Is there much work out there for newly-qualified mechanics?
I've been thinking about taking the City and Guilds 4101 qualifications up to level 3. Is this a good qualification to get? ie- is it what employers are looking for? I know he AA/RAC mention that course in their job profile requirements......
The thing is, I'm 27 this month and I'd be 29 by the time I complete the course- would anyone want me at that age, even if I was fully qualified? Or are they just looking for 18 year olds?
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Might depend what area you live in. A number of garages that I have contact with (as an accountant) in wealthy central and south Warwickshire have been short of skilled mechanics for several years. They keep pinching them off one another and all they've done is drive wages up!
Difficult time to test the water at the moment with concerns about the economy which might halt recruitment for now, but if you won't be looking for a job for a couple of years, I expect there will always be a demand for good people not just 18 year olds.
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In the long run it would depend how good you were. A proven track record with a good garage for a specific make would probably be better from the initial salary point of view though, and it would take time to get that.
I speak from outside and off the top of my head. But a good mechanic who can do things properly in fairly rapid time should always be able to find work. I would mistrust a mechanic who didn't want to be seen working for example. Still remember an Italian one off the autostrada in southern Italy when my hired Fiat 600 boiled. He wheeled up an impeccable trolley of instruments and with elegant flourishes worthy of a headwaiter took the cylinder head off, sorted the water blockage and put it all back in an hour or so, discussing the wine harvest the while and charging not much at all.
If you can be like that you should get work!
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I would inagine in the short to medium term there will be a demand for mechanics who specialize in common rail diesel engines, due to their popularity.
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Having been down the road of finding a competent workshop capable of diagnosing and repairing ecu's without ripping the customer off, i'll tell you they are in very short supply.
Any such problems i or anyone i know have go to the Isle of Wight. Not cheap, but very good at their job.
I would say as freaky bacon suggested...specialise...maybe as he opined with diesels or i would suggest diagnosis and repair of ecu's and abs units, electrical systems etc.
Don't be put off because of your age, not everyone wants the youngsters for a variety of reasons.
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If you are going to go into the motor trade!
1 Dont!
2 Specialise. Auto electronics and diagnosis!
3 Work for Yourself! It will be hard; especially now. But if you get through a couple of years yu will get the benefits!
4 Think of another trade! Honest! Plumber, electrician, plasterer will be the trades to have in a couple of years (if not now)
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I'd echo the "Don't".
My brother was a mechanic for years. Good at his work, understood lots, MOT tester. Specialised in VW/Audi and Air Con. Set up on his own 3 years ago.
He packed in at the beginning of this year. Very difficult to make a decent living in the semi-rural area he was based.
He bought a snap-on franchise. Supplying the tools turns out to be a much better bet than using them.
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Good mechanic who doesn't want to rip off customer is a rare species :)
If you are really passionate about cars and persistent, go ahead. Good mechanics are in demand and their task can't be outsourced either.
I believe it is better than plumbing, electrical work etc. Many of those things can be performed by DIY enthusiasts, But very people will dare doing the work of car mechanic.
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its not the best career choice byfar! Having spent 33 years as a technician & spent 5 years at college to HND & trained also in AC & electronics & diesel's all to a high city & guilds standard, dealers & Indy's don't pay what your worth. So many are born again mechanics & think they can fix for less, its hard back breaking & very physical work!
There is an extreme shortage of skilled & knowledgeable techs, but untill the industry & recipients appreciate the difference to a high degree pay will always be dissapointing. I could of trained as a dentist in the time I spent training & earn't a fortune.
I wish you well in a future career. If you think you can be fast clean tidy & are extremley physically fit & can cope with stress it may be for you, but expect at least 10 years to start with, as a learning curve.
Inj Doc
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It's 17 years since I got out of the trade, and only a very bad turn of events would see me dusting off my City and Guilds certificates, and including them on my CV.
There's a fundamental reason why mechanics will never be well paid and well regarded. Most customers are tarts, the majority don't have brand loyalty, even fewer will be loyal to one garage.
Therefore, only small garages can afford to chase the loyal customer, and these businesses will remain size limited because of this approach. The large garages, and large garage groups don't care too much about customer loyalty - they care more [i.e., spend more!] about being in prime, high traffic loacations, using well placed advertising and sponsorship, with the effort taken to keep previous customers being limited to automated mail shots, and if times are hard a temporary telephone campaign.
Once a garage has taken the large scale decision to chase volume, the workshop is given targets to hit in terms of hours of work sold, and value of parts sold, the customer, apart from the split second when he's keying his PIN, is not too important - there'll be another one along in a minute.
In this environment, a mechanic who has wizard like skills, enyclopeadic knowledge, and great fault solving tenacity is not worth anywhere as much as the mechanic who can reliably turn round 5 services with associated friction product sales per day. The service monkey, while working hard and efficiently can be trained to do this work very quickly and cheaply.
Fault diagnosis and repair needs something a little bit more like education, but, in the context of a dealer ship garage is simply not valued enough - if they need it badly enough, they buy it in, by the hour.
So, my advice is - Don't!
If you must, specialise, but think carefully. Specialising in electronics diagnosis requires eye wateringly expensive kit.
If you want to use the same types of skills for better reward, look at industrial plant maintenance, power/gas/telecom maintenance, railway rolling stock maintenance, dock yard maintenance, etc, depending where in the country you are.
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Thanks for all the replies.
I was concerned about the physical nature of the work. I'm quite a slim, unfit bloke.....in fact, I'm well out of shape!
How easy is it to get work with the AA/RAC etc? That's the route I was looking at- I know in the C&G there are roadside assistant units.
On the other hand, I have been offered a place at uni' to study Building Surveying.........I guess you would implore me to folow that?!
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I was concerned about the physical nature of the work. I'm quite a slim unfit bloke.....in fact I'm well out of shape!
If you got a physical job that would soon change - it would hurt for the first few days, then things would improve.
I know this because I'm a terribly out of shape 50 something, and I occasionally get the spanners out.
It took me most of an afternoon just to change a pair of rusty old front struts, and cream crackered doesn't begin to describe how I felt that night.
But a couple of days on and I'm bounding up the stairs two at a time for the first time in a while.
But, as mentioned above, there are better paid ways of earning a living.
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bcd, if you've got a good aptitude for car mechanics and enjoy mechanical work then go for it. The happiest people in their jobs are the ones who love doing the job/work rather than the ones who chase the money and glitz.
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I believe it is better than plumbing electrical work etc. Many of those things can be performed by DIY enthusiasts But very people will dare doing the work of car mechanic.
Hehe, isnt that the truth!
Its not like 240V would kill you is it?
Leccy doesnt take any prisoners and yet people are quite happy to wade in there to save a few bob.
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