About to enter the real world as a journymen mechanic

[Papadirty]

How much am I going to cry when I see how little dealerships pay their workers =/

[DreadedFist]

Are you good at diagnostics/electrical?

[bignate]

Good flat rate mechanics make a fair bit of coin. I'm a second year apprentice at a dealership and I can still finish most jobs in less than book time the first try. The experienced guys almost always seem to be on the winning side of it by the time u add up your hours.

[Tony-R32]

My sociology professor in college said her husband was at a dealership for 20+ years and was a specialist on tranny's and like bignate said, he could finish every job in under book time and come out ahead!

She said it was much better to work at a dealership than a small independent shop.

[CelicaKidd_205]

I work at a small shop, and I can't say I'd like to work at a dealership. That being said I have an awesome boss who pays very well. I love the variety in working at an independent shop. I'd get really bored working on one make of car all the time, and getting screwed with warranty or recall repair times. The shop I'm at is very busy most of the time, but we get a few dry spells particularly in the early winter right around the holidays, so we get paid by the hour and still "work" a full day even when there's only a few jobs booked in. I find it's a much more relaxing pace especially when you have to learn different cars all the time, and I find I only get really quick at doing something if I've done it once already.

And yes, being good at electrical diagnosis and using OBD scanners to their full potential is a big asset to being a mechanic. Suspension, brakes, and exhaust are fairly easy to get the hang of, but with drivability issues you have to learn how to think like a computer and be able to use the diagnosis tools at your disposal to find the culprit.