As a tech you won't earn much more than 33% of shop rate. Then the dealer will use effiency as a measure. Billed vs.Flat rate. Tools? If you need it and the dealer doesn't have it? Well, get the job done, as a tech....You get the dirt thrown at you. Sales manager will "back door" a piece of junk and then try to sell it with extended warranty. You as a tech will have to fix it under warranty hours.

 

I worked several years as an auto mechanic in my youth... after slaving over hot engines all day for too little money, I no longer enjoyed working on my own stuff!
If you are going to spend big $$$ to learn to work in the automotive industry, look into streetrod fabrication or diesel mechanics programs at Wyotech. A lower budget version of this would be to get into a welding certification program and machinist program at a community college. Body and fender tech also teaches fab and welding skills and if you can find a CC based automotive computer controls program, you'll be in good shape!

 

Phantom, they don't let us do overtime anymore cause we started to make too much along with the flat rate payment plan. basically if a job is supposed to take 5 hours and i perform it in 2 hours i get payed for all 5. like you say he will not make what i'm making in his area. but if he gets into the right shop he will make comparable money for his area. where do you take your bmw for svc at? i am always looking for sidework if your interested. won't have to pay the 165 an hour at the dealership.

 

I know a few people who have gone through the different mechanic schools and most are in a different profession because of the pay.

Without overtime $33/hr comes out to 69K/yr

Whether you go to college or some other institution you willingness to work hard and work well with others will be your two biggest assets. I am a Superintendent for a large Commercial General Contractor in Houston and we have hired people with Economic Degrees who have become highly successful in our organization because of their work ethic and attitude.

Best of luck with your decision

 

Don't know anything about that school. As far as career advice, I think you need to consider what your strengths, weaknesses and interests are. I have a son who is good in math and science,doesn't like working outdoors, likes to solve puzzles and figure things out. Engineering seemed to be a good fit for him. It may turn out, as it often does with many initial career choices, that he winds up not liking it. If so it's a very versatile degree he can use in many different ways.

My daughter, not so good in math and science but always had a real heart for troubled kids. She became a teacher.

They say a good way to determine what sort of job you'll enjoy doing is to think of what you did as a teenager that when you did it you lost all sense of time. Do you like working on things. Outdoors, indoors. Do you like being around alot of people, the center of attention. Or are you more of an introvert who likes to work alone. While I believe people can change and adapt their personalities I think it's always easier and better in the long run to work to your strengths.

I think the answer to these questions will give you a general idea of the "kind" of workyou'd enjoy doing for the next 25-30 years or more.That's along time to be stuck in a job you're not suited for or happy in. If being a mechanic seems like the way to go for you, go for it.Any skill is better than none and you should always have work available. And if you get into the right place you should be able to make adecent living at it. Have you checked the govt occupational outlook manual. It gives you the job outlook and wages for various occupations.

Good Luck

 

Let's see. $165 X 5 = $825. Divide by 2 = $412.50 per real hour of work.

And people wonder why dealers have such a bad reputation? Flat rate billing is the biggest con job around. And they all use it. Most work takes about half the time they bill you for so you are really paying twice the hourly rate they quote you. But they don't seem to have the ***** to quote you an honest hourly rate.

 

John,

If I as a dealer charged you T&M to change your oil, then your oil plug stripped, then I had to pull the pan (Not sure how you do the repair on a bike, so lets for instance this), drill it out, tap the threads, parts wash it to get all debris out, put in a new gasket, seal it up, put in a new plug, and continue on to your next rusted stuck part... so I bill you actual time of 5 hours... Who's mad now? Fixed bid offers protection to both parties. You argree to pay a little more with the peace of mind that if something goes wrong its on the shop. The shop hopes to come out a little ahead and will balance it out with the ones that take longer.

As far as the education... over a lifetime $10k is nothing. if you like the idea and want to learn... go for it. Even if you don't pursue it as a carreer, nobody can ever take that knowledge from you. Who knows when someday you might be down on your luck and can make ends meet being a mechanic later in life for a few months.

It's always good to have a 'plan b'

 

You mean if they don't do the job right I should pay extra to help cover their screw ups? Sorry, it shouldn't work that way. If they screw it up they fix it. Because if I bring it to them and it is all ready screwed up they're not going to charge me the same amount as if there were no problem when I brought it in. They're going to make me pay more (as well they should). But I shouldn't be paying both times. I shouldn't be paying extra to know the shop will fix their own screw ups.

 

I can almost guarantee you that if a shop came up with a stripped plug, you'd be paying more than the quoted price regardless of the fact if the job was quoted from a flat rate book or not.

On another note Vinnie, I am in the aviation mechanic field and work primarily on helicopters that fly the oil patch in the gulf. I have been doing this for over 20 years. While working in South Louisiana I am making in excess of $30.00 per hour. We didn't always make that much money. When I started in 1985, starting pay was about 7.00 per hour. Today they are starting green mechanics out about $20.00 per hour. I got qualified via an Aircraft Mechanics "Tech School" and it took 21 months. I work 7 days on and 7 days off with about as much overtime as anyone could stand. The overtime is not a required and I live 2 states away in Alabama.

What I am trying to tell you is there is money to be made in the "mechanic" field, but whether it is motorcycle, auto, aircraft, or diesel makes no difference unless it is what you want to do. And as someone said above, The amount you make is strictly dependent upon what part of the country you are doing it in. Just don't jump into any school without first being knowledgeable about what you should expect when school is over.

mrbadlands

 

Not sure if its your cup o joe, but Mercedes used to offer a factory sponsored training program for autotechs...IF selected and IF you made it thru, the $$ was good coming out...think they paid the training which was like 2 yrs but then you HAD to work for X number of yrs at MB...I recall the starting pay being good tho - upper 30s - low 40s...don't know more details but you can prob find out...good luck...