Agreed ,Specialize ,go for some part of the field that needs you and your training,similiar too the medical field and doctors.Newer Diesels are truly specialized.A diesel fleet service needs that 24/7 care ,this due too the way the shipping industry is on an upswing like Amazon ,eBAY and others .All shipping is and will become even a bigger giant service .Diesel power will be 90% of its ground power.As a young man you can stake your bet here .Work yourself towards one that you want to work for ,go ask some of the workers if they like their job and how they got in ,theyll tell you.

I'm looking to specializing in electrical trouble shooting (body control, engine performance, everything under the sun), being vehicles are getting more and more complex, I think I have no choice but to specialize in such a skill.

His Ebook is only $50, one heck of deal for the tons and tons of info and case studies it has. Really with that info you can work in or on just about any automotive electrical and computer control system.

All I have to do is stop talking and start doing.

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1998 Ford Escort ZX2 5 speed - 279,000 miles My Daily

1992 Mercedes 300D 2.5 202,000 - Pure junk
2000 Mercedes E320 Black - 136,000 miles - Needs repair

Don't forget to grease the screw and threads on the spring compressor.

Good news for you there's 140 computers in a 2018 e-class! You can electrical troubleshoot all day.

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Only diesels in this driveway.
2005 E320 CDI 243k Black/Black
2008 Chevy 3500HD Duramax 340k
2004 Chevy 2500HD Duramax 220k

I've been doing this since I was 5 (pretty much observing at that point) and I'm now 70, almost 71. I worked my entire career as a mechanic and then a mechanical engineering technician for the Federal Government. I'm pretty sure I've leaked at least a gallon of blood all over the projects I've done. So I suggest you skip all the training, etc. and just give a gallon of blood and get it over with.

My years as a mechanic taught me that the mechanic thing was great training but the technician thing was a better lifetime gig - I did 31 1/2 years in the Gov't.

Dan

great idea....a young guy that was helping me out around here got a job at the local subaru dealer as a lube tech (this kid was an amazing mechanic already at age 18!)
he was passed over for a promotion and his GF broke up with himso he ended up joining the army, but it is still a viable route as i'm sure he would have eventually been promoted and trained in a specialty.

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0o==o0

James 4:8

"...let us put aside the blindness of mind of those who can conceive of nothing higher than what is known through the senses"
-Saint Gregory Palamas, ---Discourse on the Holy Transfiguration of Our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ


Centrally located in North East Central Pa.

HVAC trades are dying for mechanically skilled techs to apprentice and work...

Maintenance,
Service,
Install,
Electrician...

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 560SL convertible
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
2005 Dodge Sprinter 2500 158"WB
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

Appliance repair is a six figure gig if you are good and owner operator.

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Eugene

10 E63 AMG
93 300te 4matic
07 BMW X3
14 Ford F-150 Fx2

Much less back breaking work than an auto mechanic and very little toxic fumes to boot! I have done all of my (and my 4 sister's) home appliance repairs ...TV's, washer/ dryers, gas / oil hot water heaters, heating system, refrigerators, hair dryers, microwaves etc. you name it, just about anything electrical or electronics.

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85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 167,870 July 2025
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

Just go and take the tests. I believe their are 12 general areas. Test Series - ASE

Obviously it's not a subsitute for experience, skill, or talent, but getting a few of those under your belt cannot hurt. Unless they changed the rules, you don't have to go to a tech school. Around 5 years ago, I was going to take a bunch of them and never followed through. There's enough practice tests floating around and it's not a killer amount of money.

I was told at the dealer they don't even care about ASEs anymore. The school told me to get them and yadayada but I didn't have the cash with having to save up money for tuition all the time.

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Only diesels in this driveway.
2005 E320 CDI 243k Black/Black
2008 Chevy 3500HD Duramax 340k
2004 Chevy 2500HD Duramax 220k

Maybe that's a geographical deal. The few want ads I saw required them but that was a few years ago. I wonder how a candidate would compare? That is, someone who invested around $500 bucks and had around a dozen or so certs versus someone who had none? Take a 21-year old or someone in their late 50's who wanted to start a 2nd career. They could write down all sorts of "hands-on" experience, but I am guessing the distinguisher would be the certs. ASE is still the benchmark and golden standard out there. Wonder how much real wrenching goes on these days? The Firestone does tires, brakes, and oil changes and A/C "diagnosis" but otherwise I suspect most of those guys really don't know that much from what I can tell.

Take the practice tests you find on the net and see how you do. I think 80 % is passing. The practice tests seemed pretty easy. I might waste $40 bucks and take one to see how it goes. I could always get the little patch and sew it on one of my flannel shirts .. lol

The dealers don't care about the generalized tests. They are concerned with specific models and usually provide the special instructions/instruction regarding their models. That's good and bad.

The Kookawinga models you work on daily might use the same principle of operation but the Bullsamingo car has a completely different way to achieve the same results.

" A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

-Robert A. Heinlein"

You want a good field to go into mechanic-wise? Try fleet maintenance. Usually a salaried position, steady work, benefits and you are employed by a larger company which lessens the risk of your job disappearing at the owner's whim.

You WILL learn everything there is to know about full and complete maintenance of vehicles. Much, much more than you ever wanted to know. Bumper to bumper, tires to the sky, EVERYTHING becomes your problem.

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“Whatever story you're telling, it will be more interesting if, at the end you add, "and then everything burst into flames.”
― Brian P. Cleary, You Oughta Know By Now

I manage a heavy equipment shop and can tell you certifications will only carry you so far. I look for techs that have basic knowledge of electrical, mechanical and hydraulic. I will train them on any brand specifics. If they show drive and safe practices I will invest all the training they want. Most shops are the same. Research a tech field that interests you and apply.

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Satan creates nothing: he only ruins everything. He does not invent: he tampers. And his followers are no different ~ Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò

Some things to think about:

I started at 10 by pulling mowers from the junk, fixing then selling them. At 12 a bought a car to learn more about mechanical things. Over the next few years learned about body work , cylinder head removal and replacement , transmission replacement and a while world of other systems. This was all unassisted as no one in the family did much beyond general home repairs. Cars are convenient multi system machines and a great learning tool.

I opened my shop at 25 and closed it at 34 to work as a machine tech at a factory. More $ / less emotional - physical stress / better working conditions. Even though the machine tech job was viewed as a higher level than an auto mechanic, it was a much simpler job. I'm now at another factory in an equipment / manufacturing engineering position making 2X of any medium sized shop mechanic.

I have nothing beyond standard college prep high school and didn't take tech in school. I got the full boat Auto / heavy truck ASE cert as soon as I was 18.

Working in a day to day shop can mostly ruin your desire to work on your own stuff for " Fun". Having my shop wasn't all bad and I did have a core group of great customers but I could see it was a loosing battle and something I didn't want to do until I was 65

Customers _WILL_ be screaming at you because they don't want to spend $ 10 to have something fixed. You _WILL_ have customers tell their kid / wife that " See , we can't go on vacation because the bad man is taking all our money" ( Yes this really happened to me and a friends shop had a similar experience. )

Just look at the postings on the diesel side of things where home "mechanics" berate "working for a living techs" for charging X or not knowing every subtle detail of a 30 year old car.

Working for a car dealer is more or less of a revolving door, work for a while until the place becomes unbearable, find another shop, ride it for a while then repeat the process.

How are you with a blaring radio in the shop? I've seen too many sometimes less that competent shops have a radio screaming in the background as a distraction that they can little afford.

If someone has 2 years of tech in high school, I'd expect them to be fully functional as a mechanic. I'd teach them specifics about a specific car, but I'd expect them to be able to change a common part like a ball joint / tie rod end / fan belt without any assistance.

If you do go down the mechanic or any other related path, go to the local community college and take: Basic Physics , Electronic circuits , Welding , Business management. If you know how the world behaves, you can figure everything else out. These don't have to be full program classes, many schools have 1 - 2 nights a week for 8 week classes.

Consider machine tool repair, companies like Mazak and Hass are a few big players in the CNC mill / Lathe arena.

There is more but this will get you started.

interesting views, there are many good points, from passion to a job it is a long stretch. It is always a good point to see what you can do in 10 years or 20 years from now. I have been fixing my own for over 50 years and people always ask why are you doing it for $$$, then the fun stops... poorly heated space in the winter, or poorly cooled space in the summer will let you think twice when I visited the in-laws mechanice working in a wind tunnel.
Otherwise check these guys thinkings

https://www.indeed.com/forum/job/automotive-technician/AUTOMOTIVE-TECHNICAINS-DONT-GET-PAID-WELL/t32112

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Michel
74 wagoneer
79 450sl