Reply To: Looking for OJT from watch and clocksmith

[Bob Tascione]

I agree with you guys. Connections are very important!

It’s pretty tough finding someone that will help through on the job training for just a couple of weeks. In fact even long term deals are difficult to come by. When looked at from a business perspective it’s usually very counter productive for the business owner and ends up with only one person really benefiting. It usually takes a lot of teaching (time) on the owners part to get someone up to speed enough to where they can actually be a benefit rather than an expense to the company. Many times people bale just when they’re beginning to become an asset with some actually going in business right down the street from the person who helped them! Stories of this happening are so common that shop owners are somewhat gun shy when the offer is made.

Paying for on the job training may work but when you consider what the watchmaker charges per hour for his repair services (time teaching is time away from the bench) might be $50 per hour on up (some make much more than this) then you can see where this may become unmanageable in no time at all.

This is where suitcase and on premise courses with NAWCC and AWCI can prove to be a very good investment for someone looking for hands on training as the instructors for both are usually top notch.

That being said…there are those that do finally find a kind soul that remembers how difficult it was for them to get help when starting out and are actually looking for someone to mentor just because they would like to give something back to the profession. These are usually guys nearing or in retirement that don’t really depend on the business to make a living any longer but do it for their love of horology.

This isn’t meant to discourage you in any way from continuing the search Bill as you may eventually find that person and as William and Paul noted there are different options but you did mention today in another thread that you were a little disappointed that no one has contacted you and I just wanted to pass on why that may be.

Enjoy for now,
Bob