Hello everyone just as the title states how can i become a mechanic without schooling i want to switch careers ive been welding since i graduated welding school in 2014 and i think i want a change does any have some helpful advice and in order for me to fully make the switch i would have to make 25 an hour so what skill do i need to learn to get that payment from a shop
Generally speaking…you’re going to need the skills of a mechanic to be a mechanic. Those skills are acquired through either years of experience spent working with/around other mechanics…or going to mechanic school.
Same thing if you want to be a medical doctor.
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IMO, the days of the seat-of-the-pants, untrained mechanic are long gone, and you need to be trained/educated on the complexities of modern vehicles. In many areas, the county’s vocational school provides this training for no charge or low charge. There are even Community College programs that are affiliated with manufacturers, and which guarantee graduates a job at a dealership. My best advice is to avoid private, for-profit schools like UTI and Lincoln Tech.
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Yep, training is now required. Start with your local community collage, may be called a Junior or state college. Perhaps where you received your welding training.
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Withe multiple complicated systems and ever-increasing sophisticated engineering of today’s vehicles, it is more difficult to learn withOUT schooling.
Can you find a community college which hasuch training?
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I agree with what yall are saying i was basically starting to stay out of more debt i hear some say schooling is not needed and imo i truly believe you can learn any trade with the right on the job training this is just being in the welding industry and seeing other jobs and talking to people i mean school does help but its also a waste of money guess i have some decision making to do because i really want a career change
So, it’s easier to learn–without schooling?
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The cost of training at a county vocational school is either zero or a very low cost. Many/most of them even provide their courses in the evening, so that you can attend class after work.
If I was aware that my local mechanic’s shop employed mechanics who had not been trained/educated, I would find a different shop.
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I be immune to education.
Ill see because im almost done paying off my school so might just go back
I’d request the current or former shop owners here to weigh into this comment…
I am a self-taught auto mechanic. I started working on cars at 15 years old but I’d been working on my bicycles since I was 8! I learned about nuts, bolts, screws and wrenches mostly on my own. I did not come from a family natural DIYers. I read a lot and taught myself the basics of tune-ups, rebuilding carbs and later engines, transmissions and rear axles.
I went to went to engineering school and became an automotive engineer. But I continued that self-taught path.
If you want to change careers without going back to school, you’ll need to start at the bottom. Tire changer or oil change tech for crap wages. These places will provide some training, I hear, because they are so short of workers. My local automatic transmission shop (I don’t do automatics!) will train people because he’s had huge difficulty getting people to just show up on time, let alone work. Finding an entry level job in chain shop that does the basics - tires, oil, brakes, exhaust ect. and taking the time to learn from others can be a path. Night school to learn how to diagnose (a sadly lacking skill in the market) will allow you to earn more.
The internet can help. A lot. There has never been a time where the tools for learning are right at your fingertips. Serious mechanic YouTubers like Humble Mechanic, Eric the Car Guy, or South Main Auto can teach you how to diagnose a problem and fix it properly.
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School is the absolute cheapest part of being a mechanic, if you are wanting to be a pro level automotive tech, or master tech then you are going to have to have the proper tools to do the trick, cheap tools don’t last long, You can easily have over $50,000 in tools, more like $100,000+ for a B level tech… and that is in a lower income level state…
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Especially if someone avails himself of free training at a county vocational school.
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I know Master techs that have tool boxes that cost more than the Lincolntech schools…lol Not to mention the tools, probably $250,000+… But these are also high end techs… lol
I’d suggest asking why or what doesn’t make you happy with your current profession, welding. Especially if you have student loans…there’s no point in going into further debt for something that you might not be happy with. Some of my family members have gone further and further into student loan debt pursing “the perfect job”, only to realize there’s no such thing.
Having said that… I had a previous employer pay for nearly all of my advanced schooling. Sadly they didn’t see the value in keeping me after the fact… but I’ve often said the best way to pay for your schooling is to let someone else pay for it. Meaning, an employer, the military, etc.
Best of luck,.
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Some quick lube places train their new workers to become auto mechanics. As @Mustangman said, the pay will be low. OTOH, the work will be consistent. I worked with a trained auto mechanic on one project. He was a spacecraft maechanic at the time. The hourly rate as a car mechanic was higher but the hours were spotty. He actually made more with the lower hourly wage. Another possibility is to carry your current skills into an automotive job. You can weld and body shops need welders. Maybe you can pick up other skills when you aren’t welding damaged cars.
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I’m kind of with @ledhed75 on this
why do you no longer want to be a welder?
If it’s the money, from what I hear welders can make BANK, depending on who the employer is
I’m an public employee auto mechanic who works for a large city and I can tell you many of the trades, including welder, pay BETTER than auto mechanic
If you’re going to be a mechanic, be prepared to continuously spend huge amounts of money on tools, possibly/probably for decades
Technology constantly evolves, so you’ll need to keep up, as well
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Its just not doing it for me anymore sucks but it just isn’t i wanted to either do weldeing or mechanics when i first decided to go to suck i picked welding because it was shorter time thats part of it having a family i needed to make money fast so i choose the shorter time ive been welding for about 10 years and job wise where i live pay crap this is why im looking for other opportunities and other career paths
Ten years to pay off training to become a welder? I suspect you went to one of those questionable for profit schools.
Again, check with local public education centers, low cost.
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Being a pro level mechanic or even a really good non pro level mechanic can be a curse, everyone want’s/expects you to drop what you are doing to come help them out, case in point my son, not a pro but has done head gaskets from older Volvos to Hondas, engine swaps, did a FWD van transmission in a parking lot a few months ago, as well as many other things, but he does have old dad to call on to ask questions… lol… Anyway, the other day a close friend asked him to come work on his 99 F-150, it was in the 20’sF here, the simple wheel bearing job turned out to be a spun bearing on the spindle that he had to pull the knuckle/spindle and bring back to the house for me to look at, yeah I ain’t going out in the cold anymore… lol
I told him, see son, now you truly understand why ALL my friends are mechanics… It can be a curse… 