Mechanic courses and other helpful advice needed!!

OwenP · Post by **OwenP** » 30 Nov 2009, 18:26

If Engineering is more of interest than cars then have a look at what sort of engineering your local power plant wants.

I spent a year working in the local Power plant as part of my university degree and thoroughly enjoyed it. Some of the time it is pretty mundane, but there is always something different going on.

Admittedly I was there as a chemist, but there was also a large engineering division. Power is something we are always going to need so should be qiote good for job security and you can always branch out into the preconstruction phase, i.e. building/designing/commisioning of the actual generators (see Brush for example).

If engineering is more a route into cars then is it worth looking at some of the racing teams and specialising down that route rather than joe public motoring?

At the moment even with 2 degrees and a years experience I am struggling to find work. You really need to stand out from the crowd these days.

Does his school have a careers advisor? If so it might worth having a chat with them about the best places to find information?

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 30 Nov 2009, 19:23

its said we will always want entertainment, there seems to be loads of dosh in the right areas there

regards malcolm

Post by **admiral51** » 30 Nov 2009, 19:58

Thanks for the replies so far

Not sure really on what he wants to do, all i get is "somat to do with cars an stuff"

I know it was a long time ago when i went to school but i had thwe choice of the 3 sciences physics chemistry and biology but it seems that nowadays they get to do all 3 rolled into one called science

From a personal point i would prefer that if he wants to go into auto mechanics then i still feel he should have a good grounding in engineering including welding and metalwork whether that be at school or college etc.
As for electronics im useless(if only you could see Jims inbox from me

) but again that is something that i feel he should have a good basic knowledge of as that will help him in later life anyway

As to the careers advisor Owen,he is going to Dean Court next week (9th i think) for a day long session with Connections a Diploma based education company run through Hampshire and Dorset education services so hopefully that will give him and us some ideas as to whats on offer.
Best thing to do i suppose would be to get hold of an old simple petrol engine car that needs to have the engine etc stripped and rebuilt and let him have a play at it but that might need to wait a while

Keep the ideas coming its really helping me and SWMBO in trying to explain things to him and his teachers

Cheers

Colin

addo · Post by **addo** » 30 Nov 2009, 22:20

I always mention residential plumbing, too. Quite a lot of people have issues with this, and it's ongoing. Especially as we eat more, the "output" increases and frequency of pipe problems with it...

It feels like I am one of the few people here who's always had a manual job - and I'm pushing 40, without ever having been out of work. Office stuff is out for me unless I get prescribed something for ADD (cannot sit still), and to me that's too much of a risk versus what I know.

Trades don't make you brainless, though - it seems to be an underpinning fear of some.

vince · Post by **vince** » 30 Nov 2009, 22:51

Colin, your son sounds just like i was a few years back...well ok a long while back now

and I found it very hard for my careers person to give me any credible or usefull information to get me where i wanted. I was lucky though to a degree and found my way through.

Workwise, I am in a unique position having a helicopter view of the auto industry and retrospect on my own choices, as daily i speak to and deal with everyone from mobile mechanics to auto engineers, regular mechanics, diagnostic specialists and even performance ECU remappers....pretty much everybody.....Parts is like a giant barbershop for the auto industry

Quick breakdown (no pun intended)

Diagnostics - This is equivalent of the IT boom in general industry. Its massive and growing like wildfire. Knowledge is everything and is worth BIG money.....Our diagnostic guy is offered a job at every demo he does...i know ive been with him when it happens. If you know this field you can save garages thousands in wasted man hours and fees paid to others to diagnose problems. That and every car after around 1995 is fitted with "a brain" which only a machine can read...and a knowlegeable person can translate.

ECU mapping - This is in effect bypassing the built in servicing / longevity margins built into vehicles.....All cars are dumbed down from the factory so they wont blow up when Joe Bloggs doesnt change his oil with the correct grade at exactly the right interval or guns his engine from cold every morning etc. Mapping removes these and releases the true potential of the engine under "ideal conditions" (at least that my learned knowledge of the subject)

The problem with remapping is it is a non essential purchase...this means that in times of slow business....recession / christmas time etc business disappears.... We have a pair of guys on account who ran a very busy remapping business in Liverpool and used to come to the shop in cars from a new skyline to a souped up Audi S8, Mitsu Evo etc...Last time he came in he was very worried about making ends meet as business had dropped into oblivion..... That and more modern cars are so advanced now that the ECU's are locked by the manufacturers so that the technology cant be stolen / learned by their competitors.,,leads back to the diagnostic guy again

Engineers are worth their weight in gold...they are the truly valuable people who can understand and fix a fault, rather than just replace a part.....This expertise people are willing to pay for and give return custom to.

Mechanics.....yes it can pay pittance and a be a crap job, but it also opens opportunities to other things like making buying and selling cars more profitable as you save on labour and know which ones to walk away from. Doing foreigners outside of work. Opening your own place and working to employ others to do the donkey work whilst you provide the brain power. That and a good mechanic will still wow you with their ability....certainly not a trade to be ashamed of.

To end the schpiel......my best advice is to do what i did. Get enroled on a course and find out where your skills lie. Is it in the theory of vehicle technology? working towards a diploma and entering in at the level of technician / advisor? Or is it in practical hand on terms.....this can lead to any of the above....I was crap at school, but on my course i ended up top of the class with 98% in my finals beating retired mechanics on the course....because i was interested in it and sponged it all up.

I think no matter what type of mechanical course is offered, they will offer diagnostic tuition....and this is very valuable.

So how did i end up in parts?......Because i gave up on my dream and thought that having immediate money in my pocket to go out and P up a wall was more important....so i gave up and then spent years out of the auto industry only to eventually find myself back in it again...

Post by **admiral51** » 30 Nov 2009, 23:10

Well maybe i should add a little of my own experiences

Went to a Grammar School took 9 O levels and passed 2 (maths and physics- something that the teachers said never pass as long as i had a hole in my rear

) but had a job in a supermarket when i was 15 and money was coming in-- sod school

Ended up becoming a HGV driver sitting on my rear( with a hole) all day long

I reckon im good at my job but that dont help me fix my cars where as my Dad is an engineer by trade spent 7 years doing an apprentaship back in the 50s and hes got more useful information in his little finger than ive got full stop

So i want my son to have something i could have had but women and beer got in the way (no im not really sorry about that i enjoyed my late teens and early twenties

) but if he gets the knowledge and work experience whilst hes young and its something he wants to do then that will stay with him forever

Looking forward to when he starts dating

Colin

HDI · Post by **HDI** » 01 Dec 2009, 00:56

Vince,
Just to clarify , when I say ECU mapper I mean mapping a new , replacement ECU from scratch as opposed to chip tuning or modifying a factory ECU.
Also , even so called 'locked' ECU's can be accessed and modified.

vince · Post by **vince** » 02 Dec 2009, 22:30

Apologies HDI.....

Kowalski · Post by **Kowalski** » 03 Dec 2009, 09:02

There is a shortage of civil engineers and I think they will always find work. Our transport infrastructure will always need looking after, even if there are not new roads or railways being built the existing ones need maintaining. Road and rail maintenance is the responsibility of government so its as recession proof an industry as any you'll find.

HDI · Post by **HDI** » 03 Dec 2009, 10:21

One of my cousins is a civil engineer and he's never even noticed any of the recessions !! The only downside is that he's on jobs all over the place so spends quite a bit of time away from home.

addo · Post by **addo** » 03 Dec 2009, 11:45

Seriously, that wouldn't be a career path you'd follow if you didn't to some extent get a buzz from it. Making headway on the stuff they put you through at Uni for a degree like that - stuff you'll probably never see again in real life - is pretty discouraging if you're not 100% committed.

Exhibit A
Exhibit B

OwenP · Post by **OwenP** » 03 Dec 2009, 13:07

This may not be a route you want your lad to follow, but what about going into the forces as a mechanic/engineer?

From what I remember when i was taking my A-levels the forces were quite happy to take you after you'd left college/sixth form, or would in some cases pay you through uni to join once you'd graduated. Depending on how academic you wanted to be.

HDI · Post by **HDI** » 03 Dec 2009, 13:41

Not a bad suggestion. Someone I know did just that and recently came out on retirement. He's on a great pension and saw stuff that most would never have the opportunity ever to experience. He said once the first 2 or 3 years were out of the way it was a pretty good life. Part of his leaving package was to be re-trained in whatever he chose , which was plumbing and electrics. Thats put him on easy street now , with that pension and what he earns from those trades he's raking it in !!

candy · Post by **candy** » 04 Jan 2010, 21:38

i wanted to be a mechanic from the age of 16 ...but back then it didnt seem right a female doing mechanics so i waited 22 yrs and have just started a train to gain course with a citroen DS specialist loving every minute of it .. my 1st job was to strip an engine out and replace it dont care if the money is crap or you get dirty i love it would do it for nothing if i could just wish i had been given the chance when i left school

HDI · Post by **HDI** » 05 Jan 2010, 00:21

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