I'm tired of being an unemployed Software Developer. So, I'm thinking of going back to school for automotive tech. I'm thinking I need to get an ASE to work in the industry. Would like to build up race cars but at least be certified to work on all cars. Anyone have an opinion on this?
ASE certification... anyone have one?
- Thread starter GDawg
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CC'S95GT
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my kid is currently going to school for that exact thing. it's tough in the beginning at the stealerships-your paid flat rate, the junior guy always gets the crap jobs or the or the jobs that are hard to make any money at. and you at the mercy of the service mgr.,your going to have to buy a lot of tools, but on the other side of the coin there's always going to be cars, and if you a good mech you'll have people beating down you door for side work. if you go that route , good luck to ya
I've got 6 ASE's that I got while I was in the military, cause I was bored and the tests were free. Unless you have the money to spend on tools, it's not worth it. If you already have all the tools, the ASE cert will get you into the $20/hr range. I have about $15,000 in tools and tool boxes and I would barely have enough tools to start an medium entry level mechanic job. If you really want to be valuable learn 12volt. I also am a Master MECP, which I like the potential for that Cert than any of the ASE's. My buddy does specialty wiring for automotive stuff and charges $60/hr and he also has Master MECP and a few years of experience. I got my MMECP and quit my job to concentrate on getting into med school. Certificates are good for the basics but experience and degrees will ALWAYS win out.
Go to school.
Go to school.
Rice_slayer
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Im going for Automotive service tech actually, highest mark in my auto class now with a 96% 
. From what I heard, if you are a good mechanic, you can make good money as a flat rate mechanic. I can almost work faster than my teacher(I changed the rear tranny seal in 30 mins on my car... he wanted to drop the exhaust :dontknow. Worst part is defiantly the tools. Thing is you either can buy the top stuff like MAC and snap on or buy the cheaper brands and pay again when the wrench/tool snaps...
. From what I heard, if you are a good mechanic, you can make good money as a flat rate mechanic. I can almost work faster than my teacher(I changed the rear tranny seal in 30 mins on my car... he wanted to drop the exhaust :dontknow. Worst part is defiantly the tools. Thing is you either can buy the top stuff like MAC and snap on or buy the cheaper brands and pay again when the wrench/tool snaps...sxynerd, I'll probably pm you for some more information. I am looking at going back to school but not for software development. Up until this year I was making $80K a year but now I can't get a job to save my life. I want to get into something I like that can't be outsourced. I'm sure wiring would be fairly easy to me. I'd like to hear more.
Someone want to provide a list of necessary tools to be a mechanic? I have a pretty good set but not $15K worth. I also still have a VA business loan that I can use to open my own shop.
Someone want to provide a list of necessary tools to be a mechanic? I have a pretty good set but not $15K worth. I also still have a VA business loan that I can use to open my own shop.
GDawg said:
If you want to be on the Mechanic side of the house then look into BMW, Volkswagen and Toyota because they all have their own school that train you and employ you.
The Software industry is definitely at a dead stop right now because of outsourcing. Eventually though, the market will even out.
I wouldn't become a tech right now. Warranty work kills them. Your at the mercy of the manufacture when it's warranty. On top of the fact the cost of tools and the fact you won't make any money right now as almost all shops are struggling to get any work at all.
I have one. I wouldn't recommend going into the automotive field. The piece of paper looks really good but the other techs know it means little. For a fabrication shop or anything involving racecars, I doubt they'd care. They look for experience, pictures of previous welds/jobs, etc.
2slo95fiveoh
Well-Known Member
i just took both a4 (steering/susp) and a5 (brakes) and am waiting to hear the test results. At dealerships the warranty work does
kill you, but i'm at firestone, where there's no dealer b/s. out of the 4 techs we have going now, they will average for the year between
70-85 flag rate hours a week, working usually only 5 days. The big bux in automotive are in drivability and wiring. Half the techs i know don't
want to mess with a broken loom, harness, or cut wire they can't easily find. There is money to be made, you just have to pick your poison.
kill you, but i'm at firestone, where there's no dealer b/s. out of the 4 techs we have going now, they will average for the year between
70-85 flag rate hours a week, working usually only 5 days. The big bux in automotive are in drivability and wiring. Half the techs i know don't
want to mess with a broken loom, harness, or cut wire they can't easily find. There is money to be made, you just have to pick your poison.
DropTopPony
Post Whore
I've been considering it myself. I have worked in the front of the dealership doing sales for years and i would rather be in the garage. You can make money if you are good/fast and smart... smart as in making friends with the service writer/manager because they control the work flow. I work for a busy Toyota Dealer and our service area is always busy and most of the techs get OT doing PDI's at night. If you plan on doing this then like said above you need to get trained in Toyota or BMW etc because Domestics are not selling well and the bulk of your money will come from maintenance etc and Toyota/BMW buyers don't change their own oil.
I planned on doing this 3 years ago and even signed up at UTI but had my car accident and could not stand up for long periods of time, i am healed up now and ready to go. I am not doing this for money but rather i am wanting to do something i find fun instead of just work. If in 5-10 years you get bored or too old you can always become a service writer.
Oh and have you thought about moving to a different part of the country to stay in your current field?
I planned on doing this 3 years ago and even signed up at UTI but had my car accident and could not stand up for long periods of time, i am healed up now and ready to go. I am not doing this for money but rather i am wanting to do something i find fun instead of just work. If in 5-10 years you get bored or too old you can always become a service writer.
Oh and have you thought about moving to a different part of the country to stay in your current field?
Goindeafonmtx
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I work for Firestone as well. I'll probably take a test or two next spring just get a decent raise. Probably the biggest perk working for them is that I get an awesome discount on parts and tires.
Try getting on in a parts department. I made good money for what the job was at a toyota dealer. It was frustrating to learn the system and sell at the same time but i got the hang of it and did pretty good.
I would get people that would buy TRD or just regular parts and I'd install them on my day off for about 1/2 of what a shop charged. I averaged about $1500 a week but I was super busy.
I would get people that would buy TRD or just regular parts and I'd install them on my day off for about 1/2 of what a shop charged. I averaged about $1500 a week but I was super busy.
