Young mechanic with bad back.

[Snagglefoot]

I’m asking for a friend. He is a young mechanic with a wife and two little kids. He was doing well, wrenching for accompany that paid him on a performance based system. He injured his back, not sure of all the medical details but he mentioned a herniated disk and that they did a MRI and ultra sound.

He might have a chance to be a shop writer but it pays about $50,000 US equivalent and he’s disappointed it is quite a bit less than he made as a mechanic. He also seems to be put out by the $40,000 USD of tools he invested in.

Where can he go with his career at this point? Is there anything else he should be thinking off? I was wondering about car sales. Would appreciate hearing what the forum thinks. Thanks.

 

[panthermike]

That's tough, I feel for your friend. If he can't do mechanic work and a shop writer isn't appealing to him, I would pursue something else. Salesman can make good money, but does he have that kind of personality? Does he have enough experience to be in a leadership position? Perhaps someone like @Glenda W. would have some ideas here.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Back stuff ... oof. Sorry to hear that for your friend.

I had some pretty bad back inflammation earlier this year, thankfully no disc problems, and it was completely debilitating. I lost a whole month to being unable to bend or walk.

I now really understand people who have actual back problems.

 

[Passport1]

I once was a young mechanic. I know almost nothing about sales. Judging by how much the Snap-On guy sold me, tool sales might be a new career path for your friend.

 

[GW.]

I know many service writers that make more than techs. Depends on the dealers pay structure and commission. It’s like running your own business. Answer every call and treat each customer like family. That way they will only work with you. You have to be a people person(which I’m not) and like sales….I went to the railroad.

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

I went thru very similar in my final working years. I was forced off the tools and stuck in a office. I was lucky though that I was employed by a major , world wide company who at the time was still very loyal to its long time workers. If I were this young man , with the knowledge he has, I would start ASAP looking to acquire a job as the Service Manager at a popular auto dealership in his area that he thinks will remain in business for years to come. Guys I have known who were great mechanics who had to give up the tools have found very rewarding careers in Service Managing / Advising or even in Auto Sales. BUT from the experience my oldest son had in sales right out of college , it would be my very last choice. Good luck to him and his family.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Perhaps consider a career change starting with a college degree? Explore all your options...

 

[crashz]

I hope he spends the time and effort to recuperate and heal. Maybe he should see an occupational therapist? I fear even a desk job can be bad when you have back issues.

I had back issues and a desk job a few years ago. I was commuting and driving a lot for work. I was nearly incapacitated. Two things helped immensely: 1) I saw a chiropractor and they straightened me out (muscle and strain related only). 2) I removed the George Kastanza wallet from my back pocket.

The back is a funny thing to keep going. It needs to be treated as delicate, but inaction is even worse. I wish your friend luck, but more so I hope he follows doctors orders and gets some form of physical therapy to get back to normal.

 

[97prizm]

I’m asking for a friend. He is a young mechanic with a wife and two little kids. He was doing well, wrenching for accompany that paid him on a performance based system. He injured his back, not sure of all the medical details but he mentioned a herniated disk and that they did a MRI and ultra sound.

He might have a chance to be a shop writer but it pays about $50,000 US equivalent and he’s disappointed it is quite a bit less than he made as a mechanic. He also seems to be put out by the $40,000 USD of tools he invested in.

Where can he go with his career at this point? Is there anything else he should be thinking off? I was wondering about car sales. Would appreciate hearing what the forum thinks. Thanks.

I can tell you flat out from experience that being new to car sales you usually barely make ends meet for three years. Unless the dealership restricts the number of sales associates or has ALOT of customers it's tough. Unfortunately I also ran into a Lexus Dealership telling me that they had great traffic and sales. This was before they doubled the number of sales associates and had lower traffic then the year before. Has your friend considered a parts job. I'm looking mysand seeing 50-70k a year.

 

[mcrn]

What has he done to improve his back? Is getting his back ......back in shape an option? Chiropractor? PT? Etc?

 

[ATex7239]

I moved into sales and account management after my time wrenching and thrived. But you have to be good with people, and at reading people, and also good with numbers/figures and effective time management (ie, be a self-stater.)

Some techs, mechanics, engineers can read a schematic and fix an inanimate object, but they cannot read people and figure out how to help people for crap. Those types will not do well in dealing with the public at large.

 

[doitmyself]

We don't know what his physical limitations are. I know some people that have a "stand at" desk they work from vs. sitting down to ease back issues.

What can he transfer to that utilizes his diagnostic and hands-on mechanical skills? What about medical equipment repair or something similar?

 

[nascarnation]

What has he done to improve his back? Is getting his back ......back in shape an option? Chiropractor? PT? Etc?

I had severe pain and a disk that looked really bad on the MRI the surgeon who was a top notch spine guy told me I'm not going to touch this until you go through the physical therapy regimen. I would have to fill up a ziploc bag with ice and lay on it at lunch time to get through the day. It was a tough go but that totally fixed me and it's been 20 years. So hopefully this guy can follow that path.

 

[GSCJR]

Perhaps consider a career change starting with a college degree? Explore all your options...

+1

I had a workplace injury as an 18 year old automotive apprentice; I tried everything but my back was never the same (still affected), but to a lesser degree. I stuck it out to receive my certification, but eventually moved to light duty and more of a shop foreman/managerial role. In this new role, I slowly (about 7-8 years) became frustrated being stuck between the techs, the owners and the clients, so I made arrangements with the employer, that I would return to school to get additional qualifications and get out of retail; knowledge is power.

I have kept my certifications up to date, just in case; you just never know.

 

[Mechanician]

I had back surgery for a herniated disc at 45, the MRI described my spinal cord as comma shaped from the displacement.
I was out of work for a month, and went back carefully with a 50lb. weight limit. I fortunately didn't need any fusion
I worked until age 64 with that history, my back is still pretty okay for the most part. So it's not impossible, but everyone is different.

Edit add: Something I learned recently while chatting to a Dr, is shoulder problems are common with older mechanics.
When I mentioned I was a retired Tech, he asked how my shoulders were, because it's common.
I worked with two older mechanics who retired early due to shoulder problems. --- I fortunately have no problems there.

 

[dubber09]

From someone (me) who has 5 herniated disks, first thing he needs to do is to tone up his core muscles and when in pain he needs to stretch his back. Only one of all suggested and shown to me stretches works for me, but it works. A good physio doc can help, nothing chiropractor can do. My only option is surgery which statistically have good/decent success rate but chance of needing another one 10 or so years later is very high.
I have a friend who was professional auto mechanic working at a dealership till his early 40s when he had back injury at work and had to change his profession, he took IT related classes and then got a job as a trainer on medical imaging equipment.

 

[97prizm]

I moved into sales and account management after my time wrenching and thrived. But you have to be good with people, and at reading people, and also good with numbers/figures and effective time management (ie, be a self-stater.)

Some techs, mechanics, engineers can read a schematic and fix an inanimate object, but they cannot read people and figure out how to help people for crap. Those types will not do well in dealing with the public at large.

My biggest problem with the public is that alot either don't know what they can afford, don't have a clue what they want, or "want a big discount " at the end of the month.

 

[Sequoiasoon]

My wife had herniated discs from car accident at 20, lots of issues. She did chiropractor, stretches, medications and made it tolerable until it wasn't. In her 30's we then paid out of pocket for disc decompression therapy. Her words after 2 visits "if I had to live at this level of pain for the rest of my life, I'd be happy" from the progress. We continued the therapy, stretching, just some random NSAID's. She fell a couple years later and re-injured it, we did another round of disc decompression and again back to almost normal. She's now 55 and if she bends a lot doing yard/house work it bothers her but also has some arthritis now.

Schooling for options. Health care things, Computer, AI, Civil Service (towns/schools/govt), Technical school teaching for auto repair.

I personally dislike many sales things, dealing with general public that have a dislike for the position to start. The stigma, true or not, is that the car sales (and even service often) are crooked, shyster, stealership etc.

 

[AZjeff]

Funny that the 2 most dissed positions in a dealership, sales and service writer are being recommended. Huh? Both require a certain personality to be successful. The parts department might be an option, @bdcardinal might comment.

If the young man wants to continue wrenching what other businesses are in the area that are hands on but less demanding?

 

[fat biker]

Diagnosed with two herniated discs at age 35, now 71.
I still wrench on my own cars and fr.equenty ask myself, how much longer?

For your friend
Find a new line of work as suggested above
For sure a college degree in a marketable job that a) cannot easily be offshored. b) try to figure out which jobs will not be usurped by AI

Example; my great niece is a Physical Therapist. A physical therapist in China is not going to treat you after a car accident. AI is not likely to be able to manipulate your limbs while you recover.

I never really considered surgery for my bad discs. My late wife had (3) laminectomies, never really out of pain.

Here are the most important things to do to live with Core Strength and Flexibility. Your friend will need a good therapist and also a good physical trainer to get with the program.

Swimming is also a great exercise for bad back.

Chiropractic may help, IF you can find a really good one. Really good ones do not grow on trees

fat biker