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question for mechanics about career



Dont do it. I went to tech school, ended up working at a GM dealership for ~4 years and only made 15/hr flat rate. One week you make good hours, great money, the next you get a bunch of **** warranty work and make dog**** for money. The worst part about it was that i ended up hating working even on my own car. Im now a union fire sprinkler fitter and make bank and love working on my cars/jeeps lol go construction workers!! 38.98/hour plus fringe bennys!!!
 
Well I can one thing to ya jorow.. You aren't the only one out there who has no clue what they wanna do. I'm in the very same boat as you, I don't care about money. But as the other replies come in, we all know we say that term loosely. What I mean is that I don't have to have 6 figures to feel complete. I was raised up poor, and the generation before that dirt poor, and before that even poorer. I'm happy with enough to pay the bills and a little to put back ya know. I strongly feel that you should not live to work, but work to live.

But yeah, idk what I'm going to end up doing either. I have various things that interest me but none of them I want to do. So we'll see how it goes I guess.. I'm hoping I just luck up and find a good job and all is well the end yay. But we'll see.
 
I turned a wrench before joining the Army, it was fun until nothing showed up on the service drive for days. Flagging hours sucks if there is no work. I got tired of living off of 20 hours a week even though I was in my stall for 40. Also tool man payments can be bigger than a car note. If you have to borrow a tool then you need to buy one for yourself. When I get out of the Army I will go back to the auto field, other than Tanks and kicking in doors, cars are my forte. The only job I might never get tired of is being a Near Sighted Gynecologist.
 
i put in for 50 and have a hard time making 20 hours, i get 20 an hour though but still...id be ok if i would at least get paid for the work i do, like it takes 1 hour to do the job right and not rush and break **** like others at my shop but the job only pays like .6 (warranty). but it has its been a fits..like today i got an oil pan gasket to do(customer pay) we get paid 4.5 hours to do it and it takes me just over 2 from start to finish. and plus i never have to buy oil again
 
dsmuts said:
Plenty of people make a living making $15 an hour or less.
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no one wants to work that hard for the money. if i didnt make north of $20/hr i would be rethinking my career very soon.

$15/hr is making ~$31k for the year before taxes. you can survive on it, sure, but it doesn't leave you much wiggle room for extra money.
 


I agree with most of the people here. A mechanics job is not what i thought it would be. I got a job at thermal king awhile back (refer units on semi trailers and triPacs) and I thought it was the best thing in the world for about a week. After a little while a realized it wasn't what I thought it was gonna be. It's 100 outside and your in front of a diesel motor blowing hot ass air at you while your burning the **** out of your hands trying to replace something stupid. Or even worse, laying on the ground testing the alt of a triPac while the exhaust is pointing at your face. **** that. **** sucked. They don't allow you enough time to fix things the right way. You have to get it done as quick and easy as possible. I didn't make it longer than 5 weeks.

Sorry for the rant but it sounds like you may have something good going for you and you should think real hard before you mess it up. You may not care about money now but you will have financial obligations at some point in your life and nothing is more stressful than not being able to make ends meat. Once you add up your typical bills (rent, car insurance, cell phone, gas, electric, car payment, ect) not to mention unforeseen problems that will cost money your paycheck starts to become more important than you liking what you do for a living.

Also another think to think about. Being a technican is physically demanding. You have to consider how long you will be able to be a technician before you will be limited physically (bad back, arthritis in your hands, ect )

Either way. Hope everything works out for you and your happy with whatever decision you make.
 
Have you considered engineering technician or technologist?

Just don't get involved in hydraulics. It's a dirty job.
 
stratch what i said about that oil pan gasket i just did it in 1.6 hours and it pays 4.5...fastest ive done one yet...
sorry just really happy about it
 
I was in the same boat. Loved cars, told myself that was what i was gonna do. Well, long story short...it got old. I dont even like working on my own stuff now. Some how i got into robotics and so far i like it. My advise, keep ur hobby a hobby...or it may turn into something you despise.
 
I'm definitely not quitting school unless I know for sure there is something else I'd rather do. I'll try to find some kind of mechanic part time job, but I've also applied for some engineering internships. Ill just have to see what happens.
 


ALOT of engineering in my field. Id say stick with school, never stop! But think outside the box a bit. Engineering is so diverse and can be used in so many different fields and situations. Your on a good path, stick with it bud!
 
Bio248 said:
no one wants to work that hard for the money. if i didnt make north of $20/hr i would be rethinking my career very soon.

$15/hr is making ~$31k for the year before taxes. you can survive on it, sure, but it doesn't leave you much wiggle room for extra money.
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I do alright. I have spare cash every now and again when i do mechanic jobs on the side. I make under $15 an hour but my job isn't super hard everyday or anything.
 
JoRo, sounds like you are early on in the courses, it's a lot of math and theoretical stuff. I switched to business halfway through. I would follow through and get your degree if you can stomach it because there is a shortage of all types of engineers in the US now and starting salaries are high. If you like automotive work, an engineering degree sets you up for fabrication not just repair. Easy to fix what's there, but if you want to build a frame or attachment or modify a suspension etc, all that math and those formulas are what you use to determine how thick the steel needs to be, how many /type bolts to use, etc. I would look at how to combine both an engineering degree and your love of cars instead of looking at it as either/or.
 
Mechanics pay is something that is liveable on to an extent. It's really not about the now, but when you retire. Will you have enough to live off then. I know quite a few mechanics that enjoy their job, but do get frustrated when business is slow cause it eats into their pocket. The ultimate goal in being a mechanic IMO is at some point in time is achieving owning your own shop.
 
Mechanical Engineering is a very broad degree and can take you into a variety of places.

On another note you may be interested in the field side of ME. For example Eaton is at my school interviewing the upcoming graduates for field engineering positions.
 


One thing that confuses me is people will say "do what you love" but then they say "don't make a hobby your job." Well typically my hobbies are what I love soooooo.... :th_wtf:
 
Joe,
Plain and simple, if it's what you want to do, do it! You know my socially awkward friend Mike, he started doing oil changes when he was 16. He has since worked his way to a manager of a Meinke, which gave him the opportuinity to be the service tech manager at the local Ford Dealer. He's 26 and makes a good amount of money and is salary.

I myself am going to be going to school (when I get motivated) for autobody. I love wrenching, but when it comes to doing it on someone elses car, I seem to be quicker to give up. That and I've always had a thing for painting, and fixing cars I wreck would be a bonus.

The thing about the auto industry is that there are enough specializations that you can always move around and learn new crafts. A lot of people get thier mechanics degrees and don't have the motvation to do anything besides oil and brakes.

If you want to be in the performance end, and making some good money, you could always get into CNC, machining, porting and polishing, etc.


You're more than welcome to come wrench on my vehicles for practice any time you want! lol
 
danomite02 said:
Dont do it. I went to tech school, ended up working at a GM dealership for ~4 years and only made 15/hr flat rate. One week you make good hours, great money, the next you get a bunch of **** warranty work and make dog**** for money. The worst part about it was that i ended up hating working even on my own car. Im now a union fire sprinkler fitter and make bank and love working on my cars/jeeps lol go construction workers!! 38.98/hour plus fringe bennys!!!
Click to expand...

Dang, almost $40 an hour? You high roller, you. Hard work pays off!
 
JoRoW99 said:
I'm definitely not quitting school unless I know for sure there is something else I'd rather do. I'll try to find some kind of mechanic part time job, but I've also applied for some engineering internships. Ill just have to see what happens.
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Well Brother, let me tell you one thing. Automotive is one of the greatest handy hands on trade you can have. Automotive mechanics will always be in demand, REGARDLESS. Its also a trade that you have to have the desire and passion for. Its like any other job or trade, if u enjoy it then it'll make sure you'll get your money and pleasure worth. I know one Master mechanic that at one point held 42 ASE certifications and now makes $350/hr. Most people dont know theres more than 8 ASE certifications but yes, Automotive is very DEEP.

By the way hes a forensensic Automotive investigator. When theres a car crash, hes the one who investigates the entire situation(i've seen pics of trannies he ripped apart, insurance fraud on a Ram Hemi where the suspect stuffed weird **** thru his spark plug holes trying to get insurance money)

The list goes on in automotive of what you can do but it has to be in ya full interest in order for you to succeed at this trade or any trade in general. I remember earlier this year I had a car on the lift installing new control arms and giving it a wheel alignment, MAN my fore arm was numb and my back had a mind of its own. Pain and getting dirty is part of being a mechanic but if its not in ya full interest 100% than dont bother. Dont let nobody make choices for you, follow your interest and give your everything. Funny, bc im going for Mechanical Engineering soon but not in a rush bc i hate math......LOL

You have to want it in order to get what you want out of it......
 
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