Any diesel techs: Got a few questions (townhome, job market)

[InLimbo520]

Hey everybody,

I'm not currently in and have never been to Alaska (yet), but I did a search for diesel job stuff and a few good threads featured here on CD seemed to indicate there are some seasoned diesel mechanics way up north.

My "question":

I'm looking to get started as a diesel tech (i.e. need training, basically starting from scratch). At the moment, my wife and I have the ability to pretty much move anywhere. Currently, our prospective move is back to Portland, OR, mainly due to family being present.

I know I'm asking this in an Alaska forum, but I'm interested in the unique perspectives you guys have (due to the locale), not to mention it seems like there might be some folks familiar with diesel tech stuff in and around AK.

-----------the actual question---------------

No place is perfect. But is there an ideal (to you) city/state/region that would be a solid choice for beginning a diesel tech education and an also strong job market to enter afterwards?

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Even though our move is planned for Portland, I have some issues with the area (city)... It's crowded, somewhat expensive, housing is small and pricey, top speed limit is 65, you cannot pump your own gas, etc...

I'm originally from TX and the Midwest, so I'm used to big houses for cheap prices. It crushes me to pay 1000/month for a "spacious" townhome, w/ a small one car garage and a small yard for our dog that we are lucky to have approved by prospective landlords anyway (he's a pit-bull).

The reason we don't go back to TX or the midwest is because we like it out west. Mountains and rugged/beautiful outdoors are high on our list for pre-req's.

So I'll wrap it up for now. If you have anything on the matter i'd love to hear it. Thanks!

[starlite9]

Well if you get your pedigree in Diesel work, you can pretty much go anywhere in Alaska and find work. I would get into the marine side of work, there is a lot of boats that need work, and the areas they are in are really spectacular...

Southeast Alaska is expensive to live there, but you could buy a boat in Seattle where the cost of boats are low, and live on it in the town you want to live in, if you don't like it, you can drag up and move to another Coastal Town.

A marine Mechanic has to learn a lot of other things that a road Mechanic won't deal with, but of the two, I like being a marine mechanic by far and I have worked as both.

Besides, if you have your tools and a boat to live/work from, you can keep yourself as busy as you want.

Good luck!