Question for designer/engineers in the industry

[hadmanysons]

I was wondering what kind of person becomes a gun designer/engineer? What inspired you design a firearm, silencer or any relevant item? Was it RKBA or the armed forces/police?

Do you have a degree in BSE in Mechanical Engineering or something else?

How do did you get your job or start your company?

I am a Mechanical Engineering student and wanted to get into the gun industry and any information would be very appreciated.

 

[redneckdan]

Advice:

1) Learn both engineering and manufacturing.

2) Start networking. It is very true that who you know sometimes counts as much as what you know.

3) When you graduate that piece of paper only says that you are able to learn, it really doesn't mean much, the real education starts after graduation.

 

[hadmanysons]

Appreciate the tips

 

[rbernie]

First, I would suggest that you review the job ads on the major commercial firearms manufacturers to see what kinds of skills they shop for. Mechanical and process engineering are generally big 'high level' hot buttons for the design or manufacturing side, respectively. Material properties, structures, and logic will be important study areas within these disciplines.

Remember that a firearms manufacturer will spend far less of their budget designing new weapons as they will on the fixtures needed to make them. Production and support infrastructure are always far more heavily funded than pure R&D. Working for the manufacturing side of the house may seem less sexy, but it'll keep the family fed in times when there is no other sexy work to be had...

In addition to looking in the commercial space, I would suggest that you also look to the larger defense contractors that make kinetic weapons systems. The experience that you'll get in the engineering and production lifecycle from such employers will be invaluable later in your career.

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ETA - if you can get into the summer intern programs with any of the defense contractors, you will have a huge leg up on other candidates come graduation time.... I can tell you from long experience that the two biggest things that get a foot in the door for a new grad are the perceived rigor of the school you're attending (e.g. MIT is better than the local community college) and the presence of viable intern experience. The former is what it is and you cannot change it, but the latter is completely within your control.

You can PM me if you want to discuss this further offline.

 

[daskro]

With a ME degree it will be much easier to go into the defense industry, get the experience then transition into the small arms industry. Also many of the bigger defense contractors have divisions that specialize in light arms such as General Dynamics, ATK and Northrop Grumman.

 

[farscott]

In addition to looking in the commercial space, I would suggest that you also look to the larger defense contractors that make kinetic weapons systems. The experience that you'll get in the engineering and production lifecycle from such employers will be invaluable later in your career.

I agree with this as I am employed in the defense and aerospace business. Huntsville, Alabama is full of the big defense contractors as lots of missile development work is at Redstone Arsenal, and there are job openings.

An MS engineering degree, EE or ME, is almost a requirement, and the best way to go is: 1) Get BS, 2) Get job), and 3) Go to work in day and school at night for MS. Experience is as important as education.