Anybody work with cars?

[F5kyLine]

Im 16 and im planning to work with cars and I want to know more about it...

Auto Mechanic/Repairer
Auto Body Technician
Auto Body Prepper/Detailer
Auto Body Refinisher/Painter

I plan to take it through a program at my high school so I can get my journeysman or whatever before im 20 or 21. Then I plan to do it for short-term till im like 28 or something.

[vinc456]

Maybe you could write a letter to a local mechanic. I'm sure they'll be more than happy to take 10 minutes out of their day to share their experience and give some advice. :) You could even volunteer to work free this summer and get some first hand experience.

[hattonlynch]

Originally posted by F5kyLine
Im 16 and im planning to work with cars and I want to know more about it...

Auto Mechanic/Repairer
Auto Body Technician
Auto Body Prepper/Detailer
Auto Body Refinisher/Painter

I plan to take it through a program at my high school so I can get my journeysman or whatever before im 20 or 21. Then I plan to do it for short-term till im like 28 or something.

google it bro, and use some common sense.

What does a mechanic do....hm probably repair cars
prepper and detailer.....hmmmm maybe they detail the car
refinisher and painter, hm maybe sand cars and then paint them.

[Trini]

SAIT or perhaps NAIT
have a look at their websites

[tom_9109]

Why do you want to do it short term?

[Mar]

Never do your hobby as a job. Find something you already hate to do for work every day.

[chkolny541]

Originally posted by hattonlynch


google it bro, and use some common sense.

What does a mechanic do....hm probably repair cars
prepper and detailer.....hmmmm maybe they detail the car
refinisher and painter, hm maybe sand cars and then paint them.

wtf was the point of this post? this didnt help in any way, he didnt wanna know in 2 words what they did, he seems more interested in the process of getting to these positions and where to start.

Look into some sait programs, these will get you into the industry the quickest, i think most are 2 yr degrees. GL finding work in a shop without any education

[F5kyLine]

I plan to take one of them through a program at my high school called RAP (registered apprenticeship program). That'll at least get me a 1 year head start as I have just one more year of high school left.


Never do your hobby as a job. Find something you already hate to do for work every day.

*ignores propaganda*


Why do you want to do it short term?

Well I want to try many things. And I might get into business with an uncle later on.

[AE92_TreunoSC]

Originally posted by Mar
Never do your hobby as a job. Find something you already hate to do for work every day.

Agree, I hate twisting wrenches everyday now. Then after work friends and family expect that you enjoy it so much you want to do it for free.

OP, stay in school and get a degree haha, stay away from automotive trades.

[Ven]

Originally posted by Mar
Never do your hobby as a job.

Best advice right here. BTDT.

[mr2mike]

Learned that lesson early on.

Took a job as a detailer @17 because hey, I liked keeping my car clean and it's fun detailing your car.

I quit 3 days later and told them "I liked cleaning up cars; my cars".

What do mechanics generally make on average? I hear stealership rates are $130/hr now?!?!? How much is the dealership taking?

[alloroc]

Take both of these courses at SAIT and you will be able to work practically anywhere and you will never be out of work.

1) Auto Mechanics
2) Power engineering

There are more building operators wanted and mechanics wanted ads than you can shake a stick at

[alloroc]

Originally posted by Ven


Best advice right here. BTDT.

After having been in the workforce for 31 years I totally disagree if you can't get a job you like you are absolutely going to hate life.

[HHURICANE1]

Originally posted by alloroc


After having been in the workforce for 31 years I totally disagree if you can't get a job you like you are absolutely going to hate life.

:werd: :banghead:

[n1zm0]

Originally posted by mr2mike
What do mechanics generally make on average? I hear stealership rates are $130/hr now?!?!? How much is the dealership taking?

i'd say they take about 80-90$/hr last time i remember when i worked in automotive, OP come work on airplanes, they're a bit cleaner to work on :D


there are certain benefits to working on cars (you do your own labour obviously) and keep in mind (depending on who you are i guess) your attitude/knowledge base will also depend on who you work for and what you work on i.e working at a hole in the wall mechanics shop where you have to deal with rusty/leaking barely roadworthy vehicles will probably make you an alcoholic at the end of each day lol and it doesnt help anyone if you learn from cletus's half assed macgyver ghetto rigs, believe me i've seen some outrageous DIYers on the cars that used to come into the stealership, always want to get a good look at the driver so i can stay away from them on the road.

[alloroc]

in addition to Aircraft Mechanics which is a great career but hard to get a job sometimes (also - I am willing to bet 80% of ACM's have boosted cars)
There is also heavy duty mechanics, they get paid a little more.

[Drsuce]

$80-90/hr? your insane.... techs will only make between $28-38/hr. most good techs will make around 100k/yr in calgary. it also must be said that techs are only as good as the service advisor in the front. no upsells = no hours for tech

[blackteg2]

hit up world skills brah

[Infusion]

I am just about to graduate from high school and was wondering about almost the same thing.
Where do I go about starting to become a mechanic?
I looked on the Sait website and it read about the trade and saw that I should start an apprenticeship somewhere and work 1500 a year for 4 years while once every year I go to school for 8 weeks at Sait to receive my journeyman.
Are there any alternative routes to becoming a mechanic such as attending classes at sait rather then working for hours or would starting the apprenticeship now be better?
I haven't had any job experience so I don't know if any one would hire me as an apprentice.

[leftwing]

i guarantee OP will change his mind 20 more times before he graduates high school.

[legendboy]

Originally posted by mr2mike
What do mechanics generally make on average? I hear stealership rates are $130/hr now?!?!? How much is the dealership taking?

when i was working at dealerships the top techs were making 28/hr (piece work ~ 70k/yr avg)



Originally posted by Mar
Never do your hobby as a job.

i agree



Originally posted by Drsuce
$80-90/hr? your insane.... techs will only make between $28-38/hr. most good techs will make around 100k/yr in calgary. it also must be said that techs are only as good as the service advisor in the front. no upsells = no hours for tech

wow 100k, never seen that myself

[Jason Lange]

Originally posted by Drsuce
$80-90/hr? your insane.... techs will only make between $28-38/hr. most good techs will make around 100k/yr in calgary. it also must be said that techs are only as good as the service advisor in the front. no upsells = no hours for tech

Re read the question he was asking how much the dealership keeps, not how much the mechanics take.

[chkolny541]

Originally posted by Drsuce
$80-90/hr? your insane.... techs will only make between $28-38/hr. most good techs will make around 100k/yr in calgary. it also must be said that techs are only as good as the service advisor in the front. no upsells = no hours for tech

yea 100k is realllly high

and he stated that DEALERSHIPS take 80-90$/hr, the MECHANIC would take the remainder of that, hence ~30$/hr or so

[anothers10]

100k/ year is not really high for a tech at a dealer. Good tech or shitty tech 100k is very possible.

[ExtraSlow]

Originally posted by anothers10
100k/ year is not really high for a tech at a dealer. Good tech or shitty tech 100k is very possible.
If that Tech works 50 weeks a year at 40 hours a week, he'd have to be making $50 per hour. Sounds like that's not the norm. Unless a lot of overtime is involved.

[trdjce10]

Originally posted by ExtraSlow

If that Tech works 50 weeks a year at 40 hours a week, he'd have to be making $50 per hour. Sounds like that's not the norm. Unless a lot of overtime is involved.

Flat rate people, not straight hour. When I left my last dealership 2 years ago I was making $26.50 flat rate plus $2 bonus if you hit certain hours. To hit that, I needed to average 12 hours per day which is not hard to do. If you are good and fast, making 280 to 300 hours a month is possible. Now you do the math at $28.50 per hour. These days, some dealerships pays more $30 flat rate, but I don't know how their flat rate system works.

$100K per year is very do-able, but it really comes down to which dealership you work for. Some pay higher flat rate but harder to get hours. Also, don't screw up because you will have to work for free to fix it.

My advice is go apply and do some oil changes/tires first. See if you really like it. I don't unfortunately...so much that I don't even want to work on my own car sometimes.

[megafandrew]

Originally posted by alloroc
Take both of these courses at SAIT and you will be able to work practically anywhere and you will never be out of work.

1) Auto Mechanics
2) Power engineering

There are more building operators wanted and mechanics wanted ads than you can shake a stick at

Good advice here for the original poster. And if I ever finish my millwright trade (god damn economy) then I am going to go into these programs as well. Just make sure you want to be an auto tech as these are longer term commitment programs and do cost a bit (basically would be alot of time wasted if you decided you didnt like it afterwards) I know 3 people that have ran threw this course at SAIT (one being my older cousin) and all have gotten decent jobs my cousin is at a dealership for ford in coldlake I guess and he enjoys it. And alloroc is right mechanic jobs are a dime a dozen and always will be for the next years. Guys saying they regret becoming a mechanic and get a degree etc..... if you dont like it you should have followed your own advice a while ago lol:poosie: I like hands on stuff and messing with pistons/timing/compressors etc. and working on a car is not a hobby of mine but I could definitely do it for a living just like millwright work isnt a hobby for me (who is really) but it keeps me entertained at work and there are vast forms of this trade to cover/experience basically your a mechanic of stationary equipment and where I used to work that can easily include gas/diesel powered equipment with the same setup as a vehicle

[88jbody]

Originally posted by Mar
Never do your hobby as a job.

too late for me, but good advice.
I have been pulling wrenches for 11 years now.
the last thing I want to do after work is more work.

I work at an aftermarket repair shop. making 30/hr hourly plus bonus. bonus works to anywhere from 300-1000 a month average pre-tax

when I was at a dealer (3 years ago) top guys were in the 100-115k/year the average techs were taking home 80k/year I make less now but have much less BS to deal with then at the dealerships I had worked for.

I worked at western corvette and performance it was the best job I ever had but at 27/hr things were tight so I had to move on, but if I were single I would still be there

[10K plus]

"Find a job you love to do and you will never work another day again in your life!"

...thats the way i look at it, I am a HD tech and still enjoy working on my own vehicles. If anything because of the skills I am learning in HD the principles are the same on a car or truck and at the least I am learning how to fix a machine properly big or small.

Also for me I have many hobbies as well so after a long day of work i can hit my mountainbike for a while and burn away some stress. Because of the economy i've been on my bike alot ;) It will get better!!!

[VaN_HaMMeRSTeiN]

I can't believe that no one has said that this kid needs to take advantage of the many career counsilors (sp?) out there. There's tons, and they know what's what. Call SAIT, get an appointment, it's free. Talk to your school councilor as well.

[n1zm0]

Originally posted by Drsuce
$80-90/hr? your insane.... techs will only make between $28-38/hr. most good techs will make around 100k/yr in calgary. it also must be said that techs are only as good as the service advisor in the front. no upsells = no hours for tech

what?? no read his post again he asked how much $/hr does the dealership take from the posted labour rates..

its true about the service advisors but sometimes they go a bit overboard and that's when a good mechanic makes the $$$, finish the job fast (and of course properly) and they'll be seeing that $70k + a year

[10K plus]

Very true, SAIT has awesome councelling departments... Also I have seen a few good techs come through from Motive Action. There they do actual work placement so you get to actually work in a real shop. The clean floors at Sait are nice looking but not close to reality lol.



Originally posted by VaN_HaMMeRSTeiN
I can't believe that no one has said that this kid needs to take advantage of the many career counsilors (sp?) out there. There's tons, and they know what's what. Call SAIT, get an appointment, it's free. Talk to your school councilor as well.

[SOAB]

if your shop floor isn't clean, your foreman needs to be replaced.

the floor at our shop is cleaned by the apprentices almost daily at the end of the day.

[Rui M]

Most of the people that say get a degree or college is the way to go probably only earn 60k a year and spent 4 years reading books.

You will make 60k your second year if your a good mechanic. 100k your 4th.

[JTC180]

Im personally going into the auto tech course at SAIT this comming September. I have always had a love for cars, and I did well in school but I dont like book learning and theory too much so I decided to take Auto Tech and then hopefully business as well and one day hopefully open my own shop. Talk to career counsellers, as well as people who work the jobs you think you may be interested in. They know what the job is like so you can get a good idea from them.

[88jbody]

crowfoot dodge is now paying 34 on flat rate.

I wish I was making 100k, too much favortisim at the dealer only the favorites made that kind of money, the rest of us work our asses of for 80k

[anothers10]

Originally posted by 88jbody
crowfoot dodge is now paying 34 on flat rate.

I wish I was making 100k, too much favortisim at the dealer only the favorites made that kind of money, the rest of us work our asses of for 80k

I talked with a service manager in Edmonton paying 36-40 flat rate.

[SOAB]

but then you'd have to live in Edmonton... :D

i'm pretty sure the techs here at my job aren't at $35.