Doctor, lawyer, dentist – everyone understands the training and relative expense for these professionals. We’d like you to understand today’s technicians and diagnosticians.
A good licensed technician in an organized and efficiently run automotive facility is capable of earning a comfortable standard of living. Faced with ever changing demanding technology, it’s imperative we are educated and understand this challenging career.
Now, lets start at the beginning.
Senior high school – watch those grades, and sign up for more than shop and metalwork. Your math and electronics better be strong to make it with today’s technological advances. The fancier the car, the more options, the more there is to diagnose and repair.
Then find a shop willing to dedicate one journeyman technician to training, get into a shop, work for at least 6 months to get a feel for the pace of the work day, and get familiar with all the different equipment. Keep busy, pay attention; now sign up for the pre apprenticeship course. This is designed and taught by teachers, most of whom are licensed technicians. This course is designed to weed out those who realize this career is not what they had hoped for. After the pre apprenticeship course then work for another 6 months before signing up on the apprenticeship journey. The first step in the journey is to realize that the next four years of your life are spoken for. It will take a lot of time, energy and effort and money from here on in. Get a strict budget in place, you will need income to cover your expenses while in school every year, and you will also need to budget monthly for tools.
The average apprentice starts with a $10,000 investment in tool box, hand tools and maybe a few starter air tools. The average journeyman has a tool box valued at approximately $30-40,000, depending on what the shop owner supplies. After four years of buying books and tools, flipping from theory to practicum, and having your grades reviewed, you will be a certified licensed automotive technician.
This brings you to the start of your challenges. Schooling does not end after apprenticeship, training continues from here on out. A good automotive shop covers the expense of the courses, and you can expect 8-12 hours of training per month. This training usually occurs after your 40 hour work week, so expect some late nights!!
If you are not a dealership, expect to be able to handle any make and model of vehicle; unless you choose a specialty shop. Being prepared for domestic and import, car and light truck, usually means more extensive training.
Being computer literate is a must! Most shops today have technical support systems, ALLDATA or Mitchell, and repairing vehicles also require lab scopes with information being transferred and processed through a personal computer system.
Carl has been a licensed technician for over 15 years, his father is also a technician, and together a few men have become licensed technicians under their training. If you are truly interested in this career, call and make arrangements to meet Carl. He is willing to give back as much as he can to the career he enjoys.
