You Get What You Pay For
An
Honest Assessment of the Relationship Between School and Industry.
CNC West recently visited the Los Angeles Trade Technical College, one of the largest institutions of its kind in the country. Founded in 1929, the school is part of the Los An-geles Community College System and specializes in teaching trades of all kinds—including, among others, chemical technology, construction, automotive, plumbing, culinary arts, welding, computer applications and Machining Technology, our main interest.
During our visit, we interviewed professor Peter Rauterkus, who has been with the college for the past 36 years and is, therefore, extremely knowledgeable about the school’s machining technology program. Goal of the interview was to survey the school as a potential employee resource for our readers. The visit was more than successful, because the professor was very forthright in his assessment of what employers might expect from his students.
C.H. Bush, editor
CNC West: Thanks for inviting me, professor. I was surprised by the size and scope of the school. This is quite a place.
Rauterkus: You’re welcome, Chuck. Thanks for coming. Yes, we think we have a good school here, especially the Machining Technology Program.
CNC West: I noticed you have quite a broad selection of machine tools. Can you give our readers an idea of just what you have available for your students to learn on?
Rauterkus: Happy to. In our program we have just about all the basic machines that a student would be expected to operate in industry. We have punch presses, a sinker EDM, conventional lathes, mills, drill presses, grinders, power saws, band saws, all the support equipment. Then we have thirteen different types of CNC machines, including, lathes, mills, wire EDMs, and CNC surface grinders. We have a Brown & Sharpe coordinate measuring machine, and we have a Dimension 3D rapid prototyping machine. As I said, our students get hands-on training on most of the machines they’ll face in industry.
CNC West: Do you teach CAD/CAM programming as well.
Rauterkus: Oh, yes, we have very well equipped labs for that where we teach both machine and CAM language.
The Machine Technology Program
CNC West: I see, well, let’s get specific, if you don’t mind. What do your students learn and how long does it take?
Rauterkus: Actually, we have two programs for our students. One path leads to an Associates in Science Degree in Machine Shop. The other leads to the student obtaining a Certificate of Completion in Machine Shop. The programs are broken down into semesters, rather than quarters.
CNC West: Can you give me a breakdown of what they learn by semester? I think potential employers would like to know what they’re buying when they hire a student.
Rauterkus: Sure, Chuck. In the first semester we introduce them to blue print reading, to related shop math, to CAD/CAM, theory and basic shop operation. This is necessary because we have students straight out of high school, as well as older students who have tried to make it without training and finally decided that if they want to have a decent job, they need to learn a good trade.
CNC West: What about the second semester?
Rauterkus: Well, the second, third and fourth really are continuations of what they learned in the first semester, but go into considerably more detail. The first and second semesters concentrate on introduction to conventional and CNC, while the third and fourth go deeper into both areas. Blue-prints are covered in greater depth in the second semester, but are discontinued in the third and fourth. The third and fourth semesters go much more heavily into CNC machining, CAD and CAM.
CNC West: When you say CNC, what are you actually teaching?
Rauterkus: Two things. First, we teach them machine language so they can edit programs at the CNC machine. We also teach them CAM.
CNC West: What about hands-on training on the equipment?
Rauterkus: Yes, of course, our students get lots of hands-on training. They learn to set up the machines, to set the tooling, to run checks on their programs, the works. The program is very practical.
CNC West: That’s the Associates Degree. You mentioned a different path leading to a Certificate of Completion.
Rauterkus: Right. This path is also a four semester program. To earn their certificate, students have to complete the same 48 units that are required for the Associate of Science degree. The difference is that the Associates of Science degree has an additional 18 units in general education, not required to obtain a certificate. To gain the certificate or AS degree, the student must have a grade of ‘C’ or better in each required course. On both paths, students will have the necessary knowledge and skills for a career in the machining industry. The main difference is that the degree students can go on with their education. All units are transferable to other colleges and universities. We have had students go on to Master and Doctorate Degrees. We’re proud of our program.
Work Ethic Training
CNC West: I see you have good equipment and an excellent training program, but one thing many employers are concerned about when hiring from a school such as yours is the student’s work ethic. They ask, “Do the students know what’s expected of them? Will they show up on time? Do they take having a job seriously?”
Rauterkus: We’re well aware of that, Chuck. We have an industry advisory committee that meets with us to give input from the ‘real’ world. A worker’s reliability is pretty high up on their list.
CNC West: So how do you train for that?
Rauterkus: The average age of our students is 31. Many of them have jobs and families to support, so we set our class schedules (21 hours a week) to allow our students to work and go to school. But during those school hours, we treat them the same way industry treats them. If they don’t show up on time, if they have sloppy work habits, if they don’t
study, they’re out. Of course, only about 50% of our students make it through to the end. Many of them quickly learn enough to allow them to go out and get a job. We encourage them to stick it out, because their ultimate earning capability would be greater, if they finish the program. Many of them, though, really need to work now, and just can’t stay with it.
CNC West: Some schools tend to build up their students’ expectations about how much money they can make. How do you handle that?
Rauterkus: Practically the first question new students ask when they arrive is, “How much can we make?” We tell them the truth, that it depends on how hard they work, how much they learn, whether they stick it out to the end. The more they know, they higher their skill levels, the more they can expect to make. But that’s a lesson industry needs to learn, too.
You Get What You Pay For
CNC West: I don’t follow you.
Rauterkus: Well, we get lots of calls and jobs posted on our boards. A lot of those employers are looking for low-paid workers, and that’s what they get. Our top students don’t apply for those jobs. The students who stay late and work extra hard to be the best they can be, know what they’re worth, so they don’t look at the lower paid job listings. Employers need to learn that they get what they pay for. Low pay, lower skilled workers. Higher pay, higher skills and de-termination. We teach our students that, if they make money for their employers, they’ll earn more. The principle of it seems simple, but it’s amazing how many employers don’t understand it.
CNC West: So, with all your equipment and industry-experienced instructors, your courses must be a lot more ex-pensive than, say, a beauty course, or an English class.
Rauterkus: Actually no. Our students pay the same price as any other student. We have hundreds of thousands of dollars in equipment for them to use, yet we get the same funding per student as other classes get. That doesn’t seem logical to me, but, so far, industry has been a big help. Haas, Charmilles, Fadal, and others have helped place machines at our shop for use in our training. Of course, it’s to their long-term benefit to do so, since, when students go out and start their own businesses, they’ll tend to buy the machines they know best.
CNC West: Professor, I’m out of space. Thanks for a good interview. I think you have a great school here.
Rauterkus: My pleasure, Chuck. Thanks for coming
