Best Automotive Career

[CB7Nub]

I've been looking at various automotive careers and I've been wondering what is the best to get into for the money but still enjoyable. I was looking at plain mechanic but it's kinda your either doing well or not, depending how long you've been there and your certifications. What about body work?

I'm looking mostly at careers where I would be working on the cars. But other jobs like engine design and fancier jobs would be nice to know. Just wondering what is out there.

[crazymikey]

Well, you live in Ontario. Automotive industry is NOT where you want to work. Trust me. This is why I now reside in Alberta.

[HondaB18]

I've been looking at various automotive careers and I've been wondering what is the best to get into for the money but still enjoyable. I was looking at plain mechanic but it's kinda your either doing well or not, depending how long you've been there and your certifications. What about body work?

I'm looking mostly at careers where I would be working on the cars. But other jobs like engine design and fancier jobs would be nice to know. Just wondering what is out there.

i applied for electrical work and got accepted from toyota, i'm not sure what your background is but it calls for an ee major. pay and benefit looks good but the location was a major deciding factor for me

i'm not sure if you are looking for corporate jobs or what not but giving out more info like what you can and can't do would help us help you

Well, you live in Ontario. Automotive industry is NOT where you want to work. Trust me. This is why I now reside in Alberta.

ontario has quite a few car assembly plants

cami, chrysler, honda, toyota, gm and ford

[ChIoVnIdCa]

I wont get far into my opinions on getting a career in the automotive industry..


But the body work side is a dead end... Unless you are highly skilled something like the graphics or custom side.

Dealerships charge whatever they want per hour... So around here a example would be Toyota dealerships charge $120 an hour..

The body shop will do mostly insurance work.. That is regulated to $40 an hour here by the state... Seriously limits income potential... If you are making $20 an hour (not a lot of money) you are pretty much maxing out what you can get paid by the shop at 50% of there gross.. Most do not make even $20 an hour so you you want to limit your income potential to that then go into body work.


If you want to do the labor work then be a dealer tech. Be specialized.. Pick a brand that will be around that charges a good labor rate and stick with it.... (Acura, Audi, BMW).. The good part of the high end shop is they are typically air conditioned.

[foamypirate]

No first hand experience here, but from what I hear, service managers are relatively well paid.

[deevergote]

Find a brand that is known to have issues, such as Audi. Fantastic brand, but electrical problems are very common. Repairs are expensive, and the owners can generally afford the repairs... so they can afford to take the cars to the dealer to be serviced. Audi would be my top choice, personally, since the VW group is VERY strong at the moment, with no signs of faltering from what I can see.

I know a GM mechanic that loves his job, because there's no shortage of work!


I agree that body work is a dead-end, unless you're the owner of the shop (and earn a reputation for custom work.) To start out as a little guy, body work is one of the more difficult things to perfect. Mechanical things are simply a matter of using the right tools, following the right procedures, and knowing what goes where. Body work takes a bit of talent. You can know what you're doing, but a lack of skill or an unsteady hand can produce some pretty awful results.



Whatever you do, don't get stuck in a position where there's nowhere to go. Automotive work is not easy work, and doing it 8+ hours a day for many many years will take a toll on you. You don't want to be turning a wrench for the same pay at 55 years old as you were at 25 years old! I've seen that happen as well... extremely knowledgeable, skilled old men turning wrenches in the same garage that they started at half a lifetime ago, making the same pay...

[wherm]

The body shop will do mostly insurance work.. That is regulated to $40 an hour here by the state... Seriously limits income potential... If you are making $20 an hour (not a lot of money) you are pretty much maxing out what you can get paid by the shop at 50% of there gross.. Most do not make even $20 an hour so you you want to limit your income potential to that then go into body work.

This is true for the most part, however labor rates will be different from city to city, state to state. Our body labor rate is $54/hr. Frame labor rate is $70/hr, and Mechanical is $90/hr. I get paid 35% of each of those rates/hr. However, you get paid on flat rate. In other words, you get paid for how many hours worth of work you do. Not every shop pays on flat rate, but those are the ones you wanna be in. If you are slow, it's not worth it. If you are fast and produce quality work you can make a lot of money in this field as a body man, painter, or combo guy. Being fast doesn't mean crap if your work sucks cause you'll be fixing it for free when it comes back!

I make a very good living as a body man, earning an average effeciency of over 200% which puts average earnings around $39/hr. I rarely have to work more than 35hrs a week. Last year I had a total of 11hrs overtime. So with an average 200% effeciency, if I work 35 hrs I get paid for 70. Not a bad deal .

Many technical colleges have auto body/Collision Repair courses that will teach you everything you need to know to be able to get into the industry. Costs of these programs are low, 2yrs for me was only $6,000 or so. I'm just saying you don't have to spend tens of thousands to go to Wyotech or somewhere like that. I know many people that went to Wyotech, and none of them are Bodymen or Painters. They all work in the office, lol, not managing either...

Sorry to keep rambling on, but I really do love my profession and the pay especially. I highly recommend giving it a try. I had absolutely no idea what body work involved when I enrolled, I was just gonna take the classes for the sake of being able to work on my own stuff. I didn't even know what a welder looked like, or that there were sanding blocks other than the $3 hard rubber ones at Walmart. It was only later that I began to realize it could make a great career and it has. If you're a good trouble shooter, fast learner, good with your hands, and have at least a basic knowledge on how to take cars apart, give it a chance.

[theSOB]

i did body work for a few years. didnt really like it all that much. i would love to have a job like Bisi. i think he's a chemical engineer. i also dream of one day engineering aftermarket parts for various engines that actually make power. that would be fun

[h22sparkle]

Automotive deisel mechanic. They make the most you want to move freight or commercial work the trucks are easy to work on. You have to have yoru truck moving if you want to them the dollars rollin in. that and th german cars like benz and bmw most of the luxury car industy like that make alot of money. Its about technology so if you can get yoru foot in their your straight man.

[PR CB7]

ELECTROMECHANICS anyone can change a part, not a lot of people fuck with electronics, let alone diagnose

[deevergote]

The more specialized you are, and the more up on modern technology you are, the more in demand you will be. You'll be able to command a higher pay that way, and the work is often less physically demanding. Turning a wrench 8+ hours a day would tire me the hell out, I know that! Then again, there's a reason why I didn't choose to go into that field. Some people don't mind doing it... others genuinely enjoy it.

Just remember, if you enjoy working on your car as a hobby, you might not want to turn it into your career. For many people, that takes the fun out of it for them. Not for all... but be sure that's a risk you're willing to take.

[crazymikey]

i applied for electrical work and got accepted from toyota, i'm not sure what your background is but it calls for an ee major. pay and benefit looks good but the location was a major deciding factor for me

i'm not sure if you are looking for corporate jobs or what not but giving out more info like what you can and can't do would help us help you



ontario has quite a few car assembly plants

cami, chrysler, honda, toyota, gm and ford

Yeah, and I worked for Honda,Chrysler and GM...lost my job at all 3...several times.