Jobs in the firearms community?

[GOP]

Hey,

I'm a college student (finance major) with absolutely no idea what I want to do after college. One thing I do know is that I love guns (specifically pistols) and training. I love tinkering with pistols, I've bought/sold guns for profit, and I have really gotten bit by the competition bug lately. With that said, what jobs are available for college grads in the firearms community? What are the best options for gun nuts in this field? I have considered becoming a certified Glock armorer (and do other armorer courses) so I can try my hand at gun-smithing and/or make myself a more attractive candidate to companies. So, what is your advice? What are solid jobs in the firearms industry? What would make a more attractive resume out of college? I'm looking for any and all advice in this area. If this is a terrible idea and I should avoid it, thats great advice too .

I eventually want to become a Master (IDPA) and Grand-Master (USPSA); So I'd be ecstatic if I could work in a industry I love (or, at least, think I'd love), bring in money for me and my soon-to-be wife, work towards my goal, and network all at the same time. Maybe, however, my thoughts are misguided (I'm obviously not an expert here ).

Thanks for any responses,

Mike

[fuse]

Hopefully you are going to marry relatively well.

[TGS]

Hopefully you are going to marry relatively well.

lol. I see what you did there.




Give Arne Boberg a shout......he left his engineering job designing machinery to follow his lifelong dream of building guns. Maybe he could give you some observations. He has hired on new staff as Boberg Arms got off the ground, so maybe, just maybe, making a contact with him now could prove useful as his company becomes more successful and needs someone to scrub the books......

Even still, networking is a fantastic resource. While the contacts I've made through P-F won't get me a job, I've been able to learn a LOT about the job I'm shooting for from those who've BTDT and/or worked with them.

[JV_]

Every time I talk to people who are in the industry, in off-the-record discussions, I'm reminded of why I never want to be an insider.

[secondstoryguy]

Well said JV.

[Tamara]

Every time I talk to people who are in the industry, in off-the-record discussions, I'm reminded of why I never want to be an insider.

QFT.

From 1993 to 2007 I worked at a string of FFLs, three Type 01s and a Type 07, mostly full-time, in sales and management. Since then, I've kept a toe in via gunblogging and freelance writing. For every person I've known who was making a real living at it, I've known ten who were doing it part-time or out of love because they had other sources of income.

At the manufacturer end, if you're not an engineer, odds are you're in the sales and marketing end of the biz (and might as well be in the sales and marketing end of the refrigerator business, and may have been doing so the month before.)

At the retail end, unless you own the shop, you're not likely to get rich, and even that's no guarantee in what is largely a hobby business.

A good, experienced school-trained gunsmith can make a living wage. And by "gunsmith", I mean a guy with a diploma from Colorado School of Trades or suchlike who can drive a lathe and a mill, not a guy who's had an armorer's school or two under his belt.

It's a tough career field in which to make bank.

[fuse]

It's a tough career field in which to make bank.

But, like anything else, it can happen.

It's a fairly rare thing to be a working musician that does not need to teach. But here I am.

[TGS]

A good, experienced school-trained gunsmith can make a living wage. And by "gunsmith", I mean a guy with a diploma from Colorado School of Trades or suchlike who can drive a lathe and a mill, not a guy who's had an armorer's school or two under his belt.

I get the feeling that gunsmithing is a business where 90% of the money is earned by 10% of the smiths. Local 'smiths don't make much......if you want to make a decent living, you need to be one of the good ones that you hear of being at the top of the game.....Would this notion be accurate?

Gunsmithing can be pretty freakin' technical.....an armorer is nowhere near what a gunsmith is. Check out these videos (series of 10 or more) of a gunsmith going through truing a Remington 700....it's really neat, and he goes through all the processes. I can't imagine that equipment is an easy investment to make, and it's definitely not something you can just jump into like being an armorer.

[agent-smith]

A good, experienced school-trained gunsmith can make a living wage. And by "gunsmith", I mean a guy with a diploma from Colorado School of Trades or suchlike who can drive a lathe and a mill, not a guy who's had an armorer's school or two under his belt.

Keep in mind, a "living wage" is a pretty low standard of living.

But, it s certainly possible to earn more.

[VolGrad]

http://www.shootingwire.com/story/254003