Well my son is on his 3rd job

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pittsburghracer

pittsburghracer

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When joe shutdown the gas line my son lost his 6-7 year job of doing on the road fork truck repair. He didn’t want laid off so he got a job at a friends shop building race car chassis (5 dollars less per hour)and any other work needed to build roller race cars (they didn’t do engine or transmission work). After four months roll bar tubing jumped 40% in price and then started getting hard to find. Just a small two man shop, him and the owner he got laid off again when guys started canceling job because of the increased costs. For the next month his help racing friends at their “Big Shot Bobs” chicken wing sandwich shop when they couldn’t find employees. Well living in Pa with me and his girlfriend in Ohio he was driving to Ohio every weekend as she and her father drag race too. Her Dad owns and operates a large automotive repair shop and he worked for them occasionally. I could see the writing on the wall and he made the move last weekend and is now a mechanic. Lol. Never going to school to be a mechanic her Dad liked what he saw in him as far as being mechanical and hired him, found him a temporary place to live, and bought him a Snap-on tool box and some tools. One full week in he likes it. Plans are already shaping up for him to finish his Duster and race it again, instead of racing friends car.
 
pittsburghracer said:
When joe shutdown the gas line my son lost his 6-7 year job of doing on the road fork truck repair. He didn’t want laid off so he got a job at a friends shop building race car chassis (5 dollars less per hour)and any other work needed to build roller race cars (they didn’t do engine or transmission work). After four months roll bar tubing jumped 40% in price and then started getting hard to find. Just a small two man shop, him and the owner he got laid off again when guys started canceling job because of the increased costs. For the next month his help racing friends at their “Big Shot Bobs” chicken wing sandwich shop when they couldn’t find employees. Well living in Pa with me and his girlfriend in Ohio he was driving to Ohio every weekend as she and her father drag race too. Her Dad owns and operates a large automotive repair shop and he worked for them occasionally. I could see the writing on the wall and he made the move last weekend and is now a mechanic. Lol. Never going to school to be a mechanic her Dad liked what he saw in him as far as being mechanical and hired him, found him a temporary place to live, and bought him a Snap-on tool box and some tools. One full week in he likes it. Plans are already shaping up for him to finish his Duster and race it again, instead of racing friends car.
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There is always a silver lining in a dark cloud.
 
It's challenging in today's economy for anyone who doesn't get after it.

A guy like your son is always going to find opportunity cause he's motivated. Well done!!
 
pittsburghracer said:
When joe shutdown the gas line my son lost his 6-7 year job of doing on the road fork truck repair. He didn’t want laid off so he got a job at a friends shop building race car chassis (5 dollars less per hour)and any other work needed to build roller race cars (they didn’t do engine or transmission work). After four months roll bar tubing jumped 40% in price and then started getting hard to find. Just a small two man shop, him and the owner he got laid off again when guys started canceling job because of the increased costs. For the next month his help racing friends at their “Big Shot Bobs” chicken wing sandwich shop when they couldn’t find employees. Well living in Pa with me and his girlfriend in Ohio he was driving to Ohio every weekend as she and her father drag race too. Her Dad owns and operates a large automotive repair shop and he worked for them occasionally. I could see the writing on the wall and he made the move last weekend and is now a mechanic. Lol. Never going to school to be a mechanic her Dad liked what he saw in him as far as being mechanical and hired him, found him a temporary place to live, and bought him a Snap-on tool box and some tools. One full week in he likes it. Plans are already shaping up for him to finish his Duster and race it again, instead of racing friends car.
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That's a good story to hear. I have a similar story here as well. (and it does a dads heart good when people see good things in their kids.)
 
Thats great news! I'm under my 4th corporate umbrella...doing the same job! They keep changing ownership, merging or selling out to a larger name. Strange times, paychecks keep coming..all I can hope for. Sometimes 'off the street' hire-ons have a better grasp of what is expected, especially if you train them in your way of working, not getting some old retread that got fired for sleeping on the last job or cutting corners, we got lots of those already! Believe me, if you do a job for 20 years, your either very good at it, or very good at getting away with **** work.
 
That chassis shop gig would be a job dreams are made of :D. Big pile of iron, lots of tools, welders of all varieties, race cars all over the place :thumbsup:.
 
I was pretty lucky out of high school in 1974. The day I started work at a gas station the steel mill I applied for called me in for an interview. I took the test and physical and passed and was waiting for a call to start. My boss at the gas station asked if I would please stay till I was hired. Well in late 1974 the bottom fell out of the economy and I never started till March of 1977. At that time I was the youngest assistant manager the company ever had and promised me my own station down the road. They wouldn’t talk money so I left for the mill. I was a labor in the melt shop and was told if you wanted to work get in maintenance as they worked even when shutdown. I left laboring when I got the Bricklayer helper bid, then I went to Crane repair for 2.5 years, then became a Millwright apprentice. I did the 4 year program in 2.5 years. Four years before I retired they gave us 1.00 an hour raise and trained us to be welders, pipe fitters, hydraulic repair, riggers, building rail road cars, carpentry, etc. so I was lucky enough to put 33 years in at the same place and retire before I turned 54. Pretty lucky.
 
Unconventional said:
That chassis shop gig would be a job dreams are made of :D. Big pile of iron, lots of tools, welders of all varieties, race cars all over the place :thumbsup:.
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The money, 15.00 an hour was pathetic. Zero benefits, no insurance, no paid holidays, no nothing. But he learned a lot. He did get a 3.00 an hour raise during his short time there. The work schedule was the best thing. 8am-6pm Monday to Thursday.
https://www.findglocal.com/US/Evans-City/245330545868189/Cage-Rage-Fabrication-LLC
 
He will never make any real money being a general automotive tech.....he is going to need to specialize in a certain area and exploit that if he truly wants to make money. I suggest diagnostics, electrical, ADAS, airbag system work and module programming and work exclusively for body shops as an independent vendor.
 
'68cuda416 said:
He will never make any real money being a general automotive tech.....he is going to need to specialize in a certain area and exploit that if he truly wants to make money. I suggest diagnostics, electrical, ADAS, airbag system work and module programming and work exclusively for body shops as an independent vendor.
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I have a friend that does that now. He was a highly decorated GM. Master tech and got tired of the dealership B/S. He likes it and it is treating him well. He has a nice shop at home and that keeps him as busy as he wants.
 
toolmanmike said:
I have a friend that does that now. He was a highly decorated GM. Master tech and got tired of the dealership B/S. He likes it and it is treating him well. He has a nice shop at home and that keeps him as busy as he wants.
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Yeah I have done this for myself for over 14 years now and have never grossed less than 6 digits and my best years were 3 plus and that is just me as a 1 man show. I am hoping to retire in a year or two so that I can just concentrate on buying, fixing up and selling old Mopars, growing my personal collection and also doing some more racing.
 
'68cuda416 said:
He will never make any real money being a general automotive tech.....he is going to need to specialize in a certain area and exploit that if he truly wants to make money. I suggest diagnostics, electrical, ADAS, airbag system work and module programming and work exclusively for body shops as an independent vendor.
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Honestly he doesn’t put a lot of stock in how much he makes, never did. He is excellent at setting up carbs and caltracks and even does so for stock and super stock cars, for free. He worked at a chicken wing joint to help friends out instead of collecting 300.00-400.00 more on unemployment. I
Tried to talk him into porting heads on the side for a few extra bucks, not interested. I could have gotten him in TW Phillips gas company, not interested. Trust me he’s not lazy he’s just not motivated by money alone.
 
It sure sounds like you raised him right by leading by example as well as his willingness to work, learn, and be diverse.
Cudos to both of you!
With that attitude, he'll go places.....
 
pittsburghracer said:
Honestly he doesn’t put a lot of stock in how much he makes, never did. He is excellent at setting up carbs and caltracks and even does so for stock and super stock cars, for free. He worked at a chicken wing joint to help friends out instead of collecting 300.00-400.00 more on unemployment. I
Tried to talk him into porting heads on the side for a few extra bucks, not interested. I could have gotten him in TW Phillips gas company, not interested. Trust me he’s not lazy he’s just not motivated by money alone.
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Yeah well it sounds like real world reality hasn't set in yet......once he has to start paying all his bills and then a girlfriend who will eventually want more plus supporting a race car will decide how money motivated he is or isn't.
 
My fleet mechanic does A/C recharges for BMW stealerships on the side as well as on call CNG car/truck refills for freeway patrol, makes more doing that than straight hourly w/benefits. You wouldn't believe how much he gets for a recharge....WTF does BMW use for refrigerant, golden gas?
 
pishta said:
My fleet mechanic does A/C recharges for BMW stealerships on the side as well as on call CNG car/truck refills for freeway patrol, makes more doing that than straight hourly w/benefits. You wouldn't believe how much he gets for a recharge....WTF does BMW use for refrigerant, golden gas?
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I do R1234yf A/C work for the body shops which is the new freon and I charge 28 dollars an ounce for it plus 45 dollars an ounce for the PAG oil and 22 dollars an ounce for dye, it's also 175 dollars to recover and another 175 to recharge. The machine was approximately 6500 at the time and a 10lb. jug of R1234yf is roughly 600-700 dollars.
 
The whole key to making real money in the automotive industry is either be able to do what most others can't skill set wise and or also invest in the type of equiptment that most others aren't willing to invest in so that it seperates you from the pack and you are essentially a very viable and in most cases a better alternative than the dealership.
 
flashing custom EEPROMS of ecu's is also very lucrative if you know what you are doing.
 
pishta said:
flashing custom EEPROMS of ecu's is also very lucrative if you know what you are doing.
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Never have done anything custom but have had many requests for it over the years but again it would fall into the category of doing what most others can't.
 
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