Why You Should Consider a Career in Aluminum Fabrication

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Aluminum extrusions have quickly risen in popularity because of the fantastic benefits they alone provide. As a result, many industries have come to adopt aluminum materials as a standard and have thus driven demand for extrusions way up. To capitalize on this constantly growing trend, here’s why you should consider a career in aluminum fabrication.

The Barrier to Entry

Despite the ever-increasing importance of aluminum fabricators, you may be surprised how low the barrier to entry actually is. Like many trade professions, this is a great career opportunity for individuals who didn’t pursue higher education or are looking for a completely new career change. While by no means necessary to get into the industry, there are fabrication courses you can consider taking to give yourself an edge and help direct your career path early on. Two major skills you will need to become familiar with will be a grasp of high school–level math and the ability to read engineering plans.

Career Advancement

Another big reason why you should consider a career in aluminum fabrication is that there is plenty of opportunity for career advancement, so don’t fret you’ll be stuck on some assembly line for your entire career. Some of the careers you’ll be able to choose from include:

Aluminum fabricators – those who form the aluminum into the desired shape
Engineers – those who work with clients to develop and design drawings or blueprints for the desired product
Machinists – work with CNC machinery and programming as well as operating equipment like mills and lathes
General laborers – handle materials and assist with the production and assembly of products

These are only a taste of the available careers, and the main takeaway to understand is that you’ll be able to certainly find something that appeals to you.

Cross-Training Opportunities

Don’t think that picking a career path will suddenly limit you, however. Because more capable workers are always a boon, you’ll have plenty of cross-training opportunities to take advantage of. This will not only widen your repertoire of skills but allow you the ability to swap career paths if you think the one you originally chose is not for you. You’ll not only become a more valuable asset, but you’ll have fewer hoops to jump whenever you’re looking for a new career path or a new job position.