Silverware Artisans and Workers

Silverware workers who can produce high-quality pieces quickly and consistently have the best chances for advancement. Unskilled workers can apply to become apprentices, learning such specialized skills as soft soldering, engraving, spinning, and toolmaking. Skilled workers may be promoted to supervisory positions.

Production workers with many years of on-the-job experience sometimes move up to positions as silversmiths or designers. Experienced die makers, in particular, may move into supervisory and managerial jobs. Others become tool designers or tool programmers in related industries.

In the design area, highly skilled professionals may advance to become lead designers or directors of design departments. At companies where the design department is very small, advancement opportunities are often limited. Instead of promotions, designers at these firms are frequently given more job responsibilities and higher salaries. Well-known, highly experienced designers with strong financial backing can start their own consulting firms or concentrate solely on freelance work.

Production workers and design professionals alike can also advance to other fields that require their skills, such as glass manufacturing, ceramics, and ornamental metalwork.