Hey Scotty, thought you’d be uniquely qualified to answer this question. I’m 28 and I work in tech for about 60k a year and could certainly make better with more certs. Problem is it’s mind-numbing and rough on my health, have put 30 pounds on in past year even with daily runs, being sedentary all day kills your metabolism.
I’ve always looked at mechanics as a possibility and have talked to a few places around town that are eager to take on an apprentice. Toyota dealership would start at 17 an hour. Another route is video editing/post production. A lot more fun and creative with unique opportunities than IT.
I also could shift into more networking side of things in IT and be more on my feet and interactive.
Just thought I’d ask as I don’t know how the trade outlook is with EV and such. I imagine there would be enough left for a career til I retired. Thanks for the time.
I've worked in various aspects of computer technology since the late 1970s, semi-retired these days. I do understand what you're saying as this stuff can be extremely aggravating. (I used to have hair!) However from what I've seen and read about the way mechanics are treated at dealers and many shops you'd probably be better off staying with tech, there are so many different areas to choose from. Possibly a sideways move into digital video production that you mentioned (still a very technical field) would be a good one.
For exercise you can always get some equipment to use at home or join a gym.
Thanks Chuck, and I think you’re right. My dream would be to get good at editing, find a gig as someone’s editor and learn mechanics for fun on the side, maybe start my own channel! I just don’t know where to begin to learn it, colleges near me don’t have classes and I’m very teacher based when it comes to learning, but there seems to be good online classes.
tech for about 60k a year
That's quite low for tech.
I'm guessing it's more like IT and services and less high-tech.
30 pounds on in past year even with daily runs, being sedentary all day kills your metabolism
From personal experience, gaining and loosing weight - the solution for me was not buying high calorie foods, I do not even buy cheese.
a few places around town that are eager to take on an apprentice
Yes, very little people want to do hard physical labor for little pay.
17 an hour
That's the thing, this is not a livable wage - it's like $35k a year.
I also could shift into more networking side of things in IT
Yea, that's a good option - it's not particularly fun, in my honest opinion, but it's fine.
I don’t know how the trade outlook is with EV and such
I do not know either, EVs and cars in general are going in a component level repair direction - this can have a negative impact.
I see there's a new post:
disliked it all. I keep coming back to mechanics
Sure you can try it - it's hard physical labor and it's very stressful.
I know I won’t be rich
Will you be able to sustain a decent quality of living with it?
Looking online - "The average salary for a Mechanic is $24.92 per hour in United States", That's about 50 grand a year...
I’ve heard from many locally you can make a damn good living
As a shop owner you can make some money, but things can go wrong too.
Either way, I would not recommend opening a shop until you have a solid 7-10 years of experience in the trade.
My dream would be to get good at editing, find a gig as someone’s editor and learn mechanics for fun on the side, maybe start my own channel!
The demand is certainly out there. There's plenty of info online and even free video production software like Blender where you can learn to do some pretty sophisticated videos. The job environment is so different today than when I was starting out it's hard to make specific recommendations but online courses might be a good place to start and see if it's something you enjoy doing.
Here's an example of what can be done with completely free software:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXqq0ZvbOnk
I’ve always looked at mechanics as a possibility and have talked to a few places around town that are eager to take on an apprentice. Toyota dealership would start at 17 an hour.
Forget about becoming a mechanic. It’s not worth it.
If you love it and you can make a living off of it, why not? And if you can make YouTube’s too and gain a following, even better!
More power to you if you can eventually go out on your own.
If you haven't decided yet, here is what Scotty says at 5:38
https://youtu.be/Bcl2ozjzDhA?si=babpiBHi1KN-Xy7N
I’m 29, have tried other things for years, warehouse, lawn work, carpentry, electrician work, and worst of all OFFICE JOBS I can not sit around, disliked it all. I keep coming back to mechanics, I love finding something wrong and fixing it. I don’t like diesel or semis. Just being around cars/suvs/trucks makes me happy. I know I won’t be rich but I’ve heard from many locally you can make a damn good living and I’m frugal as well. but I’m also creative and would love to make a YouTube channel down the road, showing repairs, flips, and hopefully auto journalism reviews. Thanks!
I merging this together with the last time you asked us.
