Automotive Trade (getting Out)

[superpursuit83]

My crane drivers are on $30 an hour, plus, plus plus.. And a 35 hour week. I cant believe a mechanic earns so little. When I was boilermaking/welding. 6 yrs ago I was on 22 plus plus.

[ReVd_uP]

I feel the pain, im a mechanic here aswell, although im earning above award wage, on average the wage is **** poor,....some places do pay a half decent wage, but theyre few a far between... it would help if there were propper licencing regulations like there are for sparkies and plumbers, that would weed out the hacks who've opened up theyre own shops when theyre arent even qualified mechanics....the fact that theres nothing stopping anybody opening up their own shop and fiddling with the brakes on a car is a worry....

[Psycho Chicken]

Originally Posted by ReVd_uP

I feel the pain, im a mechanic here aswell, although im earning above award wage, on average the wage is **** poor,....some places do pay a half decent wage, but theyre few a far between... it would help if there were propper licencing regulations like there are for sparkies and plumbers, that would weed out the hacks who've opened up theyre own shops when theyre arent even qualified mechanics....the fact that theres nothing stopping anybody opening up their own shop and fiddling with the brakes on a car is a worry....

Bloody oath. Besides actually getting the job in the first place, it doesn't mean anywhere near as much as a plumber of sparkie to be qualified. Not having a union is shafting us as well.

I'm a 3rd year, take home $400 plus OT. Not too bad considering all I do is spin filters on and off all day, with the occasional real job. Like hell I'll be at a dealership all my life, there's SFA money in them. Quick stint in motorsport before hitting the mines for a few years is the plan. See what happens after that. But if I'm at a dealership 12 months after I'm qualified someone come and beat some sense into me.

[XPfalcon170]

i've gone onto second year in cert3 light auto this year. Already planing on finding a different industry to work in when i get my ticket. For what the job is and what the pay is, its not a worthwhile industry for me. Its like a doctor working for food stamps.

[havoc19]

If what everybody say is true thats pretty **** currently im working as a cleaner and i get 16.50 an hour plus all entitlments such as annual leave paid sick days and all that **** and my jobs considered unskilled work.

[kazbah]

there is such things as further education, which in time allows all tradies to specialize and then start to earn the money that they diserve. I am not trying to belittle anyone but after I finished my trade I went back to TAFE did more cert's and then at age 30 I was earning good dollars,( am now 41 earning 96K in a permanant job with all entitlements still as a tradesman, yea sure its hard and gives you the shits at times but every trade , any trade is worth its weight in gold and none are any better than the other, its just takes specialization and everything can and will turn in the favor of you.

Join a union , for a small weekly fee they can defend you, negotiate on your behalf and get entitlments that our fore fathers died for! and last but not least they(we) can then tell little johnny howard where to stick his new IR laws.

[nobbystang]

Originally Posted by police

Consider what a sparky or a plumber earns. How hard are their trades?

A plumber unblock drains, fixes taps are plumbs up thing in copper pipe and brazes it together. Seems easy to me.

Playing with other peoples waste, you couldn't pay me enough to do that!!

[boss-290]

Originally Posted by nobbystang

Playing with other peoples waste, you couldn't pay me enough to do that!!

More simple and closed minded people. I don't get this society.

Somebody has to do it.

[yift]

im a mechanic by trade, i left the trade for 2 years and was doing courier during that time, money was good bu you dont get super, sickies, holiday pay, non of that so i went back in the trade with kmart auto as a mechanic and within 6 months i became a service bay manager on 45,000+ a year

[boss-290]

Originally Posted by mrgo40rd

Well ive had enought ive only worked in the automotive trade as a mechanic for the past seven years but ive had enought.firstly the money is crap you do a trade work on crap apprentice wages and at the end you dont earn much better. the award is $15.65 a hour (what a joke) its a skilled job.thank god i earn slightly more than that.you work your guts out for a company making them around 5k-6k a week in services and you take home $550 and you work dam hard for it.why would you wont to do a trade as a mechanic i must say you do have a great skill at the end but nobody wants to pay good money.well thats my ***** i wonder if anybody else has the same feelings as me.

So, have you left the Auto Trade yet?

[jaydee]

What about being your own boss as a mobilemechaic, a lot less overheads.There are even franchises you can buy but do you homework.
Something like 75% of all small business' fail in the first 12 months so more homework. You can always get advise from the Small Business Centre in your local city. They will give you free advice and I think they can even help you with a government grant to get you going.
Or do some weekend work from home for cash to suppliment your income, if you build a good rep, they will come.
Goodluck what ever you do.

[mrgo40rd]

update-yes i have left the trade as a mechanic (no more dirty hands) i have managed to get a job still dealing with cars but sitting in a office (with ac) im working for a insurance company (undewriting) i wont mention any names but you may see me at future shows and trade shows i still get to share my passion and knowlege and not bust my guts in a sweety workshop

[chief]

Thats good to hear you landed on your feet Matt. Hope it all works out for you.

[FLYXR6]

yep been there done that and its crap......... funny the world is short mechanics.. in every country. the IT age killed off the apprentices coming through, but we still get paid crap money... all i can say is hang in there and good things will come, I've been a mechanic for over 10 years now and now i'm a workshop supervisor of a large well known Diesel engine company, on good wages with 20 or so mechanics working under me. Something good will come eventually.

[primo]

man this thread is a good read, im a 4th year apparentice mechanic and god do i hate my job, i work for a toyota dealership and the foremans and service advisors busting my balls every 5 mins. having to work back late even when ive got other things to do after work because they've promised the customer there car will be finished that night even though i dont have any parts.

Now all this and the pay i can sort of handle but the training thats a different story, i'm actually doing my apparenticship through a group training scheme (for those in SA would've heard of MTA) and im "leased" out to this dealership that train there own apparentices through a special toyota apparentice program. These other apparentices are getting all the good jobs (ie. rebuilds) getting special training for the hybrid cars a
'toyota school" while i miss out on all this and just do services, i keep hassling the boss for extra work and training only to be told "i'll look into it". This annoys me so much I'm meant to be qualfied at the end of the year then i'm walking out of the trade. CANT WAIT

sorry for the long post but ive being waiting for a thread like this for so long.

[boss-290]

I have not heard anything good about the Automotive Trade.

I may have to think of a different path to follow.

But what though?

[robjh80]

My Brother-in-Law is a Motor Mechanic, always has been ever since he left school some 30 odd years ago...........his back is stuffed from the trade, he has to wear a brace every day and go to a Chiropractor a couple of times a week, he hates being a Mechanic, he's always talking about getting out of it but with 3 kids to feed and a mortgage what else can he do, being a Motor Mechanic is all he knows.

[GT-E]

I was an apprentice mechanic from 1986 to 1989. The day I got my ticket I left as I hated being dirty, hot and payed bugger all.
I got into IT and started on $45k, worked for 2 more years and then started my own IT business 13 years ago. I now earn more in 2 hours than I did in a whole week as a tradesman.
It is a pity that some trades are so undervalued and underpayed. You hear about shortages in certain industries (like Nursing) and this is purely due to the renumeration not being equal with the job.
I guess in 20 years most mechanics will be IT experts

[boss-290]

Its upto the person to do more than just be a mechanic once qualification is gained.

Go back to TAFE and learn more.

[IJG033]

Guy's My last boss before starting my own business was a complete knob jockey , he contantly Peed me off & I gave him heaps for his uselessness that in the 3 years I was a mechanic for him my pay went from $600 in the hand to between $1000-$1300 a week in the hand with the bonus's I was recieving . I worked from 8 till 6 & only stopped for 10-15 per day as I generally ate whilst working , this kept him away from me as I did all the work & told him to go away . On Fridays he would buy alcohol & food & lunch time you'd start drinking & just finish of the days work .

When I left there I continued to work there for one day a week whilst i was getting my own business established & was getting $250-$300 for the single day , couldn't ask for more than that . He still would take me back now & I bet I could get more money out of him these days but I hate working on late model cars so i specialize in the cars I have passion for XR-XC Falcons .

Cheers

Dave