I'm an automotive technician with 11 years of experience currently working at a VW dealership. I started off my journey as a lot attendant then lube technician and from there worked for an independent shop for a few years after I graduated from Universal Technical Institue. I'm ASE certified, Ford certified, and VW certified, with various other certifications that say I should know something.
For as long as I can remember I have always tinkered with things and taken them apart. Every now an then they went back together and actually worked. For the most part, they became FUBAR. My family moved around a lot as I grew up and my upbringing was a mixture of city and country life. Most things that were purchased were used. Most of the vehicles that we had were just shy of the clunker category. As you can guess I got familiar with working on cars early on. My mother was very supportive of me and my interest in cars and would bring home a number of automotive magazines that the store she worked at was going to throw away. When the women in the magazines didn't do anything for me anymore, I was able to focus on the articles. As I look back on those days and knowing what I know now they were just extremely long advertisements.
I wanted to drop out of high school and work on cars. That didn't go over so well with mom. So I reluctantly stayed, and for my senior year, we moved again. From "sunny" Hollywood, FL to "hey ya'll" Bowling Green, KY. I had family in BG, and the town sorta grew on me. I helped my Uncle with farm work and farm equipment. The only car culture around were pick-up trucks cruising a popular strip in Glasgow,KY where you turned around to cruise it all over again once you reached Autozone.
Being in a new town and knowing only a few people I enlisted in the Marine Corps when I was 16 because I was clueless about what I was going to do after graduation. I turned 18 just two weeks from graduating from boot camp. During my ASVAB testing, I did particularly well in three areas: Automotive and Shop Information, Mechanical Comprehension, and Assembling Objects. My recruiter asked if I'd be interested in working on AmTracs. I didn't want to work on trains, so I served in the Infantry. Besides at that time, I thought the only occupation in the Marine Corps was Marine and that was a generic name for infantry. I can see my fellow veterans who read this busting my balls already.
After leaving the Marine Corps, I worked as a bartender, event security guard, paramedic, and a route driver filling vending machines. Filling vending machines isn't a bad trade. Not too many people know about it, and the pay is pretty darn good. Shout out to Canteen Service Company in Bowling Green, KY. The only problem with working there was it gave me a lot of downtime to think about pursuing a career as a mechanic.
The time has come. I decided I wanted to become a mechanic. I attended Universal Technical Institute in Avondale, AZ in 2006 and graduated with honors in 2008. Since I didn't know what field I wanted to be in I took everything. Automotive, Diesel, Hydraulics, and Transport Refrigeration. While I was attending UTI, I worked as a lot attendant at a Subaru dealership. Quit that job when a lube tech position was open at the Saturn dealership next door. Then replied to an ad at an independent shop for high-end vehicles that landed me my first technician gig and that became the beginning of my technician experience.
In Closing
I've created this blog because I see many enthusiastic individuals asking questions about the industry and sometimes it's hard to get a straight answer, especially if you're talking to a bunch of season flat rate technicians like myself that don't want to talk to you while we work. I'm sure your intent is innocent, and you want to get some insight, and I don't blame you however it's distracting. Plus we don't care about your 90 HP Honda Civic with the catback exhaust, cambered wheels, and giant spoiler. I can see the comments now. Nah man, a Honda Civic has more than 90 HP. Yeah, I know, and I also know that by you tinkering with it also decreased the horsepower. I also know you're going to ask me to help you fix it later and by helping you, you mean I do it.
This isn't a diagnosis blog, so if you want an answer about your vehicle, I'm going to have to verify the concern first and then check for technical service bulletins. That's a free ASE answer for you guys. You're welcome. I don't know how to end this so as I finish my Samuel Adams, Cheers!
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