let me know what you guys think about this but I'm 22. well Monday a seat bottom came in at 2:00PM I already had a car in my bay that took me three hours to today so by the time the I finished it was 5:00 PM and I leave everyday at 6 I start tearing at the seat bottom but as time goes by it turns 6:00 PM so I pack up and go home, well now today (my day off) my boss send me a message saying "call me when you can" so i call... he told me why didnt this car get done and I told him why, then he said "well why arent you here now" to which i reply" its my off day i already had everything planned for today" long story short he basically replied back saying that i need to throw all my plans in the trash and priortize work and come in my off day... doesnt seem to understand my off day is my only day i have to destress myself and do things that i actually enjoy doing, like work on my fiero,, lmao

Hey yall, so yall may have seen my post about how I finally escaped the lube bay. Turns out that this new shop is slow asf right now and thus I have basically no tickets coming in. I've maybe touched 4-5 cars in a week and they're all oil changes tires, stuff I've done before. The whole other time I'm basically the shop maid.

Now don't get me wrong, I don't mind cleaning up, mopping the floor, doing misc chores when there's no work. Its a part of the business. But I didn't leave a busy shop to come here and mop floors and hunt for random bs to do *all day*. Some cars roll in, but naturally, flat rate guys gotta be fed first which I'm ok with. That's how they make money. (Im hourly for now)

So I talked to bossman about it and what we could do. He says that things will pick up after labor day and all the snowbirds start coming down here. (south Florida USA) He says he notices my hard work and to give him credit he has put me on *some* stuff when the flow allows him to. It's not like he's starving me on purpose. Now obviously I'm not gonna just call it quits after a few weeks, but doing random bs all day when I have a few grand of tools in my box kinda makes me question wtf I'm doing here. I'm not super motivated really and I want to just leave, but obviously thats a bad move.

I've been a lube tech for 2 years already. I've done my fair share of random chores before and I came to this shop looking to finally get my hands on some actual line work. I've got my ASE G1 even, and I'm studying for A series tests.

What would you guys do in my shoes? Wait it out for a few weeks? Bounce? I have a second job that I already confirmed I can go full time at until I find a new place, so money's not an issue if I do decide to jump ship. I just feel like I'd be doing it way too early.

Want some advice from the old heads in here.

I am starting a 2 year automotive tech program through my high school and I needs shoes or boots idk anything specifically any advice or recommendations appreciated also any other tips on what to wear and how to do good in ma class. 🫪

So it’s been a week in since I got moved from being an apprentice at our pre-owned to the lube rack at the main shop and wow I hate it. It feels so monotonous doing the same thing over and over and it sucks the fun out of the job for me now. Obviously I’m not going to say anything to the supervisor since I’ve only been at the dealership for 2 months, but I want to go back our used shop. Is there any way for me to ask or do I just suck it up and lube away?

Got a job as an apprentice/mechanic at frightliner not sure if I hate it or am just not used to it. But I came from working at loves and I knew I wanted to get more into engine work, so I was super excited for this opportunity. I’m not sure what exactly they were expecting from me but they are just throwing me onto job expecting I know things and I don’t. The training just feels very lack there of. I have no idea what I’m doing day to day and I don’t feel like I’m actually learning anything. I know I want to work on cars/trucks, but doing it this way feels like I’m going to end up messing more shit up than learning things.

I studied structural engineering at UC San Diego, but I'm having trouble finding employment. Extremely competitive, how can I begin learning more about mechanics?

Does this seem achievable?

49 jobs per month?
2.5 cars per day?

Is anybody else here a flat rate EV tech feeling like you are getting raked over the coals day in and day out? Like it’s not even the fact that half the time the tech line doesn’t even know what’s wrong, it’s the fact that 90% of the work i am doing is EV diag and 95% of that is warranty so sure we charge customers 1.8x warranty time but when i do almost no customer pay work it makes no difference what we charge them.

In the last 10 weeks i have flagged an average of 40.3 hours per week, before i started doing EV work i averaged almost 55. It has really destroyed my motivation and is making me want to leave this industry. Anybody else having a similar experience?

It took me 2 years to get promoted to mechanic. Boss kept telling me he doesn't move people up quickly, and that he wanted to see that I can do an amazing job in the yard before I got promoted. I had two senior mechanics basically harassing boss to promote me but it still took 2 years. I make $24/hr now

In early June we hired a new yard guy and he started at $23/hr (the job listing on our website says that position pays $18-21) and boss tells him not to discuss his pay. A coworker tells me that he misses when I was in the yard because this guy's not as good. I just say hey he's new give him some time. 2 weeks in, boss starts talking to him about getting him in the shop. 3 months in and he's now promoted to mechanic and now makes more than me

Nothing about this feels fair. Even the new guy thinks it's fucked. The entire shop thinks it's fucked. I don't have anything against the new guy, we get along pretty well actually, I'm just so angry that the standards have been so different for me. Yes this guy had a bit more experience than me but experience isn't why boss said he was holding me back. I never like to pull the discrimination card but it's honestly hard not to when truckers constantly sexually harass me or don't take me seriously because I'm a woman, it's constantly brought to my attention that people see me as a woman before they see me as a mechanic. I feel like 4 years should count for something at least but I guess not

Hey guys I am looking to apply to a mechanic shop who do train inexperienced mechanics. And as a woman I obviously have a lot of hair and stuff like that, are there any women here and if so, what do you do to protect your hair during oil changes or anything working under a car? Tires and wheels are the lease of my worries, I’ll hit the gym to lift those lol

I went to the automotive training centre in Surrey to talk about joining the mechanical technician foundation program. The cost is almost $20,000 for the class that gets you your level 1. BCIT and VCC both offer foundation classes for 6-7k is what the training centre quoted me correct or are they smoking crack? I don’t seem to understand why there’s is so much more

Starting a small mobile tech service in my area and I've been calling around to get an idea for break job prices in the areas I want to be in but wasn't sure what y'all thought and what you tend to charge for brake related work on the side and if I should charge more for being mobile. I wanna be fair to people but the main reason I'm doing this to to make extra money on top of my main job.

Has anyone here subscribed to the mechanic mindset online diagnostic training platform? I’m looking to expand my skillset with oscilloscopes and CAN network fault diagnostics. I was hoping to find an in-person seminar but cannot find one anywhere near me.

Are these courses worth it?

Auto Techs who work for Big Brand Tire. What is the pay structure? How are the benefits? Health Insurance and 401 company contribution. I'm at Belle Tire in Michigan and we were bought out by Big Brand in July. Wondering what is going to change benefits-wise. Thanks!

Has anyone left automotive for air craft? I’ve been doing this for more than 20 years and I’ve grown so tired of the toxic environment that comes with an automotive shop. Flat rate is a joke, and hourly shops treat you like shit if you’re not working like a flat rate tech and turning a bunch of hours. I’ve always seen aircraft mechanics saying how much they love their job, and I’ve always wondered what that would be like.

Im currently working for Ford as a technician and once I hit A-tech or master tech I plan on moving to england for a few years. I was just wondering if being a tech for ford would pay more there since it’s considered a foreign brand. If anyone has made that transition to a foreign country could you just let me know how that went. I’m just curious and looking to hear other people’s experiences.

I’ve been conflicted on my next decision. I’ve learned that military experience isn’t viewed the same everywhere so I’ll probably start as an apprentice either way. Fine, completely understandable. Just can’t decide if I should go to a local community college first for a diesel cert. the main reason I’m entertaining that decision is the huge student discount on tools. I already have a pretty good setup with tools, definitely more than most when starting out I just don’t have as many specialty tools yet. If it’s not worth it to get that certification first, would there be any other certifications worth the while first ? Cdl, machining, management ? I’m pretty dead set on turning wrenches I have never grown tired of it . From motorcycles to cars to heavy stuff I enjoy it all. I’ve been out of the military for a little over a year now and I feel like I haven’t done enough due to fear of getting myself out there. I’ve been working at an Upfitter shop where I’ve actually learned a lot of fabrication , etc but I’m 26 and need to take action. TIA

I've been working in a dealership setting for about 6 years now and I've begun taking my GM master certification tests with the goal of reaching world class. I've passed a couple of them and have a couple more scheduled for this year. My questions are is it worth it to get world class? I know I'd be asking for a raise if/when I reach that level but how much should I realistically ask for? When I got my first letter saying I passed it said it would expire in 2028. Is there anything I need to know about maintaining these certifications?

Hey everyone, I’m 19 and have been working at Goodyear for about a year. I recently decided to look for a new shop and got a job offer from Christian Brothers. The pay is significantly better and I think it’ll help me actually develop as a technician, which is my main goal. Goodyear is tough to grow at if you’re serious about the trade — the highest they could pay me was $19.25/hr, while Christian Brothers is starting me at $22/hr.

I’m posting here because I’m a little nervous about starting somewhere new. I’m not sure if I’ll be expected to know more than I do, but I’m genuinely fired up to learn and I’m excited about the opportunity. I just don’t know if that’s enough going in.

My manager said I’ll start on oil changes and then get thrown into the fire pretty quickly. I guess my main question is — for anyone who’s made a similar transition, what should I expect in the first few weeks at a new shop? How does that adjustment period usually go?

That’s really all I’m worried about. Any advice is appreciated.

Hey everybody, what can I do to get overseas? I know I need a passport, but what else is there? I've got some work experience in motor mechanics, no certificates, but I've been trying for a good couple years now here in South Africa and there's just no work. It's either ghost listings or the people just don't want me.

I figured I'd try my luck here and see if anybody knew of a way to get overseas(UK, New Zealand, USA, Australia, etc) and try my luck in another country or if anybody had a position open and was willing to take a chance on me.

10 years of working on cars and I'm surprised this is the first time this happened. Imagine, if you will, working on one specifically dirty and greasy old 4X4, looking up, safety squints engaged, mouth in full grimace, teeth barely parted...reaching up one last time to thread a bolt into the torque converter....knocked loose one little ball of ATF, mud, and clay....well I've never experienced precision like this grease ball... it was like a heat seeking missile straight to the uvula...I've tasted plenty of fluid before but man when it goes straight to the back of you throat...that's a lesson I won't soon forget.