If you wanted to become a blacksmith, you would not get the job simply by sending in your application and resume. Instead, you became an apprentice at a blacksmith shop at a young age, possibly around the age of thirteen or fourteen.

You would have to start with simple tasks like any other new employee or intern. These included chores like sweeping the floors, stoking the bellows, or running errands for the blacksmith. Once you had proven yourself reliable, you would move on to assisting with making simple items such as nails or swinging large hammers in assistance to the blacksmith as they worked on complex projects. From there, an apprentice may move on to more complicated and specialized items such as axe heads. You would work long hours for little pay, but your room and board was always covered by the master blacksmith.

Once the master blacksmith was satisfied with your skills, you were able to set out on your own and begin creating and repairing important items for the community.