to go to automotive school or not

[cherokeedawg240]

Sorry Ive not posted in a long time been busy. I need some advice. I'm addicted to cars and trucks and have been since I was little. Thought about having a career in it but backed out. And now I am regretting it.

Ive been nervous to go to automotive school for a couple of reasons. One I was told that working on cars I couldn't make much money and couldn't find a stable job.. Well Now I work at a grocery store and dont make much money at all and hate my job.

The other reason I have been scared to go back to automotive school is I worked at a Goodyear express shop for a few weeks and it was a total disaster. I was hired to change oil and tires. I had no training and because of that I was learning and messed up a tire putting it on a rim. And I had never drove a big pick up and no one guided me and and i hit the mirror off. And after that the the boss fired me and said I didnt belong near a car.

And that devastated me. Because I love cars. Ive spend hrs at a time looking at my car and planing things I could do to it to make it faster. But after the goodyear job Ive been scared to even try.

So my questions are. Can you find a stable job working on cars? Can you make decent money (and I dont mean get rich I mean like 35-45 grand a year)? Also do I let that Goodyear job keep me away? or was that just a bad experience and I just need to go to school and for get what happened there.

Ive thought about detailing and or selling and putting on accessories. And also automotive journalism. Thats where my passion is. paint detailing and accessories ect

thoughts?

[jamesboyy]

you had a bad time at goodyear but dont let it stop you grow from it go to automotive school if that what your dream is you can find stable work and make 35 to 45k a year but whats going to help you the most to keeping a job and earning money is ase certifcation, inspection license etc

[Setec Astronomy]

I love cars. Ive spend hrs at a time looking at my car and planing things I could do to it to make it faster.

Do you do any work on your own car? I hate to be blunt, but sometimes interest does not equal aptitude. I am sure that Goodyear hires a lot of people without experience and if they considered you "untrainable" that seems to not be a good sign.

On the other hand, yes, it is possible to make a decent and stable living as a mechanic. I would point out that at a "certain" age, those kind of jobs become unattractive (being out in the weather, crawling under dashboards, etc.).

If you think you have the interest and aptitude to be a mechanic, as well as the discipline to go to school every day and learn, then I encourage you to do it.

[pickles]

It's the boss's responsibility to only have you do work your trained for. If your not trained then they should have given you some. On the other hand maybe you shouldn't have gone for or taken a job you weren't prepared for. If you want to work on cars then go to auto school and get trained. If you're not cut out for it then you won't make it through the schooling. If you're passionate and interested then at least try. The higher up the chain you climb and more work you get then you'll make money. Good luck to you. " don't let anyone steal your dream, it's your dream not theirs" -zadra

[Jpatchley]

Do you do any work on your own car? I hate to be blunt, but sometimes interest does not equal aptitude. I am sure that Goodyear hires a lot of people without experience and if they considered you "untrainable" that seems to not be a good sign.

On the other hand, yes, it is possible to make a decent and stable living as a mechanic. I would point out that at a "certain" age, those kind of jobs become unattractive (being out in the weather, crawling under dashboards, etc.).

If you think you have the interest and aptitude to be a mechanic, as well as the discipline to go to school every day and learn, then I encourage you to do it.

I sincerely like how open and honest you are on all of your posts Sectec. It may not mean much coming from a simple forum member, but I do appreciate your posts.

[hernandez.art13]

The only person that can hold you back, is yourself.

I took an auto body class in college. It didn't really interest me. I also took an estimator class. I even took mentorship program for a week. I was the adjusters side kick lol

That didn't really interest me either. So I am just going to school for a degree. Computer Science.

But I have been Detailing throughout all those years. Was the detailer at a body shop, I was even the Detailer for Auto Body college class

If I could get an associates degree or bachelor's degree in Detailing. I would pursue that, but that doesn't exist.

My neighbor went to UTI and he now works for Mercedes. I don't know all the specifics. However I always see him working on his or customers car.

Don't look at what happened at Goodyear as a bad experience. Look at it as a lesson. Learn from that lesson and move on and get better.

Back to detailing: burning through paint is a horrible feeling. Luckily it was at the body shop. Now I learned why and how. So that won't happen to me.

So like I said, just learn from it, improve and keep going, until you master it.

If it's a true passion, nothing can hold you back, except for yourself.

Good Luck!

Art

[swanicyouth]

I got a 2 year degree in automotive repair out if high school. Then I worked as a flat rate mechanic for a Ford dealership for 7 years or so, then a few years doing alignments and front end work at an alignment shop. So, I've been through it. After a few years, I couldn't wait to get out

You didn't mention your age. Fixing cars for a living is a HARD job. First, there are generally 2 ways you can get paid: hourly and flat rate. Flat rate is if an engine "pays" 8.2 hours to replace it book time, you get paid 8.2 hours to do it. It doesn't matter if it takes you 3 hours, 17 hours, or you have to do it twice because Ford sent you an engine with the wrong wiring harness.

Flat rate is feast or famine. Sometimes there is a ton of work and you end up working 14 hours a day, and sometimes there is no work and you stand around half the day for free. Ideally you want it to be in the middle, but often its not. A flat rate mechanic could work a 40 hour week and get paid for 20, 30,40, 50 hours, etc.. Its just you vrs the clock (and some luck).

It can be really dreadful never knowing how much money you going to being home each week. Some weeks are good, some bad. But its always kind of a gamble. Sometimes for whatever reason you end up working for free. If your the kind of guy who isn't bothered by that, then more power to you.

There tends to be a lot of "politics" at dealerships. Certain guys are favored with "good work" for whatever reason, other guys get all the sh#t work dumped on them. I worked with guys making 100k a year and guys making 30k a year, all of them were basically equally qualified and doing the same type of work.


Second way ti get paid is hourly. Hourly wages are pretty low, because they figure a guy getting paid by the hour is going to take his time and not going to turn as much work. If your content at what they pay you and can live off it, than that is fine.

Yes, it's not too difficult to make 40k a year at a dealership if you have some training, some ASE certifications, a few years experience, and state inspection and emission licenses (PA). But fixing cars for a living is nothing like working on your own car
for fun.

Honestly, if your young enough I would suggest going to college for something that enables you to get a license to do it when your done. Anyone can call themselves a mechanic. Some of them are excellent and some of them are terrible. Some people just fall back on it for whatever reason. Generally, I just found a lack of professionalism in the whole industry, mainly because there is no real standard of who is a "mechanic".

I'm sure there are good shops and jobs out there. The problem with that is, shops can close, get new owners, or go out of business at any time. That's why tool boxes have wheel, we used to say. So, then your back where you started from, trying to find a good fair shop and hoping if you do it stays that way.

Honestly, it wasn't for me. I got out, got loans went to college, and am now making 3-4x as much as I was fixing cars in a much more professional environment. People at my job don't come in with hangovers every day, get arrested for coke, and their wife doesn't come to the job and smash all their car windows with a hammer. All those things happened at the dealership I worked at.

Good luck in whatever you do.

[danieledwards12]

dont give up! and dont let fear get in the way. you wouldnt be asking if you should do it if you really didnt want to actually do it, so i say go after it!! it sounds like you have the passion, go chase your dream!! you will be fine!!

[Setec Astronomy]

There tends to be a lot of "politics" at dealerships. Certain guys are favored with "good work" for whatever reason, other guys get all the sh#t work dumped on them. I worked with guys making 100k a year and guys making 30k a year, all of them were basically equally qualified and doing the same type of work.

So true, although arguably every job has its politics and the people who seem to get away with murder or get paid more for doing less, but the flat rate system certainly gets manipulated.

[cherokeedawg240]

Even the grocery store I work at has those politics. I'm 27. The business plan I have is not the normal route which scares me. Ive thought about doing a combo automotive journalism business writing automotive articles and such for magazines and news papers. and with that also doing a mobile car detailing business. And Ive thought about a automotive accessory business. I hope that all doesnt sound crazy