A Career In The Automotive Industrie.

[alex182]

Cars have been a lifelong passion for me. Cars and music. So while i near the arse end of my schooling career (or the top end, which ever way you want to look at it) im thinking of i want to do after school. Its ESSENTIAL for me to do something i enjoy with a passion as i'm not sure i could survive in an enviroment like school where the only thing i look forward to is the end of the day cause i figure if i love it, ill be motivated to do it. I've got two thoughts; study audio engineering or electronic music production at a place like SAE in melbourne or go through TAFE or apprenticeships and find my way into the automotive industry.

Im trying to be realistic, so no being the next Valentino Balboni or a blogger for speedhunters. So i have a few questions for those that may be already in the industrie.

I've heard 'don't mix your hobbies with proffesions'. Do you guys struggle with stress and find your self not wanting to be near a car anymore?

How strong do you think the automotive industrie as we know it will be in the future due to economic and enviromental circumstances? (not sure plugging in a bigger battery or amplifier into an electric honda will be as appealing as putting a bigger turbo on a 2.6 litre RB.)

What options career wise are around in the aftermarket industrie?

Thanks in advance to all your help. Sorry for the essay.

[ARTZ]

Industry is spelt with a "Y"

You got it right once out of 5

Maybe you should stay at school a bit longer

EDIT* i though blink 182 weren't cool anymore...

Edited August 17, 2010 by Arthur T3

[alex182]

Industry is spelt with a "Y"

You got it right once out of 5

Maybe you should stay at school a bit longer

EDIT* i though blink 182 weren't cool anymore...

touche

[ARTZ]

..plenty of good times in custom stereo installs mate, If you love it it wont get boring..

What gets boring is doing the same thing everyday ,when it gets repetitive it gets boriing if you were custom building decent custom style stereos and you like a challenge i doubt it would ever get boring cause everyday would be different..Im a big believer in do what you love, everything else will just fall into place then..So yeah go for it, who cares if you cant spell inderstrie...

[SoFreshSoClean]

I actually did a course in music production. Loved it! No money in it though unless you're REALLY dedicated, i.e. I reckon it'd take 3-5 years of doing that part time while you had a day job before you could live off just doing that.

I plan to get back into it one day, but for now I'm working full time (in the automotive industry funnily enough ) and doing a Commerce degree. I figure I'll make the big bucks and retire by 35. Easy, right?

Thats the plan anyway, and a pre-emptive shut-the-hell-up to the naysayers

[adamskill]

im a professional chef by trade. i have worked all over the world and worked with some of the best chefs in the world. its a VERY tough job, and i look forward to my day off because my biggest passion in the world is cars. ever since i was a wee lad i have loved cars. i also loved to cook, and decided to make a career out of it. it never crossed my mind to work in the auto industry because playing with cars was always somthing i did in my spare time, and to relax.

im now to the point in my chefing career where im thinking of starting again with a different trade, probably the building industry. and once again i find that starting in the auto industry isn't on my list again either.

this isnt much in the way of 'advice', but it is my experience. i believe that keeping a hobby just a hobby is the best idea, because it works for me. everyone is different. also blink 182 are for eleventeen year old girls.

[BezerkR32]

at the end of the day it comes down to coin...............the automotive industrie does not pay well, the average mechanic is on between $21-$25 an hour. a good one with plenty of experience will make up to $30. sometimes this can be coupled in with a workshop controller or managerial position.

i have been on the spanners sinse leaving school in 94 and am only making the latter now.

i ran my own business for 5 years and really enjoyed that as we worked on a lot of modified cars, so it was always interesting.

now with the P plate laws and modified car restrictions that scene is very quiet. i still enjoy work but as for then working on cars in my spare time...i have no interest.

there are alot of other paths to take other than mechanic in the automotive industrie which would be worth looking at.

my experience only........not gospel.

[.:: GimpS-R34 ::.]

Industry

[GTR-N1]

I wish "work experience" programs were around when I went to school.

Whilst they're there in the offing, I'd take advantage of 4-5 of the interest areas and use them as a 'process of elimination'.

As a proprietor and practice manager of a health clinic, I never turn away applications for "wk experience" - Never.

[.:: GimpS-R34 ::.]

is that because they work for free?

[alex182]

Industry

yes we've established that, thank you very much

[GTR-N1]

is that because they work for free?

sort of... Craig,

They apply with the school's permission.

They need to be insured.

We need to comply with OH&S and have public liability.

We teach them as much as we can with limited time & using simple terminology.

We offer them questionnaires to do.

They can stay for a whole week amongst 5 practitioners re: naturopathy, counselling, hypnotherapy, nutrition, remedaial massage, bowen therapy, acupressure, psychopharmacology, psych. testing yaddayadda...

Most go home afterwards and say, "Nah, don't wanna do that!" hehe...

But, as the NT Tourism Commission says, "You never never know if you never ever go!"

[Nizmo]

I was a bit the same - always wanted to be a Graphic Artist but later in my teens didn't want to be the starving artist type.

I've done 10 years in the Automotive Industry. It was luck that I fell into it ... and that was before i got my license and had any interest in cars but it really grew on me and became quite addictive. I didn't find it a problem that cars were my workplace and hobby - i think working with something you have a passion for definately helps in the workplace and when i was employing people i always looked for someone who had an interest in cars.

It is a bitch of an industry though. Pay is crap - lets just get that out of the way ... that's why you need passion because sometimes its the only way you can justify the pay. If you have the creative itch you need to have scratched on a daily basis then maybe doing stereo installs might not be for you - have you thought maybe of an spraypainting apprenticeship? that might be something thats automotive but can unleash your creativity on. The hours are schit - well they look normal but i've always found that i am expected to do over above the hours that were printed on my agreement although i've always been on the administrative/sales side not the accessory fitment side.

If you want to be a blogger for speedhunters then this is going to be a very longterm goal for you and if that is your dream you'll get there eventually but you are going to have to be prepared for 20+ years working your way up. To pursue this you may want to start getting into more the selling side because that's when you get to drive a whole heap of different cars, have to learn about a whole different type of vehicles and talk to a whole heap of different people what excites people about cars and what are their motorvations behind selecting the vehicles they do and even then if that's what you want to do then you probably need to drop the car industry idea and go get yourself a journalism degree.

As for the direction of the car industry in the future. As populations grow and land is at a premium there will be more and more urban sprawl as we are starting to see now. Which means greater distances to travel for work etc. Now unless Australia really pulls up its socks in the way of public transport i can see that cars are going to be a neccessity of australian life for at least our lifetime. Im sure we will start seeing more and more alternative fuelled vehicles hybrids, electrics etc but there will always be a need for some people to want to customise to stand out from the crowd. In short while i think life will evolve towards different technologies but i think the car industry has a lot of life in it yet.

Edited August 18, 2010 by Nizmo

[bubba]

You expect to come straight out of school and find your dream job? lay off the crack pipe kid. We've all worked shit jobs that you can't wait to get away from at the end of each day.

The general rule of thumb with jobs is, if it's fun and you enjoy it, it usually pays crap.

I spent a few years as a Mechanical Designer for an Automotive R&D company, that was AWESOME work, really fun and got me out from behind my desk and in to the workshop a lot of the time. Unfortunately, they just couldn't afford to pay the sort of rates that the Mining & Resources industry does. So now I'm doing boring work and dealing with the sort of engineers that I don't really like, but it pays rather well.

[hkspwr]

I had considered a career in the automotive industry but decided against it. Now im at uni studying something which I dont mind, hoping I will be able to secure a job that will pay me well enough and support my car hobby. That said Automotive Engineering looks quite tempting but im not really too sure as to how far and where it would take you.

[Birds]

If you like cars, stay out of the automotive industry. Everyone gets sick of work, you can get sick of anything. Even the dude who test drives exotic supercars for a living has to get out of bed and hate on his job after a while of doing it. By the time your weekend comes, your former hobby is the last thing you will want to see and the only time you'll want to let it enter your personal life is when you show off your knowledge of the job/industry to people who want answers/questions - like what I'm doing now.

Case in point: many mechanics have unfinished projects (an half built Torana etc.) that never see completition because they buy/start it thinking they will want to spend their free time doing what they do for work...rarely the case!

Automotive is a bitter as shit industry too. Don't know of many mechanics who are happy doing what they do, they moan and complain day in / day out. You deal with people who don't know shit about cars (hence they're taking it to you) but think that they do when it comes time to pay an expensive bill. The only thing that job offers is working for yourself, which many people on here will tell you is overrated because it's two jobs in one.

Don't mean to put a pessimistic spin on it but there are too many car enthusiasts thinking that working on cars will be as fun as it is a hobby. I say give it a shot with some work experience (good advice Terry), getting up at 7-8am and finishing 4-5pm for cars and see what you think for yourself.

Don't worry too much about working in another industry that you don't find initially interesting, it's the boring work that makes your weekends all that much better. But hey, if you can enjoy your job on a hobby level, more power to you...I envy those who can!

[KezR33]

My cousin stepped into a Porsche apprenticeship after high school and now at the age of 27 earns like half a million per year flying around to mines to dismantle their heavy machinery. He still gets out to track days (drives open wheelers though) on a regular basis too.

Granted he was VERY lucky to get into Porsche, but if you just want to get the knowledge/skills then jump into a more profitable area the pay need not be so horrid, and you can still work on your own machines.

[gregor]

To add on from what Birds said - every time i see this discussion it usually ends in a mechanic reminding the OP that most mechanical work is done on cars with ignorant owners who don't give a crap about them. Even if you want to open your own shop chances are you'll do the hard yards early on doing general work for people likely to kill your passion for the industry. good luck with it.

If you're looking for apprenticeships think plumber, sparkie, etc.. those trades can be a license to print cash if you are good at what you do.

[StealthX]

Automotive industry may be crap, but no one's brought up motorsport? I'm studying automotive engineering at Uni, 2nd year, and love it. I've got a part time job at the movies that pays sorta well, and another job on the side working for the WASCC (wa sporting car club), who over sees/organizes all the events at barbagallo raceway, pretty much (aside from CAMS) it's the governing body of motorsport in WA...

I love it, never gets boring at all, yes the jobs are few and far between, but if you can stumble into one, I think it's a great industry... Pay isn't too bad, not too many dickheads (circuit racing is the thinking man's motorsport so there aren't many bogan losers running around), has travel opportunities, exciting industry to be working in, has potential in the next 5-10years etc...

No complaints here...

Just a few cents worth from me

[iseekool]

My cousin stepped into a Porsche apprenticeship after high school and now at the age of 27 earns like half a million per year flying around to mines to dismantle their heavy machinery. He still gets out to track days (drives open wheelers though) on a regular basis too.

Granted he was VERY lucky to get into Porsche, but if you just want to get the knowledge/skills then jump into a more profitable area the pay need not be so horrid, and you can still work on your own machines.

Off topic - but I had no idea Porsche do industrial/heavy machinery.