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General Site Info => General Discussion => Topic started by: bladerunner on April 09, 2013, 11:17:23 am
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Anyone work as a mechanic as opposed to just a DIYer?
For those that are mechanics, how would you describe the future of the career field? Does it have a bright future? If you were talking to a young person interested in this type of work today, would you recommend the field? Anything you might tell them as far as changes you see coming down the pike?
Also, do you see a lot of young people interested in the field or is becoming a mechanic more something people fall into?
No particular reasons for asking, just curious.
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As a former mechanic, I see a better future than what I had when I decided to switch career paths 28 years ago. It was very expensive to keep up with the updates, OBD1 keys and such. Since OBD2 has been out it is fairly easy to troubleshoot problems. Don't get me wrong, I need help every now and then but I'd say 80% of the time I can fix it myself.
I like it as a hobby but don't know if I could do it for a living. Maybe cause I started out wrong or just got stuck with the crappy repairs. I think if I could have gone to school first and got the certification things may have been different but hindsight is 20/20...
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I'm 21 and I'm a mechanic. ASE Certified and all. If your good and do quality work you'll always have a job. If your not then you'll have a tough life lol. I've always been interested in trucks and engines ( built my first 350 when I was 14) people are always going to need repairs on vehicles and there is a growing demand for good mechanics. There's a huge difference between the 80s trucks and a 2010 p/u so your always learning more stuff. As far as falling into it I guess that would be a good way to put it. You have to love it to be able to do it everyday ( a lot of times there are cars that area batch to work on) but its great I always have stuff at the house people want me to work on. Like I said before too there are a lot of job opportunities if you know what your doing. Mercedes hired me in when I was 18 worked there and got a nice job offer close to home at a dealership and now I'm back in my home town working in the body shop part of the Chevy dealership. I do all mechanical repairs, wiring, frame building, and some body and paint work. Never thought I would be in a body shop but its where I have ended up and I love it
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My dad is a veteran mechanic, been one all his life, I was going to follow in his footsteps but he didn't want me to and when he finally supported my decision I had already decided to find something else (still looking), It can be rough starting out, the best advice is hit the books, get a project that you can mess with without worries and try everything you learn, practice makes you faster, and time is money. If you can knock out a 6 hour job in 2 hours comfortably and confidently you'll do great and make some pretty good money. A good mechanic can make over 100k a year easily. The more ASE certifications you get the better, I've worked with some mechanics who made 200k yearly, they dealt with expensive cars and usually the more expensive the car the more labor hours are required to fix them. Over all you can make a decent living anywhere as a mechanic, and in the right areas and the skills and speed, and ofcourse the right tools, you can make a killing. Personally I didn't like working on new hondas and bmws, I prefer older vehicles (restorations, streed rods, etc.) I love working on my truck most of the time, and I learn more each time, and remember more of what I knew when I was a teen and wanted to be a mechanic. ( I strayed off ad tried computers, I was good at it, but missed cars).
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I always wanted to paint cars all growing up. I started at a Ford dealer in the wash bay / dealer prep at 17 with the agreement I would go to the body shop with 2 years. Within 6 months the body shop manager said he saw natural talent when I worked on my own rig, or primed, and jambed parts for the body shop after hours. Worked there for several years. Jumped around to a few body shops, Ran a chair lift at the ski area in town for two winters. Then to the local oil / propane company. The old service manager from the Ford dealer was their mechanic. Worked as his assistant for a few years. Gained some heavier truck knowledge. Drove truck a little bit, deliveries, tank moving. Worked in the service dept. one winter there.
I ended up working for my self doing 80% body work small mechanical jobs in a hole in the wall shop. Did that for 4 years, got sick of cars. Fell back to what I knew as a teenager, carpentry, handy man repairs. Picked up some ceramic tile skills before I worked at the Ford dealer. Intergrated that into a self employed handy man business for a few years.
An ex friend of mine had a heavy truck shop that also did a little bit of automotive repairs. He asked me to come to work for him. I did, worked there for almost 8 years.
The last 7 or so months I am self employed again. Do mostly mechanical repairs, some body work, but I don't have the pasion for it like I once did. It has to be a special project for me to have a fire for it now.
Oh yeah, and the last 20 plus years I have a plow route in the winter months.
All in all, I have made a decent living being a mechanic / body man. Never got rich, but I am not homeless! Its not a bad way to make a living. Looking back now, becoming an electrician might have been not half bad either.
I have never been to a classroom in my life for body work or mechanics. Heck I quite high school in my junior year. Not patting myself on the back, but I know a couple guys that have gone to school, and I wouldn't let them work on my rigs.
You have to have the natural ability, as in any career. You can learn it, but if its in your blood your ten steps ahead everyone else.
I have passed my knowledge on to many a young buck that has hung around me. Some of them get to be pretty good weekend warriors, a couple are now mechanics for a living. A few of them never got it. They are in jail, or living on their parents couch, or work at Home Depot, or flip burgers for a living.
I think there is a future in repairing vehicles. I am not thrilled that most vehicles these days are to much computer, not enough vehicle!
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heres my deal. dad was a mechanic pretty much taught himself everything he knew and how to rig things. i wanted to be one too, started working for autozone when i was around 21 they offer ase cert all you had to do was take a simple test. so no disrespect to ase cert people on here but to me that dont mean nothing. in a mater of fact this local mechanic worked on my moms van replaced wrong parts blew a gasket by not screwing the egr back down tight when i confronted him with all this he threw that he was ase cert in my face. and he work kind of proved my point. now i do mechanic work for co-workers but dont charge enough to make it a good job just enough to cover cost of most things. i cant rip someone off, and to me in order to make a living you have to rip some off. kind of like that local mechanic not only did he blow a gasket charged my mom for a new one and to put it back in. and replace a part "his tester said was bad" but he didnt know i all ready trouble shot that part so i dont care what his tester said it was good in fact he replaced the wrong coil thinking it was the problem from the start. after he made over 300 off my mom thats when i got word of it and paid them a vistit. all in all to me again ase aint nothing its the person who wears that patch or the person who dont wear it that make the mechanic not just the patch. is there a demand? yes always will be. i dont know how many people throw ase up thinking it means something. mater fact on another form had one guy throw it in my face because someone had a problem i answered it then he did the same answer i had and he said they listen to him because he is ase. my response was well you ase cert got you the same answer that a guy who barely graduated high school got. like most if i had to do it everyday i wouldnt enjoy doing it or working on my own rig
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^ ASE certifications will open up opportunity to make more money and make it easier to find a job, and yes Irish is right, ASE certs don't necessarily mean you are a good mechanic, some people are great on paper but not in the shop, and vice versa.
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ASE certifications sound just like certs in any other field. I work in IT and certs mean the same thing: you take tests well. I have seen guys with MCSE or CISSP or similar stuff not know how to mount a drive in Windows. But certs do help you get jobs (not necessarily keep 'em) and I can imagine that ASE certs are the same.
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Let's clear up a few things about ASE certifications. An ASE certified parts specialist is a far cry from an L1 Master Tech. I truly believe that ASE credentials helps separate the parts changers or able bodies from true diagnosticians. Finding a good knowledgeable Mater tech is like finding a needle in a hay stack. There is a place in the industry for mediocrity and the pay is also mediocre. Career Tech's with a great knowledge base, good all around customer service skills coupled with their dedication to professionalism in the industry make really good money. $100K+ is easily attainable with the right drive and determination. When I stopped working as a tech my base salary was $75K plus benefits, company car and additional perks. I then went onto management and then into education. There are many many many opportunities within the Auto Industry but the first step as in any profession is being educated, dedicated and passionate. The best technician's are birthed into the industry following a robust education from a high quality school. Your best ROI in life is your education. It never stops paying you back. If and when I leave the education business I will go into business for myself. Being happy with your job is more important than higher dollar income so do what you like, do what you are passionate about and be a leader. I love setting the standards and raising the bar... The future is what you make of it.
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^^ very true. Also having ASE Certs means you have the knowledge to do thee job right. Doesn't mean that certain person will take shortcuts. Also you don't have to cheat people to make money in this buisness. Get good at what you do and you will always have buisness, being good is how is how you make money, getting 6 hour jobs done in 4 or less ( doing them properly)
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dont get me wrong not all ases' are all scam artist or dont know how to do the job; but just cause you have a cert like said will help you get your foot in the door but its up to you to open that door for yourself. now i know im not the smartest or best mechanic out there but just because someone has a ase cert doesnt mean they know a job better than i do.
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Then why not prove yourself and get certified as well?
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lol too lazy. and its not my career anymore and even if i was still working in that field the only way i would think it would be worth my time was if i was going for a high paying job kind of like you said. now even working for the state its automatic points on your interview for each class you take. so if i was to ever change field i would defiantly get as much stuff under my belt as i can just to get those extra points. but that being said I would have to think about what make of vehicle i want to get a job on so i can get a class on that make. and not waist time/money getting classes on chevy and end up working on volvo
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What's an ASE? Similar to an apprenticeship?
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What's an ASE? Similar to an apprenticeship?
ASE is a certification, ASE stands for Automotive Service Excellence. It was created to get mechanics certified so people stop getting ripped off by untrained "mechanics" or people who don't know what they are doing but call themselves mechanics. It was supposed to save the industries bad image by weeding out the "mechanics" who cannot diagnose a problem but instead guess and throw parts at it until the problem goes away and the bill for a simple tune up ends up at $2k after everything the "mechanic" replaced "fixing" a misfire.
Basically it's a certification showing customers and employers that you aren't some bum off the street but a mechanic who knows what he is doing.
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Cheers, as they say - every day is a school day, always learning!
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https://www.ase.com/Home.aspx
The National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) works to improve the quality of vehicle repair and service by testing and certifying automotive professionals. More than 350,000 automotive professionals hold ASE certifications in every part of the automotive service industry.
http://www.natef.org/NATEF-and-You/Industry/Industry-Education-Alliance.aspx
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vile doesnt it take just one good ASE cert mechanic to be working at a garage for that garage to have one of those big "ASE" sitckers in the shops window even if they have 5 bad mechanics, that are probably working on your car
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Anyone can get one of those signs. The technicians credentials should be posted in the service area of any shop or dealership. The credentials display the date of expiration as well.
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I work at a ford dealer and I am the only person with any ASEs, I have A1-8 & L1. I am also a Ford Senior Master, Diesel Master and a MD Inspector. When the work is there and the customers are willing to buy the work I can make good money, problem is its just not always busy. The last 2 weeks I have struggled to make 40hours a week, the 2 months before that I was pushing 60hours a week avg. I like working on cars but the benifits suck, we have no AC in the shop, no retirement plans and its tough on the body. If you get a chance go govt. or something similar.
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Sounds like you need to update your resume and start looking for a better opportunity. No ac slows down production 70%
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its been 8 or so years since i worked at autozone. and been driving the old roots again going to work and every shop that i used to deliver parts to has closed. except for the big dealers all the small shops are gone.
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haha, a lot of older shops around here don't have AC. There aren't many shops with AC that close to home at all.
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It's not huge investment, not sure why anyone would be so cheap that they wouldn't invest in it. It'll be cheaper than a law suit from an employee who gets heat stroke and sues for unfit working conditions especially in today's work place. I've been there though and I know what it's like. Big fans are a must if no AC but cool technicians make productive technicians.
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i would think wil the bay door opening and shutting all day the ac wouldnt really shut off. i know when i was working at a welding shop all we had was the big fans. but anyone who knows welding knows a nice breeze and gases dont mix very well. well i think they do mix very well just not in a good way
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I have a shop at work 5,000 + sq ft with 3, 4 ton units. If you only open the doors to pull cars in and out it stays very comfortable in there. If you get some knucklehead who opens the door and leaves it open (well first I'm going to yell at them) and then it lets all that humidity and heat back in then yeah it's kinda pointless. I put central air in my house a few years ago and let me tell you after this weekend, it's like paradise in here.
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AC is pretty much useless over here. We tend to buy more heaters!
If the temperature hits 70degs a few people moan but still get on with things.
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Screw that! I would like 80°F with no humidity every day :)
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lol i laugh every time i hear someone say "But its a dry heat" i dont care 110° with 0% is still 110°. but yeah vile 80% sounds good. wouldnt need ac or heat well unless you have powder coat in the over or keeping a couple beers cold
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It all depends on the person, vehicles aren't going anywhere and keep getting more complex year by year. I was taught from when I was younger, AG classes in school, learning to keep our trucks in the Marines running because they didn't have a mechanic that new anything about our trucks. After I got out I went to school to learn more than I had previously known and it paid off. That being said I am a certified diesel mechanic and and a.s.e certified in gas engines also but stuck to the diesel side more than the gas side. Going through school there were a hand full of "us" that actually wanted to be there to learn a majority of them were 18 year old honda kids cause mommy and daddy said they had to go to college and figured it was easy, they barely passed all the classes they took while there. When I moved to Delaware the shop I worked at put a really bad taste in my mouth about how some shops are truely ran. customer service, overcharging, fixing more than was requested or replacing parts that were not even broken, damaged, etc. Scince then I've found a different job out of the field until I move again and know the shop owners, service managers personally and do the job correctly and efficiently. Sorry for the long story but Mechanics will always be needed, pay can get really good with high end brands or class 3-8 diesel trucks.
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So, do techs get paid hourly or on salary?
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Will either be hourly or flat rate.
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depends on what kind of tech you are. Typically beginning techs or "general service techs" are paid hourly. Junior techs are sometimes paid salary, but usually they get the same as the full blown techs which is flag hours. Flag hours are great if you are a good and fast tech, for example; The front end rebuild on my old s10 blazer I had flagged 6 hours total with everything we were doing, my dad (with little help from me as he is much faster than myself) finished it in less than 3 hours. On average my dad earns 60+ flag hours in a 40-50 hour work week. If a tranny swap flags 4 hours on the national average then he gets paid for 4 hours, if he's slow or is working with a tranny he knows nothing about and it takes 8 hours he still only gets paid 4 hours, however, if he is working on a tranny he knows and has worked on before such as the common 700r4 and finishes it in 2 hours he still gets paid the full 4 hours.
Good + Fast = great pay
Slow = not so great pay
So if you're not fast and experienced flag hours can be a bad thing. If you are fast and experienced then flag hours are a blessing.
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so what about if your not good and fast ;-). but it all depends on the mechanic you got to have the heart and honest to be a good one. that being said kind of leads back to my moms experience with a mechanic that was supposed to clean the egr ports on her van. the flag time for it requires you to take the tb off but this mechanic wanted to make some fast cash, so he didnt do that he tried to clean it with a "tool" a pipe cleaner of some sort. but all he did was loosen the egr and slide it in. he never got close to touching the egr ports on the throttle body. all because he wanted to be fast and thought he could do a shortcut.
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Flat rate is a blessing and a curse. For example a few weeks ago I turned in 83 hours in one week. Then last week I turned in 16. If "good" work comes in and enough work is there its a great way to get paid. But if you get a problem vehicle, no work or alot of warranty it hurts. General any car mechanic gets flat rate or flag pay here. Medium and Heavy mechanics normally get salary or hourly pay. Being at a dealership helps being flat rate due to the repetition of one make of car.