Hello all, If I could just bother you for a moment of your time, I have some questions... It is that time in my life where I have to make the most important decision of all; Where do I go from here? I just finished high school, and the world is my burrito, or so the saying goes. For the longest time I was going to go to this private college in Wisconsin which I had gotten many scholarships/gov't loans for, and got it fairly affordable for me. My plans were to major in music education, and become a music teacher. I am having major second guessing about this choice, because well, I love this car "hobby" and would like to somehow be a mechanic, in some way. I have already worked in a local marina for the past 3 years, and took some distance courses, and have some certifications through Evinrude/Johnson. I'm not exactly wanting to go only in to a marine niche thought, mainly because it's seasonal and I need year-round money. My father and I discussed this at length, and he and my mother believe that all this is just fine, but I should have a four-year degree (most likely in education because I would enjoy that sort of thing) to back myself up. Thoughts thrown around were either like a degree where I teach general classes to sixth graders, or actually being a high school shop teacher. There is a fairly local 2-year cheap state school that would have a light enough load that I probably also go to a Tech school for auto mechanics at the same time. My biggest dream/goal is to own my own shop. Now I know a number of HAMBers here do just this, so I will stop rambling and start asking. How did you get started? Did you take any formal education, or did you just use your prior knowledge gained through earlier jobs, fathers, mentors, really old mechanical genius guys (don't you just love them? )? In your opinion, what is the most important thing that I do right now? Any advice you deem it necessary I know? Thank you for all of your help, Gayl
i agree ..get your degree, then what ever you end up with for a career, do the best you can , all 100 percent. then what ever you do is the right choice, because you are doing it to the best of your ability. .to have your own shop you will need to go without.."unless you have deep pockets".without a lot of things..because to make a shop work you will need to keep putting the profiets back in, for quite awhile, untill you get off your feet. some weeks the employees get paid and the shop owner doesn't...thats how being a new shop owner is.. but if you follow the formula of giving it 100 percent of your best..it gets a lot easier as time goes by. good luck in what ever you do. being a music teacher would give you the time off during the summer ,when the marina is busy, the two jobs might work well while you save up for your own shop...just knowing enough to ask the question you asked, shows good potential. good luck , cadillac dave
Stay in school.Been wrenchin all my life.20+ years.I stopped counting after that.The automotive trade is really good when you are fresh.But it will wear you out.You will end up with bad back,knees and all other sorts of other problems.It pays the bills but If I would to do it all over again.I would have kept my ass in class and got a real degree. I feel for ya wanting to follow your dream.Beleive me I am not trying to steer you away from it.But its not all peaches and cream.It will catch up to you in the end. If you decide to be a Tech and thats what you really want to do.Then dont look back.Just move on and be the best that you can be in the trade that you take on. Good luck to you and your future
It's all sound advice so far, get a degree; in business. Building the hot rods is or will be second nature if you love it, but you need a business degree to learn how to make it pay.
A few years ago I was all hung up on Triumphs and was offered a job in the service dept at a Triumph dealer, I was a cool job and some cool guys but it wasnt much pay, I had a good friend tell me " insted of getting a job around motorcycles why dont you get a job so you can afford motorcycles" It might better to have a job that affords the hobby rather than making the hobby your job. If you end up with some kinda shop and it works then great but at least you will have a back up.
I say go have an adventure, see some country. Don't worry about the money, stop and work when you need some, go live in an old bus in the Denali, oops, forget that part. You can always go to school, screw that, you are 18 and deciding what you want to dedicate the rest of your life to is too huge of a decision. At least take a year off and hit the road, now git going, hitch hike out of town broke if you have to, I guarantee you will never regret it and will be telling your grand kids about it.
One of my biggest regrets in life is dropping out of college. I was going for a history degree and my senior year I decided history wasn't for me and I needed more money to live. I quit to get a job. Stupid, Stupid, Stupid. If you want to run your own shop get a business degree. If the shop succeeds great. If the shop fails you can basically do anything with a business degree. I got all my business knowledge second hand and sometimes it was incorrect. If you go into collage to get a business degree focused on starting your own shop you will be light years ahead of the game. Don't look at it as four years wasted but rather a life time of correct business decisions saved. I own a sucessful shop and it was extremely painful to go to the school of hard knocks.
Stay in school. The advice to get a job that will allow you to afford cars not just work on them is good advice.
I worked in the car industry for 8 years. I had an accident where I had to have my back fused together. I could no longer do the job, however while in school I got a degree in business and was able to get a office job. I guess I am saying go to school you may need a back up.
I went back to school at 30. when I was 18 I had no clue what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I would've just been wasting money in school. What ever you choose make sure it makes you happy.
Stay in school, get that degree. See what happens. Have some fun. I don't live with regrets, but I just re-upped my ASE tests last month and realized I've been a master tech over half my life. Like you said, "the world is my burrito" Fuck, order Grande!
I agree, get the degree. It is very hard to get a good paying job without the paper. I wish I had gotten mine back then, but school wasn't teaching much engineering in the 70's. I dropped out of college and got some good paying jobs, since I have the natural ability to learn from books, and from knowledgable people. I am an electronic engineer, but could be more with the paper. The automotive knowledge was gained by reading books and hangin with good automotive buds. Stay in school, spare time read all about automotive. You won't be dissappointed.
Business degree will help you tons later on for what ever you do. Without it things are tough to come by. You can get burned out working on other peoples cars.
Go to school. I did'nt think it was the way to go and to make a long story short I ended up getting my degree, and am now a teacher. My brother saw me struggle and set himself the way it sounds like you have. He'll be 23 and starting his career. I was 28 and starting mine. I would seriously consider getting an elementary teaching credential If I were in your shoes. I teach in California and Music and Shop are the first to go with the budget crunch and all. If you need any more advice private message or e-mail me. kustomiser@hotmail.com. Best of Luck, Seth
Hmmmm....... Theoretically, I am quite qualified to discuss this particular matter since I have a degree in physics, which quite a difficult thing to successfully study, as well as a degree in mechanical design. I was admitted as a member in MENSA at the age of fifteen. I have worked at many times in my life as a professional mechanic and currently work at a very well respected hot rod shop; I also have a passion for large breasted brunettes, but I digress. So I thus have a well rounded concept of the plan of action that any sane person would advise you to do. I will tell you exactly what everybody else just did and probably will continue do tell you as well. STAY IN SCHOOL! I mean crap dude...I can do anything I want. I can pick who ever the hell I want to work for because they all need me in the worst way possible. Whomever I work for is going to make good money off me if I even so much as put in an effort. It's a win win situation. I am by no means rich, but life is really wonderful from where I am sitting right now. Do you understand that everything you learn in school, in life, in hardship as well as hard knocks...it is what makes you have a value like a corner lot in real estate. There are people who never made it past grade school that became very wealthy that regret their lack of education all of their life. They all seem to wonder what they could have become. It's not about money, although that aspect certainly follows suit. It's about being well prepared for whatever life tosses at you. It's about knowing what you are really capable of because you understand more than you ever dreamed you might be able to understand. It is also about realizing what you truly suck at and should let other people do for you. What you truly learn in higher education, is how to teach yourself extremely difficult concepts by playing around with fundamental building blocks. It's just like playing with Lego toys. Seriously dude. For reals. I have a feeling already that you are going to love it. Send us all an invite to your graduation.
Lots of good advice here. I don't own a shop and am not a mechanic, but what I would add is to not limit yourself. Don't think that if you get the degree you have to be a music teacher all your life. I know too many people who are unhappy because they pigeonholed themselves as one thing, and they're very unsatisfied later in life. I would say try to balance focus with passion.
WOW. I was in this same boat not to long ago. I still am... No one can tell you what to do; you will find what is best. The greatest knowledge is gained through experience, but an opportunity to go to school is something to take advantage of. Experience and education together are most powerful... But make sure your doing what you truly desire. I dropped out of MSOE 4 weeks into my sophomore year. The load was to heavy, and I was too far away from my cars. I love math, but the calculus killed me too. I've worked at a CNC shop since I was 16 where I gained some manufacturing experience and realized I don't want to be In a shop my whole life. Last fall I enrolled in a mechanical design program at the local tech school, which I Love. I'm doing to better in school than I ever have, and I've made progress on my car. Eventually I would like to transfer back to MSOE, But right now good old tech school and working in shops help me appreciate earning education even more.
I have a son who graduated last year and a daughter graduating this month...my son particularily had major second thoughts about goiing away to university as he had a good social scene here and was playing in a band..but we talked it through and he went....he had a fantastic time and you could see the change in him every time he came home.What I`m saying is, you will be totally different in four years time to what you are now..what seems like a cool thing to do now, may be totally different by then. An old refrigeration engineer who I was apprenticed to, said"You`ll never make real money with these(showing his hands)...you make money using you head"...hence I`m still on the tools at 53 and my son earns almost as much as me in his first terms as a teacher and the pay scale goes up to about 50% above my trade rate. Finally, as much as I live for my Hot Rods, I think if I had to do it for a living, it would spoil it for me personally......STAY IN SCHOOL, mate, you`ll not regret it, but I`d bet my bottom dollar that if you did`nt go, you`d regret it in the future.
I dot think you nead know digree. Lok at me. Im duin fine. Corse I aint workd in 8 years. I wasn know good at spelling tho ether. Seriously a four year degree today is like the equivalent of a high school diploma maybe 20-25 years ago. At least in our area there was a time when a kid could walk into any of several manufacturing facilities the day after high school and work the rest of his life. Those days and most of those companies are now gone. Today you need every advantage you can get. Start with the four year degree. Thos is my thots.
What Dave said...Be a teacher,work on boats in the summer. Get a degree.I quit college and have regretted it ever since. Take all your basic stuff the first year.Switch your major later if you don't want to do music.You love the car thing now because its a hobby.Teach for a while and work on cars on the side.If you still love it in 10 years,open a shop. If you want to do boats,move south where it's not so seasonal. My $.02. Good luck,and good on you for asking advice and making a plan.
If the school is big enough, don't engineering students get access to CNC mills, 3-D printers, modeling software, and waterjets? Combine i all - you could get that degree in education, and teach anything you wanted - from corporate training to high school auto shop, to automotive/mechanical certifications! ~Jason
I like to look at it this way.... think of college as "boot camp" for life. It will serve two purposes, you'll learn skills and you'll learn about yourself. In the past, it was possible to get a nice job with just a highschool education, as you already know, those days are long gone. I got my degree after holding bullshit jobs for 10 years. Then, I started taking courses at my community college and before I knew it, I had enough credits to earn a degree, but I still go back and take a course when I can. You have to keep learning. It's a constant in life. It sounds like you already have a plan and maybe you just needed to hear words of encouragement, well, you'll get it from me and you'll also get a pat on the back. I love hearing that a young person is trying to better him or her self. Good luck, man. The future is wide open. Don't be a spectator, be a world shaker.
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