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

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.

Jesus Christ!
Hmm, looks like I know where I'm headed... I have a Mercedes dealership in the neighboring city not too far from me.

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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.

And that's way too many...

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Current stable:
1995 E320 149K (Nancy)
1983 500SL 120K (SLoL)

Black Sheep:
1985 524TD 167K (TotalDumpster™)

Gone but not forgotten:
1986 300SDL (RIP)
1991 350SD
1991 560SEL
1990 560SEL
1986 500SEL Euro (Rusted to nothing at 47K!)

Being a service tech is not an easy job to be successful at. By that I mean making steady money. It is one of the few professions that get paid commission, not hourly. You have to be employed at a business that has steady work. But the steadiness of the work depends in large part on the economy and the reputation of the business.
You can take a course at Tidewater Community College. It's a 2 year course.
When you complete that you can get a job at a local shop and start at maybe 20 an hour. Maybe some benefits.
My son is a tech at a busy dealership in Norfolk. Took him 10 years before he found a place that offered steady work. Not an easy road.
You should consider an apprenticeship at Newport News or Norfolk Naval Shipyard. Better pay, benefits, and long term job security. Shipyard work is booming right now. Norfolk Naval is looking to hire 1500 people this year.

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 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
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

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

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.

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'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

"stayed in good physical shape"

I suppose you did not work as an auto mechanic? I can't see bending over the engine compartment all those hours be good for your back, nor breathing toxic fumes all day long. I know a friend's father who owned an auto repair shop his whole life. Don't know if related, but two years after retirement he was diagnosed with throat cancer (never smoked) and died one year later.

While I enjoyed working on my own cars as a hobby, learned a lot/ saved a lot of money over the years, I would never want to work on other people's greasy cars to make a living.

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85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

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.