I want to be a mechanic.

[JminiSPRITE]

Ever since I can remember, I've always wanted to work with cars in some way. Whether it be building them from lego, meccano, or these days fixing my own real cars.

Unfortunately after leaving college I was pushed into going to university to study IT by my tutors. They said I was too 'intelligent' to be a mechanic/car body repairer which is a ridiculous statement. I have never considered myself to be overly intelligent. I believe most college tutors are paid to get as many students into uni as possible...

Fast forward over 6 years and I have a degree in MEDIA (as I failed my IT degree through lack of motivation and interest (too busy dreaming about cars)), and a job working in a local builders merchant as I can't seem to find a job using my degree despite endless job applications and interviews.
Although I enjoyed doing my degree, I only received mediocre results due to spending too much time building my project car at the time. I have no real interest working in the media industry, my heart lies with working on cars. I have only recently realised I am not best suited to office jobs. I crave to be laying underneath a car covered in grease and oil.

This forum has influenced me greatly. I would love nothing more than to one day own my own business building classic cars or hotrods. Unfortunately I am too old at nearly 25 to do an apprenticeship and it wouldn't pay the bills. After 20 years of education I don't particularly want to go back to uni or college either.

I cant see another way of achieving the skills or knowledge to work in the car industry other than going into the forces and focusing on mechanics or engineering.

Can anyone help my dilemma?

[camerashy]

There have been a number of similar threads with some very good advice regarding the same subject on here lately, one that Robin started, as well as a couple of others. I'd strongly suggest reading those first

Perhaps someone more adept at searching has those links to hand? (If not a google search will find them)

[Battles]

As above, there have been lots of great thread about this.

My plan for this is to get my hands on a cheapo Cat C or D motor and get it back on the road for (hopefully) more than I buy it for. Then do it again, and again, and again.

I'm nearly there in terms of building up my experience (via bikes and a couple of failed banger experiments). I've got a decent garage, decent tools and I know both my own limits and a few decent garages to get bigger jobs done at.

Obviously, everyone's personal circumstances are unique so maybe you don't have the time or money to do it this way but it has the advantage of potentially being extra money while you're still paying the bills with your day job rather than the gamble of giving up work.

If you end up working for yourself, I hope your experience is as good as mine. I can't imagine what it would take for me to go back to permie work and PAYE tax.

[10mpg]

See here's the problem, I have a one man band garage, I do everything from restoring classic cars to building powerboat engines to fabrication, one off builds, along with all the servicing and daily repairs a 'normal' garage would do...

I have more work than I know what to do with, so I have been considering taking someone on, a short day for me is 10 hours at the moment, with 14-16 being more typical, something needs to change..

I have been looking at apprenticeships, but not sure I can spare the time to train up a totally green 'pupil' if I were to take on a fully skilled mechanic/engineer, I would be looking to set them to work straight away, if I am paying someone £10-15 a hour I will need them, to earn me £25-30 a hour to make the whole endeavour worthwhile, so I need to be able to set them on any job from servicing a Transit to rebuilding a gearbox without worrying, or stopping every five minutes to help as I get on with my own work and generally running a business, I'm not sure I can find a multiskilled, reliable, honest, hardworking person for that money....

I imagine many other employers are in the same position, the pitiful wages apprentices get are the only way to make training someone up actually cost effective..

On the other hand I have a largely unrelated degree (BSc Environmental science) which I don't currently use, it's not really the point, you don't have to follow your degree path, (though I got mine after I started/whilst running my business)..

Basically what I'm saying if if you want someone to spend their valuable time training you up, so you can EARN them money, which is the point after all, then you have to be prepared to take a curse word wage whilst being trained, I certainly did!

Find a facet of the industry that really appeals then do whatever it takes to get your foot in the door, if you have to travel miles or work for feck all, then that's what you have to do!


OR bite the bullet and start your own business, takes some balls, especially if you only have limited skills, but you have to remeber you are always learning, I've been doing this for myself for 5 years now and I learnt a totally new skill today just by taking on a job no-one else would touch, I had no experience of it at all (but plenty of theoretical knowledge) and just gave it a go, customer went away chuffed to bits as a job no-one else would touch was done, and I had cash in my pocket and a new skill! You can apply the same logic to most skills/situations as long as you have done your homework first!

[scaryoldcortina]

Sounds a lot like the dilemma I found myself facing at your age. I too was advised (strongly) that I was far too bright to be a mechanic and was steered to A levels, and eventually a science degree (chemistry). It didn't take many years of actually working in chemistry (I used to design washing powder!) to realize that I bloody hated it, and I still wanted to fix cars. It proved impossible to get a job in "the trade" because I didn't have the right bit of paper (I have NO BTEC quals, at any level in any subject) and a BSc doesn't impress when you want to wield spanners for a living. I eventually settled for TV/video repair for a couple of years until the price of a TV wiped that game out overnight. I did a lot of "for mates" mechanical work on the side too.

This gets us to 12 years ago, when I bit the bullet and went self employed. I'm still doing it, and still (mostly) enjoying it. I get all the jobs that the "pros" don't understand, for starters! I personally think that some people were born to be car techs, it's a shame it is seen as a thickie profession because it isn't, and is getting more technical all the time.

I suppose what I'm saying is learn by doing - spare time fixing (or at least looking and puzzling at) as many cars as possible. Learn by reading as much as you can (I think "Light vehicle repair and maintainance" is still the standard college text - shouldn't take more than a day or two to bash through) and if possible find someone to teach you the tricks of the trade - I worked with a former main dealer tech and card carrying mechanic (since he was 16) for a year, he had a bad spill from a bike and couldn't do anything, so he talked me through everything. There is a lot of stuff you can't get from books, things like the ball joint splitting trick for example.
Sometimes you will hate your choices. Sometimes you wonder why the hell everyone else in your graduating class is on 50k a year and you are changing a peugeot clutch in the rain. Other times (*most of the time) you know you did right.

[Clement]

I have the same problem, except I wasn't aware that I was that much into cars yet. I did a building engineer degree, I'm working in an office and I know that even though I can cope with it, it's just slowly boring me to death.

I'm only 23 so I can live on apprenticeship for a year, I think that's what I'll do at first. My ambition is that since mechanics are needed absolutely everywhere on earth, I want to use this to travel and find jobs wherever I go. I'm dreaming I know, but I still have to give it a shot.

Life's too short

[TurboDieselWeasel]

I never cared too much about going an academic way.... Well, I've tried (media & art) - but soon discovered it was not 'my thing'. Neither do I worry about my age. It is like it is, what's my age got to do with it? If someone has a problem with my age - well - sod off, realy.

And then, chance, good fortune - I got a job at a garage. I didn't take an apprenticeship, nor had my previous academic curriculum vitae been related to mechanics or cars at all.

It didn't went smooth right from the begining, though. At first I was too slow, taking to much time to do my job - in short: I was not profitable, res. worthless to my employer. And this was the hardest learning curve I had to face - to work economical. Don't waste time and 'get on with it'. It was only when I relised how to do that, that things got better and we're discussing a higher wage & more working time right now. As I'm not yet a full-time employee (and in my free time I weld the one or other car, as sort of my own little business).

Though I'm also following a possible way to get an apprenticeship as a panel beater. Maybe I can do both, that would be awesome.

[DWDarkWheels]

I guess most places will want someone with qualifications, but I believe there are still jobs for people who can show they have experience and enthusiasm rather than book knowledge.

I did not want to be a mechanic in my job, I work in I.T. But when I wanted to build a kitcar and had no experience I bought a cheap car and rebuilt myself, learning along the way.

If you show that sort of interest in your personal life, that can be just what it takes to get your foot in the door.

[ikon31]

Jul 9, 2012 20:08:51 GMT JminiSPRITE said:

Ever since I can remember, I've always wanted to work with cars in some way. Whether it be building them from lego, meccano, or these days fixing my own real cars.

Unfortunately after leaving college I was pushed into going to university to study IT by my tutors. They said I was too 'intelligent' to be a mechanic/car body repairer which is a ridiculous statement. I have never considered myself to be overly intelligent. I believe most college tutors are paid to get as many students into uni as possible...

Fast forward over 6 years and I have a degree in MEDIA (as I failed my IT degree through lack of motivation and interest (too busy dreaming about cars)), and a job working in a local builders merchant as I can't seem to find a job using my degree despite endless job applications and interviews.
Although I enjoyed doing my degree, I only received mediocre results due to spending too much time building my project car at the time. I have no real interest working in the media industry, my heart lies with working on cars. I have only recently realised I am not best suited to office jobs. I crave to be laying underneath a car covered in grease and oil.

This forum has influenced me greatly. I would love nothing more than to one day own my own business building classic cars or hotrods. Unfortunately I am too old at nearly 25 to do an apprenticeship and it wouldn't pay the bills. After 20 years of education I don't particularly want to go back to uni or college either.

I cant see another way of achieving the skills or knowledge to work in the car industry other than going into the forces and focusing on mechanics or engineering.

Can anyone help my dilemma?

are you me??! how odd that we share such a similar educational and vocational background!

[froggy]

hands on experience is more important than qualifications to me but i have taken a 30 year old with no previous garage experience based on the sort of stuff he and his twin brother build at home , its been a tough 12 months for him so far but the sort of jobs that come in regularly get easier with practise like his first vivaro clutch took 7hrs where the second was 4 hrs .

if you are serious then be prepared to get £10-12per hour as an employee but as a trainee maybe half that until you start turning work out quickly .

building and modding your own stuff at home is a world away from fixing hum drum shitboxes day in day out . it will take you a year to get up to speed as a mechanic if your any good and it will take the shine off building your own stuff after a hard day welding up the filler neck on a punto you might not fancy doing any welding ,having said that all my staff have project cars and seem to find the motivation to get stuff done usually on my ramps at the weekend .

i went back into the trade in 1997 at 29 and started my own business in 2000 . i still enjoy it although the electronics side can be a drag but id do the same again