Have you ever been told that computers are the future and that it’s the place to get a job? Well this surge towards technology has created vacant spots and the need for blue collar workers. One of these jobs is being a mechanic, yes you get your hands dirty with oil and grease but, to some, that’s part of the fun. The cold hard cement floor offers no comfort, but the carts and oil slide so smooth across it.
I talked to a mechanic at the Poulsbo RV in Des Moines Washington about his work from the start to now. He started his mechanical career at a jiffy lube just changing oil as most mechanics end up changing oil in the beginning. When walking into the garage at Poulsbo RV, I was shocked to the fact that the people working there trusted the machinery to hold up big motor homes above them. Besides that, everything else seemed normal for an auto shop, about 10 people working with brown and black grease on their body.
I was introduced to Skyler a mechanic that has been working at Poulsbo RV for years. He was in his 40’s with dark colored hair and a beard to match. We walked through the shop watching people working on the RVs and doing so with a form that seemed like they knew every part. I asked Skyler what the weight limit of the lifts were as multiple people were under an RV at a time. With him chuckling he said that the people would be fine as the hydraulic lifts were nowhere near maxed out. I then asked him more about his thoughts on the job when we were out of the shop.
Since I’ve thought about joining this profession, the biggest question on my mind was, “What, to you, are the benefits of being a mechanic?”
“Being able to extrapolate and transfer the ability to problem solve to various other aspects of my life. Any skill we learn can be, in some way used in other situations in life. I am able to comprehend and tackle more situations I encounter in life due to enhanced thinking and reasoning,” He said while wiping the grease off his arms. “To go against that though, there are the disadvantages still as with everything. Busted knuckles, dirty pores and multiple types of refined oil smells that don’t wash off for a day or two, plus the possibility of cancer from exposure to caustic substances.” I was starting to feel that the cons outweigh the pros, but they don’t call it a labor of love for nothing. I have never heard the fact about cancer, but I knew the others and know that this is a physically demanding job. I still was unwavered and wanted to be a mechanic like my grandfather.
“I got into mechanics personally for two reasons, one being my first car was a 1978 Camaro that needed constant repair. Two I read an article in ‘Reader’s Digest’ in the 1980’s about a guy who pulled a spark plug cable off of a spark plug in a 1980’s Ford LTD. It’s an 8 cylinder car so it would still run on 7 cylinders with only slightly rough performance. He then drove around the country visiting large corporation controlled vehicle repair shops, small business shops and backyard mechanics testing them for their response on what the problem was. Many large shops gave elaborate stories of failed parts and provided expensive estimates for repair whereas more backyard mechanics were honest of the simple loose spark plug wire. I realized then at a young age that I never wanted to be in the dark about anything. I wanted to learn how everything worked so I could repair anything myself and not live a life of being scammed.”
In my time around mechanics, the most common answer I would hear for why they chose this to be their job is mostly their love of cars or it’s a family job. I haven’t heard someone say the main reason they geared up was to not be in the dark This made me consider my reasoning for being interested in the job as I want to be a mechanic for the reason of enjoying takings things apart and putting them back together. I’m not the only young adult looking at being a mechanic, there are more and more individuals seeing the open spaces in positions and wanting to get in. They see this as an easy way into the trade work field and instead of taking 4 years of college and being in debt they only need two years of college and they are good. Unless they go to metro to become a diesel mechanic for the buses and water taxi’s where they’re training on the job site now from their need for workers.
“Entitled attitudes of younger generations than mine have toxic consequences on workplace morale. I am grateful for the ability to work for years to gain the knowledge and rapport I have and to be the worker I am only to have someone half my age tell me that they have in some way ‘worked harder than me to get where they are’ because some political youtube video brainwashed them into believing they are a societal victim and that proud hard work won’t determine their ability to succeed,” He said miffed and irritated.
With the tone of the conversation changing I could see how much this annoyed and was in the back of his head. That shows though how pervilent an issue it is now a days. I took a personal note to not to be bull headed and stubborn when I get a job in the field. The people there know tricks to do things and just have knowledge that I don’t. Just do what they tell you to do and you will learn the tricks of the trade in any trade business quickly.
“Its a field where you have to be uncomfortable for long periods of time in order to complete a job. Vehicles are, for obvious reasons, designed with the consumer in mind more so than the mechanic. Tools are designed to fill that gap. If you want to complete your job, you have to pay large sums of money for the tools to complete the job. In this industry it is very common to buy most of your tools for daily use out of pocket and for your employer to supply a very small portion of those very needed tools,” he said still heated as this stemmed from the previous question. With mechanics being a trade job most of the basic tools that you need are going to have to be bought by yourself as the employer can’t afford to give everyone one every piece of equipment. This put me off a bit because I was going to have to go work for someone but then have to buy the tools to work for them before I even got my first paycheck.
In the blue collar work fields there is a high need for workers not only because computers and technology are big fields right now but because it is becoming harder for blue collar businesses to find reliable workers that show up every day or to pass drug tests. So If you are interested in in becoming a mechanic hit up your nearest shop and see what they want you to do for them to hire you.
Beginner Mechanic 