Monday, April 14, 2008

Preparing for a Career in Textiles

The textile industry is an industry that deals with the manufacturing and selling of materials and clothes. However, there is much more to knowing how to sew or make materials. A lot of learning and working is needed to be able to work in the textile industry.

Some schools classify textiles in fashion while others classify textiles as engineering. This is because both aspects of textiles are important. Some schools require classes in both aspects of textile courses while there are other schools that allow a certain concentration.

The first thing to know is that anybody working in the textile industry needs to have the basic classes any college student would take. They have to have English, math, history, science, and the other base classes in order to be educated. Other classes in the requirements can also be taken. The titles of the courses differ from school to school, but they are most likely the same course material.

When it comes to the fashion aspect of textiles, many fashion courses must be taken. There are fashion sketching courses, clothing construction courses, pattern drafting courses, design courses, and fashion trend predicting courses. Other classes that are probably going to be required are color theory courses, fashion history courses, and entrepreneurship courses.

When it comes to the production of textiles, some of the same courses will be required, such as color theory since textiles will be made with colors and some of the fashion courses because the printed colors and patterns will be used for clothes. However, there will most likely be more classes that focus on the science and production of textiles.

Examples of these courses are human ecology, management, merchandising, and the history of textile design. It is likely that a textile science course will be required to learn about the chemical compositions of fibers and properties of the materials made.

No matter which area of concentration, there is usually a time for an internship and sometimes even a pre-internship. This internship is usually held at a fairly local company and it is probably not paid, either. It will help with the career, though. It gives experience and helps learn about the trade.

Once schooling is finished, it is most likely time to start looking for a job. When it comes to textile jobs, the pay varies greatly. There are a few that start paying the minimum wage per hour for new employees. They are not very well respected, but at least you get experience and can hopefully move to another company if you are not enjoying the one that you are at.

Most textile companies seem to be offering a starting pay of $8 to $14 per hour. The job can end up giving a salary of up to $80,000, though this is one of the rarer cases. However, that does not mean a great job can't be done and this type of money can be earned.

It is quite important to know some of the best textile companies. This can be for trying to find a job or simply to compare to other textile companies. One of the top textile companies in the United States is LBD Interior Textiles. Some of the other great textile companies in the United States are Milliken & Company, Avondale Mills, Delta Woodside Industries, Burke Mills, Reeves Brothers, Fab Industries, and Johnston Industries.

These companies are located all over the United States. A common mistake that is made is thinking that these textile companies are only in New York or Los Angeles. However, some of them are even right on the outside of smaller cities, keeping traditions.

Of course, there are also great textile companies in Canada. Some of these companies are Dominion Textile (a merger of four major Canadian textile companies), Beco Industries, and Ezee-On.

A few other "textile" jobs are manufacturing metals for automobiles or other transportation as well as building. These are most likely going to require engineering classes and usually have higher staring pay rates than the ones mentioned about material, though sometimes they also start at minimum wage.

It is important to know what type of textile work you want to go into before graduating from college. You can always change your major while in college if you do not enjoy the coursework that you are taking. It is a great challenge to find what you like and dislike. College is often the time to do such a thing. Just keep all of these things in mind when first declaring a major.

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