[Mericet]

A couple of points to consider. My school (Montgomery Community College) has a day, night and weekend class. In the day and night class (2 year) you can do an associates degree, weekend (4 year) is limited to certificate/diploma only. Our class size is 15 students. That means we can start 30 new students every year in the day and night program (not sure on the weekend). We currently have a waiting list of 140 people wanting to get in. There is normally some drops on the list but it mostly takes two years from application to starting this course. Our program head says he can place every single graduating student (if the student is willing to relocate). One of our recent graduates just received an offer from Benelli, another interviewed for a position with the FBI. So, yes, there is opportunities out there. For all the information on the program, call the school and speak to Karen Frye or Riley Beaman.

If you can not take the two years to study, another option (and it could be an excellent primer) is to do some of the NRA short term gunsmithing courses taught by our college (and others). You do one or two weeks of fairly intense training on a very specific subject. I just did a week course in checkering, there was a 1911 build class at the same time and earlier this year there was a 2 week 1911 course presented by Bob Marvel. The Bob Marvel course filled up on the day it was announced.

I do not think it is a dying art but until you build a name for yourself you are not looking at earning big money either. The last time I saw statistics on salaries, the national average for gunsmiths was around $40K per year.

If you want to know more, I will answer as best I can!