My Car Mechanics Post Labor Rate = $110 per hour. Why don't more HS kids train as mechanics?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is standard to bill someone out at 2.5 times their hourly wage to cover overhead, so the mechanic would be making 40-45 per hour.

College graduates have lifetime earnings that are 60% greater than high school grads. That of course is an average across all fields. The gap is even bigger when you account for the fact that the plumbers etc. have trouble doing the physical work past age 50-55. Plumbers still working past that age generally own the business. They assume the risk of stocking pricey supplies and paying wages; the people who work for them doing the actual plumbing are paid hourly.

College grads also have skills that are broadly applicable to a lot of jobs: writing skills, computer skills etc. A journalist can become a teacher. People in the trades are pretty focused, and their skills can become obsolete quickly.

I think in the future alot of information heavy jobs will be made obsolete by super computers. But we are all going to still need to flush the toilet and ride in cars, so the plumbers and mechanics are secure in the future.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is standard to bill someone out at 2.5 times their hourly wage to cover overhead, so the mechanic would be making 40-45 per hour.

College graduates have lifetime earnings that are 60% greater than high school grads. That of course is an average across all fields. The gap is even bigger when you account for the fact that the plumbers etc. have trouble doing the physical work past age 50-55. Plumbers still working past that age generally own the business. They assume the risk of stocking pricey supplies and paying wages; the people who work for them doing the actual plumbing are paid hourly.

College grads also have skills that are broadly applicable to a lot of jobs: writing skills, computer skills etc. A journalist can become a teacher. People in the trades are pretty focused, and their skills can become obsolete quickly.

Yes, but if you are a college educated person in your 40 or 50's and you get laid off, it would be difficult for you to just hang out a shingle and go into business for yourself. People in the trade can usually make their own living if they had to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is standard to bill someone out at 2.5 times their hourly wage to cover overhead, so the mechanic would be making 40-45 per hour.

College graduates have lifetime earnings that are 60% greater than high school grads. That of course is an average across all fields. The gap is even bigger when you account for the fact that the plumbers etc. have trouble doing the physical work past age 50-55. Plumbers still working past that age generally own the business. They assume the risk of stocking pricey supplies and paying wages; the people who work for them doing the actual plumbing are paid hourly.

College grads also have skills that are broadly applicable to a lot of jobs: writing skills, computer skills etc. A journalist can become a teacher. People in the trades are pretty focused, and their skills can become obsolete quickly.

Really? There will come a day where toilets don't need to be fixed? Your heater always works perfectly? New homes don't need air conditioning installed?

Umm, OK. And you do realize that plumbers, mechanics, etc. have education beyond high school, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is standard to bill someone out at 2.5 times their hourly wage to cover overhead, so the mechanic would be making 40-45 per hour.

College graduates have lifetime earnings that are 60% greater than high school grads. That of course is an average across all fields. The gap is even bigger when you account for the fact that the plumbers etc. have trouble doing the physical work past age 50-55. Plumbers still working past that age generally own the business. They assume the risk of stocking pricey supplies and paying wages; the people who work for them doing the actual plumbing are paid hourly.

College grads also have skills that are broadly applicable to a lot of jobs: writing skills, computer skills etc. A journalist can become a teacher. People in the trades are pretty focused, and their skills can become obsolete quickly.

Yes, but if you are a college educated person in your 40 or 50's and you get laid off, it would be difficult for you to just hang out a shingle and go into business for yourself. People in the trade can usually make their own living if they had to.

How does the percentage of college educated people who lose their jobs and can't find new ones, compare to the percentage of tradespeople who find they can't take the wear and tear on their bodies any longer, and need to leave their trade?

[Anonymous]

My DS is a sophomore enrolled in auto tech. I wish he were as motivated in his other classes as he is in auto tech. Owning a shop has been his childhood dream as his father used to be a mechanic and he grew up around my job working for an automotive magazine. He wants to complete a three year program offered at our county career center and become a master tech. He gives me a bit of resistance when I talk about college and encourage him into auto engineering. He loves working on cars, but I do worry about him wearing out physically later in life if he puts college off....although I feel like I'm wearing out sitting at a desk 40 hrs a week myself, so I consider that too. I continue to push him on business courses, computer skills and management skills as well as additional auto-related certifications and am glad he is excited to intern at Nissan over the summer.

[Anonymous]

They do, one of my younger relatives decided to be a mechanic rather than go to college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is standard to bill someone out at 2.5 times their hourly wage to cover overhead, so the mechanic would be making 40-45 per hour.

College graduates have lifetime earnings that are 60% greater than high school grads. That of course is an average across all fields. The gap is even bigger when you account for the fact that the plumbers etc. have trouble doing the physical work past age 50-55. Plumbers still working past that age generally own the business. They assume the risk of stocking pricey supplies and paying wages; the people who work for them doing the actual plumbing are paid hourly.

College grads also have skills that are broadly applicable to a lot of jobs: writing skills, computer skills etc. A journalist can become a teacher. People in the trades are pretty focused, and their skills can become obsolete quickly.

Yes, but if you are a college educated person in your 40 or 50's and you get laid off, it would be difficult for you to just hang out a shingle and go into business for yourself. People in the trade can usually make their own living if they had to.

College grads can always become teachers, which comes with health insurance

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is standard to bill someone out at 2.5 times their hourly wage to cover overhead, so the mechanic would be making 40-45 per hour.

College graduates have lifetime earnings that are 60% greater than high school grads. That of course is an average across all fields. The gap is even bigger when you account for the fact that the plumbers etc. have trouble doing the physical work past age 50-55. Plumbers still working past that age generally own the business. They assume the risk of stocking pricey supplies and paying wages; the people who work for them doing the actual plumbing are paid hourly.

College grads also have skills that are broadly applicable to a lot of jobs: writing skills, computer skills etc. A journalist can become a teacher. People in the trades are pretty focused, and their skills can become obsolete quickly.

Really? There will come a day where toilets don't need to be fixed? Your heater always works perfectly? New homes don't need air conditioning installed?

Umm, OK. And you do realize that plumbers, mechanics, etc. have education beyond high school, right?

The education is often less than two years at community college or an apprenticeship program You train on equipment that will soon be obsolete Sure, we will need toilets, but the guy you are willing to pay to install it is current on the latest regulations s and technology and young enough to carry it into your bathroom

[Anonymous]

Even if mechanics were netting$110k per hr, it is real, hard work and they would be earning every penny. Mechanic work is also physically hazardous and they are regularly exposed to chemicals, etc. They also have to work in unpleasant conditions....think working in hot, humid days in garages with no AC.

[Anonymous]

One of the new trash collectors in my neighborhood is a newly minted college grad. Couldn't find a job. He is also mowing lawns. He has to pay his $80k student loan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I worked the counter at a car dealership service bay in high school. The mechanic has a book that says how long a typical job will take (say a tire change = 1 hour). So they bill an hour of labor. But really if they are fast and/or sloppy, they can do it in 20 minutes. So they can charge for "one hour of labor" for only 20 minutes of work.

Yes this in the case in MD, by state law. It's to prevent overcharging. So it's 1.25 hours (let's say) for an oil change for your car at every shop in MD, and the only difference is their hourly rate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Even if mechanics were netting$110k per hr, it is real, hard work and they would be earning every penny. Mechanic work is also physically hazardous and they are regularly exposed to chemicals, etc. They also have to work in unpleasant conditions....think working in hot, humid days in garages with no AC.

Just about every garage I've seen around here has A/C.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:$110 per hour is good money, more than a living wage. Plus fewer education expenses. Seems like a steady occupation, why don't more kids train for this job?

i think the real question is why there is such a low percentage of women working as mechanics. We have to work in increasing the percentage of mechanics that are women. This is an atrocity. There must be a glass ceiling that must be broken.

[Anonymous]

I know people who are ASE-certified mechanics, as well as people who are electricians and plumbers. They make good money after a few years, for sure. With electricians and plumbers, you need to go through apprenticeship and the union controls how many can enter, but right now there's a shortage so it's really just a rubber-stamp. So the first few years you get the boring work like pulling the wire and wiring electrical outlets for 50 cookie-cutter townhouses in new developments (most electricians and plumbers do new builds, not repairs), but after you are fully licensed and you can make the real bucks -- easily $100k+ per year, even if you work for a company. The ones who go on their own can make more.

As for aging, yes it's physically strenuous but by the time you are in your 50's, you probably have a few people under you so you just handle the less strenous work like giving estimates and paperwork. Then you sell your business and can makes a few hundred K from that to retire on.

Mechanics it's similar. Some places pay the mechanics by the job, so if the shop charges $100 for an oil-change, you get $30. If there's no work that day, you don't get paid, but if there's a lot of work and you're quick, you can make really good money. Then when you get your own shop, the money is even better of course. Yes, there's overhead like rent, but how many repair places do you see in the best part of town? They're usually in industrial areas so rent is pretty low anyway.

Now going back to the question of why don't more people train in it. One problem is high schools are being told to push college college college. They even rank schools based on what % of graduates go on to college. The second thing is society. Just look at DCUM, and how often someone writes that she's dating a guy but is concerned because he's a mechanic or some other blue collar field. She thinks he's not good enough for her. I know a lot of guys like this, and they've all been great guys and made excellent fathers too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$110 per hour is good money, more than a living wage. Plus fewer education expenses. Seems like a steady occupation, why don't more kids train for this job?

i think the real question is why there is such a low percentage of women working as mechanics. We have to work in increasing the percentage of mechanics that are women. This is an atrocity. There must be a glass ceiling that must be broken.

I agree. Same with nursing, teaching, and social work. Not enough men in the field -- where are the efforts to train more men?