Starting a new job as an apprentice BMW technician

[MG CHRIS]

richhead said:

Swae Hawx said:

mick1199 said:

Surprised anyone has replied to this as I thought the post was long dead but I still get notifications. Simple fact is the motor trade is utter st, or at least where I work it is. Awful mangement who treat you like slaves and not left alone long enough to actually learn anything to the point where 2 years into my apprenticeship I still don’t know much other than basic servicing. The people who warned me away where very much right and I was daft to ignore what everyone said, easily one of the biggest mistake I’ve made taking this job. Mechanics work for one reason. Money. That’s it. Because you can be a master tech diagnosing and fixing complex problems or a total whopper slapping brake pads on and earn similar wages. The vast majority, if not everyone I work with hates their job but are either too comfortable with the money, or just can’t be bothered to leave and start over in a different career. I’m looking at leaving as soon as possible before I even complete my apprenticeship and just cut my losses. Yes, you can argue that getting a good qualification as a mechanic can open other doors into engineering and the likes but I’ve never heard of anyone doing it, nor does anyone I work with talk about stuff like that happening. Most just leave for other dealerships or sell their soul and their spine to the devil and go into mangement.

I don't know if you still get notifications from here or not, but it's worth a try. I was reading through this thread as I am starting a level 3 vehicle tech apprenticeship at a dealership in less than 2 weeks and I've been going through forums, youtube, reddit, etc... to see what life as a technician is really like (and it has really put me off this trade). Pages 1-3 of this thread was generally positive and had me feeling the same, but then I came across this reply of yours after 2 yrs of your apprenticeship and it honestly hit me like a truck. I'm rethinking this whole thing now and i've got to make a decision soon; but before I did that I was hoping I could get an update on your situation.

Did you really end up leaving before completing the apprenticeship or did you see it through to the end? If you did complete it, are you working as a technician for them now? And is your situation and the treatment you recieve any better? Would you recommend that I go through with my apprenticeship?

If you didn't complete it, then did you go into another apprenticeship in another field or find something else? Are you happier where you are now? Do you wish you would have done it sooner instead of the vehicle tech apprenticeship?

Dont know how relevant my experience will be, but here goes. just to ad im mid 50,s now.
while at school i worked a saturday job in a local garage, small indi.
after school i got an apprenticeship in a ford dealer, was called a yts scheme back then, 2 years with an option for a 3rd, one day a week a collage, the other 5 in the workshop.
I learned alot, did the 3rd year, and once qualified the dealer kept me on.
Did every course the dealer offered, this was a mistake, the more you learned, the more complex diagnostic jobs you got, in those days we got paid on a bonus rate on book times, and you could make way more doing servicing/clutches etc, than complex stuff. This left the crazy situation where the switched on mechs normally earned less than the idiots who couldnt be trusted with more than an oil change.
A friend and i from the same garage realized this so pooled money and started our own indi.
We did very well, and had loyal customers, my friend got ill, so i took it over, ended up employing 3 other guys, plus one lady in admin.
after a decade or so, had the opportunity to move to motor sport, so sold the garage , having done well for that decade and earned way more than at a dealer.
worked in motorsport since then at various levels, from touring cars to f1, with some historics thrown in, love the old cars. did a degree in my spare time in motorsport engineering, now work for a manufacturer in wec part time semi retired.
Have seen the world and had experiences most never will.
I did always have contacts in motorsport, even before i worked in it, as i raced tho and this did help.
Its been hard graft tho, and physically im wrecked, and the travel has cost me 4 wives along the way.
But wouldnt change a thing looking back.
Things may have changed now, but my advice would be use the main dealers to get qualified, the offer way more training than an indi can, then when abit more experienced, bin them off, as there is a ceiling you cant really climb through, and go your own way, its a very transferable skill.
And in the right fields it can pay ridiculous amounts of money.

the dealers are the same now infact even more so with how complex modern vehicles are. Times are changing wages are going up as experienced techs are getting very short on the ground now. But the bonus culture still exsist and even when presenting how utter st the system is to the very same managers that implement them they just look at you like your a idiot.

[richhead]

MG CHRIS said:

the dealers are the same now infact even more so with how complex modern vehicles are. Times are changing wages are going up as experienced techs are getting very short on the ground now. But the bonus culture still exsist and even when presenting how utter st the system is to the very same managers that implement them they just look at you like your a idiot.

This amazes me, it must have been late 80,s when i said to my manager, if you put me on a decent flat rate and i will do all the crap jobs that dont pay, he replied well that would remove your motivation to work hard and fast, i said what about my motivation to stay when i see people who can only do an oil change earn more than me, if it doesnt change i will have no alternative but to leave. and that seems silly after the company has spent so much money training me to a high standard.
Made no sense to me then, and still doesnt.