1st Gen. Lunch Table - General Discussion

Whoa whoa whoa fellas. We haven't even assembled a council to vote on if we need a poll, or even if we can even change the acronym.

 

Best gen fo sho

 

Then you might hate it if you had to do it 40+ hours a week unless of course you were doing custom car builds.

I used to love dealing with electronics, but now that my company has sucked the life out of me troubleshooting/fixing bad designs from others using questionable 20+ year old test equipment that has a 50% chance of not working, I don't feel that way anymore.

 

I mean, we could just had a drawing. Write down the options, stuff them in @Tundra2 's butt, have him stick a thumb in his butt and pull one out. (j/k T2!)

Yeah, I mean, might want to ask @empty_lord how he feels about it, he's a pro Toyo mech, ya? Grass is always greener. I was always told, "If you love something, don't do it for a living or you'll soon hate it" or something to that effect.

Granted, I'm in the tech world. I wanted to be doing something radically different with my hands, but I've always loved technology. I can tell you honestly, as I enter my 23rd year in the industry, most working for the same place that appears to be slowly crumbling today, I'm realizing: I don't really love the small box they've painted me into. I want to be doing other things I've enjoyed in the industry. Like ... Low voltage planning and rollout. Access control. CCTV planning and install. Physical security schematics. Network architecture. Governance, process and policy. Technical auditing. Basically little bits and pieces of what I've been doing over those couple decades. I'm not super happy today where they have me, despite working in the industry I love. I guess it's bittersweet my employer has been cutting, cutting, cutting leaving everyone nervous, questioning if they're gonna fail.

If you feel a drive and you want to do it, and you can live off the money you'll make, I'd say ... go for it. I'd warn to have a direction planned for your entry and first 3-5 years though. I keep seeing these posts on Reddit and other forums where someone has to gut the entire inside of a vehicle out to replace one tiny thing under warranty, or sometimes replace everything. Dash replacements seem to be the really big ones people hate. You may find yourself doing that work. I've also heard nightmare stories about becoming slave labor in dealership service departments and the politics that go with that, to the point some Toyo master techs here in town end up breaking off and opening their own shop, or working for an independent non-dealership affiliated Toyo specialist, for example.

But yeah - whatever you do, don't sell yourself short. You can literally do anything you want. I'm well into my 40s and looking for a huge lane change, I intend to still work in the tech world but may spend most of the day either writing, or designing business solutions. Either of which I'm cool with. A recent job managing al of the cabling, systems and infra rollout for a friend's brewery, which included their massive industrial brew setup, really opened my eyes. Made me realize I kinda f'n hate what I'm doing right now. But I definitely don't hate technology. Most of the time.

Oh, and @Jack McCarthy sounds like you may need an employer change like me, if for nothing else than to see how f'ed up your current employer is, and how that's the issue right now, not the field you landed in.

 

Can confirm @shifty` & @Jack McCarthy 's sentiments about being careful with what you wish for. I very much like working on my own cars, but during the ~6 years I spent as a tech, I had a very hard time working on my own (very custom) junk. Changing timing belts and chasing electrical gremlins and EVAP leaks will suck the life right out of you.
I do agree if I'd been building/maintaining hot rods or race cars or modifying cars, it would have been much easier to stay motivated. But doing repair/maintenance was not my cup of tea.
Slinging parts at a dealership, by comparison, is wicked easy and pays better than the independent shop I wrenched for.

Can you parlay your real estate knowledge and love of autos into a real estate development career? Work with dealers to buy and develop land into new dealerships? The industry has lots of jobs outside turning wrenches.
And they all have pros & cons.

 

the world needs more racetracks. I wanna build a Nurburgring around a small city in west texas.

https://farmandranch.com/property/brewster-ranches
How does crowdfunding work?

 

Thats exactly why I didn't pursue the dream. I thought I could spend a few years working on regular cars then get into some custom stuff, but life had sent plumbing my way and down the shitter I went.

 

How about a race track around Texas itself? Say 5 miles within the border. Run endurance races, 24 hour style. Texas likes to go big right?

 

Yeah, unfortunately health issues have kept me grounded so I’m only waiting to achieve early retirement. I know I would be more valued if I jumped ship, but my employer has recognized my need and is taking full advantage of it. Soon I’ll move onto something completely different where I don’t have to worry where my next paycheck is coming from or at least I hope.

 

The problem with all those jobs is that it seems to be hell on your body. Most guys I see that have worked a trade are completely broken by age 45-50. They hobble around like every step hurts. Doesn't seem worth it to me. I notice that when I go to the dealership most of the techs are in their 20's or early 30's. Maybe they all go do something else after that?

 

Ooh! EVAP systems are another fun one. Especially the backwards ones. I didn't care about that stuff until I moved to an emissions state.

This is another story I've read on other auto forums as well. I find it to be so stupid. But the most common story I've heard is about how shitty it is to work at some dealerships b/c 90% of them have a service dept that is so bassackwards it's not funny.

Sorry to hear, and I can relate to what you've got going on. I'm actually holding out on jumping ship right now because I need some pretty wicked diagnostic work to be done in the next 90-120 days and my employer knows that also. But I'm tired of the fear and being held back, so I recently opened up my LinkedIn. The right people must've seen that because everyone suddenly is coddling me now. And I still intend to leave. It's not lost on me, ageism will start being a thing for me soon also. If I'm hopping, probably needs to happen soon.

 

Thats why I decided to leave plumbing. That and the recession. I knew guys in their mid 40s who were miserable. I knew two guys in their 50s who were brilliant plumbers but had to call younger guys and split jobs because they couldn't handle the labor on their own anymore. It would be terrible splitting commission so often.

 

A few folks I know were mechanics and said the same. Never many older guys since it just a grind all day every day.

@Darkness my 2 cents if you like mechanical things look into other trades. They're still demanding but typically pay better and some are easier on your body as long as you're not working new construction.

 

If I could go back and talk to 17yo Chris, I'd tell him to be a manual machinist. All of those skills relate directly to building and modifying cars...but you don't have to work on cars all day.

 

It’s a living hell working at a dealer. But I’m putting my time in before I go off and do my own thing

 

One job that sounds neat would be an aviation mechanic. I've read they can make a lot of money.

 

Elevator mechanics and HVAC techs are big ones in my area at the moment $45-50 for HVAC and $60 for elevator.

Electricians should be, I found this beauty at work today... *Note this wasn't our guy on staff but a contractor.

 

I have never seen that movie and now I must. Never even heard of it.

 

Yeah but I hear that job really has it's up's and downs.








I'll see myself out now...

 

Our sparkies here get paid more than anyone else and mostly what they do is change out light bulbs or sleep.
Meanwhile I also have to do most of the plumbing related issues as well as hvac

 

At least it's bonded and they used waterproof nuts, I've seen worse!

 

I mean I guess that's true. Fun part is these are the in ground outlets at our soccer field that literally anyone can open up and stick their dick beaters in.

 

Ah, no bueno. Kids and power don't mix. I was that kid at school sticking gum wrappers in outlets to pop breakers and GFI's. Then I turned out to be a wirefuck, it's fate!

 

I peed on an electric fence waiting for the bus in elementary school on a dare. Electricity isnt scary anymore, but its still magic.

 

Was working with Dad on a drug vault pouring concrete and was using a hand held concrete vibrator snake to settle the concrete. Grab a hold of the extension cord to give me some more slack unknowling there were nicks in cable while standing in wet concrete. All I remember was Dad laying a Dick Butkus tackle on me. I'm pretty sure I'm here only because of that !

 

@empty_lord - we have a Toyota specialty shop around here. I would bring mine there for a tough problem before I went to the dealer. They get great reviews from Toyota owners - so definitely a path and market.

 

This is what a mutual acquaintance Paul did. He was machining off parts for VWs under the name Gruven Parts. I just looked him up, having talked to he and his wife since we had kids, looks like he still makes some MKIV parts (his billet pulleys/tensioners or whatever were great) and maybe GM parts? Assuming he didn't sell the biz already.

 

My dad worked hydraulics in the Navy for 20 years, P2 and E3 mostly. He'd beg to differ, if he could hear anything you were saying. I imagine what he was doing is radically different from the major airline fleets, but from what I gather, a lot of that maintenance has gotten offshored to south/central America.