How Chase Osborne Discovered His Career in Machining – and Earned Money Doing It

Chase Osborn’s interest in metalworking began at Franklin High School in Portland, Oregon.  As graduation approached, Chase was bothered by stories of kids who went off to a four-year college, thinking they knew what they wanted to do, only to be disappointed later.  Chase wasn’t exactly sure what he wanted to do but thought he could have a future in metalworking.  Enoch Precision Machining provided him with a chance to “try out” working for a machine shop while getting paid.

He started as an apprentice in the tool-making department. From there he moved to the tool-crib and then on to machining, learning how to operate a variety of automatic and CNC metal lathes.  Chase proved to have a knack for machining but admits that he found machining “quick to learn, but hard to master.”

Eventually, Chase was promoted to Enoch’s engineering department where he is responsible for programing CNC lathes. “No matter which department I worked in, I always felt that there was room for improvement.  At Enoch, I have really enjoyed the freedom to experiment and try new things.  When I try something new, and it works, I get a lot of personal gratification, it feels good.”

Now, at 23 years old, what started as a “try-out” has evolved into a six year career. Chase is an important member of Enoch’s team, approaching each day as a fresh opportunity to try something new.  Way to go Chase!