Mechanic profession, your opinion needed.

[Mikepage]

Hello there,

I address to all mechanic here.

I would like your impression about your job and what you think.

I have the opportunity to go back to school and I look for this profession.

I currently working in IT but I have already performed a lot of works on many cars and I love it.

Thank you in advance!

[sklimo]

Originally Posted by Mikepage

Hello there,

I address to all mechanic here.

I would like your impression about your job and what you think.

I have the opportunity to go back to school and I look for this profession.

I currently working in IT but I have already performed a lot of works on many cars and I love it.

Am more Manuel compare to work on a chair...

Thank you in advance!

You lost me there. You wanna work on chairs??

[Mikepage]

No, i dont want to work on a chair anymore

[evomike]

working on cars for a living sucks

[dpesce]

Imo it was a lot of fun but taxing on the body! I worked long hours on a team system and sometimes came home with 6 hours of pay for a 9 hour day. The environment was a lot of fun but making it a career is extremely challenging! I recommend becoming a mechanical engineer or the like if you love working on cars/fixing stuff

[King Tut]

1. Save your money.
2. Open your own shop.
3. Charge $75 to $150 an hour.
4. ???
5. PROFIT

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by dpesce

I recommend becoming a mechanical engineer or the like if you love working on cars/fixing stuff

Mechanical engineer here, I spend 90% of my time in a chair in front of a computer. There are hands on jobs available for someone with a true engineering degree that offer competitive pay but they are not as common and can be difficult to get. So far I think anyone can do the job if they're willing to put in the effort to get through school but it certainly isn't in everyone to study differential equations or fluid dynamics.

Edit: Also worth noting the most valuable tool for an engineer is communication, maybe the OP's primary language is French and it wouldn't be a problem but I certainly wouldn't bank on doing well in an English speaking engineering environment based solely upon the OP.

I seriously thought about becoming an auto mechanic but after speaking with a friend who's a master tech whatever, 20+ years working for independent and dealership shops I decided against it. You spend 7+ hours a day doing manual labor contorting your body to fix other people's shit, negligent owner, poor designs, or uninteresting grunt work (oil change number 12 today!) The last thing you want to do when you get home is work on your own projects, at least, a couple years in the novelty seems to wear off.

I decided to take the cushy desk chair job with a nice air conditioned building and free access to the internet and keep my hobbies for the weekend so I'm still enjoying them 5, 10, 20 years down the road.

There's certainly a need for the profession and if you do well and become a reliable quality mechanic you can pull 6 figures at a good dealership (not even a high-end one) and for some it's a perfect fit, just gather as much info as you can before you take the plunge, and be very wary about for-profit trade schools.

[NWFRS]

Stay on the chair.

Keep cars a hobby.

Most of us will be working 40hrs/week until we are 62+.

I've been collecting and working on firearms since I was...erm...very young. I enjoy it. A few years ago I took a weekend job as a paid gunsmith. Yuck. I never imagined how stupid and abusive people could be toward their firearms. I've always been a hobbyist machinist and woodworker, so my projects were always clean. When you do it for a living, people will bring you a paper bag full of rusty parts and say "I'm not sure if everything is there but I want it fixed, also I used a hammer so that piece is broken for sure." The reality was me being up to my elbows in toxic degreaser. I was also at the mercy of the store's owners who took in literally EVERYTHING that came through the door.

I did that for about a year and it definitely made me less enthusiastic about taking on new firearms projects.

I think you'll enjoy cars a lot more if you keep it a hobby.

[Pacific Auto]

Most of my family members are mechanics and own two shops.

Going to a school to become a normal auto mechanic is a waste.

Most employers only care about real work experience.

Average salary here in Socal is 40k-65k.

Working for the city is the best options!

My brother just got a job for a police station. Servicing cop cars.

Starting pay is $80k+ with full benefits/retirement. Plus the work is much easier than a normal shop. Cause the cop cars are serviced very regularly.

[Miniata]

Unless you absolutely suck as an IT worker and are very talented and passionate about being a mechanic, I'd stick with IT. The pay is not even comparable, probably around half at best. My wife is in IT and makes very good money, way more than any of my friends that are mechanics.

When I was younger I thought about being a mechanic, as working on cars is something I've always been good at, and I'm really passionate about cars, but in the end I decided I'd rather work in another field, as more likely than not, I'd be so sick of working on other people's cars that I wouldn't want to work on my own on my own time. I think I made the right choice, but who knows?

[Kiske]

Not to add but, tools will eat up a shit ton of your salary/income. I spent $200 this week on a cam-shaft lock so I could due a timing chain on a customers Audi. Turning down the job wasn't an option (as previous tech who quit, screwed it up in the first place!) I make roughly spend 2-4 thousand a year on tools and I've been working on cars for 10 years now. You spend less when you aren't freshly starting out.

Stay ITT, I dream of going back to schools and having a nice AC job. Doing what I love has pretty much ruined my idea of restoring/turning wrenches = fun. Keep in mind you will only make money in a high-volume shop in which you can beat your commision (do the work faster than quoted.)

edit. also went to WyoTech for this, waste of money. Did I learn stuff... yes. Was it applicable/benefitial? Nope
You won't truely understand something until your banging your head on an Intake Manifold trying to figure it out... or doing it. Sure the school was hands on but, they're holding that hand while feeding you so you aren't really learning it.

[Mikepage]

Thank you everyone for your Inputs, it's very appreciate and it's clear now, I will stay an IT guy and I will keep my mechanical for an hobby like now

Then I will search for a new Job in IT for January because they close the facility where I currently working unfortunately...

Originally Posted by strat61caster

Edit: Also worth noting the most valuable tool for an engineer is communication, maybe the OP's primary language is French and it wouldn't be a problem but I certainly wouldn't bank on doing well in an English speaking engineering environment based solely upon the OP.

For sure, am ok with the English, I learned it working as an IT guy for an big international companies... But I would not be ready to talk about mechanical engineer in English of course...but am working in an French country then...Thanks for you input anyway!

[litemup]

My dad was an Eastern European mechanical engineer. I grew up underneath cars, airplanes, tractors, you name it.

His most powerful advice was "Whatever you do, never become a grease monkey."

I'm a mechanical engineer and I still live underneath cars, airplanes, tractors, you name it.

[zohare]

I concur with many here... Let cars be a hobby. Takes away from some of the magic when it's your job and working on your own car is now like going to work... At least for many. I'm sure if you could work for a tuner shop or have your own that's a different story, but be happy you are clean everyday... That crap gets old always being covered in schmutz