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mechanics on here

JarenSTi

JarenSTi

its AWDsome
so who are the mechanics on here? ive been looking into this for a career. im hoping to have my own shop someday. but how long have u been a mechanic? do u love/like your career? what school did u go to? when you got out of school, what kind of job did u get right after? do u own your own shop? i want to go to Lincoln Tech, has anybody heard about this school? i know im missing some questions but thanks in advance. :th_thumbsup-wink:
 


To me, Being a mechanic is not about turning a wrench, or installing a part. It's about problem solving, thinking things through and testing a persons patience.
With automobiles, I have always worked for myself, there just is not money in it to work for someone else, in my opinion it just is not worth the headace.
Now, I did diagnose and repair commercial lawn equipment, and commercail spray tanks, and fertilizer application equipment for a very large corporation, which is nothing near as complex as a car, but paid good, and the customer clientel was much more rewarding. I advanced to STORE MANAGER ,and I had that job untill they were purchased by a much larger coproration ,aka competitor, and then they fired me.
 
i can say my 2 good friends that are mechanics love their jobs. one owns a fairly large shop and makes mad money... he just built a half million dollar house.. my other friend wrks for a shop and i have seen check of his clearing over a grand a week.
 
workin on em is fun and ****ty at the same time. as far as school, dont waste your time. i got my knowledge the karate kid style. i spent most of my years in discount auto stores and learning from a few of the local guys. so far its been very beneficial and relatively free. instead of spending 30 grand on a school spend a couple on some easy to do junk cars and bring em back to life. then you be learning hands on and makin a profit while youre at it.:th_thumbsup-wink:
 
If you looking for a top auto tech school look at Pitt State.. Im going there now.. DAMN good auto program. 2yr and 4yr. 4yr is my choice of course. Ranked in top 3 in the country
 
jeez, the one at lincoln is only 1 year. plus 3 months for a business class and possibly a high performance class.
 


for the love of god do not go to lincoln tech. thats the school i enrolled in and quit 3 months later. biggest waste of my time. the teachers were nothing but washed up old school techs. none of the tech stuff worked in class. and all we worked on were a bunch of old 70s bs. btw the high performance program is basically building a honda motor. i kid you not im being truthful. if u want a school go to wyotech or uti.
 
well im in a tech school called Hennipen Tech, its a good school for me. We do alot of hands on stuff and our teachers are very good at what they do. From my thoughts I would rather go to a school to learn it rather that second hand learn things.
 
Check out some dealership websites, see what kind of qualifications they're looking for in new mechanics. Tailor your education and experience to your future employers' expectations.
 
Id also say skip the school if u know anything about cars. If not go to school you might learn something. My friend payed about 30k for his schooling and he didn't learn $h!t. I knew as much as he did after his 2 years in school. He went to someplace in Cleavland Ohio cant remember the name. Anyway he said he really didn't learn a hole lot. Its all about hands on experience you cant beat that. Get out there and work on stuff. The only thing that is technical about cars nowadays is the electronics. And if your any good with a computer it wont be hard to learn. Working for other people the pay is worthless considering they charge the customer 40-60+ per hour and u get payed 15-20 (around here anyway) Word of advice its never as simple as you think it is when it comes to working on cars lol. Learned that the hard way. I have worked on cars since I was old enuf to hold a wrench. Not saying I know everything because I know I dont. But I know enuf people that work on cars for a living and its not as easy as most people think it is. Mostly the people your fixing the cars for can be a pain in the @$$.
 


Wyotech is supposed to be one of the premier schools in the country. A buddy works there and has mentioned some fo the requirements to pass. Interesting tidbit, you'd be building a 4T65E and dyno testing it before you'll pass.

A friend is a mechanic and he owns his own shop. His advice to anyone thinking about it is, don't. You beat your body to make money and overall the working conditions aren't stellar. Breathing chemicals often, brake dust, rust, cuts, scrapes gouges, burns, dealing with rain and snow dripping off cars, heat in the summer. A good mechanic can struture things in the right place to make very good money. It's work though and like most things in life there is a downside.
 
I am a mechanic
I have been working on cars for over ten years as a hobby and to help friends out
I recently(3 years ago ) wanted it to be more of a career then hobby so I started taking classes at
Delta college a local junior college (was rated pretty high in the state for its tech programs) it is a master automotive tech program GM ASEP program
It has taken me 2.5 years I filled for my Certification last week and in 3 days I am done Still hav another semester if i want my A.S degree And take 6 of the 8 ase's next month

I work out of my house at a base rate of 35-50 an hour work is steady and pay is decent I truely love working on cars so its a good fit

The job market for mechanics is a tough one though Most shops want you to have ase's so that means atleast 2 years in a shop at some level Just to take the ase tests
Atleast thats what the requirements are My school time covered that

A buddy of mine and I are looking into geting shop space and doing trans rebuilding and installs Its a specialized field so there is definatly work there aswell as still doing general repair

Many mechanics out there really arent much more then parts changers
At my school we have wyotech and uti grads wanting better education and taking the program again Kinda funny i think

Diagnostics and driveability are where its at

I also watched a lot of kids cheat and lie to get through the program If you are actually doing it right theres a lot of reading and actual learning envolved For those who say Dont go to school Im gonna say those days are long gone There are things you pick up in school you will never learn in the field that will help grately
You basically get out what you put into it though

I know plenty of techs making 70-90k a year on side work alone

Id look into junior college type programs and talk to the auto tech instructors first My schooling didnt cost me a dime got 5k a year to go
 
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I would suggest going to a community college that has a good auto program. Dont spend 30 grand going to wyotech or something like that. The pay really depends on how good you are if you are on flat rate. I am thinking about going to work at a chemical plant in town and working out of my garage. I only make $10 an hour here on salary.
 
Yea its all about side work in my opinion I may go back to cooking as a JOB and do side work for all the extra
Had an interview at a shop 8 bucks an hour to start on a lube rack I laughed my ass off and left

There are good jobs out there too just takes a few years experience to get
 
Thats the thing nobody is going to pay you 20 an hour starting out right out of school, and that is what every one thinks they should be making.
 


Yea I knew going in it would be arund 10-12 starting BUT 8 bucks is insain lol
now that schools done time to get some advertising out and get to work
I heard one kid say with his cert and the 2 ase's he has passed he can work for 22 an hour I laughed and said sure kid hes 20 and never had a job in his life
 
i might do entrupenuership and business and then go into auto
try to start my own shop

just an idea id like to do but it might be pretty hard
 
starting a shop isnt hard keeping it profitable can be its all word of mouth
people talk good you get business people say you ripped them off and your as good as done
 
Torque and Billboost pretty much nailed it, I can relate to everything they've typed. I myself graduated from Wyotech a while back and learned alot, people will talk bad about the place but if you actually study and focus you will learn alot, there's alot of class time but it is necessary and in no way useless. I love my line of work and am glad I picked it for a career. I cannot speak for the job market accross the US but where I am it's brutal, I've been struggling for a while just trying to find a good job in my field. Like GTP01 said don't expect to start making big money right out of school or you'll be disapointed, I worked at BMW and a private shop for years and still am not doing that great.
 
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