After advice on becoming a mechanic.

[joe_rolls_commo]

Whats the drill with becoming a mechanic?

Was gonna join the ADF this year but encountered some, er ... legal problems.
I'm sick of bein un-skilled labour & want a job I can settle into. I reckon I have the aptidute to learn & excel at it, & I tend to find my zen while drinking beer fuccin round with the car so I figure bein' a grease-monkey could probably fit me.
Having said that, though, when I'm servicing the car (or the missus) I usually need a 50mtr safety-buffer due to random profanity & flying objects.

But yeah, advice & insight would be appreciated from those in the biz.

[greenacc]

i'm not in the biz but hey, here goes. ( went to uni instead )
have a think about where you want to be in 5-10-20 years, and then what you need to do to make it happen. If you become a mech there will be good times n bad , annoying customers, crap cars, **** head bosses etc, but enentually you'll finish your trade and can be your own boss if you have the motivation.

[VS_Pete_1]

Don`t do it mate.
Be a chippy and build houses

[cpbait]

yeh i'm a mechanic, its good, but low wages, become a chippy or a sparky, a lot better pay if your in the union and alot more positions to move into latter if you want to go higher up in the industry and alot more money than mechanics, i know alot of mechanics that love learning the trade but wish they kept it as a hobby not a job, plus builder or electrtion you can use for alot more like building your own house one day, renovating a house, etc, move up to site foreman, site manager, etc, my g/f's dad is a builder by trade, now he's a manager in a building company earning alot more than i would if i became say a service manager in a dealership. but it's personal preferance what you want to do at the time and you like, good luck with the decision.

[minux]

Ask yourself this, who would want their pride and joy worked on by someone who throws **** across the workshop?

[andyman]

as said by minux, if your the kind to through your tools around under a little pressure i wouldnt recommend you do it,


im going into my third year next month, im happy with where i am, being with council i get to work on all variety's of vehicles, small plant, heavy plant and industrial earthmoving, so i get a good scope, i get frustrated by some jobs but ive never thrown a tool, you just cant get angry with crap jobs, if you do your not meant for it and you will only anoy other workers and not be happy with yourself

[Hillerus]

Also, remember that just because you like working on cars in your spare time does not mean you will like doing it for a career. And it works the other way round too, I've been a mechanic for a number of years now, and I can't stand working on cars/trucks/mechanical stuff in my spare time now. Used to enjoy it when I was an apprentice, but now I'd rather park everything up and pretend it doesn't exist.

[andyman]

Used to enjoy it when I was an apprentice, but now I'd rather park everything up and pretend it doesn't exist.

lol so true,,

[Commyfan]

Don't most people get into with the aim of learning the trade and the tricks and then branching out into their own business??
Or specialty?

[Sabbath']

If you want to, go for it, but be prepared to cop alot of **** as a first year app. then when you qualify, expect to not be earning as much as you think you should.


As for the rage bouts, you wont last long if an employer thinks you're mentally unstable. One and only time i've ever thrown something at work was when i had a bonnet collapse onto my head....tingly fingers are fun.

[Torquative]

bear in mind the words Economic Crisis

ALOT of workshops and dealerships are downsizing staff numbers because of this, that includes apprentices from 1st year to 1 week from qualifying, so these guys are also in the hunt for jobs that have been made redudant.

Now might not be the most best time to be looking to get into automotive witht he number of people finding themselves out of a job ... just a heads up

[dufus]

bear in mind the words Economic Crisis

ALOT of workshops and dealerships are downsizing staff numbers because of this, that includes apprentices from 1st year to 1 week from qualifying, so these guys are also in the hunt for jobs that have been made redudant.

Now might not be the most best time to be looking to get into automotive witht he number of people finding themselves out of a job ... just a heads up

Plenty of companies are still hiring mechanical apprentices, the economic crisis is a poor excuse to lay employees off especially mechanics and mechanical apprentices given that no matter what the economic situation, people still need cars and cars still break down and need servicing which is carried out by a mechanic, mechanics retire and need to be replaced, hence the need for apprentices.

I know that your reply will involve you telling a big story about the company you work for but you have to remember that you work for a dealer that specializes in high class vehicles which cost more than your standard car, hence the reduced sales and usage of these cars at the moment hence the need for fewer employees. Now you are going to pull out the email you got from HR, this may not be the total truth given my experience with HR management this may not be the full story, but regardless as i have said there is no longer a need for as many employees given your companies situation.

To add to my earlier comments I have alot to do with HR manager for a large mining company who is yet to lay off any employees due to the economic crisis and has mentioned that the economic crisis will be used as an excuse to get rid of the dead wood employees in an effort to improve profit margins.

So to the OP, I wouldnt worry about the previous post, there are defiantly a still mechanical apprenticeships available and infact I know someone who has just secured one. If you are serious about becoming a mechanic I would seriously consider getting in contact with the MTA and sitting the aptitude test, if you score well they will give you some initial training and secure you a position as mechanical apprenticeship with an employer.

[VrWagz1]

I wouldn't do it only because of the low pay that comes with it, and you will never get paid heaps, because customers dont wanna pay heaps and theres alot of competition out there in the automotive repair industry.
My advice stick to heavy industry. Some suggestions:
Fitter machineist
hydraulic fitter
heavy industry fitter
heavy industy mechanic
instrument fitter

All have an element of mechanics to them, and if you like cars, doing one of these will help you to understand cars better as it will teach things that can be related to cars, and let you keep that weekend hobby of playing with cars. Try the CAT website they are usually emlopying appretices year round in places, unless they stopped now.