Define 'young"
Under 30
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Define 'young"
In the 2 shops I'm around all the techs are over 40. Two are not far from collecting SS. The owner hires helpers in apprentice/helper type positions trying to get younger people involved but a lot of these kids don't last 2 weeks. Most, but not all of the Vo-Tech grads don't fair much better. There's a lot of interest in a pay check by the younger crowd but not a lot of interest in working.
A decent tech or painter that hustles can easily do 6 figures a year,
In the 2 shops I'm around all the techs are over 40. Two are not far from collecting SS. The owner hires helpers in apprentice/helper type positions trying to get younger people involved but a lot of these kids don't last 2 weeks. Most, but not all of the Vo-Tech grads don't fair much better. There's a lot of interest in a pay check by the younger crowd but not a lot of interest in working.
A decent tech or painter that hustles can easily do 6 figures a year,
I'm not sure what the vo-tech curriculum is these days. The manufactures beat the door down of these schools for exposure to their epoxy bonding products. Again most, not all, of these grads think they're custom car builders because the can bond a recessed license plate pocket in a tailgate at a 45 degree angle and they stand around discussing how great they are while waiting for the Discovery channel to call them.
Junior, nobody cares how you did it in school. This is how and why and the pitfalls of doing it in the real world. In the real world the tech himself can be sued for a substandard repair that falls apart or gets someone hurt.
BMW has a fantastic school at the plant in South Carolina and when you grad they place you at a dealer for 60k/yr until you're ready to go on commission.
SOmetimes I feel that way because I have to stay current on all topics. It is too much. I can spend as much time keeping current as I do working.I don't mean any disrespect to you or your fellow workers, but it sounds like all of the fun has been taken out of the autobody industry. I am glad that I changed paths.
It depends where you work. At the dealership level some have a mechanic/alignment guy in the bodyshop or cars get shipped to the service dept. to handle the high tech systems a lot more independent shops have to send to the dealer now as well.I don't mean any disrespect to you or your fellow workers, but it sounds like all of the fun has been taken out of the autobody industry. I am glad that I changed paths.
SOmetimes I feel that way because I have to stay current on all topics. It is too much. I can spend as much time keeping current as I do working.
Techs need to specialize, it can be in a few areas and is very rewarding once you gain some experience.