OT-I need a well qualified mechanic!

[butchlambert]

I have in the last year lost 3 of my best mechanics that have been with me 30 years each. I'm glad that they were able to retire, but I sure miss them. I;ve been in business for over 45 years and we do domestic and Asian line work. We do no engine or transmission work. We are in Rowlett, Texas

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[Tommie]

Good luck with that, Butch. I mean it in all sincerity.

 

[butchlambert]

I know, but where did they all go?

 

[Bojo]

Sounds like you might be paying them too much !!!!! Up here in the rust belt we either cripple out or die with a wrench in our hands

 

[Retired shooter]

Good luck with that, Butch. I mean it in all sincerity.

Getting any kind of help is hard enough, let alone getting GOOD HELP.
I know of some fabrication places ,paying at least $ 25.00 an hour could not get welders to show up.
Inside nice air tempered bldg, good benefits, could not even get help to show up for full 40 hour week.

Owner built new bldg, all new equipment. Replaced all his welders with robots.
Some jobs can be done thar way. Some will not be accomplished with robots.

Hope you have good luck.

 

[ricco1949]

I know, but where did they all go?

Same place as 'All the flowers have gone'.

 

[butchlambert]

Our guys sure make more than that, but we only have big fans in the summer!

 

[Tommie]

Our guys sure make more than that, but we only have big fans in the summer!

Likely WAY more.
Any automotive technician worth having will be interviewing you, not vice versa.

 

[nmkid]

Once told my grandson, "Don't forget the trades for a career". He said not many guys want to do that kind of work anymore. Maybe he was right.

 

[hogpatrol]

Don't know if this applies, but I get ads every day from Linked In for machinists, machinist apprenticeships and mechanical technicians. The ones I investigate are paying what I made 30 years ago. One ad for apprentice was from AmTrak, basically a lifetime, no layoff government job, with good benefits. They had one application. Others are from companies where your dad or other relative had to work there to even be considered. Even those go begging. Go figure.

 

[CJ6]

Just a thought Butch... Do they have a Vo-Tec school in your area? Might be worth checking out.

 

[butchlambert]

Just a thought Butch... Do they have a Vo-Tec school in your area? Might be worth checking out.

I have checked at several and they say Toyota, Mercedes, and other MFG s pay their students expenses and get their grads. Cough up $20 grand and they would try to get a guy through their program for me.

 

[butchlambert]

Don't know if this applies, but I get ads every day from Linked In for machinists, machinist apprenticeships and mechanical technicians. The ones I investigate are paying what I made 30 years ago. One ad for apprentice was from AmTrak, basically a lifetime, no layoff government job, with good benefits. They had one application. Others are from companies where your dad or other relative had to work there to even be considered. Even those go begging. Go figure.

Indeed is a POS! They send you a brief list of folks for x amount charged to my credit card. They ended up not qualified, lived further than they wanted to drive, or ones I wouldn't hire.

 

[Downhill]

My wife manages an auto repair shop, she has discovered true mechanics are rare. If a problem does not show up on a diagnostic tool, most have no clue how to troubleshoot a problem. On my side, the pipeline and transmission industry, I have found the ones who can pass a drug test are unwilling to do the work. Unfortunately english is being replaced by spanish as the primary language in the oil and gas construction industry.

 

[rwj]

All those years of the education system encouraging students to pursue college (that costs a lot) and discouraging pursuing the trades (where a lot can be earned) has caught up to us! This is what makes me worry about who is going to work in the industries being “reshored”? Seems many in the younger generations don’t want to get their hands dirty!

 

[Kiwishooter]

My wife manages an auto repair shop, she has discovered true mechanics are rare. If a problem does not show up on a diagnostic tool, most have no clue how to troubleshoot a problem. On my side, the pipeline and transmission industry, I have found the ones who can pass a drug test are unwilling to do the work. Unfortunately english is being replaced by spanish as the primary language in the oil and gas construction industry.

I can relate to that, I worked in a dealership and out of 12 mechanics I thought 11 of them should have done something else.
You want to try finding techs that will do transmission work

 

[Tommie]

I have checked at several and they say Toyota, Mercedes, and other MFG s pay their students expenses and get their grads. Cough up $20 grand and they would try to get a guy through their program for me.

Butch I'll bet you've already tried hiring recent vo-tech grads at some point. If your experience is anything like mine, um, you won't go that route again.

 

[long40shot]

I'm a electrician in the Kansas City area. We can't find people with any work ethic, but we get a lot of kids that think they deserve $38.00 an hour with no experience.

 

[steve210]

All those years of the education system encouraging students to pursue college (that costs a lot) and discouraging pursuing the trades (where a lot can be earned) has caught up to us! This is what makes me worry about who is going to work in the industries being “reshored”? Seems many in the younger generations don’t want to get their hands dirty!

This is a big problem, another is mechanics don't make a lot of money for the knowledge they have to have. The work is hard and dirty and you're working on something shoe horned into a hole where you can't get to anything. You basically have to love the work to be willing to do it. I told my son, he needed to learn enough to be able to do stuff for himself and to know how to keep from getting screwed having someone else do it. If you are any good as a mechanic( or any other trade) you'll never have to look for a job, but there are a whole lot easier ways to make a living! I'm an old retired mechanic and sure don't miss it.

 

[hoz53]

I have in the last year lost 3 of my best mechanics that have been with me 30 years each. I'm glad that they were able to retire, but I sure miss them. I;ve been in business for over 45 years and we do domestic and Asian line work. We do no engine or transmission work. We are in Rowlett, Texas

Auto Repair in Rowlett, Texas | Lamberts Automotive

Lamberts Automotive Shop Maintaining & Repairing All Automotives Types for Over 40 Years The care your vehicle deserves is available today at Lamberts Automotive. We are skilled in all types Read More

www.lambertsautomotive.com

i was in the skilled trades and quit working to take care of my dad in 2011 making 35 on the check and a 60 wage package. i made 100K in 2010. the wage package is now over 80 and they have more work than anytime i was there. even at that wage package they have not been able to man all the work in the last 5 years. i recently talked to an apprentice who was graduating from a 5 year pipe fitter apprenticeship and he told me he was never laid off the whole 5 years. the data centers being built are an additional boon for construction workers and more need for skilled workers. amazon just announced a 15 billion dollar data center to be built. also the power houses to run them need people to build them. i sure wish i was younger and could go out and sop up a bunch of this gravey. i dont know what its all coming to but youve had a good run Butch. mabie its time for you to think about retirement. i officially retired 4 years ago. there are some good points. i like the no ball and chain aspect of it. whatever happens i wish you the best of luck!