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If you intend to be a professional gunsmith and expect to get a job as one, an online or mail order course is worthless.
These, especially the online, are good only to learn enough to work on your own guns, NOT paying customers.
If you apply for a job with a "diploma" from one of these places, you'll be lucky if all they do it toss your resume in the trash and laugh in your face.
Look at it this way: If you owned a very expensive sports car who'd you let work on it, a man who went to a top professional mechanics school and learned from experts, or some guy who learned about it from some online "course".
Again, these online "schools" are really best at taking your money.
Job outlook for gunsmiths is varied, and always has been.
We need good gunsmiths, but finding a job as one can be "iffy". Opening your own business is very risky at best, since for at least a year you won't have much business coming in and you have to pay for all the equipment, rent, utilities, licenses, etc, etc, etc.........
The best way into the trade is to get a job with a larger company who employees a number of gunsmiths. Companies like Wilson so that.
BUT.... you better be a stone cold expert with experience to get a job with this kind of outfit.
Money-wise, gunsmiths don't make a lot of money. Those that do hire other gunsmiths, like Bill Wilson does.
Most self-employed gunsmiths are doing good if they're making minimum wage, because in addition to gunsmithing, they have to do a lot of businessman type paper work. Figure in the hours spent on all of that and the money isn't good.
If you want to be a professional gunsmith you have to be the type person who gets his satisfaction from the work, not money. You won't own the Rolex, the nice car, the nice house, or take nice vacations.
The top schools are Colorado School of Trades in Denver, and Trinidad Junior College in Trinidad Colorado.
A degree from one of them will get you an interview anywhere.
Here's the American gunsmithing schools that are worth anything. These are all attendance schools with at least a two year program, cost is many thousands of dollars, but they turn out professionals, not amateurs.
Show a degree from one of these and they won't laugh in your face.
Sorry if this is not what you wanted to hear, but these are the facts of the trade.
Colorado School of Trades
1575 Hoyt Street
Lakewood, CO 80215
Phone: 800-234-4594
Lassen Community College
P.O. Box 3000
Susanville, CA 96130
Phone: 530-257-4211
Modern Gun School
80 North Main Street, P.O. Box 846
St. Albans, VT 05478
Phone: 800-493-4114
Montgomery Community College
1011 Page Street
P.O. Box 787
Troy, NC 27371
Phone: 800-839-6222
Murray State College
One Murray Campus
Tishomingo, OK 73460
Phone: 580-371-2371
Pennsylvania Gunsmith School
812 Ohio River Blvd.
Avalon
Pittsburgh, PA 15202
Phone: 412-766-1812
Piedmont Community College
1715 College Drive
P.O. Box 1197
Roxboro, NC 27573
Phone: 336-599-1181
Pine Technical Institute
900 4th Street
Pine City, MN 55063
Phone: 800-521-7463
Trinidad State Jr. College
600 Prospect
Trinidad, CO 81082
Phone: 800-621-8752
Yavapai College
1100 East Sheldon Street
Prescott, AZ 86301
Phone: 520-776-2150
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