steppinrazor

iTrader: (1)

if this is posted in the wrong spot, my bad... i couldnt figure out where to put it...

i am 22, making 17 dollars an hour traveling around the u.s. for walmart and setting up all there display racks, when im going to be home for a few days i am a delivary driver for a furniture company making 15 an hour...

i want to be a mechanic real bad, i want to spend as much time as i can working with cars, but makin money is very important to me. Can you do both, like are there mechanics that make more than what im making??

another idea i have, if that dosnt make much money, i was thinking about just goin to school for it and doin it as side work, maybe just chargin like 30 an hour and doing it under the table..

uti is a school in az, tuition is 22,000-35,000.. if a mechanic dosnt make a ton of money then how the f*ck is the school so expensive?? thats where i wanna go but i wont if im not making much

VO...

iTrader: (25)

Master mechanics at dealerships make more than what you're making currently. I want to say they make alittle over 20/hr, at least here in Texas.

+1 on wrong section. You would've had better luck posting in the OT section.

steppinrazor

iTrader: (1)

my bad... should i bring it there insted??

anyways.. a master mechanic, can you train for that or does that just mean alot of experiance

JasonZ-YA

iTrader: (60)

a friend of mine works at a local nissan dealership, hes not titleds as a master mechanic or anything, but he is a really good mechanic.........after about 6 months and everyone including management noticing that he really does have some good skills they made him the lead mechanic for his team and hes making 22 plus.....he started there at 17/hr.

- j

nicholasm617

iTrader: (3)

it depends where you work and what you work on.
for example a friend of mine worked at a off the grid chevy dealer making like 10-11/hr.
i was recently a technician at a bmw dealer in boston starting at 14/hr. and was gonna go to 17/hr when they put me flat rate (paid per job). now ive made the move to being a service advisor cus its easier money although i miss working on cars.
there are a few techs here making well over 20/hr. id say dealer average is at actually 19-22/hr. and one of my friends is getting 32/hr.

the real deciding factor is how much you know and how quick you work either a good balance of both or strong on one aspect. you wont find many places that will pay you high and keep you hourly. so to make it flat rate you need to learn to diagnose!!! and fix it quick too. and you need to learn how to stand your ground cus some advisors wanna save the customer money out of your pocket.
if you want you can pm me with more questions

nicholasm617

iTrader: (3)

master mechanic is a loose term thers a few meanings, you can me an ASE certified master tech (which is legit saying you have taken many tests that prove you knowledge) you may pass those and have the knowledge but not the actual skill to apply it.
Then each manufacturer has there own master tech title because being ASE certified doesnt mean that much to them other than general knowledge really.

Al_s14

iTrader: (3)

i second that. ive seen too many JiffyLube "techs" that filled the 2 year requirement and managed to pass the ASE's. But when it comes down to it, all those people can do is change the oil. You cant be a good technician without experience. Being book smart does not do jack in real life.


Now for my 2 cents on this whole becoming a mechanic thing. Do not call me/us mechanics, guy changing oil and doing tire rotations at Kramer Tire is a mechanic...person who has the skill and knowledge to diagnose a problem correctly without throwing parts at it at customers expense is a Technician. Maybe its just me, but i take offense being compared to a JiffyLube low lifes that cant change the oil right. We had an 08 G35 that ran dry because drain bolt fell out. There is no excuse for that.

I got carried away a bit but back to the subject. Look at what people in your area make. Difference in pay according to location is enormous. Shop foreman's and lead techs here in VA make 20-25 max. But if you go up north people make much more due to higher cost of living. If all you want to do is learn more about cars take some classes and be done with it. This is a stressful job that takes a lot out of you and does not give much in return. Obviously experience is priceless, but now that i look back i wish i had gone to college rather then technical school. I am back in school now.

I worked for Acura, private jap shop and now Infiniti. Dealer is by far less stressful but pay is less. I was making most working for the private shop specializing in Jap cars only. It was exciting at first, encountering all sorts of problems on large variety of cars was great but too stressfull for me. Getting wrong parts on daily basis and just having to work on pure junk. So now i am back working for a dealer and don't miss any of that variety.Repetitiveness and stability is key to low stress. Of course my service writers are total idiots that actually believe that engine flushes fixes oil consumption...i dont even want to go there.
In my opinion there is nothing worse then trying to make your hobby in to what you do on daily basis...at the end of the day i am so sick of this **** last thing i want to do is touch my Z.

If you decide to go here UTI is the way to go because they can help you get in to Porsche/BMW/MB schools which most other schools don't or just aren't able to.


As you can see i am pretty negative about this whole thing i got in to this bc school recruiter promised me $$$. ... didnt happen. I ,like yourself liked working on cars and still do but gues what. It does not take long for it to get old.

striker27

iTrader: (6)

In Canada a class A mechanic working at a dealership can make 100k plus a year. Some places pay a 20k bonus to just take the job.

nicholasm617

iTrader: (3)

the other thing is you need to find a good dealer to work at
for example my friend working at a chevy dealer did oil cahnges and sometimes brakes and he graduated with me from same school, he has done some heavy work before.
i worked 1 year as a tech at this dealer and within the first couple months i was taking apart brand new bmw's, i was amazed they would let me but no problems...i had to rebuild valvetrain's on 650's and new 3's all sorts of crazy jobs that some places would only give foreman and master techs. and ive only got 4-5 years experience (i say only cus im 21, most people get into this game at this age)

but in some ways its not worth it, the best tech makes what the average plumber or electrician makes in reality and you need to understand shitload more systems

luxuriouslexie

iTrader: (5)

From what I'm told, there's a HUGE difference between a Mechanic and a Technician. Mechanics are the guys that work in little places and messes up people's cars A LOT, and there are the certified technicians you see in the dealerships that knows what they're doing.. If they don't, someone else WILL. Anyways, the best thing I think you can do is apply as a lube tech in a DEALERSHIP to start out. They'll train you well and eventually certify you. It's a long ways away and there's a lot of learning to do along with certifications and tests that you'll have to take but when you pass them all and all sorts of stuff, but once you become a Master Technician, which is HARD, but worthy, you're like... a valued jewel. The more certifications and stuff, the better. My boyfriend's father, who's been a Master Tech for more than 30 years, is currently making $32 an hour all because of his many certifications for many dealerships and all sorts of crap, where as another master tech is getting paid about $26 an hour. He calls ALL the shots, and every dealership in Ft. Myers wants him. Anyways, Work your way up there and you'll be making much.

When you start at the dealership, they'll probably start you out at around $10 an hour but it'll go up. The better you do, the quicker you'll advance from Lube to Line tech. Get some info! And of course, stick to dealerships. I've only heard bad things bout the little oil change places. Also, your paycheck are usually as big as you make them. If you work hard, it'll pay off. If you slack, it'll show. Anyways, good luck!

nicholasm617

iTrader: (3)

The line between mechanic and technician is pretty much what someon calls themselves, theres plenty of "techs" here at my work that have no clue how to do tons of things so they stick to brakes and suspension, theres plenty of "techs" i know elsewhere that know alot but do work bad and hack things to get it done quickly.
but really the definition is all in the individual, working one place or another doesnt define someones abilities.

Al_s14

iTrader: (3)

yeah very well put

Sleepy79

I don't know if I really believe that. I know they get paid by units (yeah I guess that is another name for piece work) so the faster they work the more they can make, if the work is there, i'll explain in a bit.

I worked at a Volvo dealership a few years back trying to get an apprenticeship and I think the techs were making no more than $25/hr mind you they had an air conditioned shop wore latex gloves and had the shops specialty tools at their disposal. Not a bad deal, but its really not that much money if you think about it. Now one thing that I noticed was that there was a shortage of work for about 2 weeks (just before back to school) the techs were just standing around at work and not getting paid because there were no cars to fix, now that is BS.

Ever thought of truck and coach mechanic? More money, diesel experience is not a bad thing. I believe you get to learn refrigeration, and if you have this certification I believe to are already qualified as an auto tech.

Personally I'd recommend a skilled trade, you can get allot of experience, and it’s always something new. I just finished my apprenticeship this year, I am a mechanic just not an auto mechanic

nicholasm617

iTrader: (3)

some techs that are good enough or that are shop foreman or team managers depending what system the dealer runs on (in terms of splitting work) will get salary or hourly and even bonuses for foreman if they keep the shop producing.
as for the lack of work hurting your wallet, yea it sux. it happens but thats why you have to find a good place, like my work we are always swampped and if we are slow with service cars we have more than enough pre-sales work to do (accessories and cpo inspections).