I did uber, talked to a private owner busness truck driver trying to get out of the business he said the money was not there anymore. With fuel and car parts and payments it just could not meet ends. Goverment better get their head out of that hole and look around.
Well, it’s obvious. Yes, pay… but also, quality of vehicles are trending downward, and they are getting harder to fix. Too many faulty parts, too many electrical issues to chase down, some of them seem to be unfixable. I don’t blame mechanics for quitting, shit like this is enough to drive a man insane. It’s even hard to deal with dealerships in general, because they charge out the ass for parts.
I own a 2021 Jeep Gladiator and purchased 4 new Factory Take off tires and wheels, but required new sensors. I drove to my dealership and the total cost was $312.00 including labor. Labor rate there is $170 per hr. The mechanic that did the work is certified and been there 2 yrs. He is only getting $23 per hour! When I found this out it really upset me that a young guy just completed a 2 year automotive program at our local college in automotive technology. He also earned several ASE certifcations. And achieved several Chrysler Certifications! I took out $40 and gave it to him and said the job he did was perfect!!
Yeah low to mid 20s per hour is pretty normal in my area as well. Usually automotive gets paid a little less than diesel mechanics but it’s all not high enough. 👍
WE GOT B YOU WANTED HIM NOW YOU HAVE A DEPRESSION TOUGH ///MECHANICS ARE OVER HEAR NOW/$10.00 HR IS TO MUCH FOR THOSE MECHANICS WHO DO // YOU WANT ME PAY $11.00 NOT A PENNY LESS YOU //
Unfortunately, this is not going to change. Historically, every job that once paid well, stopped paying well and became an entry level job skill with entry level pay. For example, people who leaned how to use a computer were paid very well at first till it became an entry level requirement. People who later learned Excel were paid high but now its an entry level skill with no schooling required. Same goes for the introduction of Power Point, engeneering, etc. The issue lies with greed in the end but how it gets to this point is usually when there is a strong push for a skill, a large number of people flock to learn that skill, then you have too many people skilled enougj to do your job and desperate for work so they'll take anything even if the pay is low. And when shops/dealerships realise that there are people out there who will do it for less, greed drives them to hire for less pay. The OGs who know the skill either became managers/directirs or own their own businesses now and the new guys all get paid hardly anything. And to keep the pay low, they will start requiring less qualifications or schooling till it becomes the norm and considered an entry level job, same as Excel.
Apprentice union plumbers with no experience are starting at $33 in my local. That's $6 less than what I topped out at as a mechanic!! WTF? You got to be stoopid to stay in that career for more than a month. Plus, plumbing is ten times easier than mechanic work.
@@Themiddleclassmechanic We just negotiated our contract and now journeymen are making $76 per hour. Mechanics should be making $100. Don't know why they settle for such shit pay.
@@quychang4471 Idk why either. The only way to take home that kind of money is to open your own business as a mechanic, usually mobile too, because of the lower overhead. I suspect you might see more Mechanics unionize sooner than later.
I can already tell you worked at ryder with the pay, the tv comment. Ryder fucking sucks man. I was their for 6 years and fired for not starting the truck while being in the seat and i was in the FLP program. They only oayed me 27 and change and a new guy came on at the same rate. I went to penske and make 31 now but have since switched again to start making 37. Dont be loyal to one company. Job hop. Learn everything you can.
Never worked for Ryder. It’s just all these fleet companies copy each other to “meet goals”. I have a video on job hopping, it’s the same thing I did to get a deserved raise. 👍
1st time viewer and new loyal follower. Having been a gas/diesel technician for over 35 years, it’s no longer viable to be profitable in this industry. It’s sad that companies that depend on their transportation / fleet depts. do not realize that they make money when their techs are paid good and are investing in their fleet.
Thanks for following! I’m part of a fleet currently and I can say that from a corporate view, they are “trying” to develop ways to move up and get paid more for employees, so I’ll give them that. How well it will work? I’m doubtful. You almost need to jump ship to get paid more these days.
Found out that the dealership I'm at is currently hiring service advisors and their pay is around $750 less than mine. The advetisement stated "You don’t need to be an expert on cars or maintenance, just be passionate about delivering a five-star customer experience". So I need 4 years worth of training to become qualified to maintain and diagnose issues with how complicated the vehilces are, buy my own tools, destroy my body, deal with warranty and lose sleep because I can't remember if I missed to tourqe something for $750 more? yeah not happening, what makes it worse is that all other places are paying close to the same. Gonna start looking for an office job or something similar.
My comment is late, I feel for all mechanics out there, there is no moral justification for the way mechanics are treated, with what they put their bodies through, the outlay in tools, piss poor pay, etc, etc ,etc.
I have the shorter capri tools breaker bar and the flex is ridiculous. I dont trust it and it convinced me to not buy anymore of Capri tools and went back to my old duralast breaker bar
I was a Ford Gas and Diesel master Technician. I had to fight to get to $30/hr when they are charging $180 plus door rate. Needless to say, I left the industry after 14 years. Job i have now pays less per hour but has way better benefits and a pension.
Mechanics have been over paid for years. Ppl tired of getting screwed on price to fix car and the sabatoge that most mechanics perform to get "return business". Lack of integrity has destroyed this industry as with most.
Mechanics have been underpaid for decades. The shops however tended to do just fine for decades or make a killing. I’m sure there are shady shops still that make shit up for return work, but a lot of the time, they are being straight forward. I work on semi trucks, so idk the automotive environment exactly.
Being a mechanic is the only job I can think of where you have to invest a significant part of your income to purchase the tools to do your job.I retired from turning wrenches years ago. Automotive mechanic is a dieing career choice. Just as TV repairmen have disappeared, vehicle technicians are headed down the same path. I also made sure that my son didn't become a mechanic. He's pursuing a PhD in genetic engineering
Mechanics as a trade are not dying. It’s clearly an essential skill for cars, trucks and equipment. Being an automotive technician is turning into a mess however, and possibly a specialized job only soon.
The US has too many car dealers. They can't make enough on new cars, so they squeeze what they can on parts and service. The Japanese companies do not over dealer their products in the US. Each dealer has a protected territory, so they don't undercut each other.
The skills that I learned is a mechanic have been invaluable, and have laid a solid foundation for career that will actually pay me well (as a commercial electrician😂)
25 bucks an hour is only 50k/yr. 20 yrs ago it was OK money. Now it's not. Inflation has affected everything except wages. Isn't that strange? The cost of everything but labor has risen dramatically. The law of supply and demand always applies, but what could cause that? It would seem there's an excess of supply on the labor side of the equation. But how can that be? With all the people complaining about wages vs cost of living, that would mean there's a steady supply of labor that's happy to work for peanuts. Yes, very strange indeed. I guess it's just a complete mystery. One which can never be solved.
Dam I'm up in Canada and a 30 plus years as a heavy truck mechanic and most of my career at the dealerships I switched to a fleet to wrap it up and we are right around 39 to 42 per hr. Even that is nothing crazy by the time you buy the tools. Ya I'm a bit spoiled but I'm right at 60 grand in tools. The only reason I know that is I went thru the big D a year ago. Anyway I'm going to check out your channel 👍 🇨🇦 🔧
Tesla pays their techs hourly but they have FRT times so you have to produce at least 70% of your pay or fall into other productivity metrics in order to avoid being marked off track .
@@Themiddleclassmechanic I know a Mercedes benz Autonation dealer that pays Master tech level guys $40 an hour but they can't keep good people because they're disrespectful and they don't care about running the dealership properly. $40 hour doesn't add up if techs can't make hours but everyone up front makes the money.
Imagine a shop that pays the best (talking serious wages as it is a complex field), and has the best techs in the city. Imagine a shop where you don't have to wait 3 weeks for a serious issue - an issue that leaves you without a car. It can be better for a dealer to make a little on a lot of business - especially since every service visit is a potential long term new customer.
Remember these are STARTING pay! Based on that, it’s pretty good. Work for a proper dealership and you’ll never have to weld. PA is a low wage state. Come to Long Island to make the real money!
@@Themiddleclassmechanic oh yes! Ridiculously expensive and run by incompetent liberals. You choose; higher salaries, higher costs of living or the opposite in PA. You can’t win, man!
I make $23/hour now filling bags of milk powder plus $1.50/hour differential for night. Schedule is violate but it's 22% more than I used to make driving CDL for a small company and double what I made 8 years ago starting in trucking. For everything needed, $2 an hour isn't worth all the headaches. Plus now I'm in shape! You also have to keep in mind...most people don't leave jobs...they leave MANAGEMENT. Or bad work culture. Trucking has horrible work culture.
Well then wtf are we suppose to do then men? We want good pay and still have a job that makes us feel like men. What do yall think the best “trade” is to get into with the way this country is going?
If I had a definite answer I’d probably head that direction. The world needs mechanics. I’m going solo and mobile sooner than later, but I’m consider hvac or commercial refrigeration. Lot of money there too.
@@Themiddleclassmechanic Problem is that i think i would be genuinely interested in being a mechanic but MOST videos online are about why NOT to do it, all the negative, i read the comments and forums etc, don't do it b/c of this and that. So, most content i find is just not very inspiring you know, i feel like every industry no matter what has its issues, but i'm in a position where i need to change my career, I'm a father family of 5 and i have to support them, i figured being a mechanic would do the trick and i wouldn't hate my life everyday going to work. I don't mind being dirty and sweaty and pushing through the hard work, i just want something steady and reliable to support my family and be comfortable, don't care about being "rich". ya feel me? Thanks
There IS good money to be made as a mechanic. Diesel, heavy equipment, forklifts, etc. with knowledge can make $40/hr or more, not all places suck either. Gotta hunt or go solo.
Only way is to join together union style and tell dealers and shops what we will charge them to fix something. Call a plumber or electrician to fix something in your home and they tell you what it will cost. Their job isn’t 1% of what they want us to do. They will destroy all mechanics with their phony "flat rate". Now is the time. If warranty pays 1.2 i need 2.0 minimum. Let's get everybody together now. After 56 years I'm out of it finally. Younger guys need to organize now.
Most mechanics shops charge 120 to 150 per hour and could afford to pay their mechanics 50 per hour and sooner or later they will have to cause nobody wants to do that work anymore
