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Firearms related jobs?

meth0d

meth0d

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I'm trying to find a career where I can make some decent money doing something involving firearms. Other than being a gunsmith or working on an assembly line, what kind of jobs are out there?

I'm interested in ballistics, so I called a couple of colleges in the Northeast and the advising staff couldn't really give me any info or suggestions beyond forensic science.

I think I'd like to do something like design, test, and maintain firearms or weapon systems; develop new types of bullets or calibers...


So any suggestions or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
 
How about contacting some of the companies that manufacture powder or bullets? They have Ballisticians in house who help dopes like me figure out which powder to use. They also have people in R&D who develop new propellants and projectiles.
 
You could become a small town cop or maybe a big time state trooper...either way you get to write tickets for a living and automatically get "hero" status...something to think about....
 
Most firearms manufacturers hire Mechanical Engineers to design the firearms as they know best the forces involved. Someone with a chemistry degree would be best suited for working for a powder manufacturer. And someone with a physics degree would probably be best for a ballistician.

Those are just the best degrees for those jobs, that is not to say that those are the only degrees that will get you in those positions, just the degrees that will be most beneficial.
 
Get an engineering degree with an emphasis on optics or machine vision. Perhaps antenna design, analog circuits, power conversion or other fields if you are more interested in that. There are a TON of professional opportunities to design and test weapon and related systems with a technical degree and US citizenship. But you won't be shooting guns all day, you'll likely spend most of your time in front of a computer even though you are working on weapon systems such as armed drones, IED disposal robots or missile defense systems.

-Nat
 
You could rob banks.

But seriously, are you looking to get a degree? Or are you looking for a job now--and if so what kind of background do you have?

You can always join the Army or Marines.

Just a bit or warning though--some subscribe to theory that once you make your hobby your full time job it ceases to become fun and enjoyable!
 
Interesting input, thank you everyone.

I'm looking to get a degree 'cause I want to make some real money. I have sent a bunch of emails out to some of the big name companies asking them for some info, so hopefully I'll get some direction there.

I was considering working for Dept. of Homeland security in ICE, but right now they're only looking for pilots it seems.
 
Now that I am retired I have made my long time hobby my full time job and I love it. I love to get up and go to work every day.
 
I wanted to do something similar with my career and now I work at a gun shop and teach firearms instructional courses. I don't make a lot of money doing what I'm doing, but at least I'm happy doing it. My future career goals include being some kind of competitive shooter and teaching defensive shooting courses.
 
meth0d said:
I'm trying to find a career where I can make some decent money doing something involving firearms. Other than being a gunsmith or working on an assembly line, what kind of jobs are out there?

I'm interested in ballistics, so I called a couple of colleges in the Northeast and the advising staff couldn't really give me any info or suggestions beyond forensic science.

I think I'd like to do something like design, test, and maintain firearms or weapon systems; develop new types of bullets or calibers...


So any suggestions or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

Mechanical engineering. Do you like physics? And a lot of math? A lot of both? You're set, then. I'd take a bunch of material science courses to aid with it, get familiar with fluid dynamics and basic mechanics/statics (bullet trajectory, etc), dynamic systems (a great way to calculate felt recoil with several different weight parts interacting with eachother in different ways, etc), and machine design (springs, gears, etc etc.) Everything mechanical engineering is everything that is involved with a firearm, from energy systems propelling the round to how well the steel is treated to ensure good durability with wear performance. It's glorious because you don't need to know that dirty electrical engineering stuff [wink]

As a mechanical engineer, I've never sought employment with the big name manufacturers, but I have friends who have. It helps to have a background hobby of enjoying them, practical knowledge of a machine shop, and a willingness to move out to the middle of nowhere.
 
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flintoid said:
Mechanical engineering. Do you like physics? And a lot of math? A lot of both? You're set, then. I'd take a bunch of material science courses to aid with it, get familiar with fluid dynamics and basic mechanics/statics (bullet trajectory, etc), dynamic systems (a great way to calculate felt recoil with several different weight parts interacting with eachother in different ways, etc), and machine design (springs, gears, etc etc.) Everything mechanical engineering is everything that is involved with a firearm, from energy systems propelling the round to how well the steel is treated to ensure good durability with wear performance. It's glorious because you don't need to know that dirty electrical engineering stuff [wink]

As a mechanical engineer, I've never sought employment with the big name manufacturers, but I have friends who have. It helps to have a background hobby of enjoying them, practical knowledge of a machine shop, and a willingness to move out to the middle of nowhere.
Click to expand...

Excellent, thank you!
 
meth0d said:
I've considered it, but I don't do well being yelled at all the time...[laugh] Plus I have a bad knee, back, and neck. [thinking]
Click to expand...

And that wont affect your interest in ICE?

My two pennies, take them for what they're worth. Chances are that you won't make great money in the industry unless you,

A) Get a job inside a larger company that will most likely involve college degrees in engineering of some sort, chemistry and or physics depending on what you want to do, or some kind of long term position in the gun industry. Let's face it, they are probably not going to take a look at "Joe's" application and say, "Hey lets give this new applicant a cool R&D job and let him test our latest products. It looks like he loves guns and knows how to shoot."

B) Start working at a manufacturing plant as a laborer and work your way up the ladder, which will probably take years to do.

C) If you really know your stuff, think you have what it takes, and have good people skills; stop working for the man making peanuts in a monkey factory and open up your own operation, weather it be in manufacturing or sales. I would suggest working for a company in the field you like and watch the operation from a management point of view before you attempt this.
 
flintoid said:
Mechanical engineering. Do you like physics? And a lot of math? A lot of both? You're set, then. I'd take a bunch of material science courses to aid with it, get familiar with fluid dynamics and basic mechanics/statics (bullet trajectory, etc), dynamic systems (a great way to calculate felt recoil with several different weight parts interacting with eachother in different ways, etc), and machine design (springs, gears, etc etc.) Everything mechanical engineering is everything that is involved with a firearm, from energy systems propelling the round to how well the steel is treated to ensure good durability with wear performance. It's glorious because you don't need to know that dirty electrical engineering stuff [wink]

As a mechanical engineer, I've never sought employment with the big name manufacturers, but I have friends who have. It helps to have a background hobby of enjoying them, practical knowledge of a machine shop, and a willingness to move out to the middle of nowhere.
Click to expand...


I agree with this statement, but most companies still want to see the piece of paper showing you learned these engineering skills. I have over 10 years in manufacturing engineering running CNC's, laser's, turrets, 3D CAD models (10+ years of Pro-E), 2D drawings. I've helped design stuff that has been used in some very high profile government applications, medical use, other manufacturing machines, as well as improving existing designs to cut manufacturing costs or improve the integrity of a product, and I still have a hard time finding a job because most companies require engineering degrees for design positions.
 
Definitely get a four year Bachelors degree--even if it's from the littlest, cheapest college. It's really important these days.

+ 1 on an engineering degree, I have mine. There's also Engineering Technology if you're not so strong on the calculus, etc. For the firearms industry I'd say Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering are probably the two more popular disciplines.

Another track would be to study business and marketing. Much broader approach but a bit of warning: to be in sales and marketing the industry really wants a background in police, military, or 10 yrs industry sales experience. So that's a tough nut to crack.

Not to be Debbie-downer here, but the firearms industry is on a downward slope so do consider that you may have to settle on another industry.
 
If you want to go down this path a 4 year degree in some kind of engineering field and a MBA will open the door for you. It is harder and harder to compete in the job market now with only a 4 year degree.
 
Remsport Mfg said:
If you want to go down this path a 4 year degree in some kind of engineering field and a MBA will open the door for you. It is harder and harder to compete in the job market now with only a 4 year degree.
Click to expand...
I agree that a 4-year degree is often limiting. An MBA takes you to the management side. If you want to stay technical, a Masters degree in engineering (Mechanical, Manufacturing/Industrial Engineering, Materials Science) is something to consider. If you do go for a Masters degree, I suggest that you look for a one-year, courses-only program -- writing a thesis sucks and can take forever.
 
M1911 said:
writing a thesis sucks and can take forever.
Click to expand...

agreed. Especially when the formatting can be the bear of the problem. I had to write one for my undergrad and I almost wanted to kill myself.

An engineering degree is definitely worth it's weight in gold when trying to get into an R&D position. I guess I should have specified that.
 
Excellent information everyone, thank you again.

I'll start making some calls to some of the schools in the Northeast for detailed info on their mechanical engineering and chemistry programs.
 
How about Chemical Engineering? I wish I had gone that route. ChemE can be very challenging though--even by engineering standards.

Where are you looking? There are so many choice in New England.

MIT
Tufts
Northeastern (probably the best bang for you buck, co-op program too)
BU
Wentworth

Then there's all the Umass schools
 
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meth0d said:
I was considering Umass, UNH, or Northeastern currently. I'll take a look at others as well, thanks David!
Click to expand...

Northeastern is obviously a city campus. UNH is a great school too with a BIG country type campus and very granola or crunchy compared to the others. I don't know much about UMass Amherst other than its nickname "the zoo" but I think it's much more competitive these days.

MIT and Tufts are top tier academically whereas Wentworth is a lower tier school but so small you'll know everyone in your class.
 
Martlet said:
I have just the job for you.
Click to expand...

And what would that be? [popcorn]

Another_David said:
Northeastern is obviously a city campus. UNH is a great school too with a BIG country type campus and very granola or crunchy compared to the others. I don't know much about UMass Amherst other than its nickname "the zoo" but I think it's much more competitive these days.

MIT and Tufts are top tier academically whereas Wentworth is a lower tier school but so small you'll know everyone in your class.
Click to expand...

Interesting, I think I'm going to have to look at commuting when comparing too...[sad]

bpm990d said:
Wentworth and MIT both have shooting teams as well.

B
Click to expand...
Ooh! [grin]
 

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