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That’s a great point by Twiggy. I would take that path to start with.
As for getting a technician’s job, you will unfortunately have to keep searching. You could try independent shops also. In the mean time you could get some of your ASE (if you haven’t already) while you search.
Best of luck to you.
Well, dealerships close and sometimes techs get displaced. The problem is all the job postings for techs are now becoming ridiculously picky as companies know that experienced techs will take low wages to fill their ranks. The usual lube technician positions that “new” guys like me use to fill to get that experience in are going to guys who are all but master techs now.
Every posting wants 3-5 years of experience, minimum, plus schooling, plus various certifications and state inspection training (which companies use to pay for, bow they want to skirt costs by just grabbing the guys who have it all already. They will sit on some positions for weeks and months until they get that one perfect candidate who has to bite the bullet and work for less than he is worth.
One Toyota dealership in my area has opening for Lube Techs that even list requirements being experience or with schooling, new techs welcome, yet I e-mailed a resume and a follow up e-mail (since they requested no calls or walk ins) and got absolutely no response. Then a few days later I see them repost the advertisement.
So how do new techs get jobs now-a-days, so they can be experienced techs?
It’s a number game bud. Everyone is in the same situation. I am in the same situation too. The problem with me, is too much experience listed on the resume. My resume is for retail management. I have lots of experience but no certifications. I can do PCs, Mac, Linux, network, and software testing and hacking but without certificates, they won’t even look at me. Even if they would pay me less. If you don’t have the money to pay for professional resume help, look around online or even use MS Office could help.
Good luck. Let’s go out there and snatch those jobs.You could try at the local tire shops as a GS guy, which is simply a nice way of saying “tire buster”. That’s where I started while I was going to Lincoln Tech. When I graduated from LTI I got promoted to being a tech which is what I’ve been ever since. If you’ve got your heart set at working at a dealership, you could apply to be a “helper”. At the Saturn dealer I used to work at the helper mostly just pulled cars in and out, set the lift underneath them, did some minor oil/filter change type stuff. He’d also be the guy who would do things like drive the car while it was up in the air to find the cause of that drivetrain noise that you can’t find any other way, or hold the garden hose on the trim while a tech was inside the car looking for where the rain water was leaking in. It’s menial, mind-numbing work, but at least it’s a “foot in the door” so to speak.
Speaking as one who’s worked in both an independent shop and a dealership, I would recommend staying far away from the dealerships until you’ve gotten lots of experience. The pace at a dealer is nothing like the pace at an independent shop. You’ve got to work so much faster at a dealer it’s a night and day difference. Good luck with your search. I hope you find something.
Oh, before I forget. Once you find a job and have to get some tools, stay off the tool trucks until you know that fixing cars is what you want to do as a career. You can get the same kind of tools you’ll need to be a GS at Sears (or Lowes, Home Depot, Harbor Freight, et al) for a third of what you’ll spend for the same tool on a truck. Once you find something if you need some advice on what kind of tools to get when you’re just starting out, I’ll be happy to help you with that too.
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