edd1.0
Member
Registered: 17th Sep 08
Location: kettering
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hello
this may seem pointless and a waste of time
but ive just finished my apprenticeship with honda and im wondering where i can go from here ?
i assume that a few people on this site would be mechanics due to sharing a love of cars
if people are can they post there career path after there apprenticeship ? just so i can see where it can lead to
does anyone know if it can lead to any sort of uni degree ? ( foundation etc )
or anyother courses ? i love the idea of getting into the performance side of things aswell
any help would be great 
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Scotty C
Member
Registered: 6th Nov 05
Location: Kidderminster Drives: 1.6 16v Sport
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Ive just finished my apprenticeship and as soon as I was fully qualified I got laid off  currently looking for a job. I like the thought of going off to uni and getting into the performance side of things too
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edd1.0
Member
Registered: 17th Sep 08
Location: kettering
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ahh sorry to hear about u getting laid off , yeh it sounds good like when we get type r's in at work i enjoy working on them no matter what the job where as the other stuff not so much so i pressume it makes sense for me to go into performance side if i would enjoy it more .
do you know how you can get to uni on an apprenticeship ? ive had a look but the sites very confusing i have alright gcses results so hopfully that should help ?
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csweatherston
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Registered: 16th Jan 06
Location: Devon
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Im a grease monkey.
My honest advice is:
Get out of the trade now... Unless you have enough money to set up shop on your own, or have family in the trade.
There is no money at all in working on "light" motor vehicles, you will soon lose all effort to even fix your own vehicle and lose any love you have for cars.
When i finished my training, i did a few extar courses on diagnostics/ air con/srs systems.. pretty much all pointless.
Would have preferred to have gone through a main dealer -where they can put you through the specified courses to bring you up to master tech level.
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Kurt
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Registered: 23rd Oct 05
Location: Hi
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It depends which franchise though, alfa and fiat we were always rammed! Here at subaru it's alot quieter, but we do prestige which have something like 9 hour services to keep the guys busy
I would look at a specialist Honda tuner if that's what you have experience with, someone like abp, unit 8, tdi north.. Just whoever is in your area though
The problem with main dealers is that people don't want to pay the labour rates anymore, my service at honda would be over £700 but at an independent it's just over £300
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edd1.0
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Registered: 17th Sep 08
Location: kettering
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csweatherston i think alot of people have different opinions of working in the motor trade i know moneys not great but i did it to learn the skills i wanted to learn , thanks kurt i will have a look around at the franchise where either really busy or very quite never just a steady stream of work haha yeh labour rates arnt cheap and its a shame as people with older model hondas tend to go to indepdent places so we dont see many ek9s or dc2s  , i will have a look at the tuners and send my cv around im still living at home so taking a pay cut wouldnt be a promblem if it was beneficial in the long run thanks for your help
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Archie
Organiser: Scotland
Premium Member
Registered: 18th Dec 07
Location: South Ayrshire
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I was a technician but got paid off before i got my papers so i'm fucked, it's approaching a year on the 1st October qnd no one has been willing to take me on for the remaining 6 months of my time.
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shane_o
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Registered: 15th Sep 05
Location: Yeovil, Somerset
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archie could you not just do the rest of the qualification at colledge? same happend to a mate on my course and he did that, can you not try progressing through your honda dealership atm? i did mine with vauxhall and im still there stays interesting due to doing more courses and technical trips although iv been qualifed 3 years now so vauxhalls are getting a bit boring
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Archie
Organiser: Scotland
Premium Member
Registered: 18th Dec 07
Location: South Ayrshire
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I enquired with the colleges in my area and all said that i needed to have an employer/placement to finish my 3rd year.
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csweatherston
Member
Registered: 16th Jan 06
Location: Devon
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However i do get slightly overexcited everytime my snap-on accounts low enough to get something new... that keeps me going.
I guess im cynical, after having a crap employer for 7 years, and about to be taken over by a worse one.
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alan t
Member
Registered: 3rd Sep 06
Location: edinburgh
User status: Offline
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to be honest i agree with csweatherston on this one, ive worked in the trade for 6years now and would love out, the only thing is i dont know anything else so getting another job which pays the same is hard unless i go and do another apprenticeship for something different but i couldnt afford that.
i used to love cars but now i hate them whether it be working on them or just cars in general.
mechanics is proably one of the hardest trades and the least paid! personally i wish i had stuck in more at school and done something better
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i_am_ray
Member
Registered: 12th May 10
User status: Offline
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i'm an audi tech and was an apprentice with them as well i think your experience of the trade is wotever you make it. i've worked for audi 8yrs now. the money in london area is good a lot better than wot it was in ireland so if you feel the money isn't good enuf move to london. i love my job and arseing around it some cunts r8 or rs makes going to work worth it. i now have a type r accord but when the new ttrs came out i couldn't wait to get my ass in one it really is quicker than an r8.
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N_R_J
Member
Registered: 5th Nov 07
Location: Waterlooville
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by csweatherston
Im a grease monkey.
My honest advice is:
Get out of the trade now... Unless you have enough money to set up shop on your own, or have family in the trade.
There is no money at all in working on "light" motor vehicles, you will soon lose all effort to even fix your own vehicle and lose any love you have for cars.
When i finished my training, i did a few extar courses on diagnostics/ air con/srs systems.. pretty much all pointless.
Would have preferred to have gone through a main dealer -where they can put you through the specified courses to bring you up to master tech level.
I've been in the trade over 15years now and i agree with you, wish i did something else. I hated the 'politics' of the workshop so quit and went in the parts department, less hassle and i get roughly the same as a tech minus bonuses, never great money but will do till i either set up on my own or leave for something new.
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csweatherston
Member
Registered: 16th Jan 06
Location: Devon
User status: Offline
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Also, being over qualified leave you with all the crap jobs.
This week alone ive done headgaskets on an a4 v6 tdi, 12 hours of welding on a mk2 fiesta, finding out why a merc clk keeps blowing brake light fuses (rubbed through wire inside the chassis) a mondeo tdci flywheel, and just before 430 today pushed a 2.2 veccy onto my ramp ready to strip the head off.
Along with basic servicing/ cambelts etc.
For the love of £7.80ph, 90mins break per day.
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SRI-LEE
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Registered: 16th Feb 08
Location: kendal
User status: Offline
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im a mechanic to just finsished my 3 years still waiting for my papers to come frew though,i work at a main dealer peugeot garage and personnaly i love it,where similar to you either really busy or quiet always stuff to do though on sales cars e.t.c, obviously i hate the job at time when nothing goes to plan but personlly i plan on swtayinmg at my garage for a long time,yeah the moneys not that good but its ok im still on my 3rd year apprentice wage which is £1.60 less than csweatherston. cant believe your wage thats crazy for what you do, still moneys money ,id say stick tit,end of the day theres money to be made buying broken cars off the bay fixing them tidying up and selling them on easy money really my imput
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i_am_ray
Member
Registered: 12th May 10
User status: Offline
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will give you that those 2.5tdi's are a little tight to work on
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craig8
Premium Member
Registered: 31st Dec 04
Location: Glasgow
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im not a mechanic as such as its plant i work on butunless you have been laid off right after your apprenticeship like i was then i would advise you to stick it out for a year as a time served mechanic, from experience there are not many people who want to take on someone right out of an apprenticeship as they dont really know what they are getting, i know its like that with taking anyone on but the real world experience really does help over being seen as coming out of an apprenticeship into another garage/employer
also, if you can get involved in repairing heavy plant then your looking at a minimum of £10/hour so it is worth seeing if you can get something
[Edited on 17-09-2010 by craig8]
E36 328
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Scotty C
Member
Registered: 6th Nov 05
Location: Kidderminster Drives: 1.6 16v Sport
User status: Offline
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Chap where I used to work is on £11 p/h  just a small garage and he's got it pretty easy tbf. You lot have worried me now 
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CorsAsh
Member
Registered: 19th Apr 02
Location: Munich
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Get a job rebuilding rotary engines.
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edd1.0
Member
Registered: 17th Sep 08
Location: kettering
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seems like alot of mixed reviews archie who did u work for before you got laid off ? if its a main deal then there should be places willing to take u on happened to a kid at our place , if not contact the people that used to train you although youve probably done this already ?
theres alot of mixed reviews the management at my place isnt the best thats why i want something different , job card times are all over the place and the manager assumes the more work he gives you the quicker you can do it and im not gonna knock out potential unsafe cars just to make the manager more money
if i progress though the dealer then i will just be given all the rubbish work although that would push my knowledge .
i think contacting a few tuners is a good idea and also looking into degrees if possible
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alan t
Member
Registered: 3rd Sep 06
Location: edinburgh
User status: Offline
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as said the more you know the worse jobs you get, im a senior tech now, 4 courses away from being a master tech but im not going to bother doing them as theres no incentive for me, i dont get any more more money and get stuck doing all the shit, no thanks lol.
theres a few older boys at my work who cant actully i should rephrase that, wont do diagnostic jobs as they say computers is a young mans game and they dont know how to do it so i get stuck with them. ut if i said i didnt know how to do half my jobs my boss would tell me to get my tools and go, not much use if you cant do the work.
worst thing i ever did at my place was show any incentive to want to learn and do well, once you do they just take the piss
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Archie
Organiser: Scotland
Premium Member
Registered: 18th Dec 07
Location: South Ayrshire
User status: Offline
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I worked for Parks as a Renault Tech so that rules out employment with any Parks garage ever again as i took them for an unfair dismissal and won.
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