I'd absolutely ask you to come down to the shop and show us what you
    can do. I'm not sure what the situation is in Chicago but up here
    there are not enough skilled workers. I'm regularly asked by people
    in the industry if I want to go work somewhere else. Believe me,
    it's not the whopping three years experience that has them after me,
    it's the fact that there's no one else available. I think in all the
    time I've been at the shop we've had three or four people come in
    and try out for the job. No one was able to hack it. It's a hard,
    dirty, thankless job most days. I think if you're presentable and
    not so eager that it comes across as being suspicious or clingy you
    can certainly find someone who can give you some training in the
    Chicago area. I can't see it being that much different in Chicago
    than it is in Vancouver as far as available labour goes. 

    If this is the field you want to work in, get in anywhere. Any area
    is useful as you can never know too much in this business. Let it be
    known that you want to work at the bench or wherever and before long
    the work will find you. At least, that's how it goes up here. If you
    have any questions about what it's like to toil as an apprentice in
    a busy shop, feel free to email me. I'll fill you in on all the
    shocking details. 

- Leif
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