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I just moved back to my hometown of Orlando, FL after two years of living in Vegas
I decided to attend school. I enrolled at Universal Technical Institute and am scheduled to start April 16. I also plan to do their Nissan elective
Ive been doing a LOT of research tonight on google and on indeed.com there was a forum thread about a lot of ex techs saying the jobs pay sh*tty and that dealers are full of politics
I really want to do this as a career because I dont want to go to college for 4 years, I'd rather go in, learn something, graduate and get my certs. I know there are a LOT of tech courses I could do but Im only interested in automotive
But after seeing all those negative posts about pay, Im not so sure about becoming an auto tech anymore...it sucks because im sick of working 1 minimum wage 15-20 hr a week job after another and I want to build a career working around something I love
And does anybody know how much UTI grads earn in their 1st year? I heard its $45k right outta school but I dont entirely believe it. But I REALLY want to do this
i would say that as more people keep cars longer that leads to more need for techs. I had friends that made a good living at dealerships; but it was tied to both the quality and the quantity. Maybe that varies from place to place.
But while you have to consider training for something that can get you hired, you also should do what you like. After all this is your career you are talking about.
As for politics in a dealership, it can be the same in warehouses, offices, etc... just something one may have to deal with.
UTI, Lincoln Tech and Whotech might be the biggest rackets going on right now. I’ve run into countless techs that have attended these schools carrying student loans that would make a four-year university student blush.
I highly recommend if you want to be a tech enrolling in a publicly funded community college. At least then the general education units will transfer to something else should you not like being a tech.
With that said I could honestly say there is not future in being a tech. The pay has been stagnant for the better part of a decade. Doing the same tasks over and over again is a great way to end up with medical problems.
Do a search on this forum and the education forum.
And does anybody know how much UTI grads earn in their 1st year? I heard its $45k right outta school but I dont entirely believe it. But I REALLY want to do this
That's a lie.
For far less money you can enroll in a Community College down here for Process Technology to become a Plant Operator. And once you get on with one the starting pay is usually in the upper 20s/hr with great benefits. I do it and it's great.
I'm gonna' qualify my comments with a little background information:
1) I owned and operated an independent auto repair shop for over 35 years, which gave me and my better techs a very good living. It wasn't uncommon for my guys to see $80-100K/year earnings, and that's back all the way into the late 1980's. I made a comparable income to my techs most years, but I had business deductions involved, too. Some years, I made less than my best techs, but that was OK, they earned what they brought in.
2) I'm now an independent rep calling on the automotive service industry, and involved with shop management. I see more shops in a week than most folk will ever see in a lifetime and I get access to their priviliged information re finances, operating costs, overhead expenses, labor expenses, etc. With that database, I know that there's a whole bunch of shops (including dealerships) that are making money and their employees are making money. The forseeable future for their services is a very strong demand. I know from this access quite a number of automotive/diesel techs making in the high five figures today without working more than a 40-45 hour week.
So, there is an upside potential ahead for you in this industry. But it's not gonna' happen in every shop situation because:
1) There's a lot of chain/franchise operations in the marketplace that have figured out how to reduce the technical proficiency skills needed to a minimum common denominator to be dollar productive for the shops. The goal was to make the shop profitable on a minimal labor requirement, and the pay is commensurate; ie, low. You cannot make a good living in these circumstances because the franchise/shop has perfected their business model predicated upon lowest cost labor. It's the same business model as the franchise fast food industry; ie, you don't call someone who cooks food in these places a "chef" (with that type of potential income in the right situation) because they aren't working to that level.
2) Politics will come into play in virtually every shop. You'll always hear of favoritism in job assignments, work loads, etc., in a lot of shops. You either learn to play the game and maximize your opportunities, or you don't. Your greatest tools are to make your skill set so valuable to a shop that the management recognizes your profitability to the shop and maximizes their oppportunities to capture that income ... or, the alternative is for you to deny them your services; ie, move on to another shop with better opportunities for you. The best run shops I visit have professional management (sometimes by folk who aren't tech oriented at all, but recognize the value of top techs to their business) and aggressively seek to bring in a steady workload of opportunities for you to make money.
Consider this aspect of employment as common to virtually any job opportunity that you might encounter in the service or professional trades ... even in union shops, nobody's as equal as some of the group. Same thing happens in degree'd professions, it's the nature of management and employment and you'll hear the same complaints about politics if you're an employed lawyer, doctor, architect, engineer, teacher, and so forth.
3) You need to focus on developing your diagnostic skill set and hand skills to being the best you can be, with the ability to work reasonably quickly, make good decisions about the use of your tools and equipment, and zero in on the stuff that the "average" guy next to you who is max'ed out at doing more basic work is challenged by.
4) You need to be realistic about where you'll market your skillset. If the shops in your area aren't offering the opportunities that you need to have to satisfy your earnings power, then you either need to move on to another market or accept that you're in a lesser situation than you want to be.
5) You need to be professional at what you do. You cannot be stagnant, you must constantly be learning the latest and advanced techniques/tactics through whatever means you can get them. Trade associations, technician forums, manufacturer's schools, etc. ... and recognize that these take time, effort, and hard cash out of your pocket. Knowledge isn't free or cheap in this business.
6) Consider that your skill set will allow you to pursue many parallel job opportunities. A good living can be had in the auto trade, but where in the auto trade? At a dealership, an independent shop, a fleet maintenance shop, a used car lot, or a wrecking yard, or ? Keep an open mind as to what you can do and how you can optomize your income with your skillset.
7) Good advice to be had from several posters re numerous training sources. The for-profit votechs are the most expensive way to get started in this biz and appear to focus more on blowing smoke up your nether regions about how valuable you'll be in the industry, although $20/hr jobs are available in some markets for a starting wage ... the problem is, that most of those pay level starting jobs are in expensive areas to live, so it's rarely a livable wage. Consider community college Votechs as a more cost-effective way to acquire training. Seek out internships from manufacturer programs.
8) Have fun with this biz. If it doesn't give you warm fuzzies every morning to wake up to the challenges of what you're doing in it, then it's time to move on to something else, whatever the reason is that you're not challenged and enthusiastic about it.
You can make a fine living but you have to find the right place to work.. It ain't like the old days.. You have to have quite a bit of electronics knowledge and troubleshooting knowledge.. Good luck!
And does anybody know how much UTI grads earn in their 1st year? I heard its $45k right outta school but I dont entirely believe it. But I REALLY want to do this
The $45k a year number is BS, at least for automotive techs. Figure you will probably be making around $30k a year at best. Diesel on the other hand is a very different story and yes, someone who graduates at the top of their class and lands a heavy duty diesel tech job at a private fleet or dealer can be making $45k a year out the gate.
The pay in automotive ultimately ends up being very variable and is dependent on the shops structure and how good you are. Most shops operate on a flat rate basis, so you will be getting paid by the job according to book time. Say the book says a job should take 2 hours, you get paid 2 hours whether it takes you 3 hours or 1 hour. Obviously in this arrangement, the better you are at beating book time without screwing up, the more money you are going to make. Of course, book times are getting stingier all the time.
Then you get into the politics. New guys tend to get the crappy jobs, generally chasing diag and trying to fix a non-obvious problem. Meanwhile the experienced guys with an "in" are doing things like swapping transmissions with their eyes closed, lol.
Then you get into training and certs, your education from tech school isn't going to buy you much other than an in. After that, you will need to continue working on your ASE cert's climbing your way hopefully up to Master Tech while at the same time getting any kind of factory certs and training you can get your hands on. Basically, consider your education your right to become an apprentice. After that, you need to work to prove yourself and it can take years to get there.
Good mechanics with all the certs can make a ton of money, easily over $100k a year in the right shop. Crappy mechanics who don't put the time and effort in are going to be making barely above minimum wage. Then you get into the strain on your body and realizing that it isn't something most people can do for life and you are always one injury away from losing your career. Basically, keep your options open and as you progress keep looking towards what you need to do to get into the management side of the business.
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UTI, Lincoln Tech and Whotech might be the biggest rackets going on right now. I’ve run into countless techs that have attended these schools carrying student loans that would make a four-year university student blush.
I highly recommend if you want to be a tech enrolling in a publicly funded community college. At least then the general education units will transfer to something else should you not like being a tech.
I think this a great suggestion. The tech training is going to be equivalent, but the other courses are going to give you a foundation towards getting a degree that you could keep working on down the road. Think about future potential, a business degree and your tech experience would mean a good shot at getting into the management end of things, where you can make real good money and have a career that will last you many years without your body quitting on you.
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With that said I could honestly say there is not future in being a tech. The pay has been stagnant for the better part of a decade. Doing the same tasks over and over again is a great way to end up with medical problems.
I don't agree with this part. Techs are in huge demand, in particular diesel techs. Auto tech pay isn't that great for most, but someone who is dedicated and works hard at it can make a great living off of it. Someone who looks into the diesel end of things, particularly the heavy duty stuff can pretty much write their own paycheck if they are even remotely good at it, they are that much in demand.
I highly recommend diesel to anyone getting into the business, in particular becuase diesel is always in demand and diesel is making a comeback in the car world. I think being a diesel tech cross-certed in automotive is going to be like being the geeky computer kid in the 80's, when computers were still a novelty. You have a chance to make a killing being one of the few people who can do what needs to be done.
Don't know if it's been mentioned yet but if you're really serious about auto repair as a career, be ready to invest a lot of money in tools. A whole lot.
I think it depends on your location. My husband went to school in NYC for Automotive Technician and before he even graduated, he accepted a position with Audi. The starting pay was very crappy, but at least they 'guaranteed' him a minimum of 40 hours a week at his hourly pay. Fast forward a few months, we made the move to the Charlotte area and it was so different out here. To top off that they also paid crappy salaries (even lower than NY), they don't guarantee you a paycheck of 40 hours at the end of the week. It was mostly commission pay. If no cars come in for repair all week, you don't bring home a paycheck. You only get paid on cars that you work on.
He even went to work for a Firestone store as an Auto Tech...and all he did was balance and rotate tires all day, take out garbage, mow grass..and other 'non' auto tech duties. When cars came in for actual repairs, the manager, of course, handed those jobs over to the Senior techs.
Needless to say....years of schooling, thousands of dollars in student loan debt later....he is no longer working in the auto tech field. Biggest regret he ever had. At least he knows how to work on our own cars and saves us money.
My son-in-law didn't attend any schools after high school but came from a family of "natural" mechanics. He apprenticed under his father as a heavy equipment and large truck mechanic at several places and now ten years later, still under 30, can pretty much pick and choose where he works. For our area he's doing well for a high school grad, $35k a year @hourly rates, all the overtime he wants, a reduced rate health plan and a retirement plan if he opts in.
His brother went on to one of those tech schools and became a licensed inspection mechanic and does about as well. His burden though is the school loan.
Who got the better deal? Neither and both. The son-in-law has no school loan and will always work on machinery that doesn't require constant skill upgrading. His brother, to stay on top of things, will always have the expense of additional schooling. Both will always have work though.
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