Need Some Opinions Here (long read)

[black heartbeat]

Originally Posted by bottledbird68

Yup, brakes and suspension/steering were the two ase certs I had (let them lapse though, it's been years since I've worked in a mechanical garage).

Both were pretty common sense. Only thing I will say is study up good on abs, that was the only thing that almost tripped me up on the brakes test.

And fwiw if I were still in business or were ever to reopen I'd take someone with real world work experience over a slip of paper from a school any day. School is great for theory but it can't teach common sense. Most of the real world is common sense and the best way to get that is by hands on real world work.

I've just found that its difficult to get a job to get a lot of real hands on experience without having it already. you know what I mean?

[bottledbird68]

Originally Posted by black heartbeat

I've just found that its difficult to get a job to get a lot of real hands on experience without having it already. you know what I mean?

Not too hard if you're willing to do grunt work for minimum wage and bust your ass when you get your foot in the door to prove you're worth training.

I've never had a day of schooling in my life but I worked in the automotive industry for about 13 years, doing both mechanical and auto body. And both times I started out exactly like I said.
Not saying it'll happen overnight, you have to be willing to pay your dues and work hard to prove yourself.

But, if I had it to do over again I'd probably stay out of the automotive industry all together. Go be a plumber or an electrician. Twice the pay, half the cost of tools, and no one bitches about what it costs to make their toilet flush or lights turn on. But god forbid it costs more than a happy meal to make your car not sputter anymore lol.
I've been on both ends of the shop spectrum and in this economy it's tough to break in and make good money. If you're already established the good paying work goes to you sure, but especially where you're starting out I wouldn't plan on making great pay for a long time.
Someday I may go back, but for now I make a LOT more money stocking coolers and serving alcohol. It's pathetic really lol. And trust me, I know what a lot of veteran techs make. More often than not it's not all that spectacular.

[black heartbeat]

Thanks guys!