Today we have Miriam one of our newest techs here
to discuss what it's like to be a new technician in 2022.
So what is your education in the automotive field so
I went to a four-year university where I studied engineering theory
and got hands-on technical training in labs where I did everything from mounting and balancing tires
to full long block engine rebuilds. Oh cool. What about you? So I actually have zero
formal education, and you know being an automotive technician, I went to school for electrical
engineering but I just always had, you know, always wanted to work with my hands loved cars
and I when I got out of school I decided to open up a shop and back then I mean you can
open up a shop if you want to you don't need any special training. But I did obviously teach myself
and I ended up taking supplemental training courses along the way for special things. But yeah
I mean I got my certifications and then I just I just continued on so I’m really a self-taught
automotive technician. YouTube university? Ah, no there really wasn't much of YouTube when I
got started so I mean that that would be more relevant for a 2022 technician. There's a lot
of Facebook mechanics and things like that. Obviously having my shop was probably the
best training I could get. Bringing cars in and doing work was really the best source of training
and I’m sure you would agree. I mean how do you feel now coming out of school and being actually
working in a shop? Well it's definitely a jump going from learning about the things that you're
going to be doing to actually doing the things that you were learning about every single day.
So as someone who started out earlier than me what do you do to make sure that you stay up to
date on the new innovations in the automotive industry? For me I’m constantly looking at,
you know, they have a lot of like ASA trainings and things like that where I actually make sure
that I take those trainings. Some of the things that are really important is like
electric vehicles. Like right now that is the future. Gas engines, you know while they're still
being produced and they're still relevant EV is the future did you have any type of training for
EV or hybrid? Yes there was a very large emphasis on hybrid training in my school we did learn
a bit about electric vehicles as well but it's not readily available to the masses yet yeah it's
still new and it's funny because they did a big emphasis on hybrid vehicles but you know even now
hybrid vehicles are becoming a little bit obsolete but that's okay good thing I paid for all that
yeah there's theory behind it that that will build onto electric vehicles that if you didn't have it
you'd be kind of starting from scratch I still think it's an asset to have learned about it
and they're not going anywhere these cars that were produced in this eight to ten year period
where hybrids were more relevant they're gonna be around and on the road for the next you know
10 15 years so you're going to need to have learned about them and you know gaining your
ASE certifications is huge it's gonna get you that next pay grade level and I know you know
back in the day you know just having your ASE certifications would get you the job you know even
if you didn't have that much skill you know just having those certs having those pieces of paper
really helped out so I mean I think all that is like super important and staying relevant
obviously getting to that next pay grade I noticed when I was applying for jobs it always said
or the description would say that ASE certifications are preferred but not required
so a big question is title you know I know back in the day people were called a mechanic even way
before my time and you know even when I started I kind of liked it sounded a little bit more
you know more intriguing to be called a technician but what do you
consider your title I like to be called an automotive technician but if somebody were
to call me a mechanic I wouldn't correct them sometimes I refer to myself as a mechanic yeah
I got you it's a little a little universal and a little easier to you know relatable for if
you're talking to someone older you know if you say you're a mechanic they kind of understand
so what year did you start working on cars so I started working on cars around 2015 in my high
school shop classes though I wasn't actually hired as a tech until 2020. is that what got
you interested in was it that you had a you know shop tech class I took the shop courses because
my dad's side of the family is a bunch of gear heads so that kind of led me down that path okay
what about you when did you get started so I started in like the mid-90s working on
cars in my driveway working on my own my own cars I didn't even have my license yet and I
had already bought a car and I would work on that my driveway and then in
2000 I opened up my shop so I’ve been doing it for quite some time you know
getting out of school did you feel like adequately prepared to jump into a job and actually work on
cars I felt prepared in that I knew that I had all the knowledge that I needed or at the same
time I didn't feel prepared because I hadn't had the hands-on experience that one only gets
from being in the position and doing that job every single day yeah absolutely you know working
on the car is going to get you confidence where learning it and knowing it is you know
is a whole different ball game you know what's needed but it doesn't give you that confidence
I mean I know but I mean tell our viewers do you know how to drive do you know how to drive
a manual transmission do you think it's important you know in this time frame 2022 as a technician
to be able to drive a manual transmission I think that although it is becoming a little bit more
obsolete it is still important if you do want to be a tech because you're going to have customers
that will own manual transmission vehicles that you need to be able to move around and you can't
expect to properly diagnose a manual transmission issue if you don't even know how to operate that
vehicle yeah that's true if you work like a classic car shop or something more sports car
related there are most of the cars that roll in are going to be manual transmissions they're not
going anywhere you know those old cars are going to be there and I think even some new models are
bringing back some manual transmissions because you know the masses wanted it
getting started recently I’m curious what did you start out with tool wise so I didn't have
anything fancy to start I still don't really have anything fancy they are expensive but yeah
I just have the basic hand tools sockets ratchets wrenches screwdrivers multimeter nothing special
what about you I mean I mean when I started I just ran over to sears obviously I was super
anxious and I bought that like you know they had the mechanics tool set 356 pieces you know and it
had like the basic hammer that you would never use and you know screwdrivers and wrenches and
you know metric and standard the basic stuff as I went on I i built onto it I got a bigger box and
you know tool trucks started coming around and you start buying those specialty tools I mean
now my tool chest is you know expansive and it costs more than you know all my cars and probably
close to the price of my house you know but yeah so I mean I started low and you know you'll
as the years come on being a new tech you're going to obviously start low and have
you know a more expansive tool chest as you as you go on in the industry
so as someone who owned your own performance shop do you think that the car that you drive
sort of tells a story about what you do absolutely I had a performance shop so I always had you know
cars that would kind of market for me you know kind of tell the story about what I actually did
back in 2000 when I opened my shop it was like the age of like import cars and things like that so I
kind of got into imports I had my you know Integra Type-R which I actually have here today that you
know I’ve kept all these years you know I thought it was super important and then as time went on I
got into different things like drifting and you know I built a drift car you know and I think it
does it does give you know a level of comfort to your customers about what you're driving and you
know that you can maintain and build these cars so I do think it is it is pretty important so what do
you think do you think that there is any relevance to you know what you drive personally I’m going to
have a lot of respect for the mechanic who has a car that's 20 years old but they still have
it running because to me it shows that they know everything about that car they know how to keep it
alive and I trust them to keep mine going yeah for me I’ve always bought older cars higher mileage
cars that’s cheaper and I can fix them so I’ll buy cars, you know, built transmission, blown motor,
get it cheap fix it up drive it for years and then sell for more than what I paid for it there you go
as far as safety is concerned I know you know back when I started there wasn't you know a huge focus
on safety you know obviously now as time went on it's obviously a lot more prevalent but like how
do you keep yourself safe day to day working in the shop yeah well I mean in school they really
drilled into us you know the importance of of safety so the first thing I do before I get
started on any job is I put on my safety glasses I’ve heard of people who get metal in the eyes
and they have to go to a hospital not for me that was me that was him you know and if I’m working
with harsh chemicals or oils or anything like that i'll also put on gloves and of course there's the
common sense safety practices like dropping the lift onto the lock so you don't get crushed and
you know not grinding around fuel all right yep that's good no pyrotechnics around here yeah
not only keeping yourself safe but keeping the people around you safe I like that super important
you think you're going to retire in this in the industry as a technician you think you're going to
move to a different path in the automotive industry that's a good question since I’m so
new I haven't quite decided yet but obviously I got into the industry because I love working with
my hands so I think this is something I want to do for a while but if the opportunity for
growth or change presents itself I i might take it you've been in the industry for a lot longer than
I have and you've kind of moved around within it do you see yourself staying in the position that
you're in until you retire or do you think you're going to continue to move around I mean that's a
good question I have no idea I really like what I do what I do right now is a good hybrid of what
you know what I’ve been doing so I started my shop so I obviously managed I had every role in my shop
and then coming here became a technician full time and then kind of moved back into the management
aspect of it I really love what I do I don't if my body can handle it I want to constantly work
on cars for the rest of my life but I also do like to get out and kind of you know give direction to
the shop and you know make it grow so honestly it's it's one of those time will tell type
scenarios I really don't know where I’m going well that's a wrap on our video I hope that you older
techs watching have learned that us new techs really aren't so bad please be patient with us
we are still learning if you like this video make sure you add a like give us some comments on some
new content that you might want to see this is Miriam I’m nick and we'll see you next time!