New member

[Kitwn]

Rob,
I don't pretend to be a great expert on either recruitment (though I've done some interviewing in the past) or professional CNC work but I'd sugest that for an interview you need a broad knowledge covering something about everything they may ask rather than detailed knowledge of one bit they may only gloss over. Being able to write a complete G-code job off the top of your head is less important than understanding the key concepts like the different co-ordinate sytems involved, what's a pocket v a profile cut, depth of cut, tool engagement, feeds and speeds, that sort of thing. Other people will be better able to advise you on the details of FANUK and how a commercial operation works and I only mention Fusion 360 as it's a commercial quality product but available free to hobbyists so you can play with it at home.

NYCNC on YouTube have a series of video tutorials about F360 and making parts with Tormach machines which are interesting and based on commercial rater than DIY machines and procedures.

One thing I realised during a career in technical work is that every different job and every different employer has their own jargon when discussing things which you may already be familiar with under a different name. If you don't speak their language they (especially the HR people who don't actually understand it either) will assume you know nothing at all about the topic so the more you can get out of people who are already in the local CNC dept, the better. It also shows you are genuinely interested in working there and are thinking ahead. Make sure to discuss the importance of correct health and safety procedures at the interview.

As an example, I 'once moved from 'Lecturer' to 'Senior Lecturer' at a well known broadcasting corporation by simply re-reading the textbook from an educational theory course I had taken years before. What impressed the boss was my ability to spout crap about 'Maslow', 'pedagogy' etc. at the interview which none of the other candidates aparently did.

Sorry if that sounds cynical but the aim of your campaign is to pass the interview and get the job. THEN you can look at which specific software packages and other areas of knowledge you will need to study in real depth.

Good luck

Kit

PS Jazz replied while I was typing. That's all good advice. Find out as much as you can about the actual job you'll be applying for.