Millwright Career
Millwright Career
The Real Poop
We're surrounded by machines nowadays, but who really takes the time to listen to them? Not in the touchy-feely-"Tell me about your mother" sense, but in a "That clanging in this jet engine is definitely not supposed to be happening..." sense. That's what millwrights do, among other things.
Not only are they great listeners, they can disassemble and reassemble anything—and improve it in the process. Industrial machinery is music to their ears, especially if they just fixed that weird humming noise that the assembly line belt was making. If you've ever heard a machine rattling and immediately thought of all the ways that you could make it better, being a millwright may be right for you.
Millwrights work in industrial manufacturing sites: factories, plants, and construction sites. If something isn't working, they fix it quickly so that the on-site work can continue. They're the masters of installing, maintaining, disassembling, and reassembling industrial machinery (source).
As a millwright, you might be employed by a factory or a company, which basically means that you'll be on call at the office. When things hit the fan, you'll be there lickety-split. However, most millwrights work on a contract basis, meaning they're hired for specific jobs and only paid for the days or weeks that they spend fixing or deconstructing or installing that particular thing.
Being a contract worker often means having downtime between jobs. Once you've established yourself in the biz, though, the gaps between jobs shouldn't be too big and you should be able to maintain the sweet $54,000 average annual salary for millwrights (source).
That's a really great salary, especially for a job that doesn't require a specialized degree as a barrier for entry. A high school education is the only technical requirement for millwrights, though to get ahead of the game you'll want to get an associate's degree in industrial mechanics.
After that, you'll need to complete a three- to four-year apprenticeship—so you won't be totally clueless when you finally land a gig (don't worry, they'll pay you).
This is where the fun really starts. During your apprenticeship, you'll finally get to try your hand at setting up, cleaning, starting, and repairing machinery. You'll also get the 411 on welding, pneumatics (a fancy word for using air pressure), electronic device usage, how to read blueprints, and how to use grease and fluid properly like a real grease monkey.
You'll even learn some math and possibly computer science. Once your apprenticeship is done, you'll be qualified to millwright it up (source).
Your schedule could either be a bit wonky as a contractor or more regular as a factory employee. Whichever you choose, it's important that you be focused and alert while on the job. There are substantially more injuries and workplace accidents in this job than most other ones, and no matter how much protective gear you use, you still may get hurt.
You'll have a bunch of welding tools, brazing tools, and cutting tools all at your fingertips, and you'll also operate cranes and forklifts to move all that huge machinery you'll see every day. It's dangerous out there.
As a millwright you'll be a person of many skills, but your real superpower will be the ability to take apart and put a machine back together with your eyes closed (disclaimer: you may need to keep your eyes open). Plenty of people can take industrial machinery apart, but only a millwright can put it back together.