im a service advisor for honda...i get paid salary+commission on customer pay and warranty sales for the entire service department. no teams here. no complaints.


formerly i was a mercedes-benz technician. master ase certified and benz certified and all that jazz. it definitely was not the career for me. i fell under that category of the bitchin tech for sure and was miserable when business was slow.



on another note...good to see things are still going good for you joey. you picked up a motis yet for driveability gremlins?

 

i got a Solus Pro, since my Pico and MT5200 will kick the shit out of the on board scope on the Modis.

IDS, Tech II, DRB III, NGS, StarScan, Mentor, and now Solus.

yes...i am a tool whore.

 

imo thats the best part of the entire field, getting on the oscope and diagnosing something with evidence. then you can show the customer the graph of what sensor readings should show and what theirs is showing. builds great clientele too.

 

bout to be one, so i will let you know mate

 

I really like all the information, it is helping me make a decision. I worked on 46's in the marines so the mechanical work is something that I do like doing. Its more of a matter of can I support myself, on the money I would make, and is there good places to work in the industry. As far as schooling vs experiance, I am great with tools and have a lot of mechanical experiance, but it applies to an A and P cert, wich is great for aviation, but not for ASE. I do have a good job with L3 lined up in the meantime, Im just seeing if working on cars could be more than my weekend fun. Thanks again, keep the input flowing.

 

if you have an opportunity to be an av mechanic, do it. the money is better, but not in the commercial airliners. hard to get into a good position with most private fleets, but the pay is excellent.

if you are going auto/truck, i would advise you to seek out a bigger indy shop, not a dealer. but that is my personal preference.

the money is there, it all depends if you want to work for it and deal with the bullshit that is gonna be there at times. when i was wrenching for the last shop i worked at before i started my own shop, i was knocking back 65k/year, and that was before becoming an ASE master truck tech also. that was JUST a master auto tech, not even with my L! or L2 certs i got after that. and this is in an independent shop! i turned down several offers from local dealers that promised more money, but i knew from experience that it would be money first, then after a few months treated like shit and not get the good work anymore.

i started my shop two years ago next month, and eventually i will be able to get a paycheck lol. believe me, the work is there, and so are clients that are willing to pay a premium for premium service. there is something to be said if 80% of your customers drop the car off, or call me and we pick it up, and say to fix it, no matter the cost. when they trust you, that is worth much more than any payment they can give.

 

not a mechanic... but i paint. its me and another guy on our team, and we turn 130-180hrs consistently every week. 50-60 hrs of actual clock time.

 

I agree fully.

Most of my Subaru customers are like that. They service their car and fix it at all costs. Even still I always call them before hand, but I always hear go ahead before I am even halfway through telling them

 

Holy crap you guys must be like 1 in a billion techs, because I would not even leave Hitler's car with most dudes I've dealt with at various shops. When someone really loves their work it shows, and way too many techs seem to hate life and feel like their doing the customer a huuge favor by providing a service for money.

 

i Use to work for SAAB (certified SAAB and ASE tech) before i joined the Navy and now working on 60's.if you know know to turn a wrench youll be alright. If you are able to Diagnose problems very quickly, you will do even better. Being a diagnostician will make or break you. just make sure you got your tools. Tools do get expensive so start racking them up because having the right tools makes your life much easier. Remember time is money!