Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
(snip) The son-in-law has no school loan and will always work on machinery that doesn't require constant skill upgrading. His brother, to stay on top of things, will always have the expense of additional schooling. Both will always have work though.
Not from what I'm seeing in the industry.
I'm frequently encountering shops that are unable to work on more recent class 8 (or, for that matter, class 4-7) diesel trucks because they don't have the latest electronics/diagnostics equipment and information.
Many of those shops are having to send work down the road to a competitor because they don't have the skills or technology in-house to do the ever more common and frequent sophisticated diagnostics and repairs. Some have been reduced to primarily just TBO shops, with a clutch job now and then between fixing light bulbs. They cannot even do major engine repairs anymore given the complexities of the FI and engine management systems.
As pointed out in another post ... "it ain't like the old days". And that goes for heavy diesels as well as cars today.
Auto mechanics made good money in the 80s but in todays world mechanics make garbage for money. I am a tech at a dealer and make the same money my granddad. Made in the 80s so no i dont make good money. I am going back to college now for computer security I say go to school learn something that better to make money doing. It's good to know how to work on cars. it just sucks doing it for a living
To make any real money you MUST BE FAST and you must fix it right the FIRST TIME.......and finally you must have real skills and not just a passing grade at some tech school..
All the tech school classes in the world will NOT make you a "GOOD" tech. Yes you can make a decent living, but as others have said you need to be fast, and get it right the first time. Within my first year of turning wrenches I became the only mechanic that could remove/rebuild/re-instal and engine, drop the car back down, start it and drive it out of the shop. It was a 5 person shop, others tried, but they always forgot a step and had to pull parts again. I see many young men and women try to become good mechanics, most just don't make it.
Like others have said, need to be good, fast, and get it done on the first shot....comebacks don't pay, as does warranty jobs if you're at a dealership. I started many years ago at the bottom in a Volvo / Nissan dealership....they sent me to their factory training, and after years of training, became a Volvo Master Tech, and a Nissan Senior Specialist.....after 20+ years got into a management position at a highline dealership.....did that for 3 years, and turned in my wrenches to become a custodian at a local school district....pay isn't bad, and the bennies....can't beat the bennies. I enjoyed working on the cars, but the bennies were non existent, and playing "beat the clock" was just not for me after a while, and I saw so many techs rip off customers it just left a bad taste in my mouth. Can you make a good living ?....yes, but is it good for the long term is up to you.
Without knowing anything about it, I would expect that you would need to be constantly retraining yourself for all the emerging technology, with no pay for all the time spent studying that.
Even non-tech fields that require certification (like teachers) have to spend all their vacation time keeping up with certification bloat, and in the case of tech fields, you actually need to know all that stuff.
The last job I worked at before retirement, I quit when a whiz-bang vendor sold them a new telephone system, and everyone had to attend a training seminar on how to make a phone call from their desk, which was no longer intuitive to anyone who had experience answering a phone when it rang..
It's a tough business. I have top certs of ford/dodge and ASE. Turned professionally 22 years. Made up to 40 hr flat rate. Turning the hours on warranty as a diesel tech 30- 50 hrs and fluent in all areas, proved out to be 30k to 40k. Major obstical is the fairness of dispatching of work. I have a work ethic second to none but it's not enough. I would usually be a threat to other techs just doing my thing. Before I knew it, my work load would keep me from 40 hrs to 20 hrs a week. Since I was good, I tend to get all the really difficult jobs all the time. I have to say I have forgot more than most learned but I don't know it all. I am a UTI grad also. My advice is to step into this business carefully. I started may 1992 and endedAugust 1 of 2014.
Go to a 6-12 month auto-school then get a job where you get a lot of hands-on experience.
If you take this route and go to a dealership, you are going to be stuck doing a lot of oil-change type work for a LONG time. A smaller shop, where your are at least a mechanic's helper, will give you much more experience in a shorter period of time.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
. I see many young men and women try to become good mechanics, most just don't make it.
