Auto mechanics - need your advice.

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murf said:
Like what? Replacing cylinder head is similar to differntial equations? :-)
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I'm a mech eng. I'd rather replace a cylinder head than solve a differential equation any day of the week! In fact, I've never used ANYTHING that course told me in 20+ years since graduation ...

BUT ... there is no way in heck that I want to work on cars. Bikes, yes. Cars, nothing beyond regular scheduled maintenance. My car currently has a leak somewhere in the exhaust manifold / EGR area ... which is on the back of the engine, underneath the shelf below the windshield (no way to reach it from above), with access from underneath partially blocked by the drive shaft and steering rack and subframe and heater hoses and who knows what else. Some clown (most likely a peer of mine in Germany) designed this realizing that it was a trivial exercise to put all this stuff together with the engine out of the car then stick the engine into the car on the assembly line with all that stuff already on it. No consideration whatsoever was given to ever having to fix this in the future.

I'll be paying someone else to fix that. I have a feeling that by the time I add a clutch job and a timing belt job to this, the easiest way to do it will probably be to pull the engine/transmission and fix it on the bench. (P.S. In the grand scheme of things, I can't really complain about this. The car has just short of 400k on it.)
 
How does a thread go so off topic?

I was actually think of going the plumber route. BTW I'm not thinking of making a ton, just a living.

I don't plan on getting married or having kids.
I just want to support a modest living for myself and pitch in for my folks (mama and papa) until they get their pension. That is a lot less to support than the average Canadian household.

Sooo..

Is anyone a plumber? Any insights on what it's like?


Thanks to all in advance again!!
 
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I was in the auto trades years ago, many many... I left to work in a factory as a welder. It was a production weld job making construction components to welder certification wasn't required. I hated it. I was going to evening classes to learn something else. I thought commercial photography would be cool. It was but i would be years getting anywhere.
I met a guy that needed a sales guy, I knew enough other stuff to talk my way into the position. Its been 20yrs and a couple different sales gigs, but it pays my bills.
If I was 19 again and looking at a job, I'd pick plumber. My two pals that are plumbers do well, they don't do subdivision work and work 8am till 4:30ish , 5 days a week.
 
crankcall said:
I was in the auto trades years ago, many many... I left to work in a factory as a welder. It was a production weld job making construction components to welder certification wasn't required. I hated it. I was going to evening classes to learn something else. I thought commercial photography would be cool. It was but i would be years getting anywhere.
I met a guy that needed a sales guy, I knew enough other stuff to talk my way into the position. Its been 20yrs and a couple different sales gigs, but it pays my bills.
If I was 19 again and looking at a job, I'd pick plumber. My two pals that are plumbers do well, they don't do subdivision work and work 8am till 4:30ish , 5 days a week.
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What are the duties of the plumber & how do they make money?

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RetroGrouch said:
Some things are obvious. You're either a doer or a thinker, a Wozniak or a Jobs. Can't be both. Unless you are a Da Vinci and those don't come around too often.
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I disagree with you. I can do both when required. I went back to college, 25 yrs after dropping out with a grade 9 education. I smoked a 3 yr college course, turned down a few jobs, then went back in to gas. My way of thinking is, there isn't a job I can't do, or learn to do.

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oilycreek said:
I smoked a 3 yr college course
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Earning a college diploma is not the same as earning a university degree. Different methods of learning.
 
RetroGrouch said:
Umm, most people don't have the aptitude for both academic and trade skills. I rarely meet academics who can fix stuff or tradespeople who can sit through lectures.
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While it may be more rare, it is certainly very possible.

I can't help but think about my nephew. He grew up surrounded by trades -- his uncles are electricians and concrete finishers, his dad is a plumber/hvac installer. While he is not licensed for any of those, he worked with all of us growing up and is competent in all of those trades. Now he is in his final stretch getting a PhD in Medical Physics.

While I don't know nearly as much as him, I was a fully qualified concrete finisher (industrial floors, not just sidewalks and driveways) and then went on to get a BSc and MSc.
 
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boooya said:
35k in tools??? Dude stay away from the snap on/mac truck.
80k? go to a different dealer, a good tech at a busy dealer can make upwards of 120k a year.
The rest is pretty much bang on.
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My brother is a mechanic too and he was going the cheap route with crappy tire tools cause they have life time warranty. After a few years of going back and forth on a weekly basis with broken tools he realized it's not the worth the time and effort and started replacing the cheap tools with better ones. Such a pita to be in the middle of fixing something and having a tool break on you.
 
Best mechanic i ever saw in 25 years of the auto business made most of his own "special tools". If there a was job that could be made easier, or quicker to do he would modify or come up with some crazy alternative.

I tell you a story many years ago we had a large robbery at a dealership i worked at, they cleaned the place out, many cars, shop equipment, tech's tool boxes were all stolen, all with the exception of buddy and his ghetto home made tools, they obviously didn't seem to worthwhile to the scumbags.
 
Why would anyone want to become an engineer in Ontario with our current economy?? That's just stupid.

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RockerGuy said:
What are the duties of the plumber & how do they make money?

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They are networked with a variety of kitchen renovators and bathroom reno guys, and do commercial maintenence for a collection of food process plants. They get a wage and bonus for task completion under budgeted times and commission for sales of new fixtures and upgrades. If they suggest a factory should install autoflush toilets to make things healthier and cleaner and the place goes for the idea, they make very good money, then get paid to install it, and get a bonus if they work hard.
 
boooya said:
35k in tools??? Dude stay away from the snap on/mac truck.
80k? go to a different dealer, a good tech at a busy dealer can make upwards of 120k a year.
The rest is pretty much bang on.
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I would like to know what dealer you are working at to make upwards of $120K a year ?
 
most red seal trades need 9000 hr apprenticeships. You'll have to quit your job to be a plumber. That being said I worked as a plumber helper before i got into electrical. It was good work. I liked it. I did lots of custom homes and schools.

If you wanted something on the side gas fitter/welder/Forklift operator can be completed in a weekend i think.

You could also consider "General machinist" or "CNC machinist". $60-$150k/yr
both have 9000hr apprenticeships, and both are red seal trades, and both can be done on a night shift, or afternoon shift.
You could keep working auto and learn a new trade at the same time.
I was a CNC machine operator for a year. It's like wood shop only with metal instead of wood. I made parts for nikon, jaguar (never buy), NATO, and parts for x-ray machines. I even made the transmission covers for harley davidson
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crankcall said:
They are networked with a variety of kitchen renovators and bathroom reno guys, and do commercial maintenence for a collection of food process plants. They get a wage and bonus for task completion under budgeted times and commission for sales of new fixtures and upgrades. If they suggest a factory should install autoflush toilets to make things healthier and cleaner and the place goes for the idea, they make very good money, then get paid to install it, and get a bonus if they work hard.
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Someone was telling me I might have to work with sewage. Don't know how true that is.

I have an academic degree and find it difficult to get a job. Thinking of a trade so I can cast a broad net

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I always tell people to investigate drywall taping. Not the most glamorous job, but it pays well, only needs ~$250 in tools, it is not hard to pick up cash jobs on weekends and it is easily portable if you move. There is an apprenticeship, but you will get crapped on a lot less than if you moonlight in plumbing or electrical without the proper certification.
 
a real taper spends way more. I use to be a taper and let me tell u.
stilts (a good pair) are about 400, then you dont tape by hand. buy all your tape boxes 5x 300 plus add the truck and all the other tools that brake every month. Used to make about 1500 a week but worked from 7-11 mon-sat
 
What about electrician? Yes, you have to learn a lot, but this way you can do work on various electrical systems, not just cars; you can even wire houses on the side.
 
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