Temaj

Lee High School

What does it take to be a skilled and effective auto mechanic who gets paid adequately in the

21st century?

Rough Draft

Elman Temaj

Senior Capstone

Peter Foote
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Automobiles have underwent several changes over the last five decades. The skills and

training required to be a great Mechanic have also changed with it. There are large differences

between mechanics who work in a private shop and those working in a dealership. There are

several differences between the two job markets with one large factor being the pay scale of

small private businesses versus large corporate dealerships Car owners might not love dealer

service departments, but independent mechanics do. Why? Because dealers' stiff rates Popular

Mechanics (Feb. 2017). One great advantage to working at a dealership opposed to working in a

private shop, people deal with different brands of cars and their problems and in a dealership

they only deal with a specific brand of vehicle. This allows for the mechanic to familiarize

themselves much easier with the brand of car and they are far more likely to do a great job the

customer. For example, Chevy, the dealership will have their own mechanics to work on

exclusively Chevy cars and Ford has their own mechanics working on exclusively Ford products.

In a smaller, privately owned auto mechanic shop, workers must work on different types of cars.

One positive for a working mechanic is that its easier to find a private shop for employment.

The experience of working on a variety of vehicle brands will increase the mechanics skills and

it can help an individual receive better wages once they gain valuable experience. In the

mechanic career it is challenging to understand other cars, but eventually it leads people to

become more knowledgeable auto mechanics because they are more well rounded in the field

and quite possibly a deeper understanding of the variety of vehicles on the market. In order to

become a successful auto mechanic in todays world one must have an, understanding of
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the economic side of the job, be well educated in both old and new techniques, and also gain

a variety of experiences working with different branded vehicles.

In order to make a living as an Auto Mechanic in todays world, an individual must

understand the economic side of the career. There are several options and each option provides

its own work conditions. In general, working for a privately owned shop, the salary would be

higher than working in a dealership and plus when exploring and figuring out other vehicles with

the same problem, but different ways to fix it. Some are easy and some are a little more

complicated to fix. For example, with alternators on regular, basic cars they are easy to come off

with the tools necessary, but in other cars such as Nissan, it can be much more difficult. Its

complicated and it takes a while to remove it and replace it with a new one. Generally, it can

take up to two hours to fix the Nissan, but in other cars it will take less than an hour just to

complete the same process. In a Dealership, the mechanic will work for one specific company

like Ford, Dodge, Toyota, Honda, Lincoln, etc. Since the mechanics familiarity with the

vehicles is higher, it's much easier for them to complete their work quicker. In this case people

who want to work in a dealership as a Mechanic, they learn fast because they are working with

the same car company all day, everyday. According to an interview from Jason Klinger, who has

worked in a dealer Company at Borgman Ford Mazda Center for ten years, Dealership

mechanics will know almost everything about a particular vehicle when it comes through the

doors. The mechanic will more than likely already have worked on the same make and model of

that vehicle, have the exact parts available to them that day, and know exactly what to do

(Klinger, 2017).
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Another route of employment that mechanics often decide to go is to start their own

company or decide to work in a shop. A frequently asked question is, what is the most frustrating

part with dealing with customers when charging them for fixing the problem? People don't like

spending too much on their car especially when the problem was fixed and it took less than an

hour and it's more than twenty dollars. According to an interview with Antonio Temaj, he said

When they ask for the part that was wrong and what they did to fix it but yet they don't

understand but they ask (Temaj, 2017) . He shared that customers often will ask questions

wondering about the completion of a job. In the field of automobiles and mechanics, there is a

large problem because of trust issues between the mechanic and the client. This mistrust comes

because the customer doesnt always know what the problem is, how to fix it, or even if the

mechanic did their job correctly. This can result in a great deal of mistrust if the mechanic does

not take pride in building strong relationships with his customers.

The education needed to become a skilled auto mechanic varies depending on who you

ask, but on average it takes two years of training after high school to become a certified auto

mechanic. The majority of private shops and dealerships require auto mechanics to complete

training or schooling in addition to their high school education. According to Education Career

Articles, Every auto mechanic check and repair trucks and automobiles (Education Career

Articles, 2013). For this reason, auto mechanics should enroll into training programs that cover a

wide range of coursework and it will help them to expand their skills even further than what they

initially were capable of. If an individual gets all the education that's needed, it could aid them in

getting better, in a smaller amount of time, from those who have two years of hard studying. The

formal education could also help an individual who is interested in owning their own private
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company. In order to do so, a mechanics license is necessary, in addition to finding other

mechanics to hire and work underneath your management.

The skills of an auto mechanic are all different. Some mechanics develop skills to work

on the engine and some develop skills on moving parts. Some examples of moving parts are

brakes, shocks and wheels. In the automotive repair industry learning skills through learning by

example is the most important. There is no better teacher than experience itself. When new

mechanics come in and they often need help when they start working for the first time.

Sometimes they get nervous and mess up, but then when they ask for help, and they observe

other experienced mechanics, they can learn more skills. According to the website of Wyoming

Technical Institute, The days of the uneducated grease monkeys are over. Computers are

integrated with autos, and the skills set means being able to use new technology (Wyoming

Technical Institute, 2017). Technology allows people to start developing skills and to be faster

with replacing parts from a car. Some pros are when knowing what to do when fixing a car and a

con is when dealing with customers for the payment.

In order to become a successful auto mechanic in todays world one must have an,

understanding of the economic side of the job, be well educated in both old and new techniques,

and also gain a variety of experiences working with different branded vehicles. This research

project helped to better understand about how to pursue the life goal of becoming an auto

mechanic. There is no right or wrong way to start working on becoming an auto mechanic.

Generally, most people develop a love for cars at a young age and replace broken parts with a

new ones. Knowing how to fix parts like the brakes, the springs, and the shocks is a simple way

to begin working towards becoming an effective auto mechanic. In addition, performing basic
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maintenance procedures such as changing the oil and tires can also increase the level of

experience one gets at a young age. Most importantly, this project helped to understand what it

takes to become a real auto mechanic and the first steps that are needed to take in order to

accomplish this goal.

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Work Cited

"Auto Mechanic Educations Requirements and Career Duties." Education Career Articles . N.p.,

n.d. Web. 16 Jan. 2013.

"Dealer vs. mechanic showdown: who should work on your car?" Popular Mechanics, Feb.
2017, p. 40. Academic OneFile,
go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&u=lom_accessmich&v=2.1&it=r&id=GAL
E%7CA477339777&asid=92338c45b3cfb54108013aea282f47a7. Accessed 30 Mar.
2017.

Klinger, Jason. Personal Interview (3/28/2017)

Temaj, Antonio. Personal Interview (4/13/2017)

"5 Skills Every Auto Mechanic Should Have." Wyotech. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2007.