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Hello everyone, first post on these forums though I’ve been lurking for a bit.
So I have a question for you all. I’ve been in the automotive business for about 6 months, prior to that the only “training” I’ve had is helping the maintenance guys at the dairy I used to work at, fixing the machines I ran and the pumps that brought the milk to the machines. I now work at a local shop, it’s a privately owned franchise. Started out doing oil changes, tire repairs/balancing, etc. I’ve moved up a tad since then, got into doing brakes, minor suspension/steering stuff, wheel bearings (just bolt ins so far), alignments, stuff like that.
I may be looking for too much fast, but I really like to learn as much as I can, and I really like working on cars (I make anywhere from half to a third of what I used to make at the dairy and I’m still much happier). I’d like to continue my progression, but at the shop I’m working for that doesn’t look like it’ll happen any time soon. I learn better by just getting in there and doing it, and definitely aren’t gonna get the chance there (we mostly do brakes and exhaust, so on the rare occasion something else comes in its not gonna go to me and I’ll probably be too busy to go over and watch our head tech do it).
Long story short, I have 2 options. Another tech that just got hired at the shop I’m at works part time at another shop and is willing to let me go there and watch him. It seems like a great prospect, but I’ve only worked with him 2 days, definitely not enough time to gauge how good he is. Or, an apprenticeship program at a dealership. However, I have no idea how these actually work. Do I do my own work and look in on others when I can? What’s the ratio of “little jobs” that I can do vs. the “big” jobs I can look in on? (This is a rhetorical question, obviously differs via a thousand different factors, also I’d rather look in on another tech working but obviously in that environment it won’t always be possible). I assume the dealership sends you to classes, who pays for that? Will I get paid for the time I spent in class? What do they teach in these classes? How do they teach (hands on, books, little of both)?
Or is all of this dealer specific? Would I be better off just calling a dealer and asking about their apprentice program? I’d really like to work for Subaru or Honda, they’ve been my favorite to work on so far. But that’s relatively irrelevant.
What’re your thoughts/experiences, forum goers?
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Welcome to the board, I have moved your thread from Service and Repair to the Technicians forum.
All the best…
-Karl
[quote=”ToyotaKarl” post=142881]Welcome to the board, I have moved your thread from Service and Repair to the Technicians forum.
All the best…
-Karl[/quote]
My apoligies, I was in this forum originally but it timed me out and defaulted to the other forum I suppose. Figured I’d let a mod move it instead of reposting. Thank you.
Dealer training is very good, and you will need to put in effort to understand automotive systems to be exceptional. I’ll edit this another time to answer you better, because I’m too tired to write proper advice now.
Dealerships will promise the moon get it in writing signed by the person hiring you. Take the original home and keep a copy at work. I hate to be like that but, I have seen way to many stories on here and been promised things myself that never happened until I brought up my contract I was under and actually got apprenticed properly.
The way apprenticing worked for me was I got my job and he got his when I got stuck or wanted to know stuff I would ask him. I would get my stuff done and then help him on his big job. When I first started doing the stuff it would take me 3 hrs to do brakes but, I was asking so many questions. Even though I went to school for the stuff what you learn there vs real world are 2 completely different animals. We actually continued to work that way after my apprentice period because at that point we were in sync so well we could just get stuff done faster. It was to the point i would grab the trash can or his current make shift spitune before he even asked. That was until they move him to a different shop. I learned so much from him. I thanked him god knows how many times and I also bought him several meals and actually helped him with his personal vehicle because he doesn’t know anything about automobiles. Actually had to file down and reshape a couple parts to make them work for his brakes on his truck.
The thing about apprenticing is you need to be with someone worth while teaching you which means you are probably going to want someone that approaches problems the same way or one that is extremely knowledgeable. I got lucky my mentor was both. Though we both fix stuff slower then most people our return rate is so low it is forgivable.
That way of apprenticeship sounds to be the best. I try to do that with our master tech as much as possible but sometimes he’s not so willing to let me put a wrench on it. Or is pissed and doesn’t feel like answering questions (and I get it. I’ve trained people, it slows you down and is rather annoying. I feel for him, but at the same time that doesn’t help me out much).
Think an indie shop would be better? Saw a bunch of people talking about that. I’d be willing to bet it has a smaller car count, could be beneficial in terms of not being hurried and able to watch a job being performed in its entirety.
Indie shops can be beneficial to learning because they pay hourly, so techs are concerned with doing the job right, not fast. Not hang, bang hack and stack like dealerships. Customers understand their car will be there for a day, sometimes a few hours. Techs aren’t in a hurry to beat book times, they are interested in doing the job properly because the customers trust them over dealerships and expect the work to be done right. Some shops specialize in a certain manufacturer, some take what ever comes their way. Many are looking for apprentice techs.
Dealerships will send you to training. It’s just like anything else you need to show potential, possibly enroll in a local program. I would study books at the very least. Show that you want to learn. Some dealerships have a tech that specifically trains new techs for 6 months. My old dealership didn’t have a training program. They over paid techs with wrenching experience.
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