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So I’m a pretty young guy (17), I am currently in the auto tech program at my high school and I’m looking to get a job in the automotive repair industry. I have submitted a few applications for lube tech positions, and I have even had an interview at my local Toyota dealership. I obviously didn’t get the job, but I am still looking for one.
Now I’m not asking anyone on here to put in a good word or actually give me a job or anything like that, but what can I do to make myself more attractive (for lack of a better term) to potential employers? Is calling to follow up on applications a practice looked down upon in this industry? Are dealerships better than independent shops for newbies? Any other tips you have are greatly appreciated 🙂
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My personal opinion is independent shops can take the time to tutor a new person in the industry more so than a dealership. Now I know there are going to be people that disagree with me . I would also suggest you go to a good accredited trade school after high school.
I would consider a independent shop as well (the size and reputation of the shop have to be consider as well).
When I started I was gas jockey for a service station, so I started doing tire repair/oil change and being helper for the journeyman.
Doing oil change on customer that are 5 year returning customer were actually not bad as I would look for everything but knowing that even if I would call a repair that was a must to my eye, I would get a honest answer from the tech that I should consider that repair a should over a must. So the first year were a lot of learning over repair value.
I change to other independent shop once I got few year of experience with the basic already learn and other aspect of the industry that was still unknow to me (a/c and transmission for example). So I became a good general tech with lets say area that I prefer working over other.
I won’t bash on quick lube and dealer but you need to visualize that at the lube center, they try to upsale on every other service than oil change but are they really trained for it (wide range of vehicle model and the skill of their staff) so do you really want to learn from those?
At the dealer, there is 2 kind of vehicle potential. The warranty (you will fix engineer mistake) which is actually a proper repair according to me but then you become a part changer. And then you have repair off warranty where the shop make money as long as you are a performer. The good side of a dealer is that you will have training as they invest in you to keep you. So if you pick am area that you like (let say electronic for instance), then you can become a electronic tech instead of being a general tech. The downfall of the dealer is that some tech loose their diagnostic skill as they get told what to do as you follow manufacturer dictation.
So I believe you should go for an independent shop that HAS the TIME to train you, and experience will kick in. After few year you might turn out that you like the design of a brand over another one, or you dislike specific job.
You need to remember that a automotive technician is a pneumatic tech, a hydraulic tech, a electrician, a electronician if I can make up a word, a ventilation tech and so on. Being said if you are 18 I’m sure you can learn way faster than somebody who would take that trade at 30 being a janitor since 18 🙂 but the industry evolve so fast now, that once you get 5 year of experience it is pretty clever to think that if you enjoy a brand or a type of repair over another, then to work on what you enjoy the most.
Hope I explained it properly I can write english but It is not my first language
Now that I was done I forgot 1 line that my last employer told me as I was 7 year in the trade
You need to remember that you have as much knowledge as a doctor. (a doctor would say we are wrong but screw him). If you are in a independent shop and you fix everything and you try everything to not turn job out to the competition (dealer or another independent shop), That means you need to go fetch the information to keep yourself updated, that means you sometime have to make your own tool, that means you need to think outside the box.
Being said. If you can do all those, then you are as skill as a general doctor but in a different aspect of life.
Now there is some customer that just look at you as a place to get there work done not even considering that aspect. And there is other customer that love their garage for that particular reason and would swear by it.
Employer look at 3 things also, EXPERIENCE, KNOWLEDGE, TALENT.
EXPERIENCE. you learned that by doing mistake (come back, screwing up). Don’t take my word that you need to screw up to have experience, but people with experience won’t redo the same mistake
KNOWLEDGE. school will give you the basic. A shop is the reality we live in. And there is one thing worst than Ignorance in that case. It’s the illusion of knowledge (this is what you want the shop across the road to be banana:
TALENT. This is what You want to prove to the shop that you get hire from at this moment. I don’t really need to explain that one at this moment.
So you can have somebody with knowledge no talent no experience…. or experience no knowledge and talent…. and so on…. If you have the 3 of them…. then usually those guy have already their shop.
Cheers!!!!
[quote=”bustedbolts” post=89225]My personal opinion is independent shops can take the time to tutor a new person in the industry more so than a dealership. Now I know there are going to be people that disagree with me . I would also suggest you go to a good accredited trade school after high school.[/quote]
A few of the independent shops I went to all had an age requirement of 18 :, also I was planning to take automotive courses at the local community college.
[quote=”Kgevil” post=89236]You need to remember that you have as much knowledge as a doctor. (a doctor would say we are wrong but screw him).[/quote]
This is more true that most people know… And an honest Doctor will even tell you this….
While a tech may not have the formal education in years as a Doctor, experienced techs have a significant amount of knowledge and versatility that parallels or even exceeds doctors…
My neighbor is a Doctor and other neighbor is a retired nurse after 40 years in the business. They are always in amazement at what I can do to cars….
As we know Doctors specialize… My doctor neighbor has been practicing about 20 years now… When we have some beers together, he will even say that there is pretty much nothing new to what he sees in his particular field on a daily basis…. It is completely boring to him and he can make a diagnosis very quickly… Because since generally the human body, is the same and does not change it is like working on the same model car… We work on several models, makes and while the fundamentals are the same, the problems can be varied and complex sometimes…
A little story I like to tell is when the doctor saw me in the middle of doing a timing belt on a V6 3.0 sitting on the floor of my garage, he was dumbfounded and asked “how can you remember where all that stuff goes?”… To me, it is simple, I can see each part as an individual not as a whole mess of tubing, wires, bolts and stuff… comes with experience…. It was also said that surgery as a whole was not that complex…..
My neighbor says I would have made a great Doctor…. who knows… but personally, I can’t stand blood so that probably had something to do with it….
Just my 2 cents…
-Karl
I share the same thought. A friend went in a communication course. You know H-can and such, and without being new to him, they had a lots of diagnostic material to cover.
During the course, he had pertinent question that the teacher couldn’t explain.
The only thing the tutor told them was : I’m here to show you how it works. How you are going to find to find a efficient way to cure the problem is your business, even the engineer have not though about it.
Mechanic is always evolving and it is what motivates me at the beginning of the day and is where our diagnostic skill make us have better judgment overall
I’m jumping on the automotive train this fall. Attending community college for a AA degree. I felt it was the smartest move for me. They also offer elective programs for different manufacturers, I’m going with Toyota T-TEN.
I hope this will give me a good start in the field. It most certainly wont mean I know it all, haha not even half of it. However I imagine it might give me an edge when it comes to getting a job after school!!Would be cool to hear from any of you guys who are already in the industry what you think of my plans.
[quote=”joni” post=89279]I’m jumping on the automotive train this fall. Attending community college for a AA degree. I felt it was the smartest move for me. They also offer elective programs for different manufacturers, I’m going with Toyota T-TEN.
I hope this will give me a good start in the field. It most certainly wont mean I know it all, haha not even half of it. However I imagine it might give me an edge when it comes to getting a job after school!!Would be cool to hear from any of you guys who are already in the industry what you think of my plans.[/quote]
We’re pretty much on the same page! Hope it works out for you
Got some more apps today, mostly from independent shops, but I did go to the local Kia dealership and fill one out. Left it in the service manager’s hand, hoping I get a call soon 😀
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