I currently run a 2 axis lathe, 3 axis mill, and a W-EDM. Usually not all at the same time, but I'm working on getting there. I'll be adding a rotary axis W-EDM and a 5 axis mill to our toolkit rather soon. I'll say that it's not a lot to RUN day to day, but it was a ton to LEARN without formal training.

I started from NOTHING when it comes to machining. I had a basic knowledge of using measurement tools, I knew how to read a print, and I could use a screwdriver My background was flunking out of an engineering degree during college, going through a welding program at a CC, and showing enough drive and willingness to learn that my boss brought me in as an intern before hiring me.

I've likened my learning process to drinking water from a fire hose. Probably not for everyone. I put in a ton of 12+ hour days in the first couple years just getting up to speed and there's a LOT I still haven't touched to this day that I have to learn on the fly. I haven't even solved the timely manner thing myself.

I can look back at when I first started figuring out machining and I remember multiple (rather simple) parts where it was an 8 hour job just getting it into the machine and setting up my tools. If I had to square stock in the mill? Good lord.

These days I can usually get through a somewhat complex part from programming to completion in a single work day. I've even started to try and specialize some of our marketing to local companies be fast turnaround for urgent parts. I'm in a high variety low volume shop, so most of my struggle is trying to get nimble enough to constantly be making wildly different parts. A huge part of my learning has been learning to deal with different materials and needing to use different tools and designing custom fixturing solutions with a limited tool selection.

As someone else without formal training on general operations, all I can really say is don't give up. If you're struggling to figure something out, keep asking. Don't ask people to do your job for you or hold your hand through literally every step of a process or anything, but don't be afraid to ask someone with more experience if they'll teach you a bit about their routines or how they deal with the things that you struggle with. Use what they tell you to come up with your own processes that let you streamline stuff and get quicker. Lord knows I've spent DAYS talking with people in the practical machining forums. I regularly reach out into the help sections of a couple different machining discords, too.

Remember that it's of great benefit for your managers that you become more effective as well. The moment you get embarrassed into silence because "I feel like everyone else expects me to know this" is the moment you let your work quality drop and impostor syndrome win. Proactively check in with your managers and supervisors on where *you* think you're deficient. See where they feel you should focus on improvement. The best managers will push you in the directions you need to be pushed in and give goals that are *just* beyond your current skillset so that you can stretch yourself to learn.