if not too late vocational highschool. it is a great place to start and recieve guidence. You get an apprenticship and a diploma. I went to a tech highschool, and it served me well. I think all highschools should be vocational, I have me reasons and now is not the time,, but tech highschool and then the miltary and he will be prepared. IMO

 

I hear ya....Too many folks out there working a regular job plus doin' side work and no time to have a cold beer! Maybe I'm wrong, but that ain't livin'! That's an early grave...

You gotta set something aside for a bit of sanity...An insane life is not a life!!!

 

Thanks folks for all your advice and comments. I'll have my son read this at this as well.

I should also take a moment and clarify that my in my OP I referred to the dealership as a "stealership". Bad choice of word under the circumstances and was using it more of a slang than actually dissing it. My apologies if it came across that way, as I actually love the local dealership I frequent in Chilliwack BC.

 

Not a bad choice on words , it's the reality of today's working & retail world . Dealerships are to make a profit period , not be friend or the cool place to hang out or support that overpriced toy they sold you . It's about the money and anyway they can separate you from it . That's the main reason all people I know who have tried in the last 20+ yrs to make a go of it have quit or gone into something else , no pay and they expect you to be in awe of just working for them . I've told a couple dealership groups I danced with to **** up a rope after they sat there and bluntly insulted my intelligence with an offer that a new kid fresh out of school would choke on and this was coming with references & background . Screw those egotistical asswipes .

If you believe your son has mechanical potential steer him into the trades like refrigeration or Millwright's and the more specialized off shoots . Those are going to be high demand jobs in the not so distant future as more old timers retire out and the border bunnies can't fill those niches at minimum wage .

 

i wish i could find one of them shops paying $15 an hour working on bikes..most head techs dont see that..i would go back in a minute..the last shop charged $95 an hour,paid me $9.50 (no raises for 3 years till i left,they offered $.26 to stay).i worked 50 hours a week,6 days and holidays,and best i made was $24k a year..i was talking to the head tech that has been there for 26 years,he showed me his paycheck once.he made flat rate,i brought home more money then he did

 

Sucks worse than I thought that was the wages I pulling in the 80's working on bikes . Gotta be the area you live in , even Kansas City wasn't that bad .

I've made up to $22 hr out here in Ca. but that was during the heyday early 2000's , got that because I was the only guy the house who diagnose a problem or work on anything that wasn't bone stock plus we were an Indian dealer not Harley . These guys were selling several brands of the cookie cutter choppers and nobody had a clue how deal with one much less tune a big motor . Went to 2 HD dealerships after I left that sinking boat and those were the azzhats who wanted to pay $12 hr flat rate while raking the public for $105 per . Take another hit off that crack guys I made more on unemployment .

To the OP this is the real world your son would get blind sided with as soon as he gets out of school , heartbreaker for someone young that put it all out thinking the dream was coming true .

 

Not sure if your son has his mind made up yet or not. If not take a look in to air traffic controller jobs (ATC). When they fired all the controllers in the 80's they hired back people of the same age. Now all of them are going to retire in the next few years (Major issue) They need over 10,000 new hires.

Aviation is my profession if ya want to talk a little more about it shoot me off a PM


Just a thought