What's a typical day like as an automotive technician?

>I cant wait to go home and drink a 6 pack

i dont know but every time i take my car to one they bitch about how much work it is and how they hate my car.

i can do the easy stuff myself but shit like fuel pumps and exhaust ill let them do.

>>13937744
It really varies with setting

There are different kinds of automotive technicians and there are different work settings

Being an entry-level technician at a dealership is much different from being a supervisory mechanic at a small town auto body shop.

>>13937753
That's basically every job

I decided to be a mechanic because it's more fun and easier than construction.

>>13937800
Also you'll have a job during the winter months

Having done construction myself I know all too well how shitty the off-season can get for jobs.

>>13937744
My pops restores prewar shitboxes.
>wake up at like 6am
>go to the garage in back yard
>bang on panels for about 6 hours
>go inside eat lunch
>go back to banging panels and sanding for another 9 hours
>comes in goes to sleep rinse and repeat

>>13937754

It might be harder for them if your car is modified from stock in any way that's not standard. They train to fixing stock cars in the most efficient way possible and fixing a modified car is much harder.

I don't actually know, I don't even modify cars. I just post on this Taiwanese basket-weaving forum to make myself feel masculine.

>>13937811
I'm in CA so that's not an issue, but my dad's a contractor and having working for him many summers I learned the hard way that I don't want to do it. It's good money, but it's definitely not kind on the body.

>>13937851
Neither is being a mechanic.

>>13937890
Having worked on cars and worked construction, working in an automotive shop is much easier on the body than doing any sort of carpentry and/or masonry. Trust me.

>>13937851
>but it's definitely not kind on the body
then harden the fuck up

>bantz with customers
>idiots who think they know what they're talking about
>hot teenage girls with daddys money
>oil
>oil stains
>black fingernails
>cold sometimes
>seized nuts/bolts

bretty gud

>customer 1 comes in wanting brakes done
>brakes look decent especially given the terrible condition of the rest of the car
>rust holes in frame. tap some things with a hammer and break right through
>inform customer in a nice way that it's not worth it
>tell him the brakes are fine and he should just ditch the car
>"you don't know shit. my friend's a mechanic blahblahblah"
>eventually agree do brakes anyway

>customer 2 comes in, states she has been seeing mice in car
>authorizes 3 hours of work to remove some interior parts + hvac
>mouse shit everywhere
>cat food everywhere
>dead ground up mouse in the blower
>call customer + tell her. authorizes an additional 3 hours to pull out + clean every damn part of the car
>I'm covered in shit at this point
>shit and mouse guts
>this is the life

meanwhile
>customer 1 rolls back in
>his heater doesn't work since I did brakes
>obviously he is full of shit
>argue for a bit, he threatens to call the cops multiple times but doesn't
>eventually gives up and drives off

and while all this is going on
>corolla with junkyard engine replacement in
>doesnt start
>not sure if engine is right for the car
>people who put the engine in are idiots
>damaged wiring everywhere
>tracing + checking every wire in the engine bay

>>13937890
As kind as anything else.

There's no real heavy lifting in mechanics and you're never in the elements and you're never really exerting yourself cardio wise.

I mean if you choose to be hunched over then that's your own fault, but lifts change the game. You can raise it or lower it for your own comfort.

Proper shoes, pad under bench, no different than being a nurse or something to be honest.

>>13937905
No thanks. I've done it probably longer than you. It's not worth it if you have other options.

>>13937985
Been working in construction since I was a kid m8 it's nothing unless you're a laborer logging bricks around all day

>>13937811
>Not collecting unemployment during the off season

>>13937999
logging bricks, wood, sheetrock, etc is all construction workers do all day m8. construction is basically 100% labor.

if you're an electrician or a finishing carpenter or something it's different.

>>13938002
Maybe if you didn't buy a brand new F150 Platinum every 2 years you could live off $45 grand a year.

>>13937896
Do both for more than a few months and get back to us. Both have their ups and downs physically.

>>13937906
>bantz with customers
This won't happen unless you work at a small independent
>idiots who think they know what they're talking about
This is true but again if you're at a dealership you have the service writer to take care of that
>hot teenage girls with daddys money
I can't recall ever encountering this and I worked on Scions for years

>>13937909
Sounds pretty typical

The only mechanics I know who don't hate life are the ones who work at a performance place. I did a practicum for school a decade ago when I was planning on being a mechanic. Literally every single guy in the shop said "don't do this. Anything is better than this". Owner told me he'd keep me around after the practicum because I was pretty good for a newbie, but even he was more or less telling me to go to university and get a cushy desk job.

I stuck with it for about 6 months before agreeing and then left. I still do labor intensive work, but fuck, there's just something about working on minivans and boring cars all day that is soul draining