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Looking to start a career in automotive

JmL300993

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Hi guys not sure if this is the place for this and i feel like an idiot but i am seriously passionate about cars and getting started in this career, its harder than it looks i know i have tried, so i'm not going stop trying here goes another stab in the dark!

Anyone looking for someone to work brisbane redcliffe/mango hill and generally anywhere at all inside brisbane? I'll Complete apprenticeship and all required Tafe courses ill do whats needed

My first car was a VT No mechanical experience i learnt a bucket load and realized i love engines(who doesnt)

Second car was my current car VZ sv6 and again i'm ready to pull it apart and get it all happening!

But you need to be a mechanic to know what the hell you are doing, So i wanna be one, Not to just work on my own car but because i seriously love working on engines.

Cheers

Delete if this isn't cool, TY
 

Not_An_Abba_Fan

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It's fantastic that you want to be involved in mechanical repairs. Becoming a mechanic because you love it is probably the best reason to do it.

In my opinion, you don't NEED to be a mechanic to be able to work on a car. You can't learn skill. You can learn processes, but natural ability and the art of fine workmanship can never be taught. There are plenty of bad mechanics out there as well as brilliant builders and repairers that don't have any formal qualifications. Knowing what you are doing can be learnt to a extent, but you need to have the aptitude for it. I really hope you can get your foot in the door, you sound like you would really enjoy it.
 

vc commodore

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Unfortunately mechanics isn't all about engines....It's the whole package of a car and how everything works. So be prepared if you get an apprenticeship, you'll be doing the lot to begin with and then branch out into the area of engine speciality after that. You will also find that trade is very hard on the body. ie backs, arms, shoulders, knees, wrists just as a start.

Not trying to put you off your dream, but some of the things to be prepared for
 

Bigfella237

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I would say that for anyone who loves cars, doing a mechanical apprenticeship is the worst thing you could do!

As above, you will not really be able to do what you think you'll be doing until you're qualified, an apprentice usually starts-out sweeping floors and gophering, then if you're lucky you'll be allowed to clean parts and put away tools by the end of the first year, after that you graduate to the title of "lube-monkey" and just do oil changes all day every day.

It depends a lot on where you get work too, the above is a typical scenario for a dealer workshop with a heap of mechanics and apprentices, the upside is that you'll mostly work on newer cars (typically still within warranty), the downside is that you won't gain much experience with the older cars or many brands outside what the dealer sells.

If you can find a job with a one-man-band in a service-station workshop or some small independent business like that you'll likely get your hands on 'real' work sooner, and get a wider range of things to work on, but you will have to put up with working on absolute shitboxes at times... and that can suck the enthusiasm out of even the most car-loving among us!

Do you know why mechanics' cars are always breaking down? Same reason panel beaters' cars are always in primer... after you've worked all day on someone else's car the last thing you'll want to do is more of the same on your own.

Andrew
 

Not_An_Abba_Fan

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I would say that for anyone who loves cars, doing a mechanical apprenticeship is the worst thing you could do!

As above, you will not really be able to do what you think you'll be doing until you're qualified, an apprentice usually starts-out sweeping floors and gophering, then if you're lucky you'll be allowed to clean parts and put away tools by the end of the first year, after that you graduate to the title of "lube-monkey" and just do oil changes all day every day.

Look at the big picture. A year out of your life doing menial tasks and not getting your teeth into "real work" is a drop in the bucket. Short term pain for long term gain.

It depends a lot on where you get work too, the above is a typical scenario for a dealer workshop with a heap of mechanics and apprentices, the upside is that you'll mostly work on newer cars (typically still within warranty), the downside is that you won't gain much experience with the older cars or many brands outside what the dealer sells.

A dealership is probably one of the better places to do an apprenticeship, clean workshop, factory training, all the latest gear. The downside is you are trained to do what the computer tells you. But experience in other things comes later as you move on to bigger and better things.

If you can find a job with a one-man-band in a service-station workshop or some small independent business like that you'll likely get your hands on 'real' work sooner, and get a wider range of things to work on, but you will have to put up with working on absolute shitboxes at times... and that can suck the enthusiasm out of even the most car-loving among us!

I don't agree. But I could be a rare breed. I have been working on cars for 30 years, both full time in a workshop and for myself. Still love it. There are things about it that I don't like, but generally, it is very rewarding and satisfying. It's the people that own the cars that can be difficult.

Do you know why mechanics' cars are always breaking down? Same reason panel beaters' cars are always in primer... after you've worked all day on someone else's car the last thing you'll want to do is more of the same on your own.

Andrew

This I do agree with, haha. My car has been sitting in my workshop with a pile of new parts waiting to go in for about 4 weeks now. Not because I lack motivation, I lack the time to do it. I suppose my family is lucky the workshop is 15 minutes away, if the car was at home in the shed, I would be out there almost every night.
 

vc commodore

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An apprentice in mechanics, with a person having a passion for cars, could go either way....1 you will hate working on your own cars, or 2 still have the fire in the belly to do it. Only time will tell there.

Unfortunately learning to do what a computer tells you can be a bad thing.....Whilst I'm not a mechanic, I am a front end specialist/tyre fitter....I have seen over the years, youngins come into my work places, with this computer being right mindset, only to find out the computer isn't always right and being able to determine what the actual problem is and solve it, is well beyond their capability, due to their "computer training" mindset.

Workshop being clean in a dealership.....true, but with the way things are in the workshop environment and safe work practices, workshops should be clean, no matter where you are. So it shouldn't be limited to just dealerships.....So you don't need to work in a dealership specifically to know how to keep things clean and learn how to put things back where they belong....It should be common sense (which is a rare thing these days)

I would strongly suggest trying to get an apprenticeship, with a small business, rather than a dealership....This will enable you to learn how to identify problems and solve them, without having the computer is right mind set, straight off the bat....You will also learn how to deal with customers, rather than "hide" behind a person in the office....And lets face the truth, being in a dealership, if you make a stuff up, with a customers car, you do hide behind the office staff, and don't have to wear the abuse from the owner.....It will also give you an idea, after a few years, whether it is the right career path for you and whether you will still have the fire in the belly, to keep your passion with your own cars....

So best of luck with your decision
 

WazzaVN

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Not always true bigfella I couldn't wait to paint both my cars. The people you speak of are people with no passion for there jobs. I loved spending time painting my car my way and taking a long time to get it how I wanted it. I also enjoyed experimenting with weird and wonderful (and not so wonderful) colours on my VP when I was an apprentice.

One thing that's for sure though OP, automotive is a trade for the passionate. If you want good money be a sparkie lol.
 

Drawnnite

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na, be a plumber, bucketloads of money in that :p

Personal experience. I always wanted to get in an Auto field for a career. Did everything at school for it, work placement, you name it. Mechanic who I did the experience with told me straight up, don't make your hobby a job. Instead I have gone down other avenues and am quite happy for that advice, but obviously it will be different for others.

If you are really keen, hit up a few places and see if you can do some work experience or the likes, try a few different areas and go from there.
Find out if you really want it after getting into it.
 

strgas

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over many years seen many young apprentices getting frustrated with doing the same job from one day to the next weather it be fitting tyres or wheel alignments changing brake pads or oils and filters , always saying and asking when do they get to tear down an engine or work on a dyno .

I'm still changing oils and filters from day to day along with brake pads and all of the above it's part of the job , worked as a stealership apprentices many years ago did my time then moved into other workshops spent most of my first year changing rear mains , sump gaskets and welsh plugs on VN - VP doing aircon fitments fitting mudflaps and head light protectors rust proofing etc etc.

Just coz you have done the job once doesn't mean you wont do it again and again .
biggest shock I got was afew years ago when I asked the fourth year to service and tune a patrol , he had no idea how to change a set of points , so threw them in the bin and finished the job without changing them .
when I discovered the points hadn't been changed I asked him why , his response was todays cars don't have points and they don't teach this at trade school anymore ....:banstick:
 

Not_An_Abba_Fan

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Whether or not something is taught is irrelevant, being a tradesperson you should know how to figure it out. Just because this guy hasn't been taught about points, shouldn't stop him from being able to look at the job and work out how they go in. Or at the very least, ask. Every day is a school day.

Mechanicing is very repetitive though. We used to do so many upper ball joints on XF Falcons that I got it down to half an hour to do both ball joints and a wheel alignment. You can get very skilled with an oxy when you do the same thing enough times.

My first job in a workshop was in a big name tyre and auto group. The apprentice there was taught to tune with the diagnostics machine, I was taught by an old guy with one arm when I was 15 to do it only with a timing light and by feel and ear. Never forget a Sigma coming in for a service and tune, I did it. Thought I had it running sweet. The apprentice comes over and says it has to be hooked up to the machine. I said it's fine, don't waste your time. Anyway, he hooks it up, lo and behold, everything is perfect. Said to him that was a lesson in hands on tuning. You don't need a machine to tell you when something is running right. Moved down south not long after that so I don't know if he ever took anything away from that. He was actually older than me too, so I doubt it.

Starting out, be prepared for **** work. Be prepared to do the worst possible jobs that come in. Be prepared to clean, clean, and then clean some more. Fetch smoko. But it's all short term. Do the time then it gets better.
 
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