need some opnions from people in the industry

I did the same went to tech school and I started as a Dealer tech 15 years ago, it was good job 45-50 a year. But after a while the work and dealer politics beat your body and soul down. Good news is, if your a competent technician and are really computer savvy the next step is working for the dealer hotline for an automaker. Get your khakis and belt clip for the cell phone! You must hang your cell phone on your belt its part of the engineering community uniform!! Pay is generally from 18-22 an hour. The other direction is Technical Writer for workshop manuals which is what I have done for the past 8 years developing powertrain manuals, its a little more grueling and allot more stressful than hotline operator but more fun. And its kinda cool working on 2011 cars and trucks. By the time their new on the dealership floor, their 2 years old to you. That generally pays anywhere from 18-30 an hour. Obviously the high rate goes with experience. I have been a Technical Writer for 10 years and like any job some days you hate but most you like it. Notice I didn't say love it. But your in an office environment with usually good/better benefit packages than any dealer and its hourly pay with allot of overtime. But the bonus is when your done working your not beat down and can actually have the energy for a hobby. oh and Flat rate sucks. I don't care how good you are unless your that tech that has been blowing your service manager for years and in-turn he keeps feeding you gravy, no pun intended, its tough guessing whats gonna be coming in cash wise every week. Good luck and if you need more information PM me. Some friends have went onto airplane techs and seems to like it to!

 

I've been a Certified Weld Inspector for 10 years now. My intention had always been to continue training and re-certify as a Certified Weld Instructor. I would strongly suggest the original post'er to go to this link http://www.aws.org/w/a/ and there is a wealth of info on getting your feet wet.
Alot of advertised welding positions now require AWS certification. They will even point you towards locations for the required textbooks at a reduced rate.

 

Have been an auto tech & auto shop owner 30+yrs, If you follow Bryan 6902 advise you will thank him the rest of your life!

 

I am a shipboard electrician. I mainly work on sea-going vessels that do 2-3 month patrols in the south Atlantic. It's nice because I get to save a large chunk of change while I am out to sea and then spend it on car parts when I get back.

I enjoy the "stress" of being out to sea. When something breaks out there, you don't call a tow truck. You fix it! It doesn't matter if you are an electrician, mechanic, welder, whatever. Everyone gets their hands dirty changing 300 lb oil pumps, 900 lb HVAC units, etc.

And the ports calls aren't too shabby, either.

Stan

 

I am a ASE diesel mechanic at a International truck dealership. I feel the exact same way bryan6902 does about my job. I love to work on my old stuff at night or on the weekends. If i am not working on my old stuff i am helping a friend work on his. Learn a little bit of mechanics, welding, fab, painting, ect. Then if you get a job as a fleet mechanic or something like that open up a little shop on the side. Just do stuff when you want to. It will be a hell of a lot funner. Who knows it could lead to a full time gig down the road.

 

i hadent thought about doing diesel mechanic, thats something good to look at, there is a ton of places around here the rent/run big equipment

 

Here's my 2 cents. It doesn't matter which job pays the most the quickest if it isn't in demand in your area. I'm currently studying business economics, statistics, and development. The bottom line is you have to start with finding out what the costumers need in your area and then supply them with that. So, if welding pays more it doesn't really matter if you can't get jobs in your area. I would start doing some research and finding out which jobs are most active in your area. I believe one person mentioned going to welding shops and asking them how busy they are. The best deal would be to get a contract position that at least has a steady flow of jobs. Being self employed in Real Estate I can attest to the fact that there is nothing like having steady work. One other guy also mentioned that it is nice being able to clock out when the day is done instead of having to live/breath your job if you are self employed. I enjoy my line of work so it's not so bad but I also don't have set hours which means I am always working whenever the client needs me and sometimes that gets old...especially on weekends. My uncle owns his own transmission shop and I can tell you it has probably taken 10 years from his life already. Your body can only handle so much. Hope everything works out for you. I know how it feels being at a crossroad...its not fun....good luck!

 

I've been a car dealership mechanic for ten years. flat rate pay only, no garunteed pay. it's not a bad life you can make plenty of money if you apply your self and can deal with the day to day bullshit that goes along with it. getting started in this business can be difficult. your not going to make great pay right out of tech school. you also need to be ready to invest between 5 and 10 grand in tools to be able to do the job in a professional manner. I would reccomend that ,if you are looking to go to a tech school, find one that offers a shop/ service management program and take it. I sure wish that I would have. basically I'm at the point where I'm the most qualified and highest paid guy in the shop. and I'm stuck. I end up getting handed all of the wierd, fucked up problem child cars that the other guys in the shop have failed in thier attempts to fix. I always seem to have two or three cars split apart, most of them under warranty. while the other guys in the shop do gravy brake jobs and transmission flushes. I would love to get out of the business, but nothing else that I'm qaulified to do pays anwhere near what this does. at least if I had some managerial training I could work towards gettin into the managment end of this business.