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Anyone a Mechanic
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Anyone a MechanicPosted:

HippieSabotage
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Hey guys I'm just curious if anyone here is a diesel mechanic, if so I have some questions. How is it being a mechanic? How is the pay like is it real good after all the hard work over the years? and how much is school?
#2. Posted:
Jebm
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Not a diesel mechanic but I'm
An aircraft engineer, work on my car sometimes but I heard car mechanics are on good money
#3. Posted:
002
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I'm not a mechanic but what I do know is generally shop rates are about $100/hr (what the consumer pays the shop to get their vehicle worked on). When I was a refinisher our shop rate was $115/hr and our highest paid employee was at $32/hr.

Where are you located? If you have a general passion for diesel vehicles then by all means go for it, but if you're just in it for the money don't be a mechanic. It is a great skill to know, but at 20 years old I'm a carpenter making $43.92/hr and I didn't have to go to any schooling or pay for anything. I pay my $30/mo union dues and that's it, no matter what company I work for as long as I'm a carpenter that is my wage. It will never decrease and for the past 6 years we have gotten a raise every year of over $1, this year was just shy of $2.
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HippieSabotage
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002 wrote I'm not a mechanic but what I do know is generally shop rates are about $100/hr (what the consumer pays the shop to get their vehicle worked on). When I was a refinisher our shop rate was $115/hr and our highest paid employee was at $32/hr.

Where are you located? If you have a general passion for diesel vehicles then by all means go for it, but if you're just in it for the money don't be a mechanic. It is a great skill to know, but at 20 years old I'm a carpenter making $43.92/hr and I didn't have to go to any schooling or pay for anything. I pay my $30/mo union dues and that's it, no matter what company I work for as long as I'm a carpenter that is my wage. It will never decrease and for the past 6 years we have gotten a raise every year of over $1, this year was just shy of $2.
From Texas man
#5. Posted:
SimplyGamer
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I used to be a car mechanic and to be honest , you'll only start making "ok money" after at least 4-5 years of experience. The people who just finished their mechanic school are starting at around 13-14$ depending on the city. I'm now working in diesel mechanic and it's fairly sometime more challenging but I do get very much money within the time I've spent in car. I also do side job at my house in my own garage which is a good side line. 35$/h and extra $ for parts you buy/resell 15% more. Good luck
#6. Posted:
JZX
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Trained to be a mechanic, got experience working in a repair shop but didn't really like it to be honest. If you know you are good with the tools and your back doesn't hurt leaning over and stuff then go for it.

Can't comment on the pay, but there are opportunities to move up to some big manufacturers who will pay a lot.
#7. Posted:
Zydrin
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I'm a quick lube mechanic at a dodge dealership, started with no experience at $12/hr. The full main shop guys are making over $20/hr on sold work. They are purely paid for the hours of work they do. 120 hours sold repairs, 120 hours paid. The diesel techs make roughly $30-40 per hour sold just like the main shop techs.
#8. Posted:
MrInfidel
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I work in the oilfield and I know a few diesel mechanics that I've worked with and they all make some good money easy 8-10k a month.
#9. Posted:
Apollo_98
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I go to school at Wahpeton NDSCS, here in North Dakota. I use to be in Diesel and switched over to Auto Tech. You're pay will also depend on how fast you can get things done. Colleges up here are generally cheaper, not sure how costly it is down south.. but it is fairly inexpensive here compared to other places. We also get about half off on all Snap On products while in school, which is awesome. For pay, you're looking at $12-15 average starting. If you work at a smaller shop, it could be less. Some dealerships also pay you on how fast you can get the job done. Example.. let's say in the books, it takes 4 or 5 hours to replace a brake booster, and you do it in 3.. and you keep doing that with every job, more money in your pocket. NDSCS also has the best diesel program in the United States, and is one of the cheaper routes. Hope this helped. (This was more info on an auto tech, not diesel tech)
#10. Posted:
grizzlydean
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In the uk, in all honesty ive been wanting to retrain in something else.
Money can be from 17-30k depending on where you are in the country sadly i live in devon and no where offers more than 18-20k in my area, and no ones willing to pay a decent amount from my experience (8 years).
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