When you get an apprenticeship, listen to your teachers, ask questions, and do not be afraid to say "I do not know". The point of working under so,done is to learn. Make sure you learn the correct way before you learn the shortcuts. Learning problem diagnosis is extremely important.
appreciate the advice for sure, im not afraid to learn, really hoping to hear back from somebody!
Parts boring, whaaaat? no way!. I started out as a driver also. Worked my way up the ladder, parts counter, store manager, outside sales rep, been a shop manager/service writer for 8 years now, transmission shop and general repair shops. Given all the headaches and ******** I deal with now, I have thought about going back to parts, but it is too boring and too slow. Have you thought about school? I see alot of young guys entering the field after going to UTI. I believe they get like $8,000 for tools and graduate as a Master Tech. Oh yeah, welcome to the Garage!
definitely boring haha, it has some good perks though, parts discount, benefits, not labour intensive, but where im at now the pay is brutal. And yeah have considered school, but i already have outstanding student loans that i'm in the process of paying off, not financially feasible for me to go back to school at the present time with the wife working part time, thanks for the welcome
8k in tools sounds pretty awesome i must admit!
About the tool part of your question.....look at it this way, you can't fix it if you don't have the right tools. They will all ask you if you do you have any ASE certs and do you have your own tools. They are trick questions don't let them think you got more tools then the head tech on duty. Just say you got a 5 drawer roller with enough tools to do the jobs given. As for the certs well you can't lie about that. It would be beneficial to have at least one. I think A4 would be the one to get since you will most likely be changing oil and inspecting front ends at first. ASE A4 Suspension and Steering Certification
true enough, im always expanding on my tools, but could definitely have more. the certificates is a good idea, should look into a few, thanks for the input mate!
I'd check out craigslist in your area for "skilled trades" as there are always dealers advertising for lube techs. Don't bother emailing a resume. Now that you have identified who is hiring, stop in and look for the service manager. A few minutes of conversation and you'll get your foot in the door. Dealers are starving for techs. They will hire anyone with a warm body and a few tools. It's up to you to keep the job, fix some cars and move up the food chain.
Not that you'll need it but good luck!
The only lube tech jobs i can seem to locate in my area are at those fast oil places... not exactly what i want to get into, dropped off a resume at the gm dealer in town and spoke a while with the service manager, hope to hear something back! thanks a lot for the support buddy!
I went the other direction as well.
HS auto class. Lube Tech at Pontiac dealer, went back to college a bit, then Parts counter. Left that went to college for a Motorsports degree, did parts while in school. Graduated and started building engines as an apprentice.. left that back to parts.. Have done aftermarket and dealer, dealer is always the way to go. You get more respect and the pay/working conditions can be better. I still wrench at home, but didnt like it as a job. Parts counter has the same atmosphere and your still working around cars, but the only tools you need are supplied by the dealership, you dont get dirty, and you can do it till your 65...
Now I am in an office looking up parts for a DMS..
Again, this was my experiance and I totally respect the Techs out there, just not my cup of tea....
Also, there are ASE parts certs you can get.. it would at least let them know you are serious about it..
i do like doing parts, but ive got a few issues with it, the pay right now is terrible, my boss is a d*nk.. ive got a 20 minute commute for slightly above minimum wage, a hookup with dealer parts/ service would be nice.. im sure the wages would be much better
I'm retired. Take this advice from an old goat.
Never move to less pay unless you are forced to at the time. Plan always to make more. Jobs that pay less pay less for a good reason and it will brand you. If you ever have a chance to go to a higher paying position, take it.
So, you are paid, have benefits and want to go to the bottom of the food chain at a dealership with no benefits?????? And what does being a FLO have to do with being a good mechanic/tech anyway?
well, when i say less pay it wouldnt be much less, right now im making 13/hour, and spending 60 a week in gas to commute to the next town 5-6 days a week.. and at the store im in i can tell there isnt much room to move up, the other counter person in my store has been there nearly ten years and doesnt make much for wages either.. i want to get into something that has room to move up the food chain, i think i missed something, FLO?
I agree with pop pop, I would not take a lesser paying job especially as a mechanic and if you have a family. More than likely you will stay at that lower pay for a long time. If and hopefully when you do make it to upper level technician than you have to deal with flat rate pay(at a dealer). I am a heavy equipment mechanic and fortunately I don't have to deal flat rate, if I did I'd be working for free for most of my day. I'm not going to tell a person what to do but if it were me I would stick with parts and move up in that profession and work on cars at home for extra cash.
I'm all for learning trades, they will always be needed. I'm too old to start over but if I could I would go with electrician or pipefitter, way better pay,benefits and retirement if in a union.
fair enough, from what i hear flat rate in terms of automotive techs can be a *****, but my plan was to move to a private shop that pays hourly after a few years of training, ive just been told that dealers are the best place to get started, actually i made a ton of calls around town and nearby to all the electric companies to see if any of them would take an apprentice, nobody seemed at all interested
If you really want to work on cars then go to school. This is the truth, the way cars are going now with more and more electronics you will be farther ahead in life with some training. Computers and electronics in cars are the future and will be the best paying jobs. Anyone can be trained to take something apart and put it back together, there is no big trick to that but diagnosis is what separates a mechanic from a technician. As I write this I have 1 month 2 days and 19 hours until retirement, I am very glad to be getting out of the bussiness because I dont have the electrical backround to keep up with the new cars. Sure I've had the factory training at GM, Chrysler, Hyundai and now at Bosch but I wish I had actual electronic training as there are many things that I can't do. If you want to hack around in your garage with friends cars thats one thing but thinking you want to start as a lub tech and move up is so in the past, it just dosn't work that way. If your 21 with a whole life ahead, go to school, you will thank me later in life.
Brwbier
would love to go to school, just dont think i would be able to afford to not work, i was in college about 2 and a half years ago, only did a semester and i racked up more than 5g in debt... not exactly what i want to get into, stuck between a rock and a hard place right now... i like my job in some aspects, and it pays the bills, but its 50km a day to drive to/ from work for slightly above minimum wage, and my boss is a douche lol
