Jump to content
SAU Community

Car Mechanic Apprentice

LNah

By LNah,
in Victoria

 Share

Recommended Posts

LNah Community Regular

LNah

Posted
Posted

Hi guys! I posted a topic about the procedures of becoming an auto apprentice not long ago. Got my wish granted and now a 1st year apprentice for a pretty big workshop. Just like to know if it's normal for 1st years to do anything but mechanical stuff and in my case, doing cleaning up and helping at the wrecking area. (workshop does wrecking as well) Did a couple of minor services and little hands on jobs but that was it for the moment. Just wanna know if that's normal and what can I really expect. Would love to hear from any current apprentices, ex apprentices or anyone who knows someone who is or was an apprentice.

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/381182-car-mechanic-apprentice/
Share on other sites
Miguelone Grand Master

Miguelone

Posted
Posted

I'm a first year too, about 6 months in now I think.

Fairly normal for you to be doing shit work, taking out bins, sweeping, mopping, cleaning the work utes and loan car. Most of my first month was more watching and observing, helping do small stuff. Now I'm doing jobs more or less by myself. You'll get there, just be patient. Conversely I've heard from some of the guys at trade school that they've gone straight into doing full on jobs by themselves though this is mostly at smaller, independent workshops.

blonk20 Explorer

blonk20

Posted
Posted

yeah that sounds about right i guess i was lucky and only had to go for like 2 months of helping other ppl before i started doin my own services(just basic ones) but as time went on i did more and more involved stuff. ultimately it depends on where you are and how they like to do it. as mig said be patient and you will get bigger jobs. even still i still had to empty the bins and mop all the way through my first year till we got 2 more first years

LNah Community Regular

LNah

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

Cool. I know it's pretty normal for the shit work to be left to the apprentices and I don't mind doing only smaller stuff like I'm doing now. Due to being an apprentice, it's fair enough as I don't know enough to do the real jobs by myself. Right now, like mig, I'm learning by watching and observing and lending an occasional hand to do some of the more difficult stuff. They also got me to take on really simple jobs for a start. But then I'm still pretty happy where I am at the moment. Like you guys said, definitely will be patient and take things slowly at a time. I wouldn't want to be rushing to try to learn everything now.

Edited by LNah
wlspn Proficient

wlspn

Posted
Posted (edited)

Hey champ,

Finished my apprenticeship around 2 years ago so still all pretty fresh in my mind.

What you are saying is all very normal.

Someone has to do the shit work & seeming you're the new guy & being paid the least it makes sense for you to do it.

It sucks but that's how it goes... Especially being in a bigger workshop.

Put as much effort as you can into doing even the shittiest jobs & show you're really keen. & hey, I'm now managing my own department at work, have my own assistant, etc & still have to pick up the mop sometimes!

As long as you're not being taken advantage of (& get a second opinion if that's the case as at some times you may feel that way when it's really not the case) then it's cool. Stick with it! All the best...

EDIT: See you're in Vic... Do you mind me asking where you work?

Edited by wlspn
LNah Community Regular

LNah

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I work at a Jeep specialist. Very different from what I'm used to, lots to learn and lots of fun.:cheers: The only issue I have is the weight of the parts, real heavy!

Hey champ,

Finished my apprenticeship around 2 years ago so still all pretty fresh in my mind.

What you are saying is all very normal.

Someone has to do the shit work & seeming you're the new guy & being paid the least it makes sense for you to do it.

It sucks but that's how it goes... Especially being in a bigger workshop.

Put as much effort as you can into doing even the shittiest jobs & show you're really keen. & hey, I'm now managing my own department at work, have my own assistant, etc & still have to pick up the mop sometimes!

As long as you're not being taken advantage of (& get a second opinion if that's the case as at some times you may feel that way when it's really not the case) then it's cool. Stick with it! All the best...

EDIT: See you're in Vic... Do you mind me asking where you work?

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • QB6SAGR
      Tein Circuit Master- rebuild worth it?

      By QB6SAGR · Posted

      Thanks guys,  Yeah I should at least have them dynoed, at least then I know what I've got as a starting point.  The springs on these are hard as rocks. I vaguely remember Russman saying he was going to sell the shocks to me with the rocks fitted, as he was keeping the softer springs for his new setup.  I didn't click at the time but of course that was to let me know the shock/spring wouldn't be matched.  I also remember pricing up new springs around 2014-15, but, house, money etc. it never happened. So that was another reason to have them rebuilt. I have rebuilt the forks on many motorcycles so I think I could handle the seals on these easily enough, but getting the valving right would be a rabbit hole I cbf exploring.  Duncan, interesting to hear RP was tuning these back then. I might give them a call.  In the mean time I have been busy fitting sway bars. The Whiteline rear sway bar I purchased 15 years ago finally got fitted, along with the Whiteline front bar that showed up last week. Just waiting on new links for the front sway bar to finish that off.  And my spare set of advan AVS VS5's should be back from the powder coaters in a Pearl White finish sometime this week, with a set of Hankook RS4's lined up for fitting.  And then I just have all the suspension bushes to do. A comprehensive kit is on the way... Lots to do before the Ararat hill climb. Cheers guys 🍻   
    • funkymonkey
      Howdy Y'all

      By funkymonkey · Posted

      Nice car! I’m glad folks in the US have gotten past the FnF and are buying real cool cars like the 260RS I was with a bunch of mates in Portland about a year ago and spotted a green Stagea (just a regular 2.5T AWD) parked about 2 blocks away and they were like “a what?” So I made a bet with them for a round of beers and said “ok one of you run down there and tell me if the steering wheel is on the correct side” 5 mins later the American comes trudging back up the hill and goes “he’s right guys. Ok what beer do you want?”
    • Dose Pipe Sutututu
      Starting again

      By Dose Pipe Sutututu · Posted

      Should replace OR drop the tank, give it's good clean. Might be worth replacing that entire fuel level/pump/cradle thing with this: https://frenchysperformancegarage.com/products/fpg-s13-180sx-r32gtst-single-pump-hanger-kit-billet-hat-6-v3-fpg-089?gQT=2  
    • R33_Guy
      Speed Sensor replacement

      By R33_Guy · Posted

      Thank you so much for the help
    • GTSBoy
      Speed Sensor replacement

      By GTSBoy · Posted

      Yes it is ATF. I quote @Duncan "it takes a good synthentic auto trans fluid like Castrol Transmax Z" It's not a diff. It's a transfer case. Totally different thing. Yes, fluid will come out the sender hole. No you do not really need to drain it. Just pull the old, quickly poke the new, clean up and top up. But realistically, you should probably take the opportunity to change it anyway.
×
×
  • Create New...