How to start the trade

[Justin Fitzgerald]

I want to become a master tech. I don’t know if I should go to school or just watch the tech who does side work for a living. If I go to school I will owe about 15,000 dollars. What have you guys who are techs have done? How’d you get started? I know very little about cars what should my first move be? I Really want to learn. Some general advice would be appreciated. I should probably share that I’m not in it for the money. I wanted to be an electrical engineer but auto technician appeals to me more. Thanks guys.

Topic

[Jesse]

[quote=”Jlfitzgerald01″ post=133326]I want to become a master tech. I don’t know if I should go to school or just watch the tech who does side work for a living. If I go to school I will owe about 15,000 dollars. What have you guys who are techs have done? How’d you get started? I know very little about cars what should my first move be? I Really want to learn. Some general advice would be appreciated. I should probably share that I’m not in it for the money. I wanted to be an electrical engineer but auto technician appeals to me more. Thanks guys.[/quote]
I would do more research on the trade first, that is how I would start. This is a brutal field, I only work as a lowly lube tech in a Toyota Dealership, but I see a lot of worn out, sometimes bitter individuals. I’m constantly told to get out of the field by my older coworkers. This is not trade that many people are capable of stomaching. I see a lot of my younger co-workers looking for a way to get out. The work you do will be thankless, and the management will constantly be looking for a way to give you a smaller paycheck.

There are a lot of politics in this field, and the pay is an unorthodox method called flat rate. Look flate rate up online, and you’ll learn a little bit about it. Another thing you need to consider is tool prices. A few guys at my job claim that they have at least 50k invested in tools, there is one guy here that I’ve heard claim he has around 100k worth of tools and I don’t doubt him one bit.

If you still decide to go into this field I would recommend going through a manufacturer specific schooling program. I’m in one and I get to work in the field and go to school. You can learn yourself but I wouldn’t recommend it, there is at least one guy on this form that taught himself. I know one guy in my dealership who moved from car detailer into repair, but it took him a long time to do that. He also is only given very basic repairs such as brakes, flushes, trim, etc. Most of the people in my dealership either came from other dealerships or from a tech school. With the modern systems, and sophistication of those systems I would go to a good tech school, especially if you have no experience wrenching.

[John]

I too would urge you to take a good look at this field and talk to some technicians before committing. Realize that many technicians don’t stay technicians their entire working career. The “old timers” I worked with have all gone into other fields, albeit most are still in the auto industry in one shape or another. If you still find yourself set on becoming a technician I would advise you to look into the heavy equipment diesel side. It has been and will likely to be in demand for many years to come, besides the other benefits you can look into.

I got started at a trade school while I was still in high school. A few of us went to apprentice a few days a week at local shops. I got lucky and ended up at a busy local dealership where after graduating was hired full time. IMO you should go to school, but, look into the school very carefully. I knew guys who paid thousands of dollars going to a trade school they saw on a TV ad, when they got out thought they knew everything only to get that mental breakdown look the first real diagnostic job they got. My school was only a few hundred for adults at the time and I bet it’s still under 1k a year. Also as with most jobs/careers building relationships can help you in many ways, from the beginning having to borrow tools, to shop politics, to getting that next job that brings you to the next stage in your career.

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