im hopeing to one day be a guitar luthier for fender. what is needed to do this. do i need to go to a certain school or will the company teach me.

From what I have gathered, you could possibly acquire an entry-level position sans-schooling. But I bet some school would help your chances.

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im sure there is a long list of guys and gals waiting for that very same opportunity.
why not go in business for yourself, get the skills, get the experience, get the reputation, then go show fender what you have to offer them and what makes you stand out above the rest. your gonna have to do something to get their attention rather than just filling out an application.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

Hi kyote48: welcome to the Forum.

You want to be and actual luthier - or a production line worker in the factory? Two different things. Tell us more.

Anyhow. Qualifications in woodwork, metal work, technical drawing and business studies ain't going to hurt any. And howsabout science/physics, which would indicate the possibility of electronics understanding? Not to mention... music.

And frankly, any other qualifications are going to help too. Companies like employees with more rather than less inside their heads. Work hard.

Also. Do you live near one of the plants? That's going to become necessary at some point...

Meantime: build some guitars. First from parts, then from scratch. That'll put you ahead of the crowd. Real luthiers can build guitars from raw timber. And other instruments too. Go to.

Good luck - C

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i can agree with this except for one part, the work hard part.
dont work harder than everybody else, work smarter.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

If you check out the ad sections in guitar oriented magazines you will find schools dedicated to luthiery.If you are planning in getting into such an ambitious position as working in Fender's Custom Shop it would be in your best interest in getting a better than average grounding in luthiery .I don't believe that Fender or any company would be interested in training in someone basically off the street for a job where exacting and intricate work is done-it wouldn't be economically feasable as I'm sure they would prefer to hire someone with proven job skills.
A technical drawing course or any course in drawing or design would also be advantagious for you as well as any wood working courses.Of course you would also have to be adept at using a variety of shop tools proficiently and safely.If you really are interested in going into this line of work it will take a lot of preparation and dedication on your part just to get your foot in the door.Lots of Luck with it.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

Couple of further thoughts (since we want to be encouraging to someone who's young and enthusiastic).

The people who build most Fender guitars are production workers in factories, not luthiers. Nothing at all wrong with that, it's just not the same thing. The OP, kyote48, needs to think about which way he/she is heading, to make purposeful decisions.

If you're serious about it a very sensible thing to do would be to ring Customer Services and find out the name and company address of the Production Manager (or whatever equivalent job title) and then write him/her a concise, polite, well-worded letter briefly (a sentence) outlining who you are, stating your ambition to work for Fender making guitars and then asking what the ideal qualifications and experience are that they would be looking for in a prospective employee.

Nothing like getting it from the horse's mouth, and in so doing you'd be laying down a marker showing long-term interest and commitment. Can't be bad, when it comes to the time of the job interview!

Letters are much better than emails for this. They show seriousness and give you something to produce later on.

It's also useful to the click the button labelled "gigs at Fender" at the bottom of these webpages. Information is to be found there.

Again, good luck - C

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i was thinking he wanted to be a mike eldred of sorts by reading his post not a assembler.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

Can i put in my two cents ??

I would suggest a different route to begin with, a thorough knowledge of wood species, their attributes their uses and most importantly how they react to various implementations.
Are they more conducive as a tonewood for musical instruments or are they mostly in the Custom furniture/Cabinetry realm, are they malleable ( for lack of a more appropriately descriptive word ).

In my field in Custom Home Remodeling, I often end up using unusual woods, one such project was a built-in cupboard, I used Oak, Poplar, Teak, Select Pine I see eyebrows being raised in intrigue. ( perhaps I will have to post the pics ).
Not to mention using and adapting various finishing techniques elsewhere.

That is just a part of the needed skills, Tool skills are going to be paramount, to describe a luthier, I just cut some logs to lenght. Each about 6 to 8ft long. One is Maple, One is Oak, One is Mahogany, One is Spruce, and one is Rosewood. One is Bubinga.
The question now is what application will I use these logs for and how will I cut the logs into planks etc...etc...
What will I do to get from a freshly cut log to a exquisite sounding instrument

IMHO.. I believe the term Luthier is thrown around way too loosely. A luthier should be capable of building a palette of musical instruments. Acoustic guitars, Classical Guitars, Stringed instruments ( violin, viola, Cello, Viola De Gamba ) a dulcimer, a Harp, a Mandolins.
In other words it is a pretty tall order, One arrived at only thru many years of wood working in many different avenues.
It sounds daunting but to strive to be excellent is the only reason to want to be a Cabinet Maker, a Woodswright, or a Luthier.

I applaud your journey as it will be often that you may have to take a couple steps back wards to reach your goal if not totally change direction.

However To admire something that you have created and has your own unique artistic signature is priceless.

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

What's the guitar luthier equivalent of that oulde sage, given by that great American 20th century philosopher, Castain beefheart, to Zoot Horn Rollo?

Something like, "Build those electric giutars, Mr. kyote." Get a bunch of experience...oh, and by the by, contact Fender and ask what they want on the resume.