It's quite easy and can be fun too

>>28825067
Because they're juvenile enough to think that because they like cars, they'd enjoy working on cars for a living. A big part of that is having an inept or absent father that isnt able to explain why its a terrible career field for most people. Aerosol fumes, carcinogenics, chemical exposure, back and joint problems, needing to re invest your income just to do the job, being treated like trash by both customers and managers while you do a thankless job, etc.
No sane or intelligent person would choose this as a career field in 2026.

>>28825067
>the investment is large
>>28825067
>needing to re invest your income just to do the job
???

>>28825071
This isnt complicated.
How do you work on a car without tools?
You need money to buy the tools. If you are starting with nothing, most of your income goes to buying the tools you need to allow you to make the money you need to buy the tools.

>>28825077
Europeans don't have the same business model we do. Mechanics over there don't own their own tools, or show up with a flatbed hauling their box on the first day.

>>28825077
Back in the day companies like GM and ford had incentives each month to give mechanics credit or purchasing power to buy tools.

But that will forever be gone.

>>28825082
Its not the same business it used to be. The flat rate model has a lot to do with it.
>>28825080
Some shops in the US supply boxes and almost all dealers supply specialty tools. If you plan to work for an all makes/models shop however, you're going to bad a really bad time because you have to cover everything yourself. By my estimate, you need about 10k invested in tools if you want to be efficient enough to turn hours in a general service shop without having to borrow tools every day. The auto repair industry in general is just a nightmare in the US. I thought it was bad when I left in '13/14 and its only gotten worse.

>>28825068
Used to be that way.

>>28825067
Correct.

>>28825077
>get hired by mechanic shop
>have to spend thousands of dollars on your furnishing your own tools
Are any other industries like this? Are mechanic shops basically hair salons?

>>28825105
Kind of.
Most other maintenance focused industries operate on some sort of balance. You can be expected to furnish a lot of your own tools, but in hvac for example many specialty/general tools are supplied and the tools you buy with your own money are insured by your employer if you break them.
In the US, automotive is a unique kind of hell. One of the worst paying but simultaneously most demanding jobs in the maintenance field. The best way to minimize the pain is to get into something better paying like fleet, diesel or heavy equipment maintenance.

>>28825067
OP I think they're interested in being mechanics for their own cars not other people's cars.

I work with a bunch of mechanics and some people are just passionate about figuring out how things work and making it work again.

Because they're trying to be scammers.

>>28825157
People need their shitbox to work so they can get to work and they have no idea how a car actually works underneath. So they place 100% trust on mechanics who swindle them 90% of the time.
It's like how people need doctors to help them with illnesses and being a doctor takes skill and knowledge -- but it also requires passing an exam and eight years of college. Becoming a mechanic requires no certification at all, and people's lives depend on you.

Mechanics also are the last ones in line to get paid if you're a dealer tech.

Cars also got mega retarded so repair work is not as easy / forced to buy more proprietary tooling such as Toyota.

You can't even get physical manuals anymore either, you're forced to rent/subscription to a digital manual.

>>28825157
Forced meme, I just like working on cars.

>>28825160
>>28825157
Nobody wants to br a mechanic so they can scam people.
The industry is built such that only shit bags are willing to stay and put up with the garbage working conditions and disrespect. They are willing but also incentivized by the flat rate system to do the quickest and laziest fix instead of the best fix. Anyone decent or intelligent has found a better field to move to.

>>28825067
Ok go work at burger king and live an unfullfilling life. Nobody cares.

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>>28825067
>Why are people still interested in becoming mechanics?
Someone has to do it and I'm glad that they do.

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>>28825067
I need a job. And being able to borrow lifts and steal split pins and hose clamps on the weekend is an attractive perk.

>>28826405
Its not a bad idea to get into so long as your plan goes like this;
Stay long enough to build a decent box and a set of skills so you can maintain your own fleet, and then fuck off

>>28825373
Its better than becoming a wrenchlet with back problems and knee pain working until your 70 years old because you cant retire.

>>28825067
If you really wanna be a mechanic, go industrial maintenance or millwright. Pays way better and has a lot of opportunities for growth into other areas. Work on cars as a hobby instead.

>have to fill multiple orders rapidly
>have to deal with all sorts of human garbage wanting extra or nothing on one sandwich
>everyone treats you like shit, from managers to customers
>get verbally abused for accidentally leaving a pickle on or putting sauce
Where does this "minimum wage jobs are easy" meme come from?

>>28825107
>diesel
Friend is diesel tech, sometimes I make him company when nothing else to do.
Horrible job, everything is heavy as fuck and at impossible angles plus you need to actually know what you're doing which only comes with experience.
No one chooses those jobs, they kinda just happen to you.

>>28826405
comfy bee

>>28825107
>maintenance field.
Maintenance guys at my work makes $65 an hour and basically all they do is troubleshoot minor issues on CNC machines.
Company provides tools if they want, but most of them just have their own tools.

>>28825077
Don't forget training and certifications.

>>28825067
>you do less.
No you don't. Those places grind workers apart and have no respect for you. You can tell customers to f off within reason as a mechanic and not get fired. As a food butch everyone tells you to f off everyday including your boss and you're just a bitch all day.

>>28826476
People never work them or grew up in an environment so bad that they're completely numb to it. Sad either way.

>>28826431
Ok, then flip burgers. No one cares. Why do you care that I don't want to flip burgers?

>>28825087
>By my estimate, you need about 10k invested in tools if you want to be efficient enough to turn hours in a general service shop without having to borrow tools every day
boo fucking hoo. men should own tools. plenty of people, myself included, wrench on their cars and have never worked in the trades. and if you compare this to other industries which require a 4 year degree, its a drop in the bucket compared to student loan debt.

>>28826811
'boo fucking who' is not an argument. Its just a fact of life if you are starting in the industry working on every make/model without already having a big toolbox. You will be scrounging, struggling, borrowing, or going into debt to make any kind of decent wage working flat rate, and there is no getting around that. The money you save on student loan debt you make up for in medical bills later because you destroyed your body doing it.

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>>28825067
How do people even choose their careers?
I was completely clueless until I had to choose a major in uni, and I could say that it was semi-random, because I went with parents' recommendation and my mindset was "if I don't like it, I'll go somewhere else".
Do people just wake up one day and think, "I'll become a lawyer or an electrician"?

>>28826849
Its part of the student loan trap, having you sign your life away for a job you dont even know you want, with money you dont have, in a career field that may not even exist by the time you finish.
Spend that 4 years working in a trade or building a skill, you will earn far more in less time without the debt.

>>28826836
>my coworkers called me a queer for wearing a respirator and gloves
>i wont wear PPE anymore because I care about what the dregs think of me
>its the industry's fault i got cancer at 55 from huffing brake cleaner
boo fucking hoo. again, plenty of people here, myself included wrench on their own cars. i was wearing a respirator, safety glasses and nitrile gloves when I was undercoating my car. you deserve the cancer you get.

>>28826860
Nice work ignoring the part of my post that you couldn't defend against. Your post also assumes exposure to aerosols and chemicals is the only risk to your health, and they're not. You can be retarded if you want, but dont be dishonest.

>>28825077
the company you work for buys the tools

>>28826869
there was no other part of your post. you cried like a baby about having to buy tools, and then about destroying your body. whats next, you're going to complain you have to spend $10k to buy a car to get to and from work?

>>28826876
Auto tech is a shit career and having a tantrum about it doesnt change that. Nobody wants to work on cars with the current system which is why every dealer network is experiencing a tech shortage. The manufacturer fucks you, the customer fucks you, the warranty work fucks you, the tool man fucks you and then the dealer fucks you.
I honestly think you're either illiterate or just too low iq to even wrap your head around this conversation.

>>28826876
he's a fucking idiot

everyone i know who was a mechanic in their 20s either moved onto other fields (millwrighting or in plant tech, a&p tech, or went back to school to finish their college or went to sales), became service advisors, or joined the state/city to work on fleets (free tools, pension/benefits, $30/hr+ hourly rate, better working conditions)

>>28826882
>every dealer network is experiencing a tech shortage
its not, its just the same retarded statements used to justify bringing in foreign workers. if there was a genuine shortage you would see wages go up to attract people from other fields. there are plenty of techs, its not like if you go to a dealer for a brake job they tell you to come back in a month and a half when they have a opening like a doctor does.

the only person getting fucked by the flat rate system are customers who are charged for labor which is never performed.

what will happen to stealerships and mechanic shops when a majority of cars are electric?

I don't get it. The world needs mechanics. Why are they not treated better? Why is being able to fix cars not something to be proud of?

We need mechanics more than we need private equity hedge fund managers.

>>28826967
>Why are they not treated better?
because there are tons of them, many of whom are illegals, who are more than willing to tolerate this. fixing cars isnt difficult or specialized. the car typically tells you what is wrong, and you follow a flow chart from the FSM to troubleshoot it.

Its telling the only people simping for auto tech careers itt are not auto techs

>>28826405
i work in the office but it's fantastic having access to workshop tools and supplies to use on my own car at home. would not have been able to do half the shit i've done so far without them or without costing a bomb

>>28826967
>I don't get it. The world needs mechanics.
Normies would rather treat their cars as disposable than pay a mechanic to maintain them.

>>28825067
>Why are people still interested in becoming mechanics?
Zoomies are desperate for a job

>>28827075
in between becoming a mobile detailer and drop shipper and barber ?

>>28827085
wdym?

>>28826849
I sat down one day and very deliberately looked at my strengths, weaknesses, needs, means, and personal values. I even got super autismo with it and made a scoring system in an excel spreadsheet. Overall I chose the option that made the most sense given my position in life, and the kinds of things I enjoy doing. I ended up as an industrial controls tech/PLC junkie

>>28826968
>Replace with known good component
>No fault found
>resistance check entire harness after removing dash

>>28827177
>maps out they/their life and personality on an excel sheet
>PLC nerd
Checks out

>>28826874
>the company you work for buys the tools
No, they don't. As previously stated, in the US mechanics are responsible for all tools necessary to do the job except for what's called "shop equipment" such as lifts, compressors, parts washers, manufacturer specialty tools above an arbitrary amount like $1000, etc.

Professional quality tools and professional tool storage (not just some box with everything piled in it where you have to paw though it all afternoon looking for that damn 10mm again) can easily exceed $30k.

I don't farm out any work to mechanics, only machine shops cause im not a fag

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>>28825070
diesel mechanic here, i own 3 houses on the west coast. i though it was suppposed to be hard to buy a house? get good faggots.

>>28826961
lmao, no that's exactly what happens.

Got some weird ass shit that needs an actual dealer tech to look at? You'll be lucky if your dealer has even a singular qualified individual on staff to diagnose it. Most shops don't.

t. the sole electrical/hybrid tech at one of the biggest dealers in socal. if i'm not assigned to your vehicle expect it to be at the shop for weeks. im good enough that the OEM tech reps come to me for help.

i made 180k 2024, but only 140k 2025 due to dogshit management running the shop into the ground with incompetence. there's plenty of money if this field

>>28825067
What i suppose to do??Go to IT?

>>28825067
it can be a fine job if you work somewhere that isn't dog shit
Working at a dealer seems like absolute hell but at a decent independent shop it's alright.

I also save a bunch of money by getting parts for trade prices, have access to a hoist so I can work on my own shit easily, and am able to easily make extra money by picking up cheap shitboxes, fixing them up and selling them off

>>28827601
pics or it didnt happen

>T. IT nerd here(not to be confused with programers) So think Comptia A+, Net+, Sec+
About half the people i work with including myself fixes up property(our house or parents), fixes electronics and vehicles.

Main reason is that master techs(dealership/indepent light duty) make half of what we make, and diesel, aircraft and marine make alot less than us unless you account for overtime. Me and my coworkers make 120-280k in a range from mid range tech to high end IT engineering of some form. At the mid range i make what some mechanics make at the high end of the pay range. I make 150k currently.

Tool prices are not that bad unless you need speciality items(scanners, fluke multimeter, hvac and misc electrical) or some gucci stuff like snap on ratchets, wrenches, sockets. You can get away with cheaper tools likely 90% of the time but you pull out that special set of sockets and electronic torque wrench and you are spending roughly $770 for the wrench and $375 for the high end extra accurate sockets. Meanwhile all of my tools are provided down to the Klein screwdriver set.
https://shop.snapon.com/product/TechAngle-Models-(2%-Accuracy)/3-8%22-Drive-Flex-Head-TechAngle-Torque-Wrench-(5%E2%80%93125-ft-lb)-(Black)/ATECH2FR125B
https://shop.snapon.com/product/Flank-Drive-Xtra-Semi-Deep%2C-mm%2C-Chrome/12-pc-3-8%22-Drive-6-Point-Metric-Flank-Drive-Xtra-Semi-Deep-Socket-Set-(8-19-mm)/212YFSMSY

I don't need licensing and registration

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>>28825067
I just ended up working for an OEM in product training & media relations and ended up being paid $140,000/year to talk about cars all day.

Legitimately would probably rope if I had to do something else.

>>28826968
>fixing cars isnt difficult or specialized. the car typically tells you what is wrong
utter dogshit

>>28827660
>Me and my coworkers make 120-280k in a range from mid range tech to high end IT engineering of some form
how much unpaid overtime is expected of you though? it's (sadly) considered normal to work 60-80 hour weeks as a sysadmin unless you work at a company that actually cares about employee welfare

>>28826968
> fixing cars isnt difficult or specialized. the car typically tells you what is wrong, and you follow a flow chart from the FSM to troubleshoot it.
t. wrenchlet.

>>28827797
Depends upon the company average for my current niche job is 10 hours extra a week(still paid). Last contract i was on was 4x12's and 1x8. Some companies hire enough people to where it's cheaper for them to run shifts 1-2-3 ect in whatever hours that matter to the company or traffic depending. Alot of the time you get more hours and more pay with a smaller company unless its Salary. If its salary exempt like most people then you get paid for those extra hours depending upon the state.

Also college is required for higher tier jobs so its not all about just certs, you need both to a certain extent.

>>28827623
yeah
when i worked at a dealership i wanted to become a mechanic but the techs in the shop told me not to
now i do IT for a federal agency and it's comfy but a bit boring. still better than breaking my back though

>>28827882
Thats a problem. Im in IT and its boring

>>28826811
I've been both a home mechanic and a pro one, thankfully at a place that supplied most tools. People who wrench on their own cars only need the tools that apply to those specific cars, and they can always bail out to a mechanic if they need a specialty tool that's unreasonable to buy for one job. They can also get by with much cheaper tools since a lot of things will get less use in a lifetime of amateur use than it would in a week with a pro.

>>28826943
>millwrighting or in plant tech
This is essentially what I'm doing myself, getting a machining AAS right now with the hope that, combined with my mechanic background, I can get into machine installs and service, with the fallback of just being a machinist if that doesn't happen. (Which pays a lot better in my area than most of the country too, $40/hr+ is pretty common after a few years and I could make almost double that if I got into a union shop.)

>>28827882
IT can be fun and interesting but wrenching for yourself is fun. However being a mechanic for pay sucks. Before covid you could get away with flipping used cars(doing repairs and reselling them for a slight profit) but now even that is hard to do. IT is fun however if your into networking like CCNA/CCNP.

>>28827932
>>28828371
IT is fine but it's going to be completely automated in 3 years at most. Mechanics will be needed for longer.

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>>28825067
No way you guys are serious. Does this mean Im cooked? 50K in at UTi, I want this path, Ford even says they need techs and are hiring at $100K . Pls dont tell me Im just wasting my fucking time. Is it just not worth it for a long term career vs a hobby?

>>28829075
>Ford even says they need techs and are hiring at $100K
Kek.
They Lie.

>>28829075
If you are actually in debt for 50k they better pay for that tuition at 100% the value of it even if its paid off in a 4 year contract. Beyond that i hope to god you don't end up doing small vehicle as a mechanic. Way to little money for the bullshit you have to deal with at either small independent or dealership. Aircraft, Heavy Machinery(almost always diesel), Millwright, Machinist, Marine(naval) or bust.

>>28825067
i kinda wanna date one so i can learn a little and have someone to reliably keep my older cars running

>>28829075
>Ford even says they need techs and are hiring at $100K
Utter fiction. I don't even have to check to know this is just like any time a pay is advertised. It assumes you:
>Work 120 hours a week, with 0 days vacation ever
>Every single car you work on needs a new transmission or something else dummy expensive
>Can do every ten-hour job in thirty minutes
>Have every conceivable certificate and 50 years experience working on Ford Lightnings
And that's still before taxes, insurance, etc. It's all so the CEO can BAWWW at Daddy Trump that "we need fifty kajillion jeet/bulbhead H-1Bs because murricans just don't wanna work!" and ethnically replace you.

>>28825067
>The pay is low
Do boomers still believe this? A tire shop is not a real mechanic shop.

>>28827601
whats the method bro? im a service tech down south and want to get into big money work

>>28829589
>...have someone to reliably keep my older cars running
Doesn't work like that. Mechanics cars always need work in the same manner the roofers houses need roofs, plumbers houses always need plumbing done, carpenters houses need framing repair, and so on. No one wants to do what their job is when they're off work.

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>>28827613
>only 140k 2025
So you make jack shit and can barely afford a 1 bed 1 bath apartment in your locale, because there are a ton of other people willing to do your job.

>electrical/hybrid tech
So you have a mid tier multimeter and maybe an osciliscope, and think you're special. you're not, pic related.

>>28827280
>can easily exceed $30k
stop being a cry baby

>>28827974
>can also get by with much cheaper tools
pic related is a Fluke 289 meter, Fluke 566 temp gun, Fieldpiece DR58 refrigerant leak detector, a Fluke high amperage current clamp and a McSig low amperage current clamp. dont work in the trades but I have it.

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>>28827613
>>28827974
oh noes not the specialized tool costs. i mean its not like normal people who osciliscopes. let me guess, this would be a shop tool for you queers

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>>28827613
>>28827974
wont somebody think of the specialized tools

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>>28827613
>>28827974
those god damn specialized automotive tools keeping me from working on my own car. whatever will i do

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i turned everything dad taught me about mechanic work into an analog to yuppie degrees like anthropology or ethnic studies.
I know how to do hotrod hoodlum shit like tuning a holley and smallblock v8s, rebuilding old stick transmissions.
but nigger I can't fucking use a code scanner, everything I have is useless in the job market.
everybody I work for asks me well why don't I just go be a mechanic,
and all I can say to them is fuck you I'd tie your daughter down and plow her cunt infront of you for thinking I would you piece of shit.
I'm not a fucking greaseball I build race cars fuck you.

>>28829753
inherit them in daddy’s trust while pretending to work at the company he left you

>>28829791
You still only need the shit that applies to your vehicles and the jobs you need to do on them. Sure, you have some semi-specialty tools there, but there's a big gap between that and an entire shop box full of shit for 10 different brands, or some of the outrageously expensive diagnostic and coding hardware a brand master tech has. You've got some nice stuff there and are way better-equipped than the average home wrencher but I don't think you appreciate the sheer volume of shit you need to accumulate as a full-time mechanic.

>>28830324
He will continue to sperg about how easy it is to be a career mechanic as he posts pics from the comfort of his home garage, having never worked a trade or needing to depend on his tools to feed himself

>>28830324
>an entire shop box full of shit for 10 different brands
the anon I was responding to claimed to be a dealer mechanic. they dont need 10 different brands.

>outrageously expensive diagnostic and coding hardware
so J2534 dongle and a cracked version of TechStream or CONSULT or whatever? its a few hundred dollars and there is one in my pic.

> I don't think you appreciate the sheer volume of shit you need to accumulate as a full-time mechanic.
again you dont, anything specialized or expensive which you're talking about would be a shop tool. the most they'll pay for is a scan tool.

>>28830339
>having never worked a trade or needing to depend on his tools to feed himself
wow, its almost like what i've been saying is that you're a pussy for complaining about having to buy tools.

>>28830580
You replied to me and the dealer tech anon.
Honestly IDK what the state of things is for every brand these days. When I was working on M3s a decade ago the only real options were to build a bootleg dealer computer with pirated factory software (pain in the ass and expensive because it required a really specific hardware config that was mostly discontinued) or something like an Autologic tablet, which I see are "only" about $7k now but were something like $20k plus a huge annual sub at the time.

As for other tools, there are a lot of weird little things are only available OEM or from some obscure specialty manufacturer and often cost way more than a general-purpose equivalent would. Dumb shit like fan removal tools, specialty sockets for proprietary fasteners, and so on. Individually they're not that bad, but when you need to accumulate a whole drawer full of them for all the different cars you work on it can get into the thousands fast. In many cases they're also not strictly necessary and a home mechanic can just do stuff with normal tools and take longer, but the equation changes when you're on flat rate bullshit and have to do everything as fast as humanly possible to stay ahead.

>>28829791
Worked on a LOT of industrial EV's with just a "safe" test light and an old Fluke 27/FM.

There are some dedicated 'boxes for some old/older motor controllers, but if you have a solid idea how they work, all the diag/prog 'boxes do is help confirm your suspicions.

Good on you for having both an outlet tester and an outlet splitter for an amp-clamp, they are handy for servicing smaller generators.

>>28830659
>pirated factory software
As I said, a couple hundred dollars for a dongle and some software cracked by russians running in a virtual machine

> expensive because it required a really specific hardware config that was mostly discontinued
if you cant get it working then you deserve to trade your health for a paycheck in the trades

> specialty sockets for proprietary fasteners
oh noes, not the triple square fasteners. whatever will someone do other than buy a set from Sunex for $20

> accumulate a whole drawer full
not a whole drawer! its only a few hundred dollars. how can anyone ever afford that!

> all the different cars you work
again, if you're working for a dealer like that anon said, you dont have to buy that many. cars are built on platforms, brands only have a few.

> changes when you're on flat rate bullshit
the entire flat rate system benefits the service provider and not the customer. your entire game is to defraud the customer, charging them for labor hours never worked. you deserve to get cancer at 30 from brake cleaner exposure. a service manual is full of torque specs for all of the fasteners, and you get paid to ensure they're all to spec, but instead you nigger rig every job you do and skip ever torque spec listed because "no one has come back yet". the same type of assholes who cut a hole in a cars body under the rear seat instead of dropping a gas tank because it makes it easier to get a fuel pump, and the customer is never likely to notice, and even if they do they cant prove you did it.

>>28831016
you are such a stupid cuck

>>28831016
>the entire flat rate system benefits the service provider and not the customer. your entire game is to defraud the customer, charging them for labor hours never worked.

You really have no idea what you're talking about, do you.

>>28829075
>Ford even says they need techs and are hiring at $100K
Ford said those 100k tech jobs need 5-10 years experience and they will not be hiring any newbies and training them for 5 years.

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>>28831016
The way you disingenuously compartmentalize and dismiss every statement, ignore data and the anecdotes of every poster that actually has had to depend on the flat rate dealer/shop environment to support themselves, all while never having worked a trade paints a picture of someone far too arrogant and stupid to accept when they're wrong about anything. Thats probably why you cant work a trade.

>>28831200
>Thats probably why you cant work a trade.
I work from home. Clean it up wagie.

>>28829767
but i'll do things for labor