Any mechanics here? I have a couple questions for you

[greekorican]

So I'm a senior in highschool this year. College deadlines are coming up, and I really need to figure out where I want to go, and what I want to do for a career. I have a few ideas. I've thought about Computer Science (not really sure about this one), Electrical Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering. The more I read about Electrical and Mechanical engineering, the more it sounds like its on paper. I want to do something hands on, sitting at a desk all day doesn't sound very exciting to me.

There are a few problems I've run into about going to college. My parents haven't been doing that well because business has been really slow, since the economy is in the dumps. I know they will help me out in college, but the bulk of my tuition will probably be paid for by me, via a student loan. Detroit Mercy has a program with the auto companies, that trains you in mechanical engineering specifically for the automotive industry. I'd be really interested in that, but my parents are also dead against me leaving the state, or even leaving Chicago.

Now I'm not lazy to go to college, but I'm also not really looking forward to 4 more years of school. The fact that I'm gonna go into debt and have to pay most of my tuition, and yet, I'm not gonna be able to choose to go out of the city if I want to, makes me consider an alternative to college. I think I would really like to work on cars. Cars, trucks, motorcycles, and anything with an engine in it has always fascinated me. If I could afford it, I would buy myself an old beat up caddy or a camaro, are rebuild it. I'd really love to do that. I think doing that for a living would be really rewarding for me, and I could take the skills I have at work, and use it for rebuilding my own cars as a hobby. I'm just not sure how I go about becoming a mechanic. What kind of training do I need, some kind of trade school? I'm also concerned about how much money I would earn. I'm afraid I might not make enough, and I'll regret not going to college.

If I could get some feedback from anyone who is a mechanic, that would be great. Do you like your job? What kind of training do you have? How much do you earn? Do you regret it, or are you happy with your decision?

Thanks alot

[kanonfodr]

Not a mechanic, but work with several. You should look into getting an ASE Certification at first, but talking with some local shops will net you other good info as well.

The thing about being a mechanic is that your passion will become your job, and having known a bunch of gearheads who became mechanics for the same reasons you are stating above, they tend to get a little disenchanted with the job after a while. That's why I didn't become a mechanic, because while I love to work on my vehicles myself I didn't want to do it for other people's vehicles.

But in the end, if that is what you think you can do for a living and enjoy it; go for it. I still help out our mechanics every once in a while and relish the chance to get dirty since I work in a relatively clean job (electronics repair) and like to keep my mechanical skills practiced. It's definitely not the average white collar job and the attitudes are very different as well, sometimes even comical.

Peace,
Greg

[René_Julien]

I'm a trained mechanic.


I have my own garage now... a motorcycle dealership.

Our school system is different than in the US. I think.
Over here you can study for mechanic in highschool. Last two years of highschool you have so many choices in either profession you can start when you're 18, or different "prepararion" directions if you want to go into engineering, languages, chemistry,.... in college or university.


Well, I did not take the mechanic as profession classes in highschool. I did a direction that was called industrial science.
Then I went to college and took electro-mechanics (correct name in English?) and I have a bachelor in it.

Being a mechanic myself comes from since I was young. My father was a mechanic and businessman in tires.
I could disassemble and reassemble a Fiat 500 at the age of... I don't know.. 10.


Being in college we got a lot more theory and were prepared for desk jobs.
Something I didn't want to do.
So I got me a parttime job in an official Volvo truck workshop.
Pretty soon my bass gave all the special cases to me. And the regular maintainances were left for the "greasemonkeys".
Whenever there were problems with brakes, transmissions, PTO's and cranes I had to handle it. It was more stressful but not as monotone as just doing oil changes all the time.

After college I went to work their full time. Being on call 24/7. I loved the experience.
But I left because they payed me not enough. Frankly as that.
The pay I got back then... anyone would say I was a fool for doing that job. (Well IMO my collegues were also underpayed.)

Then I went to work for a company that made big diesel power generators.
Just big diesel engines. I loved that.

Since a few years I took over a business with my father... and now it's motorcycles.
I'm not doing much mechanic work these days... mostly business, sales, administration,....


But, I'm kinda burned out.
Very gradually I am losing interest in what was once my "calling".

I am proud of the businessman I became. I took a slow, almost dead business and made it profitable again.
In a few years, when the right buyer comes along I'm going to sell it with a profit and leave the mechanic world for good.
I had my run in this game, the stress, the labour, the long hours,....



Sorry, didn't want to discourage you.

Go and do what you would love to do.
It's up to you what to make of it.

If you feel that you can roll into this skill go for it.


Oh, and learn from your mistakes.
Man, the stories I could tell about my fails at a mechanical job. Stupid things when I was unexperienced.
Well, all in all I did not do that much damage.

[René_Julien]

Originally Posted by kanonfodr

Not a mechanic, but work with several. You should look into getting an ASE Certification at first, but talking with some local shops will net you other good info as well.

The thing about being a mechanic is that your passion will become your job, and having known a bunch of gearheads who became mechanics for the same reasons you are stating above, they tend to get a little disenchanted with the job after a while. That's why I didn't become a mechanic, because while I love to work on my vehicles myself I didn't want to do it for other people's vehicles. But in the end, if that is what you think you can do for a living and enjoy it; go for it. I still help out our mechanics every once in a while and relish the chance to get dirty since I work in a relatively clean job (electronics repair) and like to keep my mechanical skills practiced. It's definitely not the average white collar job and the attitudes are very different as well, sometimes even comical.

Peace,
Greg

Yup... +1 to the part in bold.

After a while whenever I came home I wanted to get as far away from anything mechanical.
If you make your passion your job it can backfire.
That's what happened to me.

When my working day is done, the gearhead in me switches off, and I five into my other passion: bass, reading, ballroom dancing, pornography....

[TrooperFarva]

I'm an electrical engineer. I don't like being in the office for very long. My very first job, I worked in an R&D lab, and I also commissioned generators at customer installations. So I traveled all over the country, and sometimes out of it, working as an engineer. My second job, I worked on engineering customer retrofits. So again, I was in the field a lot. The job I'm going into now deals with large projects, millions of dollars each, so there is a lot of customer interaction, and a lot of field work.

There's plenty of engineering work outside of the office if you look for it.

[greekorican]

I've thought about that too. Doing something you love as a career could definitely take the fun out of it. I just don't see myself in a white collar job. I'm by no means lazy, but I have to be interested in what I'm doing. And to be honest, I'm good at working with my hands. I worked with my dad over the summer doing carpentry, and it must be in my blood or something. I catch on how use tools, or do a certain job extremely quick, even my dad is impressed (and thats a rare thing). Sitting at a desk all day sounds boring to me. I do that already in school. My entire family wants me to go to college, but under the circumstances I've been given, I'm having second thoughts. I think I would go to Detroit Mercy given the chance, but my parents refuse to let me leave the city, even though I'll probably be paying for most of my tuition. I brought up being a mechanic, and they don't like the idea at all. I just feel like being forced to go to college (one that I don't really want to go to) to do something I'm not necessarily interested in doing will set me up to hate college and possibly my career.

How long does it take to get ASE Certification? I'm definitely going to go to some mechanic shops and talk to people there, get some opinions, and maybe I can land a part time job cleaning up around the shop. I'm sure I'd absorb some knowledge just being around them, asking questions about what they're doing, even if I'm not working on cars myself.

Another thing I like about this route is that I could get my career started earlier, get on my feet, and get out of my parent's house. All of my friends are excited for college. They can't wait to leave their parent's house so they can go to college and party all the time. Frankly, I'm not excited at all for college. It seems like its gonna be a lot of work, I'm going to have to work a job during college too, and on top of it I'm gonna be living at home. I don't know how much longer I can take it living here before I go nuts. I don't mean to sound like a whiny teenager, but I put up with a lot from my parents, and yet I'm still obedient, and I help them out quite a bit. I know lots of kids my age whose parents are extremely relaxed, and yet they still whine and complain, don't do anything around the house to help, completely disobey their parents, and get away with it, with little or no punishment. These are the same kids who will go off to college and party and have a good time, yet they will still be dependant on their parents. I just want to get to the point where I can be self dependant with a good paying job, an apartment, my own car, etc. I don't plan on moving out until I can make it on my own. My older sister is a good example of what not to do. She moved out at about 18, and was completely unprepared. She's 32 now, and still doesn't have her act together, still borrows money from my mom all the time, barely has enough money to take care of herself, let alone her 3 kids. When I move out, I don't want to be another burden on my mom like my sister is.

Sorry for my long rant, I'm just looking for any advice I could get about being a mechanic, or an engineer for that matter. I can't believe I'm at the point where I have to make all these decisions. I just want to make sure I make a good decision that I hopefully won't regret in a couple years. Oh, and some of the background information I gave might seem unnecessary. I just want to make it clear so that I don't get flamed for being a whiny teenager who won't take advice from his parents.

Thanks for reading!

[fdeck]

Originally Posted by greekorican

So I'm a senior in highschool this year. College deadlines are coming up, and I really need to figure out where I want to go, and what I want to do for a career. I have a few ideas. I've thought about Computer Science (not really sure about this one), Electrical Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering. The more I read about Electrical and Mechanical engineering, the more it sounds like its on paper. I want to do something hands on, sitting at a desk all day doesn't sound very exciting to me.

I think the amount of hands-on work varies quite a lot from one engineering job to another. I work in an engineering department that has a few dozen engineers, including mechanical and electrical. We design products, so we do our fair share of desk work on CAD, but probably an equal amount of hands-on, assembling and testing new product prototypes, as well as dealing with issues as they arise in our manufacturing plant.

I would also say that the amount of hands-on work that each engineer gets depends on their own temperament. Some enjoy tinkering more than others, and we give people a fair amount of freedom on which projects they can choose to work on. Some of our engineers enjoy spending the day in the lab and in the plant, and others gravitate to more theoretical work, or even into management.

A lot probably depends on the size of the outfit that you work for. We are not a huge shop, so we can't afford to have extensive division of labor. An individual engineer sees a task from start to finish, i.e., figuring out what somebody wants, designing, and then taking it into production and maintaining it. At larger shops, e.g., the car companies, aerospace, or a big consulting company, I could see an engineer being more isolated from that stuff.

You do know what is happening in the auto industry, don't you?

[fdeck]

Originally Posted by greekorican

They can't wait to leave their parent's house so they can go to college and party all the time.

A typical college is an elite college surrounded by a rich kids party school. The kids who party and take fluff courses or flunk out are paying for the kids who are in it for a real education.

[greekorican]

Originally Posted by fdeck

You do know what is happening in the auto industry, don't you?

Yes, I've heard. Thats definitely a possible drawback to Detroit Mercy, and from what I've heard, Detroit isn't the best place to be right now. However, I still think that cars will always have to be fixed. An engineering or manufacturing job could be outsourced, but you can't outsource and automotive technician/mechanic.

Hopefully the auto industries start doing better. I think its a shame to see that american cars are becoming less and less popular. People would rather buy a little asian made car over an american car it seems, and I don't really get it. Sure, peoples opinions are different, and there is nothing wrong with that, but american cars also have the reputation of being unreliable and poorly built. One of my friends was telling me that ford and gm make their cars poorly on purpose, so that after 8 years or something, the car dies, and they have to buy a new one to replace it. My parents have only owned american made cars in my lifetime, and they all lasted for years and years. Not a single one died, they were all traded in, in good condition too. My mom's buick riviera (it should be mine pretty soon) is almost 14 years old. Sure its got some dents and dings, a few minor problems, but its still going strong. Thats my 2 cents.

[rcarraher]

Originally Posted by greekorican

So I'm a senior in highschool this year. College deadlines are coming up, and I really need to figure out where I want to go, and what I want to do for a career. I have a few ideas. I've thought about Computer Science (not really sure about this one), Electrical Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering. The more I read about Electrical and Mechanical engineering, the more it sounds like its on paper. I want to do something hands on, sitting at a desk all day doesn't sound very exciting to me.

There are a few problems I've run into about going to college. My parents haven't been doing that well because business has been really slow, since the economy is in the dumps. I know they will help me out in college, but the bulk of my tuition will probably be paid for by me, via a student loan. Detroit Mercy has a program with the auto companies, that trains you in mechanical engineering specifically for the automotive industry. I'd be really interested in that, but my parents are also dead against me leaving the state, or even leaving Chicago.

Now I'm not lazy to go to college, but I'm also not really looking forward to 4 more years of school. The fact that I'm gonna go into debt and have to pay most of my tuition, and yet, I'm not gonna be able to choose to go out of the city if I want to, makes me consider an alternative to college. I think I would really like to work on cars. Cars, trucks, motorcycles, and anything with an engine in it has always fascinated me. If I could afford it, I would buy myself an old beat up caddy or a camaro, are rebuild it. I'd really love to do that. I think doing that for a living would be really rewarding for me, and I could take the skills I have at work, and use it for rebuilding my own cars as a hobby. I'm just not sure how I go about becoming a mechanic. What kind of training do I need, some kind of trade school? I'm also concerned about how much money I would earn. I'm afraid I might not make enough, and I'll regret not going to college.

If I could get some feedback from anyone who is a mechanic, that would be great. Do you like your job? What kind of training do you have? How much do you earn? Do you regret it, or are you happy with your decision?

Thanks alot

Nothing wrong with being a mechanic. I'm one of those electrical engineers/Computer Science guys, and its not ALL sitting at a desk,but a Mercedes Mechanic makes upwards of $100,000 a year. Course, its damn near as expensive to go to a traditional University as it is to go through their academy. Check it out, as well as some of the other manufacture' schools.

[greekorican]

My mom showed me a website with the top 10 lowest paying jobs, and an automotive mechanic was on there. Apparently the national average is $11 dollars an hour. I find this hard to believe. Working on cars is a pretty skilled trade, something most people can't or don't know how to do on their own. Can anyone comment on this? Thats pretty discouraging, if it is in fact true.

[iamlowsound]

Originally Posted by greekorican

My mom showed me a website with the top 10 lowest paying jobs, and an automotive mechanic was on there. Apparently the national average is $11 dollars an hour. I find this hard to believe. Working on cars is a pretty skilled trade, something most people can't or don't know how to do on their own. Can anyone comment on this? Thats pretty discouraging, if it is in fact true.

That probably takes into consideration the guys that work at jiffy lube and the like. Here in Canada, once you are fully licensed, you can expect to make $30 an hour if you are working for a dealership. My uncle is the head mechanic for a trucking company and he makes in the $40/h range.

lowsound

[ThatGermanDude]

I would think the pay depends a lot on where you work. If it's in the local garage around the corner it is probably rather low, but if it is at the exotic car dealer downtown you are probably living rather comfortably.

There are also university programs for Mechanical Engineering Tech. which I believe is more hands on oriented.

I'm working towards a ME degree and hoping to get something in new car development once I am done.

[Truktek2]

I'm a heavy truck mechanic by trade. (Mack, International,Freightliner etc). I was always the type of person that could not sit behind a desk. I had office jobs while in college, and found it was not for me, so I feel I can give you a little advice. If you want to be a mechanic, go to college. I went to a State University of NY and earned my AAS in automotive Engineering technology before going to work for various FORD dealers. Todays vehicles are very complex, and the greasemonkey stereotype is a thing of the past. That being said there are pros and cons to my field (just as every other one) so here goes. If you have a skilled trade, chances are you will always have a job. Although no job is recession proof, people still need their cars or trucks fixed to get to work.Other things might be cut out of their budget (like eating out or movies) before they take the bus to work. Like Greekorican posted, your job can't be outsourced (unless you want to ship your car to mexico for repair), and that's a big plus in the current economic climate we're in. There is definite a shortage of mechanics nationwide, which would make your quest to find a job easier. On the East coast, its not unreasonable to make 80k or more a year. (although we have unions, and I have heard about 15/hr in other states) Check Salary.com and see what they get paid in your neck of the woods. On the downside, If you work for a dealer, you will be HUSTLING to make your money. You are guaranteed a certain number of hours a week, and the rest you make by incentive. In my case I was guaranteed to be paid 37.5 hrs a week, but if I produced say 70 hours a week by Book time, I would be compensated accordingly. ( If a job pays 4 hrs booktime and I did it in 1.5, I got paid for 4) Sounds more lucrative than it is. Dealers ALWAYS lowball booktime so you play "beat the clock" most days. It's a very physical job, so doing this job at 21 and 50 are two different ballgames. Ask yourself Do I want to do this in the future? Tools are EXPENSIVE. You can always switch to different capacities such as service writer, service manager, parts personnel etc if you want (the knowledge always carries over)I would suggest to steer clear from dealers, and work for big companies that don't have "piece time" such as UPS, coca cola, FEDEX, or any company that employs mechanics for their own fleets. You WILL NOT be getting rich. If that's your goal in life, look elsewhere. That being said, I own my own home, My wife doesn't work, My kids are in private school, I take regular vacations, and I have semi decent cars. Would I want to do anything else for a living? Not in a million years.....(well short of being a rock star )

[toytech]

As a 20+ year mechanic I would say it is a reasonably good living, but only for the higher tier of mechanics. Best places to work in my opinion (only relevant to gas vehicles, not diesel) is import dealerships ie Toyota, Honda BMW etc. Highline cars such as Lexus and Mercedes sometimes pay a bit more, but the bar is a lot higher for appearance and professionalism as well as stress. (the part I jsut scratched cost HOW MUCH !?!!?!)
Can be rewarding if it is the kind of work you enjoy, and very challenging at times as we
combine mechanical, electrical, NVH, driveability and sometimes having to second guess the engineers (ok most of the time). Salaries in my area are usually based on flat rate which is pay by the billable hour rather than clock hour, and can range from40k all the way to 90k or more for the fastest techs in the busiest dealerships.
The same intelligence required for college is what is needed to reach top tier.

[popinfresh]

IMHO i'd go for a diesel mechanic and work on trucks at mines or oil sands etc, or aim for a higher import company. Other than that, it's not really worth it unless you REALLY love working on cars.
All my mechanics and body workers never have the time for their own cars or projects.

[greekorican]

Can I ask what kind of degree you got Truktek? Bachelor's, Associate's? Do you advise against going to a trade school instead of a college? Is it like a normal college, where you sit in a classroom most of the time, or is it hands on training most of the time? Combination of both?

I think I would like to work on engines, transmissions, and all the big, important stuff that makes the car go. I don't want to just be working in a body shop pulling out dents, changing the bulbs in the tail lights and blinkers, and other minor stuff. I guess what I'm asking is how specialised is a mechanic? Would you specialise in engines, transmissions, or brakes, or is a mechanic expected to be able to do anything on a car?

One more question about specialization. Does one specialise in diesel engines or gasoline engine, or can you work on both?

As far as tools go, what do you need to have? What is supplied? I'm assuming something like a lift will be supplied by your employer, and other heavy duty equipment. My dad bought me a Craftsman mechanic socket set for my birthday, I've already got a decent set of hand tools, though definitely not close to what I need.

I'm not sure if I want to do this at 50, but I do know that right now I enjoy it. I've done some minor repairs on my riviera with my dad. Changed the turpentine belt a few times. Once we tried to change the supercharger belt, and that was a frustrating night. There was a large bracket in the way, so we took out the bolt, only to realized that the large bracket was the engine mount LOL. The engine dropped about two inches. Even with the engine mount off, neither of us could figure out how to get the belt on, so we jacked up the engine and bolted it back together. Took it to mechanic the next day, and he couldn't figure it out either, so we didn't feel so stupid. As frustrating as that was, I had a decent time, and I learned more about what goes on under the hood.

I just want to thank everyone who has contributed to this thread, its been really helpful.

[Truktek2]

My degree is an associates in applied science. Its a 2 year degree from an accredited college which means you have to take courses like english and physics. I believe it will open up more doors for you than a trade school. I know many a mechanic that was disillusioned by their experiences and it was a lot more expensive to boot. They paid 25k for a 1 year cert, and I believe it was about 17k for a 2 yr degree. I would like to retract one thing I said in my previous post regarding working for dealers. They are great for learning. They will continue to send you to class to keep you up to date on the latest technology, which is a great thing. Take advantage of that after you graduate. Then leave. Those that train you won't pay you. Earning the degree requires both classtime and hands on, and many dealerships even hire you on a parttime basis while you're in school. Do a little research in your area. You can specialize in a specific area if that's what you wish to do. Nothing wrong with that. You can start with a basic set of hand tool and go adding to it as needed. The specialized and big tools like a lift and press are supplied by your employer. Also keep in mind that this degree doesn't mean you have to be an auto mechanic when you graduate (and therein lies the beauty) I went to school with guys that opened up their own lawnmower/ jetski shop. One went to work for muscle mustangs and fast fords magazine. One guy did an internship for Saleen out in california. A good buddy of mine decided right before graduation he didn't want to be a mechanic. He chose to tranfer to the University of Michingan to get his bachelors and now does product consulting for the big 3. Just look around you. If it has an internal combustion engine you will work. The only thing that can limit you is you. I've crossed paths with guys that worked in tugboats, cruiseships and trains. I've had teachers that worked on tanks for the army and aircraft carriers for the navy. Municipalities have buses,bulldosers & police cars. You won't starve.

Edit: Please excuse the run-on sentences and typos, I was posting from my cellphone

[TheSuzie]

I did low level mechanic work when I was young even though I knew more complex things there was still a lot to learn. I also found it hard on the body. I was not physically strong enough and developed joint problems etc.

I took an associates degree in a program that was called Medical Electronics Engineering Technology. I ended up building prototypes for aerospace communications gear, medical equipment, industrial equipment and more while I went to night school and also learned programming on the side at work. While health problems held me back, I still worked my way up to more senior level engineering positions even though I never completed my BS. There still is a caste system in many engineering departments and people with advanced degrees from places like MIT, CalTech and Stanford are going to get the top jobs. Still, those folks also usually do less hands on work.

I eventually used my troubleshooting skills and understanding of electrical and mechanical hardware plus nuts and bolts level software to become a consultant. My specialty was troubleshooting problems with existing designs and/or completing projects where the engineer or programmer had quit. This was interesting but very high stress and high paying work. This involved both sitting in front of a computer and also being out on factory floors surrounded with test equipment and tools. I did this until near the time my health failed,

No matter what you do, if you want to rise to the higher levels there will be less and less time for personal projects. There were many like the Alfa Romeo I never finished restoring and my old 9C1 Chevy that I sold off . I have a friend who is a top level factory trained Porsche mechanic and he has had a car sitting in his garage for a couple of decades. He never gets around to doing anything with it.

Reality is that life will also throw you curves. It is important to pick a good direction but know that things around you may change or your needs/desires may change and you will have to adapt.

Best of Luck,
S

[playinpearls]

i started as a lube tech when i was 16 for a summer job. I then graduated to a technician at around 19-20. One thing i learned is that mechanics dont make crap until they are upper level, which could take years....

i was making 8 per billed hour...

but my lead tech actually got offered a job at another dealership which he took....
he was making upwards of 20 an hour billed. he would make a dollar for every hour that his techs worked....and 4 weeks vacation starting out...

so if you stick with it, it could work out if the politics are right...

i quit because i got sick of working on other peoples cars....then i got sick of working on my own. I stayed in long enough to learn what i wanted to know and got out. Now i'm a computer tech...