Welcome to How I Became, the Lifehacker series where I ask real people about how theyreallygot their jobs.
This week I had the pleasure of chatting with Matt Chapman, a modern watchmaker.
The official term is horologist: someone who studies the art of designing and making watches and clocks.
Now, he spends his days following his passion: bringing watches to life.
Although hes received no formal training, Chapman has been able to make a career as self-taught watchmaker.
His expertise is mostly from YouTube videos, scouring internet forums, and lots and lots of tinkering.
Chapman says the first time he took a watch apart was terrifyinglike a bungee jump.
But as he found success in making watch after watch tick, he gained confidence.
The only way to do anything is to do it properly, Chapman says.
Making money in watchmaking
According to theU.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, watchmakers make an average of $45,290 per year.
Once the restoration is complete, the watch is usually worth around $2,500.
Of course, the luxury experts can bring in the big bucks.
Chapman points out that hes seen broken Rolexes that are still worth well over $10,000.
And once theyre restored, youre looking at $50,000-plus watches.
Being your own boss
The beauty of being self-employed is deciding what your workday looks like.
But other watchmakers might maintain standard 9-to-5 workday.
It was a job you could see and touch and feel.
His office had a pad of paper, a marker, a telephoneand no computer.
In the decades since he began his career, digital took over.
A big part of leaving his advertising job for watch repair was about escaping the screen.
Thats the first part of the double-meaning behind the name of Chapmans vintage watch restorations,The Great Escapement.
The second meaning is that the escapement in a watch is the part that makes it tick.
Chapman says the key to making this kind of career leap is not to base your decision on money.
Chapman admits it was a scary leap at first.
One money move he made at the start was to liquidate his own watch collection.
Chapman says people ask him all the time, How do you remember where all the parts go?
And his reply is always the same: I dont have to remember where the parts go.
If you know what the part does, there is only one place it can go!
