Retirement
I started
my career in auto repair in 1972, and I never had
any formal training, I was what you would call, self
taught, plus I was given a chance by an employer who
seen the drive in me. Money was $800 a month, not
bad for someone with very little experience
at the time. $5 an hour was not anywhere near what
highly experienced techs can make today. After
being in the field for 28 years my last position
in the year 2000 was $35 per flat rate hour, keep
in mind that was when there was work to do, and
the work by flat rate hour was what you were paid
for the job by the amount of time you were given
to do the work, if you did it in half the time you
were given, and if every job you did for the day
you were fast enough to do in half the time or
better, you made piles of money, it just takes a
long time to reach that status, the sad part is,
by the time you reach that point your body will
start to fail, and the years you have left won't
be many, I know of many who left the field for
just that reason. Professional trades are ok, they
just take time to reach a level of experience to
rake in the dough. I had to give it up after 46
years, in December of 2017 I closed my shop, now I
have all the knowledge, but the inability to
physically do the work. Now I intend to spend my
time updating this site with as much of that
knowledge as I can to help whoever finds it of any
value without asking anything in return, I hope it
helps you all in some small way.
This was one of my shops.