My 2 cents, go into healthcare, there's money to be made there. 2 fields you'll always find work in are healthcare and teaching, bad teachers are way underpaid so skip that one. I know this isn't an answer to your question, just my thoughts.

 

vinnie, i forgot to add that i have been working on cars sinse i was 16 yrs old and i'm 33 yrs old now.i worked hard and i've paid my dues and i was lucky enough to find this job and excel at this car line. anywhere you start you will start at the bottom and won't make jack for a while. but if you put in some hard work you will see a return no matter where you choose to work and what you choose to do.

 

This is more realistic. College is a more realistic approach to a successful future. If college is not your cup of tea, and a motorcycle mechanic is you dream job, then go for it with your eyes wide open.

 

I was talking to a young guy the other night that's a tech at a local HD dealership and he's looking for something else to do. He went to school in Orlando at a cost of 12000.00 and said he's not making much money at all. Not enough to justify the cost of the school. He may not be worth a dam as a tech I don't know or he may be as good as they come, but he's not happy.

 

How about the Military?

 

Hell, you would have to make that kind of money just to survive in the Republik of Kalifornia especially in the g*y area, whoops excuse me, the bay area of Kaliloonyland. I don't think you could ever pay me enough to live in thatloony area.

Vinnie, I live here in Phoenix and have heard that MMI is a pretty good school althoughI don't know that much about it personally and I think it's kind of expensive.

 

This is speaking fom personal experience...you can not teach somebody to be a good technician in a mere few months...you are either mechanical minded or not...I also will admit just because you get a college degree, in Management, does not mean you will be a good manager.

 

My old man had his own shop for years. Now he is "semi-retired" but manages a tire store that also does minor service.
The guys that work there make peanuts. $6 to 10/hr and they get paid per job. An oil change is about $4, patching a tire is about $5, etc, etc.

Like was said above... if you really want to be a mechanic, specialize and look for a high end brand's shop.

I learned all the mechanics growing up and can work on just about anything after I figure out how it works... I choose another profession and I'm not sorry.
I work on cars/bikes for fun. Not as a profession.

 

I work part-time as an adjunct professor at two universities. Word to the wise, if college is in your future do your research and make sure you attend a reputable institution that is accredited and is KNOWN for putting out educated folks. Way too many schools are also diploma mills.

 

fj4069 lives and works in the second or third most expensive area to live in the USA so his pay will reflect that. I own a BMW and also live in CA Bay Area, and I tell you BMW shop rates are high. The local Harley shop in Fremont CA has a shop rate of $104/hour, not sure how much of that the tech makes. Basically what I'm getting at is find out what local mechanics make in your area (Denver, Colorado) and see if you can live with that. Don't look at fj4069 annual gross and think you'll make that much up there. He also gets a ton of overtime, in Cali everyone has a BMW But overall – you should study what you like to do, not what will get you the most money cause if that was the case you should study law or medicine.