Mechanic Apprenticeship?

[Hotwire]

Glavas - Mining industry is up the shit according to recent reports. Due to economic downturn, our resources aren't being sold OS and as a result BHP are cutting thousands of jobs australia wide. Getting into Diesel Mechanic on the mines is about to become a whole lot harder.

Also, my cousin has been a diesel mechanic in mining now for the last 20 years. Let me just say, it makes you a sad strange little person......

As for the comment about mechanic apprentices getting shit pay, dont think its any better in any other trade. Apprentice is just cheap labour full stop. You'll hate the wages of ANY apprenticeship, but its what you can make post apprenticeship that appeals. I did an electrician apprenticeship upon leaving high school 11 years ago (wow, im that old now!) and at the conclusion of the apprenticeship, went to uni for 4 years and did my Electrical Engineering degree.

I enjoyed the working with my hands/tools etc, BUT it wasn't enough mental stimulation for me. Now i sit in an air con office on 42 degree days rather than crawling through a 65 degree roof space for basically the same money I would make being self employeed

But Mitch, the bottom line i'm trying to get at, you need to be happy in what your doing. You will make decisions that cost you money (as you've found out) but dont be affraid to try. Take on the mechanic apprenticeship if you can get one, if not, try being a Spark, Chippy, Rusty etc

[CRoNic...]

seriously ,

I don't know what I want to do , 6 months ago I wanted to be an IT system admin , but couldn't find anything to make me want to study as my cert II in IT cost a shit load and I didn't learn a thing.

All I really want is a job that I enjoy and pays me enough to have a social life while

Still having money to put towards my car each week.

IT? I went down that path. Got a IT Traineeship through Kaz Group (now gone under due to Telstra). Got my Cert 4 in IT through that plus a heap of Microsoft certifications and qualifications plus my A+ certificate and a Cisco certification.

Through that, got contracted out to other companies and landed jobs everywhere.

Automotive mechanics isn't really something that pays high at alll!

[r33 chris]

mitch if u want a trade u will need to under stand how little you get paid 1st year is often around $250 a week goes up about 100 bux a year not the greatest i can tell you, $50 bux on petrol before you start so 200 a week then u take away normally. also most people will want you to have already done pre-voc and thats 6 months and u pay i think its about a grand to do it, before some people will even look at taking you up.

[rad100]

yeh i want to get into a trade asap... just not sure on what?

caprenter, spaypinter, dunno wat to do

[Krishy]

yeh i want to get into a trade asap... just not sure on what?

caprenter, spaypinter, dunno wat to do

become a SAU offical spray painter adrian lol

but good move from both of you guy

Mitch, if i were you i would be looking into something like plumbing or electrician.

plenty of jobs out there for those two professions

[CRoNic...]

Plumbing is a dirty, dirty job.

My mate is a plumber. All good and well when you have your own business ($60+ an hour) but you have to fix public toilets, see plenty of discarded needles and have to make sure you keep pretty clean!

Electrician's are sought after - especially auto-electricians.

[Carbon 34]

seriously ,

I don't know what I want to do , 6 months ago I wanted to be an IT system admin , but couldn't find anything to make me want to study as my cert II in IT cost a shit load and I didn't learn a thing.

All I really want is a job that I enjoy and pays me enough to have a social life while

Still having money to put towards my car each week.

I can give advice about the IT Eng, I have been one for the past 15 yrs, along with my other biz. the market in Adelaide is over saturated and under payed, to many people will work in IT for 25k a year. if you think this job pays good or is a good one, think again, unless you go to the east or west. and even then they're laying off people right and left. or work on secret projects for the destroyers or RAAF base

I learned how to work on cars by working on Race cars volunteer in high school a long long time ago..lol, the guy down my street had a RX7,Formula 440, and a Formula VW, then a Formula Ford. so over about 6 or 7 years of his cars, and my own projects and race car , you learn fast or pay top dollar to someone else who doesnt fix it right anyway?(lots of shonky repair people in this world, but not all?)

working on cars stuffs your back, arms, etc over long term. but I still love it as a hobby.

you want good money and a safe job go medical, or like a few have said, Electrical.

if you go to a place on stuart street just west of morphett rd on the north side of the street , they run aprenticeships, and job placement thru the gov funding bodys. see Alan Williams nice guy might be able to point you in the right area?

plumber sux, I did this in the navy , turd chaser is the nickname you get, enough said!!! so I became a welder/ firefighter instead, before joining the navy seal training.

follow your heart and passion for things you enjoy mate

[Carbon 34]

Diesel mechanics get payed 6 digits.

Aleks

I know lots of them and not one makes 6 digits, even the mine people dont with shit loads of overtime.. beside working in the farking 50c heat in a dust bowl on hot trucks in MOOMBA ? for 2 weeks on 12 hours or more a day. I dont think so. a few years and your burned out if you make it that long, most dont, then end up in town making 50-60k tops..

once again a market that is getting saturated fast in Adelaide ?

[Jonnyboy89]

so mitch as pointed out you gotta spend money to make money! spend $1000 on a pre-voc course, youll get it back in tax! get into a mechanic apprenticeship if you want, remember your not signing the next 5 years of your life away, you dont like it you get out and go well i tried that , it wasnt for me, so what else interests me! easy man, your young like me, i just happened to do my profession at an earlier age, and now at the age of 19 i have a ticket around the world, a career and a job paying over $40k a year, (straight out of apprenticeship, should be 4th year)! so mate, experiment, try things, you will kill yourself for not giving it a shot and realising it would be something for you or it wasnt! hope that helps

[r33 chris]

hey what u guys said about plumbers aint all true lol im a plumber/gasfitter, i havent even seen a turd lol love the gas side of it

[Fabs_32]

+1 for the MTA group. Heard good stuff about them. That's who i'd do it with I was to do 1. They move you around to different workshops I think so you get a variety of work. (what I've been told)

But Mitch if your not sure what you want to do, just ask for a weeks work experience in whatever field you want, I know it's shit (no pay), but trust me it pays off! You might want to go into a certain field, but doing it for a week you see all the good and all the bad that's involved.

I had no idea what I was gonna do when I finished school, did work experience as a mechanic, cabinet maker, spraypainter and then electrician.

Then was hooked on becoming a sparky, commercial that is, none of this shitty crawling in roof crap, building new buildings. Finished my apprentiship last year with a big company. Earning good money (60k+) and if you work at a big company they dont make you work in the heat. When it hits 37 degrees we get to go home and get paid for the rest of the day, even if it hits it at 10am (happened plenty of times).

Anyway, but what I'm trying to say is, it also depends on what company you work for and who you work with. If you have idiots (to put it politely) that work with you it can make your life hell!

Well hope it all works out for you.

Sorry if I've talked alot of crap. Hope it helps tho.

[Glavas]

Glavas - Mining industry is up the shit according to recent reports. Due to economic downturn, our resources aren't being sold OS and as a result BHP are cutting thousands of jobs australia wide. Getting into Diesel Mechanic on the mines is about to become a whole lot harder.

Mining is up to shit yeah. Thousands of miners are getting cut. The machines are still there, the machines still need maintainence.

I know lots of them and not one makes 6 digits, even the mine people dont with shit loads of overtime.. beside working in the farking 50c heat in a dust bowl on hot trucks in MOOMBA ? for 2 weeks on 12 hours or more a day. I dont think so. a few years and your burned out if you make it that long, most dont, then end up in town making 50-60k tops..

once again a market that is getting saturated fast in Adelaide ?

Few weeks ago in the advertiser I saw a diesel mechanic job 2 weeks on 2 weeks off somewhere in northern SA offering $145,000.

But you'd want to be in a field you enjoy. I want to get into a racing team/rally team and it's easiest as a mechanic. Pay is great + i might end up as a driver one day.

Bottom line, you basically see what your option are and see what fields you'd want to work in. Between IT, plumbing, electrician, mechanic i chose mechanic.

Why? because none of the other options appealed to me. I wouldn't work a job I hate for an extra $10k. Each to his own.

Also, MTA allows you to do any course work on your own car

Aleks

[Ryanrb25]

If you want to stick to the mechanical side of things but are getting detered by the car side of things etc....do what i did and become a Fitter and Turner / Toolmaker. Car's seem very very simple in comparison to some of the work i've done. So many varieties in the trade also, alot of different places you can go where you have more than enough skills to cater for. For example, I got the experience at Adelaide Brighton Cement with Very heavy industrial equipment with hydraulics, rebuilding gearboxes etc..then moved onto Machining as a toolmaker using very very tight tolerances with CNC mills and wire EDW machines doing all the programming on CAD, Edgecam on the computer. Also have done endless amounts of welding, MIG, TIG, ARC, Braising etc. Custom Manufacturing of all sorts of machines etc on a manual Mill and Lathe. Trust me, car's seem very basic in comparison when it's all nuts and bolts. Now i've moved onto supervising all the maintenance at an Earthmoving Company Maintaining all their equipment ranging from company cars to HUGE earthmoving equipment with excellent pay...I dont regret a thing about my trade. When i finished my Apprentiship i moved onto carpentry, plumbing and Roofing but still had my trade to fall back on. Food for Thought. Whatever trade you choose the skills are for life dude....definetly do an apprentiship..good luck.

Edited January 22, 2009 by Ryanrb25

[Mr500]

my advice is to only be a mechanic if you realy, realy love it and cant think of anything else you would rather do! i did my apprenitceship through the army and would not recommend it to anyone, got to see abit of the world though.

as a diesel mech you can earn good coin but you work your ass of for it (by sat arvo i will have done about 60ish hrs for the week and thats nothing compared to the guys in the mines that do 12hr shifts, 3wks on 1off). IMO the mining industry will kick off again in about two years.

it aint going to make me rich but i love my job.

[SkyHi_33]

would def recommend an apprenticeship.

I started off with automotive servicing cert.1 , then did auto electrical, then did an engineering cert.1 only to be told by my father that he will not accept me doing anything but uni. So here i am getting in to second year as an industrial designer.

In comparison, I've learned nothing new at uni apart from a few tricks of drawing random shit and working with 3d modeling software.

Through my tafe stuff I've learned a shitload of skills, and would have loved to move in to a field of toolmaking, fitter n turner, boilermaker etc.. I had a window of opportunity through my engineering certificate at tafe but sadly my dad wouldn't let me do it. I was offered a 2 weeks on 2 weeks off job working as a boilermaker for $45k first year...

After I'm out of uni, average pay for the type of work is around $60k... not to mention the $30k + that I will have to pay off for my uni studies. Unless you have the skills to get in to some sort of engineering or medical courses and finish them successfully, uni is a bit of a waste imo.

If anything try do an engineering cert. with tafe, its very mixed in terms of skills and can get you any type of work in the industry from welding to machining etc... However its really up to you, i enjoyed doing all that stuff, you might not.

Either way, good luck with it all.

Edited January 22, 2009 by tx3_90

[jap_import]

i have found the MTA group training scheme the better option for motor mechanic apprenticeship or any kind of motor vehicle apprentice ship. its a 4 yr course, cert 3. but u finish all the 4 yrs of book work within the first 2.5-3 yrs. leaving the last yr and a bit just for work, plus the possibility of joining the race team group which go to events like the Classic Adelaide, Clipsal 500 and so forth to help out with the mechanical problems. and no previous experience is necessary. just a love for cars and where u want to go.

i am 19yrs old and just started my apprenticeship through them in August last yr. it is well worth it, nd stick to it. especially the first block of 10 weeks if u get accepted and go that way.

also if u require any more details ill be more then happy to answer wat i can about the apprenticeship programs and stuff with the MTA

Edited January 22, 2009 by jap_import

[Glavas]

i have found the MTA group training scheme the better option for motor mechanic apprenticeship or any kind of motor vehicle apprentice ship. its a 4 yr course, cert 3. but u finish all the 4 yrs of book work within the first 2.5-3 yrs. leaving the last yr and a bit just for work, plus the possibility of joining the race team group which go to events like the Classic Adelaide, Clipsal 500 and so forth to help out with the mechanical problems. and no previous experience is necessary. just a love for cars and where u want to go.

i am 19yrs old and just started my apprenticeship through them in August last yr. it is well worth it, nd stick to it. especially the first block of 10 weeks if u get accepted and go that way.

also if u require any more details ill be more then happy to answer wat i can about the apprenticeship programs and stuff with the MTA

Off topic, but i'm in my second week of the 10 as a motor mechanic

Aleks

[Carbon 34]

hey what u guys said about plumbers aint all true lol im a plumber/gasfitter, i havent even seen a turd lol love the gas side of it

LOL I never chased turds either, mostly designed and fit/welded high pressure pipes into battleships, aircraft carriers.

[r33 chris]

haha running around a battle ship trying to catch turds dirty turd chaser

[Glavas]

LOL I never chased turds either, mostly designed and fit/welded high pressure pipes into battleships, aircraft carriers.

In the army, you don't get toilet breaks.

Imagine the pressure after a 12 hour shift

Also, on that note, appanrently some chick from MTA just got a $110,000 diesel mchanic job out near lee creek i think

Aleks