Gm mechanic ?

[Jered1987]

Hey everyone I'm 25 married having a kid in 5 weeks.
I've worked full time jobs that I was fine with but the money was horrible but
I managed before, well having a child and being married crappy jobs
Aren't going to continue to work.
I went to a local vocational school for a two year auto body certificate
And I have a one year heavy equipment and operation and repair completion certificate.
I know that what I want to do is work on gm vehicles, I'm going to be moving near Atlanta in a couple of months more than likely.
What I want to know is what I need to do to become a gm
Mechanic/ service tech, there are so many rip off courses I want to know what
Gm requires and my best schooling option, I have a ged and I've never been that great with math (algebra all that crap). Thanks ,jered

[Advanced Design]

Jered,

GM has training available for GM dealership technicians. Find a job with a dealer based on your current abilities and the dealership can set you up for the GM training.

If you desire additional schooling there is the option of GM ASEP.....https://gmasep.org

Good luck with your search and please keep us posted!

[davischevy]

Listen to Advanced Design. He knows GM if any body does.

[mongocanfly]

this may help some......https://learn.org/articles/Automotiv...rgia_Area.html

[95 S_Trucker]

I've done a few internships at dealerships(1/2 were GM)8-10 years ago. I would not recommend working at a dealership. I have an associates degree in automotive repair(about the same amount of schooling as the asep program). Most dealerships have 1 or 2 techs that get all the good jobs. The rest get the crappy jobs. and most dealerships require you to start at the bottom(lube tech) and work your way up. And it takes a long time to work your way up. And dealerships have a terrible reputation for ripping people off(not saying all of them do).

My recommendation is to find a reputable independent shop and go from there. (stay away from chain stores). Its a lot quicker to move up the ladder in independent shops than dealerships.

This is my story, and I know everybody's story is different

May 2007, graduate HS
May 2009, graduate gollege with associates degree
April 2009-September 2013, worked at 2 reputable independent shops
Nov 2013-present, owning/running my own succesful independent shop.(I'm 28 now)

Somewhere in all that, I got married and started a family.

[67ChevyRedneck]

If you like GM, you might want to work for Ford, if you work on them every day you may never want to own one again, instead you can go home at night cussing the Fords you worked on that day

The advice above is great and congrats on your own shop!

The only thing I would add is to actually go to a couple dealerships, talk to their service manager about what they want and how their process works

Best of luck and congrats on the little one!

[Ol Blue K20]

There's some great advise here. I used to be fleet manager/tech for a large construction company. The Ford dealership we purchased trucks from sent me to school. I was able to perform our own warranty/ recall work. Long story short I've always called myself a Ford tech/GM guy....lol

[abig84]

Originally Posted by 95 S_Trucker

I've done a few internships at dealerships(1/2 were GM)8-10 years ago. I would not recommend working at a dealership. I have an associates degree in automotive repair(about the same amount of schooling as the asep program). Most dealerships have 1 or 2 techs that get all the good jobs. The rest get the crappy jobs. and most dealerships require you to start at the bottom(lube tech) and work your way up. And it takes a long time to work your way up. And dealerships have a terrible reputation for ripping people off(not saying all of them do).

My recommendation is to find a reputable independent shop and go from there. (stay away from chain stores). Its a lot quicker to move up the ladder in independent shops than dealerships.

This is my story, and I know everybody's story is different

May 2007, graduate HS
May 2009, graduate gollege with associates degree
April 2009-September 2013, worked at 2 reputable independent shops
Nov 2013-present, owning/running my own succesful independent shop.(I'm 28 now)

Somewhere in all that, I got married and started a family.

thats pretty much how it goes, youre not going to get in a dealership and start making as much as the other guys for many years. you have to find a good independent shop though that pays well. my first indy shop i worked at about 8 years ago paid $12 to start as a full time mechanic. but i was just happy to be in the field and get some experience.

theres gotta be a better place then automobiles to go to now a days that pays more money, maybe heavy equiptment or something along those lines. the locomotive machinists at my job make $31 a hour and barely do any work.

i finally hung up my tools 3 months ago, not so much that i got burned out on cars as much as i got burned out on all the other miserable mechanics i was surrounded by who were doing it for 20+ years and were the most unbearable miserable human beings i have ever met and i didnt want to end up like that

[FleetsidePaul]

Personally I wouldn't care what I worked on as long as it paid well and provided insurance to my family.

Don't limit your options. I would work on Hyundai's if it provided me with a chance to improve my family's standard of living, and a chance for advancement.

Good luck. And congratulations on the little one.

[FleetsidePaul]

I just had another thought. (I'm old my brain works slow)

Try the utility companies, or government. They all have fleets and pay well with insurance etc. They also train like crazy. I worked for a utility for many years, and they would pay for your school as long as it was job related.

My brother in law worked at dealers for years(30+) and was always complaining about it. Then he got a job at Verizon working on the fleet. He didn't really care for it either, but he got all kinds of training. And benefits that really came in handy when he became terminally ill.(RIP) His family wasn't stuck with a lot of bills.

[Jered1987]

Originally Posted by 67ChevyRedneck

If you like GM, you might want to work for Ford, if you work on them every day you may never want to own one again, instead you can go home at night cussing the Fords you worked on that day

The advice above is great and congrats on your own shop!

The only thing I would add is to actually go to a couple dealerships, talk to their service manager about what they want and how their process works

Best of luck and congrats on the little one!

So I went to my local ford dealer just to see if they have any jobs, (since there is no chevy dealer) I thought maybe they might offer me a job as a detailer or oil lube guy ( since my two year autobody certificate wasn't worth crap up north)
I was thrilled today to possibly get offered a job as a body tech/ helper at the ford dealership since my certificate hasn't ever been worth crap. Just got to wait
To hear back whether I got the job or not.😃😃😃

[Ol Blue K20]

My fingers are crossed for ya.

[68C15]

I've been working on all makes for a long time now. I'd hate to limit myself to one make. And I'll be damned if I'll ever work for a dealership.

If you stick with one make then you are not as valuable

[davischevy]

Whatever you land, make sure you like the work. Not like it every minute, of every day, but have moments when you can stand back and think "I did that".

Look for something that has a retirement plan. If your young that is important.

I have always worked on and built my own vehicles, but if was my vocation, I would work on heavy duty trucks. Whether it be, mechanics or body.

[67ChevyRedneck]

Congrats, I knew Ford is always looking for people, can't keep 'em on the roads (I kid, I kid, I own 2 fords, our 2011 Mustang bought new has been a great car.)

Get your time in and experience and always keep an eye out for better opportunities.

Yes, put in your 401K NOW. Money multiplies and it multiples more with time. You don't lose as much from your paycheck as you think because it reduces your taxable income.

I'll give you an example. I'm an engineer so my salary has "gotten up there" and I got a 2K cost of living raise this year. Well, when I got my paycheck my overall raise after taxes was, and I can't make this crap up... $0.17. Yes SEVENTEEN CENTS! So I bumped my 401K contribution up from 12% to 15% and on my next paycheck my "raise" was now over $5. So I'm not putting 3% more towards my retirement and it didn't hurt my take home pay at all.

[abig84]

Originally Posted by 68C15

I've been working on all makes for a long time now. I'd hate to limit myself to one make. And I'll be damned if I'll ever work for a dealership.

If you stick with one make then you are not as valuable

i always thought it would have been nice to work at a dealership working on one specific make. i figured after a while you would be able to quickly diagnose common issues or whatever.

at my first mechanic shop we used to get a ton of s10s and knew those things inside and out so was able to quickly knock out any s10 that came in with pretty much any issue

[davischevy]

Get there early and leave last, do stuff without being told (dump the trash, sweep the floor, clean the toilet etc.) don't wait for someone to tell you what to do, and you will work your way up the ladder quick.

Just today I was telling my young banker about a couple of old multi millionaires in town and how they made their money.

One made his money in auto salvage and the other in dealerships. They both started out as detail/teardown boys. They went above and beyond their assigned duties (read other peoples work), climbed the ladder fast and ended up owning their own businesses. Don't focus on the money, focus on the work and you will do fine.

[Advanced Design]

Originally Posted by davischevy

Get there early and leave last, do stuff without being told (dump the trash, sweep the floor, clean the toilet etc.) don't wait for someone to tell you what to do, and you will work your way up the ladder quick.

Just today I was telling my young banker about a couple of old multi millionaires in town and how they made their money.

One made his money in auto salvage and the other in dealerships. They both started out as detail/teardown boys. They went above and beyond their assigned duties (read other peoples work), climbed the ladder fast and ended up owning their own businesses. Don't focus on the money, focus on the work and you will do fine.

Great advice! Be more valuable to your employer and it will pay off for you over time. Take extra training, work hard, be a team player, help others.

[Jered1987]

Hey everyone got the job and just have to go in and sign papers then start Tuesday.

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by Jered1987

Hey everyone got the job and just have to go in and sign papers then start Tuesday.

Congratulations, best of luck, work hard and make us proud!! Keep us posted...

[zach_carver]

Originally Posted by davischevy

Get there early and leave last, do stuff without being told (dump the trash, sweep the floor, clean the toilet etc.) don't wait for someone to tell you what to do, and you will work your way up the ladder quick.

Just today I was telling my young banker about a couple of old multi millionaires in town and how they made their money.

One made his money in auto salvage and the other in dealerships. They both started out as detail/teardown boys. They went above and beyond their assigned duties (read other peoples work), climbed the ladder fast and ended up owning their own businesses. Don't focus on the money, focus on the work and you will do fine.

Best advice Ive read. Dont wait on people to ask you to do something, take initiative and jump in there and help anyone you see needing help. Getting in with the older guys also really helps! Im a Ford service advisor and I know where your at right now.