Automotive Technicians

[M80]

I realize county employment comes with benefits,, but unless those benefits are substantial ? you should leave and go into the private sector, at a busy independent repair facility, pay is about as high or higher than its ever been for experienced techs, I'm currently making good money, but I've been offered between 15k-20k more yearly in the last couple months to come to work at another shop, and likely will do so after some final negotiations.

I’m thinking about it hard but don’t know after 21 years I want to jump back into working commission and the insurance is so high at most places. After 9 years of being the shop foreman I’d rather find something in management

 

[transfixer]

I’m thinking about it hard but don’t know after 21 years I want to jump back into working commission and the insurance is so high at most places. After 9 years of being the shop foreman I’d rather find something in management

I wouldn't be good in managing a shop, with the current class of techs I've been seeing in the last 5 to 10yrs,, soon as one told me something can't be done, that I know can be done , cause I've done it myself, I'd tell him to hit the road ! lol

 

[M80]

I wouldn't be good in managing a shop, with the current class of techs I've been seeing in the last 5 to 10yrs,, soon as one told me something can't be done, that I know can be done , cause I've done it myself, I'd tell him to hit the road ! lol

It’s tuff for sure. I’m thankful I have patience lol

 

[ADDICTED2HUNTIN]

Good qualified techs are treated like royalty now!

 

[transfixer]

Good qualified techs are treated like royalty now!

maybe not royalty, but at least they're getting the respect they used to have 15 or 20yrs ago in my field anyway, I have taken one of the jobs I was being offered, I'll be working a 2 week notice where I am and then I'm going to the new shop, shorter drive, virtually no traffic to or from work, more vacation time, and more $$ to boot !

 

[ADDICTED2HUNTIN]

@transfixer Some of the things I do for my guys is absolutely unheard of in any shop. If I can get a tech to just come talk to me I have a 95% chance of getting him hired. Heck it’s hard for me just to get them committed to just sit down with me. I’ve only missed out on one tech that I interviewed face to face in the last 9 months and the only reason he didn’t come is because he really didn’t want to turn wrenches any more, he was looking for more at a foreman role. All of my foremen have been with me for a long time and I’m not in need of another one right now.

 

[transfixer]

@transfixer Some of the things I do for my guys is absolutely unheard of in any shop. If I can get a tech to just come talk to me I have a 95% chance of getting him hired. Heck it’s hard for me just to get them committed to just sit down with me. I’ve only missed out on one tech that I interviewed face to face in the last 9 months and the only reason he didn’t come is because he really didn’t want to turn wrenches any more, he was looking for more at a foreman role. All of my foremen have been with me for a long time and I’m not in need of another one right now.

In my field there just aren't that many guys anymore, some of the builders that were around simply retired, as a result there are probably a half dozen builder jobs available right now , many transmission shops don't see a high enough car count to pay a good builder, so they end up with a marginally experienced one , or the simply buy reman units and install them, at least half of the Aamco shops around Metro Atlanta operate without a transmission builder at all ! they simply order a reman unit, and employ someone to remove and install units.

I see myself working full time for 4 more years, and then I'll retire and only work two or maybe three days a week, really wish I had the opportunity to train some younger guy to do what I do, but there doesn't seem to be many guys interested in it. over the years I've trained or helped train 5 or 6 guys, a couple who turned out to be real good , and the others were still good enough to make a living in this field. but it seems things are different these days .

 

[deermaster13]

I'm on the collision side and manage one for a dodge dealer. Body men are hard to come by. I've been doing g this 38 years and never seen such a shortage of techs. Our service dept is down to one fully certified FCA tech. 10 years ago there were 8 up there. I'm down to 4 body men and all except one is in their 50s. I attended a conference last month and they said by 2025 the auto industry will be around 750 thousand techs shortage.

 

[humblehunter22]

I will say because this seems spot on for the blue collar industry especially aligned with the "trades" industry. I work for a commercial grade contractor in the city that is Union affiliated. That being said beforehand I had spent 8 years under the employ of Uncle Sam in the Military. Coming into the civilian sector from the outside looking in I thought heck forget white collar, forget trying to go to college to get a paper degree in jibberish I am just going to go right into a trade and essentially get paid while I learn and for the matter learn a valuable prized skillset. Boy was I wrong granted I knew initially coming into the situation starting freshly over I knew there would be a wages and benefits gap that I would have to become used to which I never complained I did as I was told and generally speaking worked all week and every day available during the weekend period both days. So essentially working 7 days a week putting it bluntly. For the apprenticeship starting out I was making roughly 10.50 an hour before taxes ok so then even with working my 2 days of OT after working my scheduled 40 hr week my paycheck was rounding out to a whole whopping roughly 200 something bucks I remember, not to mention the 3 to 6 month probationary period before being eligible for company grade health insurance to cover my wife and son. Mind you coming out of the Military as a leader I was making roughly 60 K plus between my stateside and forward deployed paychecks and man do I ever miss making over 60 and being able to live comfortably. So in total you can do that math making 60 plus in a calendar year with my benefits being reduced down to that kind of a pay scale busting rear end 7 days a week marching to the beat of the drum and not being able to get my wife and kid covered under a basic health insurance plan until I had satisfied the terms of the probationary period was in itself a joke. Needless to say once the debt really started to build up I took control of my situation and ended that arrangement. Now I am involved in mid level management for a company and potentially looking to pick up with a better outfit for better pay and benefits package staying in management. Fact of the matter is starting out in the trades or should I say blue collar related industry is so rough and the attrition is what it is because the powers that be aren't willing to compensate or adjust the system to be more attractive to those looking to start out or break into the industry. Granted I completely agree that you cant be paying a kid no sort of topped out experienced tech's kind of pay or benefits but still you have to be able to compete with the burger flippers and folks making over minimum wage not doing physically demanding jobs. I know in our industry it is not popular for a reason sure the juice is worth the squeeze once you top out and make that senior match grade pay but we cannot forget it takes time to develop and learn to get to that point and as we clearly are experiencing the cost of living is always changing and folks have to be able to afford to live and put food on their tables.

 

[transfixer]

I will say because this seems spot on for the blue collar industry especially aligned with the "trades" industry. I work for a commercial grade contractor in the city that is Union affiliated. That being said beforehand I had spent 8 years under the employ of Uncle Sam in the Military. Coming into the civilian sector from the outside looking in I thought heck forget white collar, forget trying to go to college to get a paper degree in jibberish I am just going to go right into a trade and essentially get paid while I learn and for the matter learn a valuable prized skillset. Boy was I wrong granted I knew initially coming into the situation starting freshly over I knew there would be a wages and benefits gap that I would have to become used to which I never complained I did as I was told and generally speaking worked all week and every day available during the weekend period both days. So essentially working 7 days a week putting it bluntly. For the apprenticeship starting out I was making roughly 10.50 an hour before taxes ok so then even with working my 2 days of OT after working my scheduled 40 hr week my paycheck was rounding out to a whole whopping roughly 200 something bucks I remember, not to mention the 3 to 6 month probationary period before being eligible for company grade health insurance to cover my wife and son. Mind you coming out of the Military as a leader I was making roughly 60 K plus between my stateside and forward deployed paychecks and man do I ever miss making over 60 and being able to live comfortably. So in total you can do that math making 60 plus in a calendar year with my benefits being reduced down to that kind of a pay scale busting rear end 7 days a week marching to the beat of the drum and not being able to get my wife and kid covered under a basic health insurance plan until I had satisfied the terms of the probationary period was in itself a joke. Needless to say once the debt really started to build up I took control of my situation and ended that arrangement. Now I am involved in mid level management for a company and potentially looking to pick up with a better outfit for better pay and benefits package staying in management. Fact of the matter is starting out in the trades or should I say blue collar related industry is so rough and the attrition is what it is because the powers that be aren't willing to compensate or adjust the system to be more attractive to those looking to start out or break into the industry. Granted I completely agree that you cant be paying a kid no sort of topped out experienced tech's kind of pay or benefits but still you have to be able to compete with the burger flippers and folks making over minimum wage not doing physically demanding jobs. I know in our industry it is not popular for a reason sure the juice is worth the squeeze once you top out and make that senior match grade pay but we cannot forget it takes time to develop and learn to get to that point and as we clearly are experiencing the cost of living is always changing and folks have to be able to afford to live and put food on their tables.

I don't know about the industry you got into out of the service, but when I got into the transmission industry in 1986 I was making a good bit more than $10 an hour , and within a year was approaching $20 an hour, so I think the pay scale in the trades depends on what area you get into ,

The problem I see with working in management whether its entry level, middle management , or upper level, is when things get tight, belts are tightened, management is where cuts are made, not the guys actually doing the work that brings in dollars, especially if you're in a niche category where you are hard to replace, I"ve never been without a job since 86, even during the crash of 07, and I've never changed jobs for less money .

 

[humblehunter22]

I don't know about the industry you got into out of the service, but when I got into the transmission industry in 1986 I was making a good bit more than $10 an hour , and within a year was approaching $20 an hour, so I think the pay scale in the trades depends on what area you get into ,

The problem I see with working in management whether its entry level, middle management , or upper level, is when things get tight, belts are tightened, management is where cuts are made, not the guys actually doing the work that brings in dollars, especially if you're in a niche category where you are hard to replace, I"ve never been without a job since 86, even during the crash of 07, and I've never changed jobs for less money .

Trans it was the electrical industry, wanted to get into something more technical of the field and was most familiar and comfortable with that aspect of the trades. And I completely agree it is all upon who you know and how "connected" you are within the office place part of the reason I have been proactive given the market and economy conditions as far as my searching around for a more amicable fit with a more weathered outfit that after doing my share of research into and discussions with over the course of several months time I feel is better equipped to weather out what is to come over these next few years but as well as longevity purposes. But yes back around 2015/2016 timeframe oddly enough for the electrical union grade apprenticeship starting out was under 12 an hour and I in general was busting hind end earning a modest 10.50 once I got a hold of my apprenticeship paperwork and pay scale information. The sale of how much you can make this and that etc... but yet maintain such low scales of pay across the board. Granted I know each industry is obviously different in the matter but again I was shocked once I learned the facts after I got into it. Needless to say just as has been mentioned the industry is struggling to keep pace with demand and bringing in new labor and generally speaking all of the "greenhorns" that pass through our warehouse operation generally say the same thing about the pay scale and benefits and often times they end up getting out of the program to find better source of pay. And I will say this I was especially surprised both times I processed out of the Military between the 2 branches I served Marines/Army there were never any blue collar industry related reps on hand to recruit or shed light for the matter on the trades industry whatsoever which again I was genuinely shocked. Whenever you process out of the Military you dang near have to go through this month long or more process "out-processing" where you check out of the Military and attend an abundant amount of classes, for finance, college, various levels of often time white collar grade employers etc... and I am surprised the blue collar industry powers that be dont take better advantage of recruiting on the Military Installations. I cant tell you how many solid mechanics I knew in the Military that got out and ended up getting involved with a different industry than what they were in the Military because they simply did not have the 1st clue of resources or where to go or who exactly to talk to about civilian related jobs.

 

[transfixer]

Trans it was the electrical industry, wanted to get into something more technical of the field and was most familiar and comfortable with that aspect of the trades. And I completely agree it is all upon who you know and how "connected" you are within the office place part of the reason I have been proactive given the market and economy conditions as far as my searching around for a more amicable fit with a more weathered outfit that after doing my share of research into and discussions with over the course of several months time I feel is better equipped to weather out what is to come over these next few years but as well as longevity purposes. But yes back around 2015/2016 timeframe oddly enough for the electrical union grade apprenticeship starting out was under 12 an hour and I in general was busting hind end earning a modest 10.50 once I got a hold of my apprenticeship paperwork and pay scale information. The sale of how much you can make this and that etc... but yet maintain such low scales of pay across the board. Granted I know each industry is obviously different in the matter but again I was shocked once I learned the facts after I got into it. Needless to say just as has been mentioned the industry is struggling to keep pace with demand and bringing in new labor and generally speaking all of the "greenhorns" that pass through our warehouse operation generally say the same thing about the pay scale and benefits and often times they end up getting out of the program to find better source of pay. And I will say this I was especially surprised both times I processed out of the Military between the 2 branches I served Marines/Army there were never any blue collar industry related reps on hand to recruit or shed light for the matter on the trades industry whatsoever which again I was genuinely shocked. Whenever you process out of the Military you dang near have to go through this month long or more process "out-processing" where you check out of the Military and attend an abundant amount of classes, for finance, college, various levels of often time white collar grade employers etc... and I am surprised the blue collar industry powers that be dont take better advantage of recruiting on the Military Installations. I cant tell you how many solid mechanics I knew in the Military that got out and ended up getting involved with a different industry than what they were in the Military because they simply did not have the 1st clue of resources or where to go or who exactly to talk to about civilian related jobs.

the various companies in the trades have never seemed to grasp the idea they should recruit from tech schools, high schools, or the military, I've never understood why , Aamco transmission corporate , which at one time had over 850 franchises across the US , has never tried recruiting like that, I brough that to their attention in the early 2000's but it landed on deaf ears, the only company I know of that has ever done any recruiting like that is Yancey bros, they were recruiting at the high school level 15yrs ago, I know two young men who took tech school classes Yancey told them to take, passed them and were hired by Yancey bros, one stayed a few years and decided to try something different, the other guy stayed, gained experience, and now works for Kenworth, making a 6 figure income.

 

[humblehunter22]

Exactly trans, granted I believe now with the fact of the matter of the dire straights in terms of the "labor shortage" I believe the electrical union is starting to hold recruiting events and functions at some city based schools around the inner city I do so believe. But again when it comes to selling something and understanding what it is exactly they are trying to sell I do not blame these kids for not burning down the doors running right to the local union hall eager and anxious to sign on the dotted line for the program. I definitely do not agree with how the "board members" run the show but seeing as how I have no involvement or say in the matter I just watch from the sidelines as they continue to complain about the problem but in turn do nothing in terms of rectifying the situation. They still want to be low ballers and pay the absolute bare minimum and offer sub par benefits and expect that the issue will work itself out over time. And for the matter I believe it is a joke that senior techs heck guys that have been working their butts off for 20 to 30 plus years giving to the industry are having to work still because they cannot afford to live if they were to retire. We got several guys well into their 70s pushing 80 that are still going full time because as mentioned they are afraid to hang their tool belts up and go on retirement and afraid to lose healthcare.

 

[ADDICTED2HUNTIN]

the various companies in the trades have never seemed to grasp the idea they should recruit from tech schools, high schools, or the military, I've never understood why , Aamco transmission corporate , which at one time had over 850 franchises across the US , has never tried recruiting like that, I brough that to their attention in the early 2000's but it landed on deaf ears, the only company I know of that has ever done any recruiting like that is Yancey bros, they were recruiting at the high school level 15yrs ago, I know two young men who took tech school classes Yancey told them to take, passed them and were hired by Yancey bros, one stayed a few years and decided to try something different, the other guy stayed, gained experience, and now works for Kenworth, making a 6 figure income.

I have used the vet tech program, got one fantastic tech out of 8. we are very visible in the tech programs and vocational schools, I have picked up a few out of the CAP program from Gwinnett tech and ford just started their asset program this year so hopefully I will pick some up from that in the coming years. We also promote and train from within. My hope is the future will be secured with the programs I’m running, the problem I have is in the now! I have way more work coming in than we can get out.

 

[transfixer]

I have used the vet tech program, got one fantastic tech out of 8. we are very visible in the tech programs and vocational schools, I have picked up a few out of the CAP program from Gwinnett tech and ford just started their asset program this year so hopefully I will pick some up from that in the coming years. We also promote and train from within. My hope is the future will be secured with the programs I’m running, the problem I have is in the now! I have way more work coming in than we can get out.

Here at the shop I'm currently at, we have 72 vehicles in the work flow, in various stages of work, probably 10 of those are yet to be diagnosed, approximately 20 or so need complete rebuilds, and are still in the vehicle, we have about 8 transmissions currently out on tables at the moment, in various stages of being rebuilt, only 2 of us here are builders, 3 R&R guys , one diag guy, and the owner who does diags and whatever other repairs need to be done that someone can't get to, we're telling customers we're at least 3 weeks out from actually working on anything dropped off today, and they're still leaving vehicles.

and my last day here is the 12th, moving my box to a new shop ,,,,