When I was younger I used to watch my Uncle Dave work on his and other people's cars. We never had hot rods or anything expensive to work on. It was always just ordinary every days cars. He never charged anybody a cent, just a hot cup of coffee would suffice. I guess that is why I love to help people with car problems. After completing my training for 3 years as a automotive tech. I was sent off into the world with my credentials! I think I only had $500 worth of tools to get started. But boy was i wrong thinking that was more than enough. My first job offer was in Reno Nevada. A far cry from the state of Kansas. From there I learned I needed more hands on experience and a whole heck of a lot of more tools. We had a very aggressive shop manager! Mechanics are generally quite humble people with no ambition to deal with the public. But in order to get ahead they need to be more out going and an ability to speak to the public. But me, I was open for anything. Jim the manager saw that in me and put me on the front line right from the get go. I moved up from a trainee to Service Manager. I liked dealing and talking to different types of people.
It was great for awhile. The other guys in the shop was kinda upset that Jim promoted me within a couple weeks after arriving in Reno. Jim was a great Manager. I actually looked up to him and i think I wanted to be like him. He had me over for dinner a few times to meet his wife and family. Things were going great!
After time things seemed to change for me. Jim wanted me to be the best service writer out of all of the other Franchise shops on the west coast. He wanted me to push the mechanics harder and faster and to get more aggressive with my selling practices. Which included fibbing a lot to them. I wasn't just quite ready to trade my tie in for a pair of working clothes. I had at times over 12 cars in the parking lot with their hoods waiting for me to do my preliminary inspections before we pull them into the shop. This was exciting for me coming from a small Kansas town.
From that experience I came back home and continued my career working on cars. I thought from being employed at specialty shops i could learn more about a particular types of services such as, brakes, tuneups and quick oil change places as mentioned in my previous contents.
I wanna give you now some advice if you want to pursue a career in the automotive repair Industry. If that is what you wanna do then go for it and stay dedicated as I have for over 20 years. There are a lot of ups and down depending on the economy. When your first starting out, and there is no business for the day expect to be sent home early so they can save on their payrolls. Plan on acquiring at least $20,000 in your personal tools. Become ASE certified as soon as possible for more pay. Attend night classes to stay updated on the new cars coming out every year. Love what your doing and plan on being a real people person dealing with customers. If I had a chance to do it all over again, I would! Best wishes on your career move!
