It’s hard being one of the “old guys” in this industry at times. I entered the business somewhat by accident, needing a part-time job while I was in high school, and pumping gas at the local service station seemed better than flipping burgers at McDonald’s. That alone will date me with many of our readers who are even now asking some of the older techs in the shop what a “service station” is!
I come from an era where we helped our dads work on the family car and the idea of owning one of your own took hold early, as if it were part of the process of growing from boy to man. For many a young teen, the idea of having a “hot” car was more important than having a “hot” girlfriend. The reasoning was simple. If you had the first, you would have no trouble securing the second.
And cars “back in the day” were mechanical beasts that demanded attention, beyond the casual oil change. Points needed to be cleaned and set, carburetors needed cleaned and adjusted, belts needed to be inspected and tightened. It was one thing to do this on the weekends on your own ride and quite another to do it as a full-time job. The job was hard, dirty and physically demanding. Some entering the profession had the advantage of high school shop classes, but most of us learned from those we worked with on the job. The systems were not complicated to learn, though, especially when compared to the technologies new technicians face today.
As a young man, I didn’t entertain thoughts about my future in the business. My focus was on enjoying my youth and the cash in my pocket, and I spent a lot of time hanging with like-minded friends. Then I met a girl, THE girl, and now I was taking on the responsibility of providing for another human being. A few short years after that, and one became two as my girl became my wife and a child entered our lives. I had a series of jobs, some on the motorcycle side and then back to the automotive side, and I even tried my hand at management – but soon figured out that that wasn’t for me. I enjoyed the repair side of the business, the challenge of figuring out what was wrong and how to make it right again.
The technology explosion that started in the late 1970s, early ’80s, was inspiring. too. I watched more than one coworker seek other career options as computers and their related technology became more prevalent. I was only energized by the changes, because the new systems required you to actually think about what was happening, and required you to learn in order to remain proficient – something that is just as true today, if not more so.
As I entered my 40s, I began to realize that I would more than likely spend the rest of my life with a wrench in my hand. Not that that’s a bad thing. My dad always told me that a man who could work with his hands would always be able to provide for his family, and for me that had held true even in the more trying economic times. I never held dreams of being rich, or having the newest cars or biggest home. I was satisfied with a clean home, food on the table and the ability to care for my wife and children.
In my late 40s, I noticed that I wasn’t as fast as I used to be in the shop. Parts of me that didn’t ache before were now making their voices heard and I sounded like a bowl of Rice Krispies whenever I got out of bed. I began to wonder if I would be able to stay in the bay until my retirement and considered my options, which leads me to the whole point of this conversation.
Career Options – Then and Now
A few of my coworkers left the back of the shop for the front, choosing to move into a service advisor role or into management as a shop foreman or store manager for any of the several chains that were in our area. A few others opted for teaching positions at the local schools. And a daring few opened their own shops with mixed success. If you wanted to stay in the automotive industry, these were (at the time) some of the more common alternatives to turning a wrench.
But those options began to change over the last few decades, as the technology of the industry grew. Now, successful mechanics were known as “technicians” and all new skill sets were coming into play. The ability to apply critical thinking skills to new and increasingly challenging problems and come up with a solution were in demand in all areas of the industry, from the local shop to the global OEM. And that demand meant increased options for those of us in the back of the shop.
And it isn’t just the automotive industry seeking out top talent. Every technical field has need of the same skill sets and according to a statement attributed to Mike Rowe of “Dirty Jobs” fame, “There are over 300,000 skilled job openings today that are unfilled because we don’t have the people to fill them.” It’s nice to be in a position where the demand outweighs the supply, isn’t it?
A Change in Direction
Recently, there was an article on our news feed that caught my eye. It described the growth in demand in a sector of our industry I had never considered but certainly would now if I were an experienced technician in search of an alternative career path. The demand is happening, in of all places, Silicon Valley. Established companies and new startups are looking for those with the exact skill sets we already possess. Contributor Jim Guyette opens the article with this statement:
“Within just a few short years the auto-oriented rivalries and differences between Detroit’s muscular Motor City manufacturing might and the Silicon Valley’s software expertise have become wafer-thin as collaboration and investment are booting up to establish the San Francisco/San Jose region as a key center of vehicle design developments – opening up significant industry job opportunities in the process.
“While it might be helpful for an aspiring Silicon Valley technician to have the term “engineer” included somewhere within your list of qualifications, employment listings indicate that hands-on knowhow is in high demand to actually execute the technological innovations.”
Guyette goes on to share a laundry list of statistics and job descriptions that exist right now in this growing segment, and they involve companies like Mercedes Benz, Ford, General Motors, Honda and others. Some are start-ups, like the Bay-area based company Beepi, an online used car “buy and sell” service. Guyette reports:
“’We are hiring great people for many positions,’ reports Jocelyn Rivera, an executive at the Bay Area-based Beepi online used-car buying and selling site. Vehicle inspection specialists with Automotive Technology degrees and ASE certifications are especially in demand.
‘In some areas we’re also hiring apprentices – entry level technicians who want to get their foot in the door and grow into the vehicle inspection specialist role by taking on operational responsibilities at our different warehouse locations,’ she says. ‘In addition, we hire car haulers for both long and short distances to move our Beepi cars to and from our different operations centers.’”
And these are just a few examples of how a changing industry is creating new opportunities. A young technician has more career paths to explore than ever before. Shop owners, take heed – the competition for qualified people is only going to grow. What will you do to keep your talent at home?
