Starting a new job as an apprentice BMW technician
Discussion
LostM135idriver said:
rigga said:
You'll need your own tools, as most mechanics (me included) rarely lend tools for fear of nit getting them back, especially when you are earning a living from them, and not cheap to buy.
Still have all my snap on kit from my mechanic days, enjoyed actually fixing problems, and got a lot of job satisfaction from doing it, but there was the issue of poor wages, and the bonus /incentive scheme was great to top up wages, but it wasn't an honest way of doing it, was the main reason I left the trade in early 2000's.
Next 20 years on the railways, its just bigger nuts and bolts, very good DB pension, sick pay (full) and great shift pattern, although long shifts, meant really only worked half the year, and I retired at 55 early this year.
Would I be a mechanic again, if I was young and starting out? I was, and still am very mechanically interested, and as i said got a lot of satisfaction from the job, and until the end, for 20 years, it was probably an enjoyable time, if the wages and associated perks were comparable to other trades, then yes I probably would, mechanics just don't seem to he appreciated and recognized work wise, if that's changed over the years, and you have set your mind to go for it, then why not, and i hope you do very well.
Very interesting thanks (genuinely)Still have all my snap on kit from my mechanic days, enjoyed actually fixing problems, and got a lot of job satisfaction from doing it, but there was the issue of poor wages, and the bonus /incentive scheme was great to top up wages, but it wasn't an honest way of doing it, was the main reason I left the trade in early 2000's.
Next 20 years on the railways, its just bigger nuts and bolts, very good DB pension, sick pay (full) and great shift pattern, although long shifts, meant really only worked half the year, and I retired at 55 early this year.
Would I be a mechanic again, if I was young and starting out? I was, and still am very mechanically interested, and as i said got a lot of satisfaction from the job, and until the end, for 20 years, it was probably an enjoyable time, if the wages and associated perks were comparable to other trades, then yes I probably would, mechanics just don't seem to he appreciated and recognized work wise, if that's changed over the years, and you have set your mind to go for it, then why not, and i hope you do very well.
(Not so genuinely) - do you still have to get your own tools for railways? Where do you keep all the massive spanners?
You will only need a basic tool kit, the dealership will have all the special tools
You're making a big mistake though
The work is difficult and the wages are rubbish
There won't be anything to enjoy, you'll be under constant pressure to complete repairs within a time that someone else calculated and those times mean pressure, pressure and more pressure
Chances are that you'll have management that are absolutely clueless about the job
Promotion, very little chance of it
No way does anyone learn the job in five or six years, ten years is a more realistic figure for the spanner work
As for the electrical side of the job, it's a skill on its own and you're not going to get close to learning it at a dealer. When vehicles do go all electric there are possibly going to be many techies out of jobs and those with much electrical knowledge taking their place
Don't do it, you're making the biggest mistake of your life
The motor trade is the pits
Look into working in the IT industry, website work, computer repairs, running servers, it goes on and on
I have worked in the motor trade for many years
You're making a big mistake though
The work is difficult and the wages are rubbish
There won't be anything to enjoy, you'll be under constant pressure to complete repairs within a time that someone else calculated and those times mean pressure, pressure and more pressure
Chances are that you'll have management that are absolutely clueless about the job
Promotion, very little chance of it
No way does anyone learn the job in five or six years, ten years is a more realistic figure for the spanner work
As for the electrical side of the job, it's a skill on its own and you're not going to get close to learning it at a dealer. When vehicles do go all electric there are possibly going to be many techies out of jobs and those with much electrical knowledge taking their place
Don't do it, you're making the biggest mistake of your life
The motor trade is the pits
Look into working in the IT industry, website work, computer repairs, running servers, it goes on and on
I have worked in the motor trade for many years
Penelope Stopit said:
You will only need a basic tool kit, the dealership will have all the special tools
You're making a big mistake though
The work is difficult and the wages are rubbish
There won't be anything to enjoy, you'll be under constant pressure to complete repairs within a time that someone else calculated and those times mean pressure, pressure and more pressure
Chances are that you'll have management that are absolutely clueless about the job
Promotion, very little chance of it
No way does anyone learn the job in five or six years, ten years is a more realistic figure for the spanner work
As for the electrical side of the job, it's a skill on its own and you're not going to get close to learning it at a dealer. When vehicles do go all electric there are possibly going to be many techies out of jobs and those with much electrical knowledge taking their place
Don't do it, you're making the biggest mistake of your life
The motor trade is the pits
Look into working in the IT industry, website work, computer repairs, running servers, it goes on and on
I have worked in the motor trade for many years
Unfortunately this, I've been on the railway 23 years now.You're making a big mistake though
The work is difficult and the wages are rubbish
There won't be anything to enjoy, you'll be under constant pressure to complete repairs within a time that someone else calculated and those times mean pressure, pressure and more pressure
Chances are that you'll have management that are absolutely clueless about the job
Promotion, very little chance of it
No way does anyone learn the job in five or six years, ten years is a more realistic figure for the spanner work
As for the electrical side of the job, it's a skill on its own and you're not going to get close to learning it at a dealer. When vehicles do go all electric there are possibly going to be many techies out of jobs and those with much electrical knowledge taking their place
Don't do it, you're making the biggest mistake of your life
The motor trade is the pits
Look into working in the IT industry, website work, computer repairs, running servers, it goes on and on
I have worked in the motor trade for many years
Edited by audikentman on Wednesday 24th November 10:52
Oh well! I appreciate the feedback. Guess I won’t know until I’ve tried it myself. The least I can do is go in with a positive attitude. It’s worth adding that the IT industry doesn’t interest me in the slightest either. It’s a similar arguement to what I said about working in retail, people will always suggest other jobs they think will be better paid or less stressful but at the end of the day not everyone is interested in those jobs. If the worst comes to the worst at least I can say I’ve got a trade behind me that I’ll be proud of, as opposed to wishing I didn’t exist while I tell Sue who can’t get her company emails working to to turn it off and on again. I have a mate who worked in IT and he reckoned it was equally boring and soul destroying. There’s no such thing as a workplace that fits everyone, I’ll just have to find what fits me I guess.
mick1199 said:
@Super7, I had my eyes on a similar kit, a 200pc set with 1/4”, 3/8” and 1/2” ratchets and a good range of sockets, shallow and deep for each size; a breaker bar, extensions, adapters, hex, torx, etorx and spline sockets as well as wheel nut sockets, sockets for spark plugs and a decent range of ratcheting wrenches. Of course, I’m not really sure how all of this will weigh up in a practical sense, I expect I’ll be borrowing my mentors tools for a month or two before I invest anyway and I’ll see what I’m told. That set was from the Halfords Advanced range and included a lifetime warranty, all for just over £300. I looked for a similar set from Snap On which was pushing £2K!
There are also Snap-On's budger range Blue Point. They're good as well..... a lot of this tool stuff is about the feel in your hands.... use a basic Halfords ratchet, then a professional Halfords, and then a Snap on/Teng Tool's. The difference is night and day...Monkeylegend said:
Penelope Stopit said:
Don't do it, you're making the biggest mistake of your life
The motor trade is the pits
I have worked in the motor trade for many years
Why ?The motor trade is the pits
I have worked in the motor trade for many years
No spanner work, electrical and nothing else apart from study and gaining qualifications for the mechanical side of the job
Had an extremely lucky break early on and was able to put my electrical knowledge to good use for good money
super7 said:
There are also Snap-On's budger range Blue Point. They're good as well..... a lot of this tool stuff is about the feel in your hands.... use a basic Halfords ratchet, then a professional Halfords, and then a Snap on/Teng Tool's. The difference is night and day...
Totally understand, thing is I looked into buying BluePoint from the Snap On store online (I’m not sure if prices differ from an actual tool truck) and it’s still like £300 for a ratchet and socket set! Thieving b
ds!Edited by mick1199 on Wednesday 24th November 13:02
super7 said:
There are also Snap-On's budger range Blue Point. They're good as well..... a lot of this tool stuff is about the feel in your hands.... use a basic Halfords ratchet, then a professional Halfords, and then a Snap on/Teng Tool's. The difference is night and day...
I have a wide range of tools from hand me downs to cheap stuff bought off the net. I borrowed a Snap On screwdriver from a mate who's a master carpenter and after using it, just had to have one of my own.
mick1199 said:
It’s also worth adding part of the apprenticeship involves working on electric and hybrid vehicles and you get a qualification out of it.
Know much about BMW training and qualifications..........If you are very interested in electrical work then that is what to aim for from the start, not a dealership though
Railway, aircraft, ships, boats, military vehicles, specialist vehicles
Another person below that got out of the motor trade like many others have
audikentman said:
Unfortunately this, I've been on the railway 23 years now.
Good luck all the sameNever forget, the majority of people that say they are happy on the spanners are living in denial or haven't experienced anything else
Penelope Stopit said:
mick1199 said:
It’s also worth adding part of the apprenticeship involves working on electric and hybrid vehicles and you get a qualification out of it.
Know much about BMW training and qualifications..........If you are very interested in electrical work then that is what to aim for from the start, not a dealership though
Railway, aircraft, ships, boats, military vehicles, specialist vehicles
s up not long after I accepted this job but the fact that it was purely electric vehicles switched me off. As useful a skill as I’m sure it is, petrol and diesel will still be around for a long while I’d imagine. I did plenty of job searching prior to taking this job and where I’m from there doesn’t seem to be anything related to maintenance for rail, aircraft or boats coming up for entry level people like me, sadly. I actually came from the Navy where I was training to be a marine engineer, but since I’ve left (for various reasons), that’s obviously no longer valid so you can count ships and military out, in terms of potential career choices. Half of the ‘technical’ work I would have been doing we were told was basically just reading gauges and watch keeping anyway which would’ve had me clawing my eyes out with boredom.
In other words l’m working with what I have. I appreciate the input and understand I might end up hating it, but it’s not like I’m swamped with opportunities here. My options are very much, take it or leave it and spend another few months unemployed, which I really don’t fancy.
Not in any way involved in that industry but it sounds like a great opportunity to get trained up and qualified on hybrid and electric vehicles to me? Put yourself forward for every course and training going and in ten years time you could have your own electric and hybrid specialist place running while most others are still wondering how to check the oil on a Tesla.
Penelope Stopit said:
Monkeylegend said:
Penelope Stopit said:
Don't do it, you're making the biggest mistake of your life
The motor trade is the pits
I have worked in the motor trade for many years
Why ?The motor trade is the pits
I have worked in the motor trade for many years
No spanner work, electrical and nothing else apart from study and gaining qualifications for the mechanical side of the job
Had an extremely lucky break early on and was able to put my electrical knowledge to good use for good money
Surprised you would stick it so long if your knowledge and skills are applicable elsewhere.
mick1199 said:
I’ve seen lots of techs mentioning how poor the wage is and how difficult bonuses are to meet, whilst others have quoted earning £50K+ on a base salary of £28K for example. I’m struggling to understand how there’s such a massive contrast in those two narratives.
When I was "on the tools" the phrase was "the more you learn, the less you earn". The techies smashing out services all day long would be on more take home pay than a senior or master tech as the servicing work is where all the bonus is & they have no interest in the more technical diagnostic work as it would affect how much bonus they could earn. A senior or master could potentially be on a higher basic wage, but has a much lower chance of topping up that wage with bonuses.
Personally if I had my time again & wanted to stay in the trade I would complete an apprenticeship, then uni & get into a manufacturer rather than staying in a retailer..
Richard-390a0 said:
When I was "on the tools" the phrase was "the more you learn, the less you earn".
The techies smashing out services all day long would be on more take home pay than a senior or master tech as the servicing work is where all the bonus is & they have no interest in the more technical diagnostic work as it would affect how much bonus they could earn. A senior or master could potentially be on a higher basic wage, but has a much lower chance of topping up that wage with bonuses.
Personally if I had my time again & wanted to stay in the trade I would complete an apprenticeship, then uni & get into a manufacturer rather than staying in a retailer..
Appreciate the input! I guess if you’re happy with your basic salary then it wouldn’t be too bad but I can understand anyone getting disillusioned if they’re getting paid a lot less than someone doing simpler tasks than them. Alas I don’t think I have anywhere near the grades required to go to university, nor do I have any plans on going, unless an employer paid for it which is unlikely. Can I ask what you mean by going to work for a manufacturer? Does that mean exclusively brand run garages/dealerships or within a factory type setting? Or is is something entirely different? Cheers! The techies smashing out services all day long would be on more take home pay than a senior or master tech as the servicing work is where all the bonus is & they have no interest in the more technical diagnostic work as it would affect how much bonus they could earn. A senior or master could potentially be on a higher basic wage, but has a much lower chance of topping up that wage with bonuses.
Personally if I had my time again & wanted to stay in the trade I would complete an apprenticeship, then uni & get into a manufacturer rather than staying in a retailer..
Monkeylegend said:
Penelope Stopit said:
Monkeylegend said:
Penelope Stopit said:
Don't do it, you're making the biggest mistake of your life
The motor trade is the pits
I have worked in the motor trade for many years
Why ?The motor trade is the pits
I have worked in the motor trade for many years
No spanner work, electrical and nothing else apart from study and gaining qualifications for the mechanical side of the job
Had an extremely lucky break early on and was able to put my electrical knowledge to good use for good money
Surprised you would stick it so long if your knowledge and skills are applicable elsewhere.
Worth adding, although I know many people involved in the most difficult part of the motor trade which is the fixing of vehicles with tools and muscle, I don't know any that enjoy or enjoyed it
mick1199 said:
Richard-390a0 said:
Personally if I had my time again & wanted to stay in the trade I would complete an apprenticeship, then uni & get into a manufacturer rather than staying in a retailer..
Can I ask what you mean by going to work for a manufacturer? Does that mean exclusively brand run garages/dealerships or within a factory type setting? Or is is something entirely different? Cheers! I know a lad who is a divisional aftersales manager for BMW. He started out as an old school mechanic, started his own business for a while and has worked for many car brands over the years. He's a bit of an alpha male type and very switched on so when you combine the two, he's made a very good career out of the motor trade from mechanic beginnings. I'm not sure when he last got oily hands but he is often head hunted and well respected in his trade. He did a stint in the Middle East, made a lot of money and came back to the UK.
I think what I'm trying to say is that like a lot of careers, you can start out, learn your trade and get some skills then branch out on your own and/or progress to other things within the industry. Then again, like most other trades, you can become a journeyman and get stuck doing the same thing and never progressing. There's nothing wrong with that by the way, I know a few people who are what I call plodders and they are very happy doing that. Businesses need people like that to get things done and people like that often don't want the pressure and stress that comes with moving up.
I can't comment on the wages or how you get treat. I suppose well paid BMW salesmen and service managers in their flashy suits could look down on technicians and might be a nightmare to work with. Hopefully, the leadership will have put in some effort around work culture and respect. Companies tend to be on a different scale in that area!
I think what I'm trying to say is that like a lot of careers, you can start out, learn your trade and get some skills then branch out on your own and/or progress to other things within the industry. Then again, like most other trades, you can become a journeyman and get stuck doing the same thing and never progressing. There's nothing wrong with that by the way, I know a few people who are what I call plodders and they are very happy doing that. Businesses need people like that to get things done and people like that often don't want the pressure and stress that comes with moving up.
I can't comment on the wages or how you get treat. I suppose well paid BMW salesmen and service managers in their flashy suits could look down on technicians and might be a nightmare to work with. Hopefully, the leadership will have put in some effort around work culture and respect. Companies tend to be on a different scale in that area!
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