Mechanics/Technicians

[NEEK94LS]

So im just wondering, how many people on this forums are mechanics or techs? Also do you regret going into the automobile field. Im just wondering cause im trying to get my foot in the door with expensive ass UTI and I have a frien who's a mechanic and he seems like he hates his job lol. I find that wierd cause he makes a really nice sum of cash. So everyone who's an actual certified mechanic/tech and uses that career to pay bills how do you like the field?

 

[ixcocoyxi]

i know the insides and outs of my car. does that make me a mechanic?
since i know everything about my car, i also to maintenance/mechanic work on helos as well. i love it!!

 

[00DC2TW]

I took auto 3 years in high school and worked at honda as an apprentice/intern, and then went to college for Automotive Industry Management, Then the auto Industry started going down hill, and I switched my major... Extensive knowledge in Honda/Acura, hate working on anything other then them, once you worked on a honda, you wonder why the fuck engineers at the other car companies do/design some of the things they do

 

[jdmjim]

it's not a easy job but hard work can pay off handsomely it you work at it. some days are better than others and just like any job it tends to get routine. my biggest problem is getting the parts.i have all my auto ASE's, master, undercar and advanced engine.it dosent make me better, im just proud of what i do. the only thing is my cars are the last to get worked on and dont ask when i last changed my oil.lol. all and all if you think it's what you want to do i say go for it man.i'm actually looking into the management end and possibly a service writer position just due to some healh issues but we'll see what happens.

 

[built_ls]

This is a good thread, imma leave a comment so i can be subscribed to it. Im thinking about doing diesel mechanic....

 

[mirrorimg]

Im a shade tree mechanic.

 

[seahtech]

Hello all, this is my first day and this popped up so I thought I'd jump right in.

Personally I hate being called a mechanic. To me it dumbs down what we do and has the negative connotation of being a dumb hillbilly. I am a graduate of Honda PACT so I do have a technicians degree from Honda and have worked for a dealership for years. When people ask what I do and I say I'm a Honda Technician they dont understand what that is most of the time so I say mechanic and I get the "oh" answer.

The best explanation I have heard of the difference is mechanics are parts replacers and may understand basic theory. Whereas Technicians have a deeper understanding of what is actually going on, why things work the way they do, what to do when things are not working the way they should and IMO the main difference how to diagnose any problem.

With that being said I have a love/hate relationship with my job. Working on cars grandmas Odyssey all day makes working on your own car more of a chore then a hobby. Really I only work on mine when I have to whereas before I started in this field I would look forward to going home and dinkin' around on my car.

The money that was in the car industry just isn't there anymore honestly. With the economy the way it is more and more people are staying away from dealerships, except for warranty work which doesnt pay
sh!t, and only buying the minimal repairs, or having us diagnose problems and then going to other shops to have said repairs done. Many techs at my dealership are making 10-15k less then a few years ago and we are the busiest and highest grossing in the Northwest. The advantages of having tech training is the immense knowledge and tricks you will learn. Also everyone you work with will be into cars in some way so your connections and "homie-hookups" just expanded. Oh and you get parts at cost so you can save a lot of money that way!!

If you want to be a tech stay away from UTI. They dont do many "real world" problems. I visited UTI in Arizona and worked with a tech who went there and said he learned more at Honda in 3 months then he did his entire time at UTI. Look from the manu. specific training schools. PACT isHonda, T-TEN is Toyota, ASEP is GM.

Sorry for such a long response just thought I'd share my insight on this!

 

[NEEK94LS]

Hello all, this is my first day and this popped up so I thought I'd jump right in.

Personally I hate being called a mechanic. To me it dumbs down what we do and has the negative connotation of being a dumb hillbilly. I am a graduate of Honda PACT so I do have a technicians degree from Honda and have worked for a dealership for years. When people ask what I do and I say I'm a Honda Technician they dont understand what that is most of the time so I say mechanic and I get the "oh" answer.

The best explanation I have heard of the difference is mechanics are parts replacers and may understand basic theory. Whereas Technicians have a deeper understanding of what is actually going on, why things work the way they do, what to do when things are not working the way they should and IMO the main difference how to diagnose any problem.

With that being said I have a love/hate relationship with my job. Working on cars grandmas Odyssey all day makes working on your own car more of a chore then a hobby. Really I only work on mine when I have to whereas before I started in this field I would look forward to going home and dinkin' around on my car.

The money that was in the car industry just isn't there anymore honestly. With the economy the way it is more and more people are staying away from dealerships, except for warranty work which doesnt pay
sh!t, and only buying the minimal repairs, or having us diagnose problems and then going to other shops to have said repairs done. Many techs at my dealership are making 10-15k less then a few years ago and we are the busiest and highest grossing in the Northwest. The advantages of having tech training is the immense knowledge and tricks you will learn. Also everyone you work with will be into cars in some way so your connections and "homie-hookups" just expanded. Oh and you get parts at cost so you can save a lot of money that way!!

If you want to be a tech stay away from UTI. They dont do many "real world" problems. I visited UTI in Arizona and worked with a tech who went there and said he learned more at Honda in 3 months then he did his entire time at UTI. Look from the manu. specific training schools. PACT isHonda, T-TEN is Toyota, ASEP is GM.

Sorry for such a long response just thought I'd share my insight on this!

NOOOOOOOO dont be sorry lol
This the type of response I wanted to hear. Very detailed. Honestly I figured I would learn more with a dealership but I wanted something to get me the job in the first place. I know I cant just go there and say hey you should hire because im a hard ass workers and all my free time is spent tinkering with my Integra. My trashey HS didnt offer any auto program so I was stuck with law and the study of criminal minds.

So while I would love to just jump into the field I dont think that would be the best route, maybe the cheapest but not the best. I feel just jumping in the field is gonna only get to a mechanic position which I dont want to be for the rest of my life. I love being a mechanic for my car but I dont want swap parts on other people's cars untill im 60 lol. Thats why I wanna be a tech, also thats were I figure the money is at. This is were UTI comes in.

They have a really nice school in PA but godddd is it expensive, 30K for only 1 year and some months. Also you have to rent an apartment and pay that off with all your other expenses. Im no slouch and im willing to work my ass of to get to the top but damn thats alot on the plate. I figure after 3 months of being there I would find a job and everything would be a little simpler. Now if theres a way besides schools like UTI im more than willing to try that especially if it wont cause me to be bankrupt for 5 years lol.

That Honda Pact sounds interesting, of course im gonna google it for more info, but just in case I dont find that much info can you tell me or us for anyone else who's interested what schools offer that? Would it be cheaper than UTI? Now im sorry for the long post but I want as much infomation on this as possible. Wow Im really at a fork in the road with this, because like you said the economy sucks and its not the same amount of money it was 10 years ago but I really would like to this, I also cant think of anything else I would like to do.

I mean what else is there a doctor....sike, A cop? hmmmmmm hell no lol

 

[NEEK94LS]

I took auto 3 years in high school and worked at honda as an apprentice/intern, and then went to college for Automotive Industry Management, Then the auto Industry started going down hill, and I switched my major... Extensive knowledge in Honda/Acura, hate working on anything other then them, once you worked on a honda, you wonder why the f*** engineers at the other car companies do/design some of the things they do

I wonder this now, like I mean wtf were you guys thinking with that rotary shit(No Names):lol:

it's not a easy job but hard work can pay off handsomely it you work at it. some days are better than others and just like any job it tends to get routine. my biggest problem is getting the parts.i have all my auto ASE's, master, undercar and advanced engine.it dosent make me better, im just proud of what i do. the only thing is my cars are the last to get worked on and dont ask when i last changed my oil.lol. all and all if you think it's what you want to do i say go for it man.i'm actually looking into the management end and possibly a service writer position just due to some healh issues but we'll see what happens.

Do you make a nice amount of money and not to be nosey but are those health problems from working on cars?

 

[BrokenTalon27]

I've been off and on in the business the past few years. It's not a bad career, because cars aren't going to go away for a long time, and a majority of people don't know how or want to fix their own vehicles.
It just sucks when you have a micro-manger for a Service manager in your shop. I'm just putting up with this guy until Jim finally breaks down and hires me.
Oh yea, and my car is always the last one to get worked on.
After fixing cars all day, I don't feel like working on more at home.

 

[jdmjim]

I wonder this now, like I mean wtf were you guys thinking with that rotary s***(No Names):lol:



Do you make a nice amount of money and not to be nosey but are those health problems from working on cars?

i do pretty good, im on straight comission which really sucked at first, but these last few years have been pretty good to me, i dont work as hard as i used to and it shows but thats ok.i work at a independent shop and iv'e been busy with people keeping ther stuff longer in this economy, so for me its better. they cant say what happened to me is from my line of work cause i was 22 when it started but i try to be extra careful on what i breathe in and glove up and capture all my chemicals.i constantly wash up. i know some guys that have gotten cancer after years in the biz, mostly body work though. bottom line is that it can happen to anybody

I've been off and on in the business the past few years. It's not a bad career, because cars aren't going to go away for a long time, and a majority of people don't know how or want to fix their own vehicles.
It just sucks when you have a micro-manger for a Service manager in your shop. I'm just putting up with this guy until Jim finally breaks down and hires me.
Oh yea, and my car is always the last one to get worked on.
After fixing cars all day, I don't feel like working on more at home.

one day dude, still trying to figure out how to do it i still keep the record for having a water pump leaking for 4 years.lool

 

[Kuchtaboy]

I went to school for automotive tech... worked in the field for about 6 months, the shop I was at allowed no room for advancement for me, I slowly started hating my job, and now have nothing to do with automotive outside of it being a hobby.

I love cars, and I love being able to fix/help my friends/family fix their cars, but the industry itself is very painful from my experiance. not physically, but mentally I was exhausted. I currently love my job, but that's a wayyy different story.

Mechanics/technicians in order to love their jobs really need to have a true passion for cars outside of just liking the idea of tuning. If you're looking to go into the automotive field just simply because you "want to learn how to make the car go faster" then dont do it. I know a hand full of these types and they all fail horribly at what they are trying to do.

but! if you actually love what a car is and care for it because of what it can do, then yes, its a fantastic career choice.

 

[NEEK94LS]

but! if you actually love what a car is and care for it because of what it can do, then yes, its a fantastic career choice.[/QUOTE]

Yea that would be me, also I dont know if you guys know but these responses are really helping, the only negative is that one guy who gave me bad rep because I said rotary sucks but hey IDGAF about rep and I will give my opinion if I want 2 bud. Anyway thanks for the replies gus, especially that one guy who gave that reply talking about the honda pact program and why its not a good idea to go to UTI.

Alot of you guys are really helpfull on this forum but a decent amount of you act like old ladys but anyway thanks for the replies dudes.

 

[NEEK94LS]

[/QUOTE]but! if you actually love what a car is and care for it because of what it can do, then yes, its a fantastic career choice.[/QUOTE]

Yea that would be me, also I dont know if you guys know but these responses are really helping, the only negative is that one guy who gave me bad rep because I said rotary sucks but hey IDGAF about rep and I will give my opinion if I want 2 bud. Anyway thanks for the replies gus, especially that one guy who gave that reply talking about the honda pact program and why its not a good idea to go to UTI.

Alot of you guys are really helpfull on this forum but a decent amount of you act like old ladys but anyway thanks for the replies dudes.

 

[jdmjim]

it's ultimately your decision man. i wont sugar coat it, its hard work man. you gotta like taking stuff apart and fixing it. get a job at a used car lot getting cars ready for sale and see how you like doing it.