Tips for applying to work as a Mechanic...

I would say start small if you want to get in quick. My son started at Pep Boys as an installer (slightly over minimum wage) and gradually started doing bigger and bigger jobs (of course, management loved that...) and then he was well-versed in doing suspension work, brakes and running the alignment machine....he moved up to mechanic. All this happened in about a year and a half. Now....there was an opening at my work (city bus system) and he got hired there, even tho' he didn't have tons of experience. I think maybe they liked the fact that he had 3 years of college under his belt already. Plus, I think he comes across as a "go-getter".

If you need to get something quick, settle for whatever wage they throw out. When I got outta the military, I hadn't wrenched in 4 years so it wasn't easy to get hired back into a shop. I got on at a small independent shop.....they also hired a lot of guys who just got out of jail, so.....you know the deal.....yup, low pay for sure. I only stayed on for about less than a year. Just enough to get my "feel" back and moved on.