If you're thinking that a career as an automotive technician
will allow you to hide under the hood of a car, think again! You have to be
mechanically inclined, but you must also be highly intelligent and possess
excellent people skills -- not necessarily in that order.
"This whole job is about people," says Doug Payette, an auto technician
and service manager for a large automotive service chain. "You have to talk
to people, explain what's wrong with their cars in language they can understand,
and calm down irate customers. You have to have good communication skills."
Dealing with people is what Payette likes best about his job. "People rely
so much on their cars that, when something goes wrong, it can be very stressful.
So, occasionally you have to deal with angry customers. I look forward to
the challenge in that. If I can get that angry guy calmed down before he leaves
the shop, and know he'll come back again -- that feels good."
Of course, not every customer is irate. Most are friendly and appreciative.
"When you fix things, you feel good about fixing it. You get a lot of positive
feedback from the customers because of the one-on-one contact. That's where
the rewards come in."
Others agree. Susie Chivers is an automotive technician for a repair and
service shop.
Her four-man -- make that a "four-person" shop -- can see 30, 40 and even
50 cars a week, with jobs ranging from oil changes to engine work. "Every
day is a little different," she says. "I love it."
Chivers explains that this is a career where you get to see results, and
that's part of the fun for her.
She says that the ability to fix things was not something with which she
was born. "I think that anybody who has the desire to learn can do it. Book-smart
is one thing, but hands-on is more important," she says.
Doug Payette has been working for the same company for over 20 years. He
started working there after school, unloading tires in a huge warehouse before
becoming an apprentice. Eventually he worked his way into management. His
experiences starting out at the bottom help Payette to keep everything in
perspective when it comes to his own employees.
"It's like any job. It doesn't matter how good a job you're doing if someone
doesn't acknowledge it. I have 10 licensed technicians, seven apprentice technicians,
six service advisors and three guys hoping to get apprenticeships working
for me. It's important to keep them happy."
Happy? Beno Rubin is definitely happy. He's an automotive service tech
instructor.
"I love cars, and working with the right people does make this job much
easier. The people in my dealership, from the owner down to us techs, are
good people. That means a lot," says Rubin.
The most difficult part of his job is also the most rewarding. "The hardest
part of my job is working on a problem that is new to me," he says. "I see
it as a learning opportunity. The best time I have with this job is when I
take a car in with a problem, diagnose and repair it correctly, and then present
the car back to the customer. When the customer has questions about it, I
can confidently answer the question and make the customer happy."
This is an occupation that requires some smarts. "The more intelligent
the person, the better they comprehend diagnostic techniques in fuel injection,"
says Payette.
"It's not just about turning wrenches," Rubin adds. "Diagnostic skills
are very important. The cars I work on now can have as many as eight different
computers in them. Fortunately, many schools are teaching this aspect, with
help from the automotive manufacturers."
An interest in computers comes in handy, but a computer can't tell you
everything. Knowledge of mathematics is critical.
"Certain aspects of repairing a car require critical measurements of parts,"
explains Rubin.
"Understanding how to read measurements off of tools, such as micrometers
and vernier calipers, is essential. Since many cars today use metric nuts
and bolts, conversion from imperial to metric is necessary. Converting fractions
to percentages is required when dealing with how much material is remaining
[such as brake pads or tire tread depth]. Calculating hours of labor and prices
are also needed, but the service advisor is usually the one to present this
to the customer."