When I was a mechanic in the early 80's Al Gore hadn't invented the internet yet so technician wasn't on the PC train
I don't know about you guys but around here labor rates run between 65.00 to 95.00 an hour, the reason I know this is I work for NAPA part time ( Retired USPS inspector )and I Deliver there parts to the Shops around here. The bad part of this hole deal is if the scaner says somthing is bad they replace everything in the circut , they really don't fix anything they just start throwing parts at it
Ya, labour rates in shops...not what guys get paid...BIG difference, and if you keep reading the posts, you will see that I don't work in automotive...I work 7900 feet underground in a Nickel mine...53.11 is my wage. The company I work for clears about 8 000 000$ a day...
That term was earned when I have to know more than a DR to fix your late model car and get paid a lot less than they do.
about the time body shops(now known as collision shops) started doing remove/replace rather than repair as s.o.p. but hey ive got all kinds of neat papers to hang on my walls now
I should thats why they give me all the big bucks. lol Shooter 54 I like that dragstrip you have there in town noless, I was working up there about 7 or 8 years ago ( I was a USPS inspector out of D.C.) and the guys working on there Drag Strip and they gave me a tour of there Facility, It wasnt one of there normal race days. nice bunch of guys.
My views on this subject are along the same lines as you guys. Heres a point of view from a young guy-I'm 23 and went to a nationally accredited university for high performance engineering. We were not allowed to say the term mechanic-we were technicians because we had a degree to show for our work. Now, we did learn a lot more than the run of the mill vocational school, and more than the UTI and WYOTEC guys (no offense-just stating facts--don't roast me) but my view on the whole deal is who cares. If someone is spending all this time to rename positions and push the new terminology then thats time and money thats being wasted that could be better spent actually getting work done. I think it comes from the school systems. When I run into someone I went to high school with and start "catching up" it always turns into what are you doing now? Well, when I tell the non car savvy type that I "build hot rods and custom cars" you can see the look on their face-its as if you're second rate, not as intelligent as them. They don't understand that in my line of work, I have to be a designer, a fabricator, a welder, and engineer, an electronics guy, not to mention all the knowledge that goes into what you do and don't do to a specific car when you're building it. they're job as a "operations manager at target" sounds fancy, although all they do is write the work schedule for the 16 year olds who stock the shelves. I once said i was a "high performance technician"-got a raised eyebrow and the "wow, sounds like you're doing good"-see what difference a name makes. It sucks and I hate it. It seems like everyone my age is chasing a title and not a job. but, what are you going to do-thats they way everything seems to be going. I just live in my own little world of hot rodding. Sorry for the rant-I'm a little passionate about this subject.
I own and use both the dwell meter and lap-top. Best fixed first visit record at the dealer and mechanic of the year as I heavy equipment mechanic. I like to be called a Tech. I was born with oil in my blood. Cool can be educated as well!! Sorry my spelling sucks I did not care for that stuff it did not move.
When the union negotiated it. On my job some deadbeats were hired and were never mechanics to begin with let alone being called a technician. Since they are now technicians very few of them want to turn a wrench they always waste their day walking around with some electronic device diagnosing what is wrong until a real mechanic comes over and simply fixes what is evidently wrong! Un-frickin'-believable. I asked one guy how much does a pound of hundred dollar bills weigh and he didn't know, said I guess you would have to weigh each bill and add them up! I work in the Federal Government that sort of explains it all. Equal opportunity for all, especially if you are the right flavor.
Not sure when the terminology changed, but I sure liked it alot better before. No goddammed computers in cars, only a few mfgrs with a few models. I didn't start working on cars because I liked computers. Work on them for a living, but all my cars still have non-feedback carburetors. Hell, most newbie techs have never seen a carburetor (HAMBERS excluded).
when they went to those damm computers, when i was a kid, i learned to change brushes in generator, starter, or walk, i learned very quick
I'm perfectly fine with being called a mechanic, it's my trade and passion. Mechanics were people I looked up to growing up, the good ones could diagnose and repair almost anything, even if it wasn't automotive related. Does the public respect mechanics? Yes and No, sadly no matter how good you do your job if the treatment at the front counter is poor that will kill confidence in a good repair. I have also noticed when job titles are changed its either to avoid giving a raise to an individual or to inflate your own sense of self worth. I don't wear patches on my sleeves to scream my credentials, hopefully my actions take care of that. I'm still a mechanic and proud of it!
Just like ratrod and Traditional Hotrod. The ignorant think they are one in the same. However they are two different things. There is a big difference between a Mechanic and a Tech. They are both out there. Some Techs can hold their own doing Mechanic work, but I have NEVER seen a Mechanic worth a shit doing Tech work. You can't hang the term 'Tech' on anyone who works on a car. Anyone who does is ignorant. It has nothing to do with being PC.
I believe YOU are ignorant to the term. Myself being a Technician, or Mechanic, whatever you want to call me, because both words ARE one in the same. The definition, of the term "Technician" can also be used in duplicate for the word Mechanic! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technician
Wikipedia? The dictionary edited by the public? I don't think so. Read most of the posts. The general public does not know the difference. Sorry, like it or not, there is a difference.
The correct term for my "position" is Sheetmetal- and Welding Tecnician. Behind the fancy words, i'm just a welder!
It started with electronic fuel injection [because of the smog laws], and got a boost with electronically controlled transmissions. It was all downhill after that, and you had to become a Tech.
I think we have hit a hot button with loudpedal. I spent a few years of my career being very concerned with what peoples opinion of my trade and abilities were. In my experience most who have to tell you they are a technician are just parts replacers, mechanics were the people who fixed things. Most shops aren't interested in anything other than parts replacment these days, higher profit margin in that. I watch modern Technicians around me staring at scanners trying to diagnose everything from the screen. Scan tools are just a guide, underneath it all there is an engine down there that still must have compression, spark, and fuel. Still proud to be a mechanic, and my ego is still intact.
It started a long time before that. When I decided to get back into mechanic work in the early 70's, the "old guy" I went to work for said he knew things were gonna go to hell when they started putting PCV valves on cars. Turns out he was right. If you think there is a lot "tech" stuff on a fuel injected engine, take a gander under the hoods on the late 70's and early 80's vehicles when they were developing the computer systems. One way of telling a mechanic from a tech is the grease under the fingernails and the scars on the back of the hands. Larry T
The Jalopy Journal
