Car Mechanics and Car Mechanic Schools

Want to know about car mechanics? Sit on down and I'll tell you all about the old days of the car mechanic.  That was when people brought the old Tin Lizzie in to him because she was rattling something fierce, and the mechanic, who was covered in oil, dirt and grease, took his rusty old tools, banged around on her a bit and said, "that'll be one hundred dollars."  And then she ran smooth as silk.

It may seem an exaggeration, but the days of that brand of car mechanic are pretty much over. Cars are, among other things, mobile computers, and the automotive technicians that repair them are highly skilled individuals who often contract out to various repair shops within their immediate area.  Wherever they find themselves, they're in a freshly laundered jump suit that they work in, both with computer diagnostic devices and actual, massive and complicated machinery, to effect repairs on automobiles. No grease monkeys anymore.

In the old days, men who wanted to work on automobiles tended to be the guys who first got jobs on the lube rack, then went into their uncle's body shop because high school was just too tough for them.  They went to a year of car mechanic school, got a diploma which they hung with a thumb tack on the service station wall, and went into business.

Now, the auto repair technician must have background knowledge in business, hydraulics, computers, automotive innovation - hell be a sharp, working mind, repairing your vehicle with speed and accuracy.  Car mechanic school has been replaced by a series of automotive training workshops, each one at college-level intensity, technologically advanced and completed in gradations (that means a technician cannot progress to more difficult jobs until he's mastered each previous level  of diagnostics and repair). 

The car mechanic salary was perhaps half of what the station charged.  Fifty dollars for an afternoon's work didnt turn out to be much, especially since he had no union, no medical / dental benefits, no overtime compensation and no retirement.   He worked until the job was done, by candlelight if need be; he retired to the old mechanic's home.

Today, the auto technician can earn, as a starting salary, $35,000 and more if he has beginning computer skills.  What about the car mechanic with no skills?  He'll make half that, if he's lucky, and work after hours as well.  The auto technician will be part of a union, will have medical/dental benefits, and will work regular hours.  It's probably no wonder that there are no more car mechanic schools, at least not of any consequence.   Never mind being smarter than a fifth grader, you better be a lot smarter than a guy working on the lube rack to be considered for an automotive repair job.

So when you need repairs done to your motorized computer, patronize an automotive technician, a skilled service individual who has the abilities and knowledge to do the job well.   Leave the car mechanic working on the lube rack where he belongs.

 

Category: Automotive

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