Student Center

Welcome to the Student Center, your link to building a career in metal forming and fabricating. Learn about available scholarships, find salary information for different careers in metal forming, and even find manufacturing camps and schools to prepare for your career.

FIRST Robotics safety video

Watch the official FIRST Robotics safety video — featuring Blair and Mark, your favorite
emcees from the National Competition—with
a special offer for FIRST Robotics teams!

How Steel Is Made

Watch a video that outlines the basic processes used in making steel. It follows the process from the raw material stage through various finishing methods, highlighting the sophisticated technology used in today's steelmaking.

See How Products are Formed out of Metal

Take a tour of the latest technology.

Watch videos on careers in manufacturing including Manufacturing Now, Challenge of Manufacturing, and Engineering Making it Work. Also see videos on assembly, bending, clinching, hydroforming, punching, sheering, stamping, and welding.

Manufacturing Summer Camps

Create 3-D design on a computer (CAD), transfer the design to a computer numeric control (CNC) machine, take the finished product home after it's built, and tour local companies to see if you can do this for a good living! Sound exciting? This is the basic premise of the summer manufacturing camps funded by NBT and the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE). Find out if there is a camp near you.

Are You a Young Inventor?

Check out the exciting competition offered each year for toy and game inventors age 18 or younger by the Chicago Toy and Game Expo. Deadline Oct. 31.

If you've got a great idea or just want to be inspired by other inventors, check out this web site.
It's spawned a new TV show (8/30/11) on the Sundance Channel too. Get inspired, get inventing. You might be the next Thomas Edison or Bill Gates -- but you won't know if you don't try.

Careers

Learn what it is like to study metal fabricating technology.

Discover what job opportunities are available in metal fabricating.

Tremendous opportunities are available within the field of metal forming and fabricating. The following links will take you to specific job categories at the U.S. Department of Labor will detail the nature of the work, working conditions, training required, other qualifications, current employment statistics, job outlook projections, and earnings potential for each job category.

Trade Schools, Colleges, and Universities

Utilize our search to find a school with a program that fits your needs and leads to a career in fabricating.

Scholarships

Scholarship funds are available to students seeking careers in manufacturing. Learn about the eligibility criteria, and download an application today. Click here for more information.

What Jobs Can You Get?

Check out the Multimedia Center for podcasts recorded with scholarship winners and young industry professionals who talk about their manufacturing careers.

FMA Scholarship Winners

FMA proudly announces its scholarship winners for the 2011-2012 academic year — see slideshow. The 20 awards, totaling $30,000, will help cover tuition, fees, and books for students enrolled in programs that lead to technical careers. More.

Dream It. Do It. Campaign

Visit the Dream It - Do It Campaign of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). Take the Dream Career Quiz, see Career Profiles, use the Career Calculator, or simply check out the Cool Videos of Stuff Being Made.