Career Profile: Model Maker

The contribution of the model maker is more significant that it sounds. Their works are often evident in many types of industries.

As the name implies, a Model Maker makes models.

There are several industries and fields that will hire model makers. They are:

1. Movie and film making industry. Model makers are hired to make props and articles for movies. For example, Star Wars uses model makers extensively for building props and items for that best selling series of movie.

2. Car and automotive Industry. Model makers are hired to build physical prototypes of automotive concepts.

3. Product Design industry. This industry needs model makers to build appearance models of product design concepts.

Personality-wise, a model making must have a passion for building things. They must have a D-I-Y attitude and should not be afraid of working within a workshop environment which can at times be dusty or even noisy. As of late, the job scope of the model makers has somewhat expanded. They may now need to be familiar with new rapid prototyping technologies such as CAD/CAM. In additions to the traditional metal and wood working machineries, model makers may have to learn how to operate CAD software and Rapid prototyping machines.

Model makers typically may need qualifications in machining. Some model makers may also have qualification in industrial and product design.