what should i do

amen brother.

It is a shame that all the domestic shops are dishonest and pushing the 3.0 hours per ro. High pressure arm twisting scare tactics is what they are teaching the new writers. I am 42 and one of the few honest advisors left and I am without work.

We do 3x the work the salesman do. Yet our pay is 3x behind them. The auto industry is messed up. I would definitely recommend another career path.

good luck

Yeah, i am totally agree with you.

A guy I worked with in Indy, IN used to be an airplane mechanic (until the whole sept. 11 thing, then he got laid off). Anyway, he would always say that everything in the automotive field is backwards. With airplanes you are paid a nice (30+)hrly wage, they would also be supplied majority of the tools (and would be able to get tools made for what they need), and plus they would receive excellent benifits and overtime for the extra time that they were there.
Then he would compare it to this field. If you are hourly you get 8-9 bucks an hour, if flat-rate you are normally at work around 50hrs a week and will neve make overtime (and good luck going home early on a slow day). You have to supply 90% of your daily tools, you don't get paid for diag. half the time (which is normally the hard part of the job). And of course, there are next to NO BENIFITS.
So take it how you want it but me working 9 hrs a day and sometime only making 2-3 hours a day is wrong, especially when we have 40-50K invested. I'll continue making my 415 a week on unemployment until something better becomes available.

Ive been a graduated tech for about a year and a half now. Had plenty of intern experience while I was still in school, thank God I never took the plunge! I love what I do and care for fellow techs but the market just is now what it used to be back in the mid to late 80's. I'm now following a career path in Pharmacology (go figure right?). It's something I love to do also and hell, the money I make there can fuel my first love of automotive.

Good luck to the techs fighting this damn sluggish economy right now.

wow, you all must be the "whiny bit ches" my dad talks about having to work with, he has been doing this work for 30 years and makes a killing and can get a job anywhere, anytime. the only thing i hear him complain about are the fools he works with that cant read or write and have no teeth that whine like women all the time and half ass everything.... no wonder they give all the work to him and has customers come in and ask for him specifically... bottom line is if you're good at your job there is money to he made...my dad is proof.

All you guys remind me of everything that is going wrong with the work ethic in this country. I've been a tech for about 15 years, the last 5 I have owned my own shop and business keeps on growing but so do the pitfalls and complexities. But isn't that the same with everything? Every job and industry has it's ups and downs. The traits I notice about people in this industry, mainly the ones that gripe the most are either new to the industry or have been doing it for 20+ years, not so much in between. The reason is: Everything sucks when your new to it and everything sucks when it's all you have done. What is it that you want? My Dad has been a Union Plumber for 40 years, 2 years from retirement gets laid off. He only made 60,000 yr. That sucks! My brother followed my dads footsteps, been doing it for 5 years gets laid off. That Sucks! My Mom has been an RN for 10 years at Mayo Clinic. She declared bankruptcy a year ago, lives by herself in a apartment complex and my mechanic ass has to borrow her money to make her bills every now and then. That Sucks! My Uncle was a business man and had a stroke, a year and a half later had a heart attack and died. They figure it was the stress. He was only 48. That Sucks! Come on guys. The only thing that affects your quality of work life is your attitude. ALL JOBS ARE DIFFICULT! Thats why they call them JOBS! I have tried many other types of work and at the end of the day I like this one the best. I'm sure some day I'll regret it and wish I did something else. But until then SUCK IT UP AND GET BACK TO WORK! Learn to love your trade, it's what your good at.

Jr. American in Mankato, Minnesota said: All you guys remind me of everything that is going wrong with the work ethic in this country. Come on guys. The only thing that affects your quality of work life is your attitude. ALL JOBS ARE DIFFICULT! Thats why they call them JOBS! SUCK IT UP AND GET BACK TO WORK! Learn to love your trade, it's what your good at.

People have the right to complain. Don't put other people down when they offer an opinion that you do not agree with. The work ethics sucks in America because there are too many self righteous overbearing individuals who push their views on how people "should" behave which is counterproductive and causes nothing but conflict. How many people have you given advice to that have miraculously changed their life after you and they spoke? See what I mean? Worry about your own shop and career. Most of these responses were to dissuade a kid from throwing his life away on a career that is over saturated with competition. Something you do not find often - and you inadvertently proved everyone else's point that working for someone else as a tech absolutely sucks in the US - you have your own shop right?

I hope this trade gets better

eigregor in Portage, Indiana said: I have been unemployed since Oct. 31, 2009. Believe me on this, if you are flat-rate the service manager doesn't care about you or the time you make on warrenty repairs, his job is to pay you the least he can so that he gets a kick back from GM. It's the same thing how we cannot let customers know that they need a repair if it is under warranty or under GMPP, extended warranty. The only way we can do anything is if they complain about it first. On top of that GM now makes you do safety inspections on every vehicle, but we get threatened to get fired if you write down what's wrong with it if it is under warranty still. All this so that the customers feel safer and better since their car now has nearly 36K on it and still no problems, yet in reality there are a couple leaks, one of his calipers are locking up and chewing through brake pads, and whatever other problems we see. I got yelled at once for letting a guy with an Avalanche know that his RR pads were down to metal. The manager told me to never tell a customer this, I walked in there with the pad and the rivets showing and he told me "So, don't tell them it's down to metal". He had no reply when I asked where they were at. Also got yelled at since I argued that it is warranty since it is either a caliper or hardware problem, not customer driving habits. GM is out to make their buck and their way to guarantee that is by having service manager like this.

That sucks. The problem with your situation is that when that customer goes to Firestone or Sears or wherever, those shops will come out with a grocery list of problems on that customer's car (because they will scour that car for work) and someone will be made out to be a liar or worse - incompetent. That's why I left the business. My values won't allow me to work for a company that unilaterally decides what level of safety a customer can live with without informing the customer.

Hi All

I am recruiting for a large Canadian Company who is looking for Experience technicians to come to Alberta, Canada to work. We are currently experiencing a huge shortage of technicians. The starting salary is $26.00 per hour or more depending on your experience. Most shops work on a flat rate so if you are a fast worker you can book over 60hrs per week. We are looking for 18 technicians in all.

If you have any interest you can contact me at kishcer@telus.net with your resume and I can send you all the details.

If you want to work on cars for a living do it if you love it and it makes you happy. Just be warned there are a lot of wanna-be repair shops, dealerships, and repair chains out there. It's difficult to tell which are good and which are bad sometimes. Some of these places are successful by default because of being linked with a well known brand or name and some because they are good at lying to there customers. If you want to make an honest living and make enough to justify the experience you bring to the table, the money you spend on tools, and the money and time you have spent on training/school. I have had a hard time finding a decent job since I left a Toyota dealership 5 years ago. If you want to find a good paying job in this field look for an hourly shop or one that is well organized based on the labor times for your more common jobs such as oil changes, brake services, alignments, rotations. Check to see how the shop is layed out, and not just the just service but the advisors, and the parts departments. If the company pays 3/10's or less and you have to spend a lot of time at parts or the advisors are lazy you will find it hard to turn hours.

Do anything. Just dont do one thing, that is to become a mechanic.

You get scamed to spend 50k at UTI or Wyotech.

You will spend the next five years working for free.

You will give all of your wage money on your own tools.

The suits, corporate white shirt guys, and shop owners will laugh and spit in your face while you work
like a monkey pickin cotton.

These same black tar of humanity individuals will beat you down for every cent of profit thats left in you.

The only guys cheering you on to follow your dreams are people with low or no real skills.

The last thing you want to do is work hard for 20-30 years and wake up broke and on the verge of homelessness, and for what?
All you did is work harder than the next guy but havent been given a single dime.

Go and be an actor anything, but never a mechanic.

I work for a large medical equipment manufacture and repair medical equipment, with my base pay and over-time I make around $75,000 a year (30% of my pay goes toward 401K, plus I get a pension from this company. I have a 2 year degree in electronics from a local community college. My tool box is around $200 and all calibration / test equipment is provided by the company. I don't get dirty and don't have to be around harsh chemicals/solvents/ATF....etc. I travel to different hospitals in my region and they provide me with a company car.

If you want a career that doesn't have you busting your chops and you stay clean go into the 'Biomed' field if you want a change from working on cars and being underpaid for your hard work.

I agree with all the posts here. Please choose different field, such as medical. I am currently in college for electrical engineering. Automotive business is not like it used to be, there are lot of politics.Everyone here seem to have good experience in this field and they are not lying. Stay away from tech schools, all they care about is making money. They don't teach much diagnostics. Most new out of school hires don't know how to use scan tools, Go to state college for different field, state colleges are also cheaper.

Gregg in Fort Lauderdale, Florida said: I work for a large medical equipment manufacture and repair medical equipment, with my base pay and over-time I make around $75,000 a year (30% of my pay goes toward 401K, plus I get a pension from this company. I have a 2 year degree in electronics from a local community college. My tool box is around $200 and all calibration / test equipment is provided by the company. I don't get dirty and don't have to be around harsh chemicals/solvents/ATF....etc. I travel to different hospitals in my region and they provide me with a company car.

If you want a career that doesn't have you busting your chops and you stay clean go into the 'Biomed' field if you want a change from working on cars and being underpaid for your hard work.

Gregg
I see where you are putting 30% into your 401K....that is great.
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My father currently teaches high school auto mechanics and works on the side making 40-50 dollars an hour for a few large trucking companies. Granted, he has a lot of experience and a masters among other certifications. On the flip side, it's an extremely small, rural area so the pay is always less the average.

He teaches mainly for the retirement and only works for companies that he's known the owner of for years that way he doesn't have to worry about people getting sue happy or wanting him to do tiny, stupid jobs.

I am a 15 year auto tech at a GM dealer, and to me, its become pretty stale. Looking for other areas to work in.

cory HENSWORTH in Crookston, Minnesota said: I am a senior this year and am thinking about going into the automotive field is it worth it?

it depends what u r going for automotive engineer will make the most money$$$$$

Gregg in Fort Lauderdale, Florida said: I work for a large medical equipment manufacture and repair medical equipment, with my base pay and over-time I make around $75,000 a year (30% of my pay goes toward 401K, plus I get a pension from this company. I have a 2 year degree in electronics from a local community college . My tool box is around $200 and all calibration / test equipment is provided by the company. I don't get dirty and don't have to be around harsh chemicals/solvents/ATF....etc. I travel to different hospitals in my region and they provide me with a company car.

If you want a career that doesn't have you busting your chops and you stay clean go into the 'Biomed' field if you want a change from working on cars and being underpaid for your hard work.

Your Ablusoutly correct been in the files for 5 years at 2 different dealerships and they all are the same tech are
At the bottom and shot runs down hill my friend... Would love to talk to you about working on medical
Career and the best path to take.. Please emai me at ryanm5789@yahoo.com