Anybody here a mechanic?

Honda was my second job involving cars, started at 14$ an hour as a lube cuck.
Tires battery
Diagnosis
Air bag recalls
Stuff like that.
It's a good place to start learning basic shit on cars I went into that dealership with almost 2 years as a lube cuck at Walmart so that's how I got hired.

If you don't have any experience even a little bit they won't hire you

Does experience doing literally all of the maintenance on my own cars count?

I am. I make good money but I have lots of experience and live in a wealthy area so my wage isn't representative of what you will get

Good post

Not necessarily true, but true a lot of the time. Being a tech isn't very hard on your body if you aren't stupid about it (working on your knees when you don't have to, using wrong tools, etc.)

Good post

Yes just apply

I work with 60 year olds in good shape that have wrenched since they were 18. Just have to be careful.

Stupid post
>Flipping cars, sidework, specializing
Nobody makes a good living doing this, especially with no experience. No good tech does sidework because it's never worth it. There's no money in flipping cars unless you do body work/paint and it's still not worth it.

you live in California right?

Thanks a ton for the helpful post. I just applied for all the dealers near me (namely the toyota, and the nissan ones) thanks to you all, and just to double check, does having done your own maintenance count as even a little experience?

Yes

I wouldn't worry about your experience, if you come across as understanding how a car works in a limited way in an interview a large dealership will find a spot for you

Damn I totally would get sick of wrenching if it was my career

I don't think so, maybe you could schmooze your way into them testing you somehow

To be frank, years ago my friend worked in a dangerous shop, he had an accident, sued, and is dealing with court to this day.
>you don't know when that transmissions gonna fall on ya

Thank you a ton!

Sounds painful. And like faulty safety.

>you don't know when that transmissions gonna fall on ya

I know when it's going to fall on me, never, because I use the proper equipment and don't take unnecessary risks. You can't afford to use shitty equipment and do things improperly when you are relying on your body to make money. If a shop can't provide proper equipment and asks you to do heavy jobs then it's not worth being there and a dead end anyway, especially considering shops like that are bottom of the barrel customerwise and ownership wise, do you really want to put your body on the line to fix some pos Buick to make a scumbag shop owner some money?

>Does anyone here make a good living off of it? If so, how?

don't work on cars. heavy diesel, turbomachinery, generators, agriculture, etc.

an associates degree or some trade school training will help you get your foot in the door. grind the automotive scene only if you want to shoot the moon and do fancy shmancy import work or if you REALLY need the experience and college money.

t. field mechanical engineer

i worked my techs like slaves, but they made more than i did on a $/hr basis.

>can get into stock.

That's not really how stocks work, they're just another investment strategy ie get wealthy slowly, the majority of your wealth will still come from your job

Been a tech for 4 years. My advice is to pursue welding or something white collar.

Just out of curiosity, what can you do with a welding career? Seems a little niche.

People always give this advice, but do you really want to work on garbage trucks, windmills, etc.? Also it's a big misconception that techs at high end shops make the most money. Yes you may get a better hourly rate, but if you are flat rate you'll never rack up hours like techs can at big brand dealerships. I've worked with people from almost every brand, the ones that made the most money overall were from Ford/GM. Those brands have provisions to protect you from losing flat rate hours as long as you maintain factory training/certs, so if you blow 3 hours going the wrong way on diag you still get paid for it, but you can also bang out a bunch of majors/engines/transmissions and have crazy money weeks. That isn't how I like to work and I hate working on shitboxes that people don't care about so I didn't go that route but if money is the main factor I'd look at those domestic brands, especially GM. Those dealerships also don't attract the best talent so if you are good you can do driveability or pretty much pick and choose what jobs you want which isn't a bad place to be. At high end shops everyone is a good tech, so nobody is getting out of alignments or annoying trim jobs, it's split evenly.

Anything.
Construction, industry, automotive...

>tfw ur father has been a big wheel mechanic for the last nearly 60 years
>tfw ur finally getting into the field too late and have squandered countless years not working on cars and basically anthing related to them

I... I don't even know my dad. Oh god the opportunities i could have had by now. Fuckin hell

I went to UTI, and it's definitely great for someone with absolutely no experience, but if you have any time what so ever handling a wrench, it's not really worth it. You get a great discount on Snap-On tools, and you can get specific manufacturer training. That's about the only benefit.

If you don't have any time with a wrench, and it's not that competitive to get into a tech spot at a dealership, I recommend taking a few classes at your community college.

This will help you if you ever want to turn those credits into something more useful in the future. I used my credits from UTI to pursue an engineering degree after I got tired with busted knuckles, slow seasons, and service advisors playing favorites for the better jobs.

Get a good tool set, but don't break the bank. You can easily get by with a decent craftsman set. The tool guy will always come around if you need anything special, or just keep that sears credit card paid every month.

Get a BASIC set tho, talk with a few members of the shop you'll be going into and get a list of what they use most often. Definitely go for a dealership because they have a ton of specialty tools you won't have to pay for (especially diagnostic equipment).

Oh, and get some VERY GOOD work boots and a nice mat for your work area. Hard surfaces fuck up knees. Don't bother with steel toe, because the stuff that it protects your toes from don't really hurt that much, but if you drop something really heavy, enjoy your toes being pinched for however long it takes get to the emergency room and they can pry them out of there.

WEAR SAFETY GLASSES AND HEARING PROTECTION AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE!!! Also buy a "quiet" impact gun. Trust me, I almost didn't get into the military because of hearing issues.

Um... and don't be afraid to take on big jobs. The more you do, the more you learn. All cars were designed to go together, come apart, and go back together.

Cool! I have experience with some maintenance wrenching so i'm not sure how much I'll get out of it, and I know a nice craftsman ratchet set, a torque wrench, an impact gun, and a breaker bar can get you pretty far, but I didnt think about the boots and mat though, so thanks :)

Just go to community college and learn it.

It's not a career you can do for decades though. I went to get my AAS in welding and decided not to do it for a career. Met pipeline guys and factory welders, who can't see for shit or open their hands.

Thanks for the advice my mang.
Don't even want to persue mechanicing, but it's good to know the pro tips of being one.

it got to the point where i didnt want to go to work especially if a big job like a clutch or diesel truck was waiting for the next day. last year i worked there business was so slow i worked 1-2 days a week and did odd repairs from my house, finally said fuck it and quit. went back to school and got my diploma for security and work in loss prevention, now i actually like working on my cars after work again

also automotive is horrible on your health, i didnt like wearing ear plugs because you cant hear people talking to you and my ears would ring after work. that and when i blew my nose it was black snot from oil and dust, dont miss it at all

80% of what you learn comes from at work experience with people already in the trade, school was a joke in some areas. tell you that youll ruin a cars ABS system if you dont crack the brake bleeder pushing in a caliper piston, i did at least 250 disc brake jobs, never cracked a bleeder, never had 1 ABS issue

Job sucks, pays mediocre at best. You come home dirty, arthritis sucks.

I bought a house, now im stuck. Would advise not to do OP.

I'm a tech at a general repair shop. I clear over 100k per year

Does not count sorry bro

Quite a bit, depending on your location. I work as an aluminum boat welder, and make 40-50k with benefits as my first job out of college with an AAS degree. is right though, I don't see myself doing this for the rest of my life, but most factory welding jobs will give you the right PPE, and generally not be the worst job ever (beats the shit out of retail any day of the week).

You have to work smart, not hard.

I blew a buddies mind because once he went for a breaker bar after giving up, I took a jack stand, layer the wrench on it, and stood on top of the handle and bounced a few times.

One time at work two identical steel pans were stuck together for years. I filled the top pan with ice and stuck the pana in the fryer for a minute. Kept the top cold and bottom hot.

They came apart easy.

I've torn apart scrub pads trying to get fast food oven racks clean..

I should have used a dremel with a wire brush.

Use the right tools and learn from your experiences if it makes life easier

Dude.... I literally got hired because I was white and the restaurant needed more diversity.

Americans are working as tech support for India.
THE CIIIIRRRRCLE OF LIIIIIFFFFEEEE

Diesel mechanic here. Used to work for Dodge in the truck department on Cummins.

Worked in the oil fields in Colorado and Wyoming on Peterbilts and now I work in Mining up in Washington with Mack trucks and heavy equipment (think John Deere and Hitachi)

I make about 60-75k a year. I got a 3 week job in Alaska last year to fix a few Cat and Volvo loaders. Really cool time flying in on a DC6 and being up there. Got paid 10k for 3 weeks.

The job is hard. You need to constantly learn new skills. Invest in new tools. And not to mention grease and oil stains on everything. But I work hard for my money and I love it. Also hate it at times. It's a job.

At the end of the day I have enough money for my house, truck, motorcycle, bills, savings, food and all that crap. Shitty mechanics will tell you it sucks because they suck.

The industry is starving for talent.

Curiousity's sake, how do you get experience if you need experience to get experience?

Lube monkey

Are you in the states? Can you pass a piss test? Go to sea and make a lot more money.

All of this only applies to your area and your generalizations based upon what very little life experience you have had depict the arrogance leading to why only Californians like California and why Californians do not understand the economy. You do realize it is your idiocy and attitude that's caused everyone to hate you guys and why it's so shit there.... right?

That's what I assumed lol. I knew id start as that

It's like being a doctor, except your patients regularly jump from windows of tall buildings because they can't be bothered to take the stairs, think that their mangled, gangrenous legs are perfectly fine because they managed to crawl into your office, and will accuse you of being a big pharma scammer if you ever even point it out to them.

Hey guy's I was looking at my community college near me and they have "automotive technology" and I just want to know what exactly does NATEF certified exactly is for?

Ayyye Toyota Xpress tech right here m8.
Do people really let cars out without refilling oil after draining? I keep hearing stories and have yet to witness some retard completely destroy a new toyota engine.

I toyed with the idea of becoming a tech.
But trying to get a job with no experience was a joke and the odds of getting an apprenticeship were slim to fuck all.

I went to a shit local college and took a mechanical engineering degree. A few lucky breaks later and I somehow ended up doing industrial diesel engine testing at oem level.
It's okay I suppose. Clean and well paid, but defining test schedules for fixed speed diesel gensets was not the career I dreamed of.

>but have heard it pays like absolute dirt.

Can confirm. I made $300 last month working full time, sometimes 7 days a week. I have 16 years in this profession now. When customers don't pay, and the shop's overhead needs to be paid to keep it running, he chances of you getting paid go down immeasurably. I'm probably owed thousands that I will never see.

Try reading the first line of my post really carefully, I know it's difficult but I'm sure you can do it. Flyover staters "hate" California the same way Europeans "hate" Americans, sour grapes.

NATEF just means that the school knows what theyre doing when it comes to teaching you. Just like ASE certs mean, or used to mean you know what you were doing if you were just handed a beater and told to fix it.

What courses should I go for in a community college because I've been working in the same job since I was 18 and all it has done is add a bit of depression to life I at least want to do something that I would hate less. I'm just to the point where I don't know what to do with my life. Kill me.

I worked at a Dodge/Chrysler/Ram dealership as a tech for a while. My time there made me HATE my trade with a passion. If you really want to pursue auto, go with a small shop where you can see every make of vehicle and not the same shit er'day. Also the money blows dick.

no