just turned into a qualified mechanic what is the minium wage please help

[rthy]

supply and demand

[Mr Awsome]

also as a tradie you have the ability to do decent jobs on the side for extra cash. which will buffer your shit wages.

[4agejet]

University pays off huh?

[--Redwork--]

I feel for you man..
I would hate to be a mechanic. even if the money was good...
I'm a boilermaker... its hot, dirty, tiring and we get paid a good deal more than you guys and I still don't think its enough...
I think if I had to bust my ass all week for $600 I'd go bum around on the dole and sell drugs...

[Frak]

Definately not supply and demand....trust me


having been a mechanic for many years then moving onto training apprentices and earning substantialy more than I could ever as a mechanic, I see a few areas that could increase the pay mechanics earn, some people will not like what I say, but;

If you look at qualified electricians and plumbers they earn very good money, they are licensed, BUT their license MEANS something, for example, if you re-wire something in your house(Your NOT an electrician) the house burns down because of this dodgy wiring, insurance do an investigation and find out that the wiring was NOT done by a qualified electrician.....NO insurance payout.

So I see it like this, license mechanics BUT license parts also. have class 1 and class 2 parts, class 1 parts can be bought by any dick off the street, wiper blades, car polish etc, but parts such as brake pads, master cylinders etc, can only be bought by qualified mechanics.

I'm sure this is going to invoke a lot of negative comments

Now I know many of you will say the old, I'm not a mechanic and I'm better than any mechanic out there etc etc etc, BUT if mechanics want to lift the hourly rate of what they get, this is one way of doing it. If you have ever met a whiz mechanic, you'll know they are worth their weight in gold. Constant training, learning about electronics, hydraulics, pneumatics etc, etc it's on going

[Frak]

I agree, after being out of a workshop for a few years now I really feel for mechanics, dirty job, hot/cold, under the pump to get work out for maybe $20 an hour! If I went back to a workshop now I'd work hard for say 20 minutes then kick back, because that's my $20 worth of work!!! I also love it when bosses say I'll give you a 0.50cent or $1 an hour pay rise....well thanks a fucking lot, that's an extra $20/$40 BEFORE tax....fuck I think I might retire!

[biggo]

Well if you guys feel so fucking bad, go get a roadworthy license/pinkslip dealership and start fucking up the machine that is the federal government.

[H8CHIR6KU]

im on 25/hr which is about average in wa. youd expect bout 22/hr coming of apprenticeship.

and yeah frak i like your idea about the parts. with licensing though you do need to be licensed as a mechanic now with massive fines and no protection if your caught doing work without it, however ive never heard of anyone policing it and would have no idea how they would.

[reecegze]

I always wanted to do mechanics but strayed away luckily , did my research and found that theres no money in the car industry except some fields. Jumped into a/c and refrigeration and finished my trade + electrical disconnect/reconnect license. This trade gets paid stupidly to much compare to car mechanics and they work harder lol. Mate of mine is leading mechanic at bently and is on 30hr and he works on Bentlys!! and i am on 33hr and work on aircon and supermaket refrig.

[Evocom]

I would have liked to do a mechanics apprenticeship but with a mate just finishing his and quitting due to the shite wages I took up fitting and turning [focusing on welding/fluid power] and have never looked back. The pay now I've been qualified for just over a year is just shy of 30hr and can go up again soon. A unskilled trades assistant gets more than 20hr in my work place. If you are thinking of leaving your proffesion have a look into engineering/maintenance as there is a shortage of fitters with a mechanical repair background. All the jobs advertised at my work ask for someone with a "mechanical trade certificate" and over my time I have worked with some fitters rolling under a mechanics ticket and they have been great to work with as they in general have good fault finding skills. You could star off as a T.A and possibly still make better coin and go for a tradie job when you have a bit more experience or they can see you are worth the coin. Its also handy to have a machine and fabrication workshop at your disposal ;]
What ever you do dont be one of these people that goes on hating your job but doing it because "thats what I do". Your never to old to change carreers. I started my apprenticeship at 23 and now am still working in the job but am getting paid to do a Electrician apprentiship at the same time.