Mainly for the OG's

I'm on the North Side of Chicago, IL. The pay for a CMM programmer varies a lot depending on the company and the industry. Lots of small job shops around here offer $20-30/hr for experienced CMM programmers. Aerospace, Defense, and Medical are in the $30-40/hr range. If you have security clearance for the serious ITAR stuff the range can be closer $40-45/hr, but I don't get the impression those jobs are very pleasant. I work in Aerospace, in that middle range.

I once had a similar decision to make as you. I had worked at a company for a few years while attending school. A year before finishing my degree I transitioned to programming CMMs at that same company. Once I finished school and got that degree in Computer Engineering I had to decide whether to stay in the CMM world or pursue the engineering. I decided to stick with the CMM stuff for a while as I was enjoying it, and I was able to apply some of my education to the CMM role (I suspect many engineering disciplines would have some crossover into the CMM world). A year later was the big 2008 recession and I was just happy to have a steady job, so I continued with the CMM stuff and got some Quality Engineering duties as well. As time went on, switching career paths was increasingly difficult. My education was out of date and my wages had increased as I got more experience, so starting a new path would have meant a pay cut. I continued to enjoy working with CMMs so that's where I stayed.

Lucky for me it all worked out. I enjoy the work that I do in the CMM world and feel that the extra education just helps me do it better, even if it isn't an exact match. It also makes my resume stand out, which comes in handy. Money isn't an issue as I make what I expected to make in the Engineering role. And, if I care to make more I can move to a supervisory role. I almost wish I hadn't gone to school and saved the time and money, but the truth is I enjoyed the learning.

I don't know what you should take away from all that, but I wish you luck on whatever path you choose.

I'm on the North Side of Chicago, IL. The pay for a CMM programmer varies a lot depending on the company and the industry. Lots of small job shops around here offer $20-30/hr for experienced CMM programmers. Aerospace, Defense, and Medical are in the $30-40/hr range. If you have security clearance for the serious ITAR stuff the range can be closer $40-45/hr, but I don't get the impression those jobs are very pleasant. I work in Aerospace, in that middle range.

I once had a similar decision to make as you. I had worked at a company for a few years while attending school. A year before finishing my degree I transitioned to programming CMMs at that same company. Once I finished school and got that degree in Computer Engineering I had to decide whether to stay in the CMM world or pursue the engineering. I decided to stick with the CMM stuff for a while as I was enjoying it, and I was able to apply some of my education to the CMM role (I suspect many engineering disciplines would have some crossover into the CMM world). A year later was the big 2008 recession and I was just happy to have a steady job, so I continued with the CMM stuff and got some Quality Engineering duties as well. As time went on, switching career paths was increasingly difficult. My education was out of date and my wages had increased as I got more experience, so starting a new path would have meant a pay cut. I continued to enjoy working with CMMs so that's where I stayed.

Lucky for me it all worked out. I enjoy the work that I do in the CMM world and feel that the extra education just helps me do it better, even if it isn't an exact match. It also makes my resume stand out, which comes in handy. Money isn't an issue as I make what I expected to make in the Engineering role. And, if I care to make more I can move to a supervisory role. I almost wish I hadn't gone to school and saved the time and money, but the truth is I enjoyed the learning.

I don't know what you should take away from all that, but I wish you luck on whatever path you choose.