Apprenticeships.

[Conrad]

Just looking in the area of Panel beating and Spray Painting in Sydney but i have found another option which is an apprenticeship for a motor mechanic at a Ford Dealer.

Would this be a bit more boring compared with a normal motor mechanic? Im assuming most of the cars that will come in will be for a service and therefore working there may be a bit more routine compared to a generic mechanic that will work on many different kinds of cars doing many different things.

What are everyones thoughts?





Also, if anybody knows anyone that needs an apprentice panel beater or spray painter please let me know via email - conrad.tanner@gmail.com


Regards, Conrad.

[Miller]

My mate was a first year apprentice at ford and did nothing but services and general like that. He changed over to a private mechanic on his third year and was doing all sorts of stuff including helping out with rebuilds etc etc

[Conrad]

Hmm, that information is exactly what i wanted to know, thank you.

[Mongoose]

Dont Dont Dont Dont Dont, seriously, the pay is better at McDonalds you do nothing but mundane pointless crap for the first 3 years, the foreman is constantly on you non stop. Yes you do get to work with new cars, but you wont get to do a whole lot with them especially when it comes to interior work.

[Conrad]

Originally Posted by Mongoose

Dont Dont Dont Dont Dont, seriously, the pay is better at McDonalds you do nothing but mundane pointless crap for the first 3 years, the foreman is constantly on you non stop. Yes you do get to work with new cars, but you wont get to do a whole lot with them especially when it comes to interior work.

Are we talking about apprenticeships or apprenticeships at dealerships?

[Nikked]

Its what you wan't to do, sometimes my aprenticeship drives me to levels of insainity, but it still fun if you make it fun...i do find it rewarding if you set challanges and you complete them, such as fully file finishing a guard or some such. If you really want do do something mechanical become a plant mechanic.

[ZA-289]

Stay away from mechanical full stop, it just pays terrible! the whole industry does!

Paint + panel is a better option, Dealership/private yeah you do boring jobs at a dealerships for a few years but your looked after much better.

[nb_351]

Originally Posted by ZA-289

Stay away from mechanical full stop, it just pays terrible! the whole industry does!

Paint + panel is a better option, Dealership/private yeah you do boring jobs at a dealerships for a few years but your looked after much better.

true that, if you want something well paying dont join the trade...
if you enjoy doing it, then give it a go... you have the 3 month period anyway, but i can tell you as an ex dealership apprentice, dont go there...
if you like repetitive work, go and work on an assembly line...
all i ver did was services, the odd major, and the odd warranty job... thats it...
im now the mechanic at a tyre stoe, and i love it...
last week i did an auto on a pajero, a motor in an xf, a clutch in a barina etc, and this afternoon after lunch i removed and replaced a commodore box, and we got a jeep on a tow truck for a motor, which was first just a suspected head gasket, when i pulled the head off it had a sacred piston...
theres so much more variety...
you actually have to fix things aswell, not just change them and throw the old ones in the warranty bin...

[Conrad]

I'm not expecting millions of dollars from the trade. Just experience, skills and a bit of cash money.

I don't plan on being a mechanic. Paint and panel seems better and seems to be the road im going down.

[nb_351]

even if if you learn enough to do your own car, then you wont have to pay anyone else to do it... lol
i ish i did paint and panel aswell, but its never too late...

[Conrad]

Originally Posted by nb_351

even if if you learn enough to do your own car, then you wont have to pay anyone else to do it... lol
i ish i did paint and panel aswell, but its never too late...

Exactly. I can cut out the mass amounts of rust out my XE haha

[Shaggzy]

Originally Posted by nb_351

im now the mechanic at a tyre store, and i love it...

Im the apprentice mechanic at the tyre store, and theres only 1 mechanic there so im involved wth everything and i think i would be learning a hell of alot more than if i did it at a dealership. Also if theres not much mechanical work i jump in and give the tyre guys a hand so i learn alot about that side of thing to.

Go somewhere private if u want to learn more and get more experience

[atec77]

Originally Posted by Conrad

Just looking in the area of Panel beating and Spray Painting in Sydney but i have found another option which is an apprenticeship for a motor mechanic at a Ford Dealer.

Would this be a bit more boring compared with a normal motor mechanic? Im assuming most of the cars that will come in will be for a service and therefore working there may be a bit more routine compared to a generic mechanic that will work on many different kinds of cars doing many different things.

What are everyones thoughts?





Also, if anybody knows anyone that needs an apprentice panel beater or spray painter please let me know via email - conrad.tanner@gmail.com


Regards, Conrad.

Panel and paint are ok , but for the real bucks electrical and pooplumber

[mattl]

Atec knows where the money is..qualified Panel Beater = $45,000 p/a roughly (below average), electrician/plumber = $55,000+ p/a! And here in Adelaide, an electricians apprenticeship is only 3 years, with much higher wages for those 3 years and better support then a Panel Beater!

Now I'm an apprentice panel beater and become qualified in a couple months, and I'm seriously thinking about looking for a whole new career once I finish my apprenticeship. I work for a private Crash Shop and do everything from interiors, to priming new parts, delivering, stocking the shelves..you name it i do it! And then when I'm not in the work shop, I'm helping the painters prime up and get there work ready!

If your going to do an apprenticeship in panel beating expect a LOT of sweeping, filing and cleaning! Of course this all depends on your boss and what jobs he gets you to do! But I would strongly recommend looking into an electrician/plumbers apprenticeship, MUCH better pay and shorter apprenticeship! Although if your set on the Automotive Industry, then Panel Beating is a good, reliable option. Just to give you a rough idea with pay, when i was a first year apprentice Panel Beater I was getting $230 a week, 41 hrs a week, 2nd Year $285 a week and so on! It's not the greatest pay..however, i was lucky enough to snag a brilliant boss who was giving me $300-$320 a week for first year and $350+ a week for 2nd year because i was working hard!

Either way, best of luck and if you have any questions about the Panel Beating industry, the work you'll be doing or just anything in general just hit me up with a PM!

[OLDFORDNUT]

if you take the dealership job and miss out on another trade you are interested in then you will always regret it later on,and blame the job you are in for missing out on interviews for what you really want to do ,hence it will make you despise where you are NOT GOOD FOR YOU or your employer,
i hope this makes sence
cheers Nick
p.s. the only ones who enjoy dealership trades are the company boys who are happy being bossed around as they take no risks,and it suits them,most leave asap

[Fev]

be a truckie mechanic. my mates 18, 4th year apprentice ship with scania making about a grand a week(although thats including over time.. base per hour is like $20 like me so around 45k per year base) and thats for an APPRENTICE

[[dave]]

Originally Posted by mattl

Atec knows where the money is..qualified Panel Beater = $45,000 p/a roughly (below average), electrician/plumber = $55,000+ p/a! And here in Adelaide, an electricians apprenticeship is only 3 years, with much higher wages for those 3 years and better support then a Panel Beater!

electricians in adealide still have to do a 4 year apprentice ship

and your wages during your apprentice depend on the company your workin for

for example i was getting paid more as a 2nd year boiler maker than my mate is as a 4th year electrictians

[Mongoose]

Originally Posted by Conrad

Are we talking about apprenticeships or apprenticeships at dealerships?

apprentiships at dealerships, dont, its one of the dumbest things ive ever done (and for many other people) if at all possible stay right away from bieng a mechanic.

[nb_351]

diesel mechainc is the next level, it pays more, but the work is bigger/more intense... hence more pay....

[mattl]

Originally Posted by [dave]

electricians in adealide still have to do a 4 year apprentice ship

and your wages during your apprentice depend on the company your workin for

for example i was getting paid more as a 2nd year boiler maker than my mate is as a 4th year electrictians

Are you sure they are 4 years? When i inquired about it recently (last couple weeks) i was told its only 3 years now, and a mate of mine is currently a 2nd year and is only doing a 3 year apprenticeship. I maybe wrong just going of what I've been told!

[ea90gl]

Apprenticeships are usually 4 years or 3.5 if you have completed some sort of pre voc or "career start" studies i have been told. Hopefully I will be doing air conditioning/refrigeration soon which is another good trade. If you ask me its not about money, a trade whatever it be is for the person who is happy to use thier hands and pay attention to detail, as well as problem solve and be willing to do a job as best as they can. ofcourse some aspects of one trade are different to the other but you get what im saying. As for the money per year figure, its good to get an idea on how much you will make but dont forget the world of cash jobs for your friends and families, plus the you scratch my back I scratch yours thing - help a bloke out with what your qualified in and he'll help you out with what he's qualified in. And also dont forget the possibilities of starting up your own business and being able to finally get appropriately paid for the work you do, not some hourly rate pay where your making the boss rich instead of yourself. Yes it will take time but it will be much worth it in the end

[The Yeti]

I did my apprenticship in a dealership, where I did mine was beeter than the above it seems we had 4 aprentices in each year so there was 2 in the genral sevice department 1 in new car PD and one in used cars and we rotated every 3 months the service and new car stuff was dead boaring but used cars was good, I went form there to heavy equipment and contianer handelers (better mony than cars) I'm off the tools naw but dont regret the apprenticship for a moment

[Conrad]

I'm not looking for cash as already stated. I want to do something i will enjoy not something that's gonna pay me heaps. I'm sure i wont be doing paint and panel all my life anyway.

Professionally at least.

[NFLANE]

your better off doing a building/construction trade theres proberly more money in it and more opptunity to do overtiime im currently doing a floor sanding apprentiship i reckon it pays alright coz i got a good boss whos pays double time all weekend and double time and a half on pub hols some weeks i take home $900 after tax

[Conrad]

Originally Posted by Conrad

I'm not looking for cash as already stated.

Read Carefully

[Ryan]

I had a 2 week trial at a local mechanical workshop, for a apprenticeship and I didn't really like it that much.

I was only getting paid like $6 a hour, and it just wasn't what I thought it would be.

[Tech Trainer]

You have stated you are not looking for cash. That is a good start.

Now what do YOU want to do?

Do you like cars in general or is it a new thing to you so you think you like them and hence want to become a mechanic?

I train mechanics and apprentices nearly everyday and is sticks out so much to me the guys who love cars and those who do it as a job. Do yourself a favor think about it long and hard before making your mind up.

I am a trade qualified motor mechanic and I am proud of it. What ever you do make sure you want to do and will be happy doing it.