The challenge you have is the pay is for someone trainable to perform lube tech services not mechanical ability or certifications. You have to figure out how to move or out of that role.
Auto Technician Compensation
- Thread starter The Critic
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It was a small Private group, that’s why I made some edits.
A working team leader/foreman is common.
If you are driving 60 miles a day and making sub par wages you are taking a real hit. You are young so don't worry about sticking around for retirement. Take all the aforementioned advice and make some kind of change. If you like working there then you should ask for a big raise. As said, make the case for it. Plenty of jobs elsewhere for you and closer to home.
I was in a position like you many years ago. I got good at appliance repair and was making big money for my boss. I liked working there but he did not want to give me even a modest raise. I walked out the door. Best thing I ever did with a job.
I was in a position like you many years ago. I got good at appliance repair and was making big money for my boss. I liked working there but he did not want to give me even a modest raise. I walked out the door. Best thing I ever did with a job.
@AutoMechanic..... you sound like you have a good work ethic......keep honing your skills and learn everything you can because knowledge is power. Nobody can take your skills from you and you can always take them with you!
I got out of dealerships, it's a toxic work environment because the business model in most is now a money factory. Whatever it takes. I feel bad for Service Advisors too, dealers hammer them to SELL SELL!!!
Good techs make a good living, and deserve to.
"Price is long forgotten when quality remains".
I got out of dealerships, it's a toxic work environment because the business model in most is now a money factory. Whatever it takes. I feel bad for Service Advisors too, dealers hammer them to SELL SELL!!!
Good techs make a good living, and deserve to.
"Price is long forgotten when quality remains".
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I think you’ll get what you want. You’ve got the right attitude so the rest will follow…
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
Note that the position in the OP is a foreman/lead tech position. That position typically pays significantly better than just a tech position. It also has longer hours and involves a fair amount of paperwork.
I guess this is flying over my head, that places menu prices actually seem in line with what's pretty customary.
Colorado Springs in not an overly expensive area, labor rate wise anyway, If that shop is where i think it is, its in a moderately upscale part of town. I will probably be in the that area this week and will try to see if it is as nice as its made out to be...
I'm still missing why this ad is being held out to be an example of why CA labor rates are reasonable.
Colorado Springs in not an overly expensive area, labor rate wise anyway, If that shop is where i think it is, its in a moderately upscale part of town. I will probably be in the that area this week and will try to see if it is as nice as its made out to be...
I'm still missing why this ad is being held out to be an example of why CA labor rates are reasonable.
You should be making $60 hour minimum.
I have a lot of Shop Foreman experience. You assign jobs based on a mechanics strengths & weaknesses. I take the potential "hard" jobs. You have to keep the mechanics busy!
Put together a good resume. Have at least a couple of people who aced English review it and help you tweak it if need be. Send it around and see what other shops offer. I'd think you should be making 15%-20% of whatever the shop is charging, minimum. In your shop I think that's $27-$36 an hour. If you get one or more good offers that are a nice step up from what your current position pays then you have to decide whether to stay or move on. And it gives you a point to work with if you decide to talk to the bosses about bumping you up. Heck, you might even get a big enough raise to afford a razor. 
I have 29 full time heavy duty technicians, and 7 apprentices working for me currently.
A brand new apprentice starts at $25/ hour, and gets $3 more for every year in the apprenticeship program.
A certified technician starts at $55 and gets raises annually.
My senior guys are making about $70/hour.
A brand new apprentice starts at $25/ hour, and gets $3 more for every year in the apprenticeship program.
A certified technician starts at $55 and gets raises annually.
My senior guys are making about $70/hour.
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
You are also in BC where a shack on a postage stamp costs $1.2 million dollars, lol.
This is where he lives:
Even here in Ontario, heavy truck techs, at least outside the GTA, don't make $55/hour, let alone starting. They'll be in the $30-something range.
You are also in BC where a shack on a postage stamp costs $1.2 million dollars, lol.
This is where he lives:
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Even here in Ontario, heavy truck techs, at least outside the GTA, don't make $55/hour, let alone starting. They'll be in the $30-something range.
Only on the island, or lower mainland.
Here $400k buys a really nice home on 5 acres, 15 minutes drive to the downtown.
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
Do you have an 18.5% poverty rate though?
As the saying goes, location location location! It has a big impact on housing prices, wages, living expenses...etc.
I know what you mean. My brother went to UTI (Chicago campus) about 25 years ago, works 4 days a week setting his own hours at an NTB store as their master mechanic and state inspector, and makes within spitting distance of what most operations managers (#2 in command) in my industry do.
But he’s tired of it, and about 4 years ago started flipping houses by running a crew and working on his days off. Now he’s making about 3 times after expenses what he does during his “day” job. The store he works at is doing all they can to try to keep him.
20 minutes from town, 1.2M will buy you a gorgeous home, on 160 plus acres, and the hay alone will pay your mortgage for you, and taxes are dirt cheap because its a farm.
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
20 minutes from town here, $2.2 million gets you 86 acres and a 4,000sq-ft century home. $1.2 million gets you 3,000sq-ft on less than an acre, and you pay your guys a lot better than what techs earn here
Do you have an 18.5% poverty rate though?
As the saying goes, location location location! It has a big impact on housing prices, wages, living expenses...etc.
I have no idea.
I can tell you that anyone who wants to work here could find 10 jobs in 1 day. I hired a 19 year old girl today, no experience, but willing to work, she starts tomorrow, and her starting wage is $25/hour.
If she is motivated to work hard, she can be making $36 one year from now.
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