Getting an auto job in highschool

[Jesse J]

I really am interested in getting an automotive job to help pay for this freakin thing and for just the experience. I'm in highschool and don't have my licence yet so that makes it difficult. Advice?  

[Car Enthusiast]

Go to an oil change shop, good to get your feet wet and probably has a schedule that can accommodate school. Pick up the basics and then some and make a little money, might even let you work on yours. I did it in college.

[dasbulliwagen]

Mechanical aptitude, or natural talent can count as much as any kind of professional training. If you can show that you have a natural talent for it, some places will take a chance on you. Even places like the smaller dealerships will hire a trainable person with little to no experience for a lube tech. That can be a great foot in the door for experience and possible future manufacturer specific training. A friend of mine started out as a car washer, moved into the parts department, then out as a lube tech, then general tech. He now tunes and builds cars for Richard Petty's Garage. 

[eaglescout526]

I myself have learned with working on other peoples problems that it sucks. I am by far not a mechanic but good under the hood until 2006ish cars. I got great advice from a mechanic who got carpal tunnel for doing it for years. He said "if you like working on other peoples problems, then be a mechanic". If that is something you wish to do, don't let the advice I was given to deter you from doing such. I work at a dealer and deal with techs all the time and listen to the crap they have to go through with peoples cars and what not and some stories are puzzles and mysteries. But it is great learning experience for if and when you need to work on your own cars.  

[Jesse J]

I'd be mainly interested in like a foot in the door job just like sweeping floors or whatever at a 4x4 shop and just learn and stuff I don't know I'm just thinkig about what I'd like to do

[MiNi Beast]

get into tires. always needs tires. 

[ghetdjc320]

First off, get your license. I grew up with my dad restoring old Chevys and mustangs since as far back as I can remember. I started working on go carts and small engines when I was a kid. Took some ASE classes as well which was fun and very hands on. In all reality though, if you are truly interested enough in a field/subject you’ll buy out the time to research and learn more. Try to hang around everyone from restoration shops to shade tree mechanics. 

[Jesse J]

Just now, ghetdjc320 said:

First off, get your license. I grew up with my dad restoring old Chevys and mustangs since as far back as I can remember. I started working on go carts and small engines when I was a kid. Took some ASE classes as well which was fun and very hands on. In all reality though, if you are truly interested enough in a field/subject you’ll buy out the time to research and learn more. Try to hang around everyone from restoration shops to shade tree mechanics. 

I can't get my licence for another couple of months because I need to be 16. How does one "hang out" 

[MiNi Beast]

ask questions to anyone working on cars

[Jesse J]

ok well Ill look around

[89 MJ]

My advice, and what I do. 

 

Find an elderly guy with a small old dealership. Go in there and see if he needs help cleaning the place up and selling stuff on the internet. I basically get to work whatever hours I want and get to learn as I go. 

[derf]

Everyone starts at the bottom.  Oil change shop, parts store, tire shop.  Gotta pay your dues for a couple of years.  The sooner you start the faster you get through it.

 

Take advantage of every opportunity to learn.  Don't be afraid of working hard and pitching in where they need you.  Make contacts with as many people as you can.  Be the guy they can depend on.  Follow the opportunities that present themselves.

 

Get your license as soon as you can.  Find a good tech school and get the certifications after you're done with high school.

[Jesse J]

Huh ok. that makes a lot of sense.

[ghetdjc320]

58 minutes ago, Jesse J said:

I can't get my licence for another couple of months because I need to be 16. How does one "hang out" 

Follow the information that everyone has laid out here. Your in high school right? I think you know how to “hang out”. 

[jdog]

Look into vocational classes as well, we had it were you could go onto community College for the course of auto repair while still in high school

[gogmorgo]

I got into the field a little bit later in life. I was working an unrelated summer job for a couple years for an outfit with a fleet shop, and one day during an unrelated conversation with management I offhandedly mentionned it might be cool to work in the shop to learn more to support my hobby. Turned out they’d already been tossing around the idea of hiring on some temporary labour as a basic lube tech because they were short a mechanic, and two weeks later I was working in the shop. It really doesn’t hurt to ask, and all I did was show interest.

Part way through the summer they hired another real mechanic and by September they didn’t have the budget to keep me on, but that experience and a good reference from my boss there got me into an apprenticeship with the same outfit at a different location a couple years down the road. Still not sure I want to do this for the rest of my life, but all I did was express interest and I pretty well managed to turn a summer job into a career. Doesn’t hurt to ask, even if you just end up sweeping floors on your way home from school.

[87MJTIM]

7 hours ago, jdog said:

Look into vocational classes as well, we had it were you could go onto community College for the course of auto repair while still in high school

[Jesse J]

 That's really helpful.

[schardein]

This may not pertain to your situation directly, but I'll tell my story.  I had taken a lot college prep courses in high school, but wasn't sure what i wanted to do as I graduated.  I ended up going to Southern Illinois University in their Automotive Technology program.  Before this, I hadn't taken any shop classes in high school, but had done a lot of work on my own truck and read everything I could find.  Of course this was before the internet so that was mostly magazines, Chilton and Haynes manuals (read front to back , like a book), and old transmission repair manuals.

 

At SIU, I got a lot of automotive theory classes coupled with hands on work in the shop.  I absolutely loved it, and literally got up every morning for school excited and couldn't wait to get to class.  One of the instructors helped me get a part time job at a business that hauled mobile homes from the manufacturer to the dealer.  I learned a lot there, some good and some bad.  It's a challenge to work on a fleet of vehicles when the company doesn't see the value of investing in preventative maintenance.

 

I graduated with an associates degree in Automotive Technology.  The next two years would have been business type classes that would have resulted in a Bachelor's in Business.  I went to the first week of classes and decided it wasn't for me.  I enlisted in the USMC and was in Boot Camp 6 months later.  It's funny, they made me a Motor Transport Operator, instead of a mechanic, even though I had professional training to do it.  But I love the Corps and retired after 30 years of service.  I still joke with people that I have a college degree, but only use it for my hobby.

 

The one thing I will leave you with is the training I received at SIU was top notch.  You hear stories of successful mechanics with no formal education, but I feel the education in basic automotive theory is invaluable and it's importance can't be overstated.  It has served me well for the last 32 years.  

 

PS- I belong to several Jeep groups and automotive groups on facebook.  Literally everyday, I see someone post something that is flat out wrong, or displays a misunderstanding of basic automotive repair procedures.  Sometimes when I post, the reply is "I've been working on Jeeps for 15 years and I know what I am doing...".  Some people think they know it all. Be careful of trusting info you get on the internet, especially facebook, and never think you know it all, and above all else, NEVER STOP LEARNING.

[Jesse J]

1 hour ago, schardein said:

 

, NEVER STOP LEARNING

I sure try. Right now I have an immense interest in this stuff that I hope I don't lose.

[ghetdjc320]

7 hours ago, schardein said:

This may not pertain to your situation directly, but I'll tell my story.  I had taken a lot college prep courses in high school, but wasn't sure what i wanted to do as I graduated.  I ended up going to Southern Illinois University in their Automotive Technology program.  Before this, I hadn't taken any shop classes in high school, but had done a lot of work on my own truck and read everything I could find.  Of course this was before the internet so that was mostly magazines, Chilton and Haynes manuals (read front to back , like a book), and old transmission repair manuals.

 

At SIU, I got a lot of automotive theory classes coupled with hands on work in the shop.  I absolutely loved it, and literally got up every morning for school excited and couldn't wait to get to class.  One of the instructors helped me get a part time job at a business that hauled mobile homes from the manufacturer to the dealer.  I learned a lot there, some good and some bad.  It's a challenge to work on a fleet of vehicles when the company doesn't see the value of investing in preventative maintenance.

 

I graduated with an associates degree in Automotive Technology.  The next two years would have been business type classes that would have resulted in a Bachelor's in Business.  I went to the first week of classes and decided it wasn't for me.  I enlisted in the USMC and was in Boot Camp 6 months later.  It's funny, they made me a Motor Transport Operator, instead of a mechanic, even though I had professional training to do it.  But I love the Corps and retired after 30 years of service.  I still joke with people that I have a college degree, but only use it for my hobby.

 

The one thing I will leave you with is the training I received at SIU was top notch.  You hear stories of successful mechanics with no formal education, but I feel the education in basic automotive theory is invaluable and it's importance can't be overstated.  It has served me well for the last 32 years.  

 

PS- I belong to several Jeep groups and automotive groups on facebook.  Literally everyday, I see someone post something that is flat out wrong, or displays a misunderstanding of basic automotive repair procedures.  Sometimes when I post, the reply is "I've been working on Jeeps for 15 years and I know what I am doing...".  Some people think they know it all. Be careful of trusting info you get on the internet, especially facebook, and never think you know it all, and above all else, NEVER STOP LEARNING.

I went to college when I was 14 for computer networking. Got my “hardship” license to commute when I was 15. I never imagined how networking would have anything to do with auto but a lot of what I learned I use today. Construction, plumbing, electrical, welding, audio etc. They all have something to add to the automotive field. A/V is what I do to support myself and family and I’ve never worked in the auto industry but that didn’t keep me from learning how to paint, weld, rebuild engines, tune efi etc. If it’s what you really want to do, it just takes ambition. I grew up with chiltons and haynes manuals also

[87MJTIM]

It is not proper to call people "Auto Mechanics" now.  A better term is "Auto Technicians."  With the electronics on vehicles today, you have to have good, working knowledge of computer in order to diagnose and fix vehicles.  Going to a trade school will give you the knowledge...and you get to use their electronics.

 

Some of the schools may assist you with purchasing the tools of the trade by discount programs from suppliers

 

Many people can pick up a book or manual and read it to obtain knowledge.  They will learn from their mistakes along the way.  It is better to learn from the mistakes of others.