Changing Trades

[Johnny]

I’ve been a mechanic for five years now. My love for working on cars has slowly dissolved. I am now at the point where I find it so stressful, that I randomly puke/dry-heave throughout the day. I have no appetite, I drink way too much beer every day, and I hate waking up in the morning.

I’ve learned so much in this trade, mostly the hard way (like most techs), and I don’t regret my experience. I am proud to call myself a journeyman mechanic, but I think I’m done with it.

A few years ago, I was an industrial electrician. I’m thinking of trying it again and maybe getting my license as one. Pays well, and the stress was not even comparable to working on cars, even if it is harder on the body. With construction jobs, I’ve always felt proud at the end of the day. Now, I just feel almost satisfied if I made eight hours flat-rate, and didn’t manage to fuck up a job… but then I go home and wonder if I torqued everything right, put the right amount of oil in a car, or if the car I did that seal on will come back leaking.

Is this a phase, or does any one else feel the same way? I’m tired of being paranoid 24/7. I worry every car I touch will come back for some reason. I dream about fucking up jobs almost every night, and I can’t drink enough beer to sleep dreamlessly anymore. It’s pretty bad.

Anyone??

Topic

[Bill]

If working on cars for a living makes your life that miserable then you should try something else. Just remember that you only live once.

[leonard]

I can understand how you feel
I was in the television repair trade for about 20 years,before that i was a mechanic, and now back doing auto electrics,
its the same in the tv trade, i might make a few quid today, to find its back the next day, with the customer looking for a refund, or worse,could be a pcb that costs more than the unit is worth,
also when i do repair, the customer might leave them with me for a year or more and expect the tv to be still there

[Johnny]

It’s been a little over a month now since I quit working in the automotive trade. I got hired as an industrial electrician. I make 19.50 an hour instead of $32 flat rate. The stress is way lower, the work makes me feel satisfied at the end of the day, and I don’t wake up every morning worrying so much about the day that I dry-puke into the sink.

My paycheques are SLIGHTLY lower than what I was making as a journeyman in Calgary at 24/hour. $24 an hour in Calgary, or this province (Alberta) is a slap in the face. I did my research before moving to Red Deer, AB regarding the Toyota dealership. It wasn’t until I was there that I discovered how bad of a reputation it had and why business was so slow, despite what I was told during my interview. I REALLY don’t understand why they hired me. They didn’t need me. I worked for them for four months. In four months, five out of nine techs have quit. Two out of four service advisors have quit. One service manager. One parts manager. And more from other departments. Keep in mind, this is not a big dealership. I think it was a blessing that I got hired there to confirm my feelings about my line of work: it depressed me, and forced me to return to my original love in the construction industry.

The only downside is that I have gone from journeyman to 1st year apprentice again, and the apprentice pay scale is not as good as a mechanic’s, even though at the end, a journeyman electrician makes significantly more an hour than a mechanic and without the stress level or bullshit.

Reading through some other posts about some of you making $18 an hour makes me sad. I can only hope that the cost of living is significantly lower than where I’m at. As a tech, I think I met TWO people who still liked working on cars after doing it for more than ten years. The majority either don’t like it, hate it, or don’t even think about it. That’s no way to live. You spend the majority of your life at work. Do something that doesn’t make you want to puke every morning. Being flat rate made me want to puke every hour, and I could only dull that with alcohol. Most electricians I know or met still like or love what they do after ten or more years of doing it. Hope I’m smart enough to make it through the apprenticeship. The training seems tougher, but looking at the job, the auto technician job is WAY tougher. It takes a stronger man than I to be a tech.

For those that still love working on cars, thank you. I hope that love stays with you. The world needs good techs who love their work. You guys kick serious ass. I’m sorry I couldn’t hack it, and help improve its reputation.

[college man]

I commend you for having the courage to change careers instead of continuing a job/
career that did not give you satisfaction. Money is important.We all need it to live
and survive. But not at the expense of mental and physical health. Best of luck to you.
Thank you for keeping us posted. The apprenticeship will go fast. 🙂

[Author]

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