Leraning around current job. Car industry qualifications.

[simple101]

I need a career change. Much as id like to drop everything, re-train and look for a new job, I cant. I have to pay the mortgage and the bills etc.

I really REALLY want a job in the automotive industry playing with cars and making them better. Something similar to restoration or track prepping a car, adding performance, setting the chassis up and the like. Obvoisly all these will need some mechanics training and hard work.

I know i need to start at the bottom as a technician and work my way up but I dont have the option (as mentioned above) to walk into a garage and offer either free help in exchange for learning (well not full time) or become and apprentice and take an apprintice wage. I would be repossessed and things would be worse than they are now.

Does anyone have any ideas what i could do? Obviously learning around my current job would be the best method. If anyone knows any courses that would help
I could work weekends at a garage for free but that would take ages and i might be learning from the wrong people (cowboys and the like) and it probably wont hold any weight on a CV.

Or, i could approach garages, ask if they will pay me a baisc salary (more than apprentice) and let me learn on the job and take courses while im with them.

Its all a bit difficult so anyone who has some helpful advice, or needs an unqualified but hard working and itelligent person to help them out for a basic salary, let me know

Edited by simple101 on Friday 10th September 10:11

[K87]

What career path are you currently on?

[simple101]

K87 said:

What career path are you currently on?

A dead end NHS pharmacy type thing. Its not a path, thats my main problem. There is no obvious progression without doing a 5 year pharmacy degree (and i dont want to be a pharmasist)

I do want to work with cars though.

Edited by simple101 on Friday 10th September 10:52

[K87]

simple101 said:

Something similar to restoration or track prepping a car, adding performance, setting the chassis up and the like. Obvoisly all these will need some mechanics training and hard work.

The only one of those you may be able to crack into without a degree or vast amounts of experience would probably be restoration. For which you'd need fabrication skills, welding metal work etc. You can do evening courses in these sort of things at technical colleges, not sure where you're from but there is a couple dotted around the country.

The performance and setup side of things is very difficult to get into, its a lot more complex than people appreciate and involves a lot of maths and physics, hence the degrees.

The automotive industry is very competitive especially to get something interesting, Sounds like your best bet would be to keep it as a hobby as there are engineering graduates popping out left right and centre who you'd struggle to compete with without any qualifications or experience.