automotive mechanic

[machinehead]

Hi i'm thinking of being a mechanic someday. im sure you guys are or know mechanics. i am just wondering how much money do they get paid.

thanks

[AllGoNoShow]

If its about the money, then don't consider joining, because it should be based on your work and whether you enjoy it or not, not how much you make.

How much you make also depends where you work and if your any good, if your there for the money, you probably wont be too good.

[menace3]

^^^ true. well try motive action, its a government funded entry level apprentise, try that if mechanics are your best choice.

[qaxaz]

Automotive Service Technician
Produced JANUARY 2003

Automotive service technicians perform preventative maintenance, diagnose faulty operations and repair vehicles.
NOC Number(s): 7321.1
Educational Requirements: Apprenticeship Trade - Grade 10
Employment Outlook: Employment turnover plus average occupational growth in Alberta
Interests: O I M
Duties | Working Conditions | Personal Characteristics | Education | Employment | Salary | Other Information | Related Occupations | Related School Subjects | Related Field of Study

Salary section revised DECEMBER 2004

Apprentice automotive service technicians earn at least 55 per cent of the journeyman wage rate in their place of employment in the first year, 70 per cent in the second, 80 per cent in the third and 90 per cent in the fourth. According to the Alberta Provincial Apprenticeship Committee for this trade, journeyman wage rates vary, but generally range from $17 to $22 per hour plus benefits (2003 estimate).

According to the 2003 Alberta Wage and Salary Survey, most Albertans in the Automotive Service Technicians occupational group earned from $12,900 to $112,800 per year. The average salary was $48,800 per year.

Duties

Automotive service technicians adjust, test and repair engines, steering systems, braking systems, drive trains, vehicle suspensions, electrical systems and air-conditioning systems and do wheel alignments. In large shops, they sometimes specialize in repairing, rebuilding and servicing specific parts such as braking systems, suspension and steering systems. In smaller shops, they may work on a wider variety of repair jobs.

Duties vary from one position to another but, in general, automotive service technicians:

* determine the problem by reading the work order, examining the vehicle, using testing equipment or taking the vehicle for a test drive
* dismantle faulty assemblies and repair or replace worn or damaged parts
* reassemble, adjust and test the repaired mechanism.

Automotive service technicians may also:

* perform scheduled maintenance services such as oil changes, lubrications and tune ups
* advise customers on work performed, general vehicle conditions and future repair requirements.


Working Conditions

Most automotive service technicians work a 40-hour, five-day week. Some evening, weekend or holiday work may be required. The work is sometimes noisy and dirty. There is some risk of injury when working with power tools and exposure to exhaust gas fumes.

Technicians may be required to lift items weighing up to 25 kilograms.

Personal Characteristics

Automotive service technicians need the following characteristics:

* good hearing, eyesight and manual dexterity
* mechanical aptitude and interest
* the ability to keep up to date with changing technology.

They should enjoy doing precision work and working independently.



Educational Requirements section revised FEBRUARY 2005

To work in Alberta, automotive service technicians must be registered apprentices or certified journeymen.

To register with Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training, apprentices must:

* have at least an Alberta Grade 10 education (with Math 10 or 13 or Pure Math 10 or Applied Math 10 and English 10 or 13) or equivalent or pass an entrance exam
* find a suitable employer who is willing to hire and train an apprentice. Most employers prefer to hire high school graduates and may select apprentices from among their current employees. A working knowledge of electricity, electronics and computers is an asset.

The term of apprenticeship is four years (four 12-month periods) that include a minimum of 1,500 hours of on-the-job training and eight weeks of technical training each year. High school students can become apprentices and gain credits toward apprenticeship training and a high school diploma at the same time through the Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP).

Apprentices are required to provide their own tools.

Applicants who have related training or work experience may be eligible for credit or certification.

Automotive service technician apprentices may attempt the Interprovincial Exam in the final period of their apprenticeship training and, if successful, will be granted a Red Seal (which is recognized in most parts of Canada).

Technical training is arranged by Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training and is currently offered at:

* Lakeland College in Vermilion
* Lethbridge Community College
* Medicine Hat College
* the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) in Edmonton and Fairview
* Red Deer College
* the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) in Calgary.

Outside the apprenticeship program, the following post-secondary institutions offer related training:

* Lethbridge Community College offers a one year Automotive Service certificate program. The entrance requirement is a high school diploma with Applied Math 30, Pure Math 30, Math 30 or Math 33 or equivalent.
* Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) in Edmonton offers a one year Automotive Mechanic certificate program. The entrance requirement is Grade 10 with English, math and science. Preference may be given to those who also have automotive experience.
* Red Deer College offers a one year Automotive Service certificate. The entrance requirement is Pure Math 10 or Applied Math 20 and English 10 or 23 or equivalent.
* Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) in Calgary offers a two year Automotive Service Technology diploma program. The entrance requirement is a minimum of 70 Alberta high school credits (Grade 11) with Pure Math 20, Applied Math 20 or Math 23, a Grade 11 English and a Grade 11 science. All applicants are required to write a mechanical aptitude test.

Pre-employment programs for prospective apprentices and continuing education programs for journeymen may be offered on an as needed basis by the institution(s) listed above or other schools.

For current information about programs and mature student admission policies, please check post-secondary calendars or websites.

Employment and Advancement section revised FEBRUARY 2005

Automotive service technicians are employed by automotive repair shops, specialty repair shops, service stations, car and truck dealerships and by large organizations that own fleets of vehicles.

Experienced automotive service technicians may advance to service manager or shop foreman positions. Alberta certified journeyman automotive service technicians who have the supervisory or management skills required by industry may apply for an Achievement in Business Competencies Blue Seal by contacting Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training. Some automotive service technicians open their own garages, service stations or automobile performance shops.

Automotive service technicians are part of the larger National Occupational Classification 7321: Automotive Service Technicians, Truck Mechanics and Mechanical Repairers. In Alberta, over 75 per cent of people employed in this classification work in the following industries:

* Repair, Maintenance, Personal and Other Services
* Retail Trade.

The employment outlook in this occupation will be influenced by a wide variety of factors including:

* trends and events affecting overall employment (especially in the industries listed above)
* location in Alberta
* employment turnover (work opportunities generated by people leaving existing positions)
* occupational growth (work opportunities resulting from the creation of new positions that never existed before)
* size of the occupation.

Over 14,900 Albertans are employed in the Motor Vehicle Mechanics, Technicians and Mechanical Repairers occupational group which is expected to grow 1.7 to 2.7 per cent each year from 2004 to 2009 in Alberta. It is forecasted that 250 to 410 new positions will be created each year in addition to job openings created by employment turnover. (Note: Since automotive service technicians form only a part of the larger occupational group on which this forecast is based, only a portion of the new positions created will be for automotive service technicians.)

Employment turnover is expected to increase as members of the baby boom generation retire over the next five to ten years.

Salary section revised DECEMBER 2004

Apprentice automotive service technicians earn at least 55 per cent of the journeyman wage rate in their place of employment in the first year, 70 per cent in the second, 80 per cent in the third and 90 per cent in the fourth. According to the Alberta Provincial Apprenticeship Committee for this trade, journeyman wage rates vary, but generally range from $17 to $22 per hour plus benefits (2003 estimate).

According to the 2003 Alberta Wage and Salary Survey, most Albertans in the Automotive Service Technicians occupational group earned from $12,900 to $112,800 per year. The average salary was $48,800 per year.

Other Sources of Information section revised MARCH 2004

Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training website: www.tradesecrets.org

Automotive Service and Repair Association website: www.asra-alberta.ab.ca

Motor Dealers' Association of Alberta website: www.mdaofalberta.com

Post-secondary institution calendars or websites (see Educational Requirements above)

EDinfo website: www.alis.gov.ab.ca/edinfo



You can find info on any other career choices at the same site, at http://www.alis.gov.ab.ca/occinfo/Co...ge=TitleSearch

[method]

do a search, it's been covered.

techs, especially new techs, dont make a lot of money. if you want to make bank, you have to work your ass off.

[Bigchuckers]

I would go work at a dealership before jumping into it. I use to want to be a mechanic until I found out it wasnt what I thought it would be. Laying under a dash with a wiring diagram or performing the same warranty work day in and day out didn't appeal to me.

In regards to pay, it comes with the years and thats a long wait. Id say $4-5k/mth is about peak for a well experianced (20-30 years) technician.

[AllGoNoShow]

4-5k a month for 20-30 years of experience is low, very low. Maybe out in Regina where all you rednecks fix your own cars anyways, but here it is growing, you get into the right fields you will be making well over that.

[HTN SWCHS]

crappy tire, first year apprentice 13, second 15, third 17 (i think) fourth, flat rate, liscensed 23.50 flat rate

[menace3]

^^^ thats like the minimum wage for mechanics. hehehe try dealerships they are way better than canadian tire.

[91_Integz]

My buddy is a third year at BMW and he's making around 22 and then once he's a journey man i think it's around 28 but he becomes flat rate so he get's paid for the hours he bills, and not the hours he works so it can be much more than 28 if you are good and quick

[Dr. Lightspeed]

It is probally the most demanding and underpaid trade out there. The statistics say that after 4 years of the trade you will be required to recall on more information than a brain surgeon. The human body never changes and this year alone we will have 20 makes producing 10 new models. This is the problem with our trade. It takes a very intelligent individual to be a technician these days and these individuals are high in demand as doctors and lawyers. (Guys that R and R engines and trannies are still technicians but not high in demand guys that can diagnose and repair complex electronic issues are). Technicians are required to diagnose and repair complex problems in electronic circuits and now even forced to work with fibre optics, computers, and still remember the basics of the mechanical principles. So if you are in for all that and like working for 25% of what you could make as a lawyer or a doctor sign on man. I love my job everyday I do something different. One day I am tuning a mega horsepower car and the next I am building a custom manifold or exhaust or possibly wiring in a fuel computer. If you decide to go in to automotives take some welding courses it will look good on a resume.

[AllGoNoShow]

91_integz is right.

As soon as you are a jouryneymen you stop getting paid by the hour sometimes, and you get bumped to by the book, that is how some mechanics make a nice coin.

Right now, say you were third year, someone brings in an 86 Camaro that needs a new timing chain (I know the hours thats why I'm doing this). If you do the timing chain, congrats, but your still getting paid by the hour probably.

Now if your a journeymen, someone brings in a timing chain, they look up on the comp, it'll say 5.3 hours for a new timing chain. Say the labour rate is 60 an hour, then the person gets charged, 60 x 5.3. If you get the job done in an hour, then you still get 5.3 hours worth of pay from it as they are going by the book on how long it will take. When it is busy, thats when you make alot of money, you could get 5 5.3 hour jobs that take you an hour each, you just made 25 hours worth of cash, in 5 hours.

[method]

Originally posted by AllGoNoShow
When it is busy, thats when you make alot of money, you could get 5 5.3 hour jobs that take you an hour each, you just made 25 hours worth of cash, in 5 hours.

and when it isnt busy, you dont make any money.

[AllGoNoShow]

Originally posted by method


and when it isnt busy, you dont make any money.

Precisly, thats why you get into a good shop that is busier year round or in larger lumps then say a little corner shop in a neighborhood.