I have always liked working on cars but have been under the impression you don't make diddly squat doing it as a career.

Have a mechanic friend who said it also sucks the fun out of it, when you're doing it everyday.

I have found tons of info on the BMW Step program and have heard BMW techs get paid the most (don't know if this is true).

Have seen there is a GM ASEP program. Anyone know anything about this? Can't really find very much info about it.

Also, any that is a mechanic? Do you make a decent living at it?
Do you enjoy the job? Or would change it of you could?

I use to be a mechanic for a small shop. Hated the corporate BS. On weekends, I didn't feel like even touching my own cars. So yea, it does have an effect. Since I left that job and got into a different career, I'm able to enjoy working on cars as a hobby again.

Because I was relatively new (I went to school back in 1995, I lost some experience), I was paid basically mininum wage. I was also paid a percentage of the parts I installed, but doing oil changes all day long didn't pay well. I couldn't legally do state inspections because my certification from 1995 had expired.

If you can get into a good school(Ohio Tech or Wyoming Tech) and jump on with GM, get your certification, that will open more doors. If you have a good electronics background, EXCEPTIONAL computer skills(programming) your oppurtunities will expand even more. Cars these days are far more advanced than yesteryear.

I'm not sure on payscales between the big companies. But, the more expensive the car is, the more the mechanics get paid. Go learn German!! LOL.

Went to school for it years ago, had a small shop. Didn't take long and I was sick of working on other peoples cars. Dirty, things falling apart, etc. Didn't even want to do my own oil changes after a while. Got out of it for a while. Now I have a small shop and it'* just something I do on the side. I do OK, but have no interest in making a living at it again. I make enough to buy new tools and stuff. That'* all I'm interested in.

I am a Tech at a Toyota Dealership. I love working on vehicles. I also love working on my own and others on the side. I got out of it for a while before starting at Toyota. Every time i get out of it i find myself back doing it again. I just love working on vehicles.

Good, I got some brake line work for ya to do!

Here is a post from a BMW Forum:
"Ever thought about going to school to be a BMW tech? It'* really the best of both worlds. You don't have to deal with joe public very often, you get to be around the cars and learn something new everyday, you never ever know what you are going to run into making each day different. There'* some stress and BS, most of it revolving around flat-rate, but for the money it'* easy to deal with.

I personally went to tech school for 6 months, went to BMW STEP for 6 months, then made 53K my first year. Second year I made 71K, third year 76K, 4th year 85K, and now I'm in a salary position into 6 figures, all at the ripe old age of 27. And I'm in a city that has low cost of living.......certainly nothing like NY.

I personally love my job........couldn't see myself doing anything else.
""

I think Dan'* perspective is well worth noting. I'd speculate part of Dan'* perspective may of resulted from being paid dealer book, where in Wisconsin changing out a fuel pump on a Blazer can easily take 90 more minutes and be a pain in the azz, when compared to changing out the same fuel pump on a Arizona Blazer. Rust/ corrossion can make every simple job turn into a major task.

Maybe if you are super professional, working on BMWs might be a great path for certain individuals.

I own a small shop..Its just me and my cousin that run it and i love doing it but i also have four other ventures as well.I love workin on other peoples cars and repairing them, and i still find great passion in working on mine.granted im a busy guy so its hard to find time some times but for me it works well..As far as pay goes i started everything with just that shop and its led me to be able to partake in other ventures to make my pocket happy lets just put it that way.,but i suppose there is a diffrence in owning and operating rather than just working for somebody.

Edit Like boosty said you can get very beat by it depending on your pace.Personally can turn out anything from 1-10 cars a day depending on what the job was.Also bill is definatley right on the being rusty and bubble gummed together.Ive seen some crap that i cant beleive people were driving their cars with..

Also as for me i will do anything from changing an air filter to carb building to building engines for hi performance situations.trans build rear ends you name it.
It may be true that BMW techs are paid well but remember Bmws can be quite painstaking to work on

I have a buddy that has his own shop. A lot of like/dislike is a personal thing. He likes it, however finds it beats a body daily. All mechanics I've known will agree, you can get physically beaten by it.

Depending on what you are working on, has a lot to do with it. My buddies shop isn't in the best neighborhood and therefore he gets a lot of older, rusty, dirty and nasty cars. Things are bubble gummed together and when he fixes one thing..another seems to stand out. Sometimes your customer blames you for it. If you are at a dealership, working on nice clean cars..that'* a whole differnent story.

One of my friends is a bmw tech makes great money loves his job and makes me jealous every time he upgrades his beamers

My brother works for betten honda as lube tech brand new shop amazing looking place he'* getting moved to the hyundai building soon to make flat rate 13.75 an hour

My buddy matt graduated from UNOH and now works at the gm powertrain headquartes 15.00 testing engines to their limits on dynos

All love their jobs.

Are they younger people? Just wondering as it seems (depending where you work), as you get older you get sick of it.