I'm sure there's a lot of that going on.

But there are also a lot of set-the-bar-low kind of techs out there, who expect to be handed everything, but only want to give it their minimum effort.

Dealerships can provide opportunities for higher education, and career advancement. But only to deserving people who want to earn their way. You have to be a team player, and have the right goal driven attitude.

The field is not for everyone. You have to really love it.

@mountainmanjoe is right. You have to REALLY love doing this stuff. 

I think anyone who is seriously looking to make a career out of being a mechanic realizes that you have to start on the low rung and work your way up. I never cared what people said about me. I was too busy being a sponge and soaking up knowledge from the very experienced mechanics who really knew what they were doing. Pretty soon people stopped giving me crap and started asking me for help. That's how it starts. 

Flash forward and now I work for myself like Scotty does. My crew is pretty small, but we all give each other grief from time to time. We are a family, and every family has its feuds. But we all know where the lines are and we know how to take a joke. It comes with the territory.

Trust me, there is nothing you will hear from any mechanic colleague/manager/co worker that will be as rude as what you'll hear from customers. And when you do fix their car, don't expect any pat on the back. It is a thankless field. But I do it because I love working on the machines and being around some seriously cool cars.

Well multiple factors and variables are at play here IMO, for the dealer tech specifically, from what I hear from friends, They all be about book time, and some of your management don't know jack about cars like "Why haven't you finished this brake job yet, you know we are only quoted for an hour right?" And you are kinda just left there to deal with it, essentially it's 1 hour of pay for a 2 hour job especially for a beginner tech with no experience whatsoever. Not really anyone that wants to spend their time to help you if you end up in a toxic dealership, mistakes be had and all that if you ain't taught. That kind of environment paired with only doing LOF if not then cleaning shop and sweeping floors for years before you get to do anything? Yeah nah thanks. I do agree with @mountainmanjoe that you have to have the grit, but I also firmly believe that it's partially luck as well. I've been a mechanic for only 3 years now in the field, but I have so much more experience than some of my peers who have decided to fully participate on the dealership route. But I also sought a full education on my own while I was working. So there is that I guess.

On the subject of people being people, People will always give you crap no matter the profession, in the mechanic field at least, most of it is just banter unless you seriously screw up, between mechanics at least, you have to have the right sense of humor or else everything will offend you. Customers will always be the worst, there are some good ones out there but not many. Just cause you are doing work for a guy doesn't mean that they have to treat you lesser than. At the end of the day this is a blue collar job, I know I won't make as much as my brother who works in the computer tech field here in the silicone valley and I am perfectly content with my decision to work on cars. The people who are working in this field that cave to this particular pressure simply just means that they have never worked retail before lol.

Cars are cool machines and we will crap talk em ALOT based on our preferences but at the end of the day you gotta do what you gotta do or fall behind the ever expanding field.