make yourself indispensible. don't get caught in the fan belt. keep your wits about you and try to project a good attitude.
if you haven't started on cigarettes,don't. if you have,quit. the amount of money to feed that habit could be the difference between a nice car and a piece of ****.
learn and enjoy your chosen work.a good porsche mechanic can sometimes be way more valuable than some of those allegedly professional people.
best of luck to you as you go through life.

Wow, thank you for all of the comments and the suggestions. There is a wealth of information on this board and I really appreciate everyone's words. motion, lol. I am facing into a mirror, so the wording on my shirt has to come out backwards ;). Ok, here is my new haircut:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1156902402.jpg

You look like me when I was 14 :)

(I'm serious!)

Keep your keys in your back/chest pockets, wear safety glasses around sparks/liquids, keep fingers away from running engines, ask a lot of questions while telling the other mechs how great they are, always stay away from shop politics(it will pass)...and congratulations. There's no such thing as high school auto shop anymore.

Congrats on the new job!

LOL, just remembered you mentioning your employer in your recent PM to me. :D btw - I'm bringing my car to Valhalla this Friday.

Ditto on safety glasses. Even if your workmates laugh at you, guess who'll be laughing when they cop a flying dremel disk to the eye?

-Most customers take pride in their cars, and will appreciate your interest and compliments. Be sure to tell them how well their car handles "at speed".

-Most car shops are male dominated workplaces, where coworkers may "test" you to see where you fit in the "pecking order". This is perfectly normal, and you should be prepared for it. The first time someone gives you a hard time, beat him unconscious with a jack handle.

-There is a multitude of small things you can do to save your employer money. For example, you can help lower the water bill by not flushing the toilet unnecessarily after every use.

-After eating lunch, always wash the Tupperware dish and leave it by the sink, where it can be easily found by whoever put it in the fridge.

Hope that helps!
;)

In all seriousness, congrats! What a great part-time job!

Quadruple ditto on eye/ear/breathing protection, I worked in construction for ten years and got laughed at for wearing a dust mask and ear plugs when appropriate and now at forty nine I can hear and breath just fine. Don't buy into the macho B.S. that you need to be tough... ruining you hearing or loosing your sight for life isn't tough... it's stupid. Build callouses on your hands not you nerve endings.

Oh crap... I made a serious sincere post... let me redeem myself.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1156951047.jpg

Let me share with you what I try to impress on my kids. It's great to have a job that you enjoy. Especially if it's your "first" job. The true value of your first job should be to teach you that working for a living SUCKS! If you want to enjoy your, life stay in school and get an education. There's nothing wrong with taking some time off, especially after graduating high school but now is not the time to stop investing in your life. Working for a living is just that....... Working to Live.

Matt - that hair cut is a start, now go get another one! Go in and say "High and Tight Ma'am". If your lucky, she might rub her boobies on you.

Figuer out how the boss man takes his coffee and mke sure you get him a cup when you start your shift.

The mechanics will give you so much shat when you start you will be convinced that hate you - don't worry, just laugh it all off. Consider it a "break-in". And remember, they all wish they were 16 yrs young, dumb and full of come. They would all give what teeth they have left to be in your shoes and that includes the owner. Just make sure you never remind them of that.

Keep in mind, they have many more years at making people suffer than you do but they (all of them) have something in the form of life experience that can't be beat.

Oh ya, don't pork the owners daughter...

By God, I might make an inspirational poster out of this!

15% of profits and its yours!

Ann Coulter doesn't pay people to use their stuff, why should I pay you? :)

By all means - pork the crap out of the daughter - and make sure she thoroughly enjoys it ! Puts you in a pretty groovy position where the boss will never be able to sack you. Fathers of daughters will know what I am talking about.

Markus - being a father to a 19yr old, if I had a biz and someone (anyone) porked my Daughter (even if she liked it - which she better not!) not only would I make his life absolute misery but I might just have to knee cap him just out of principle!

I can only hope that my girls grow up to be lesbian nuns...

Mike you can't perhaps show a picture of your daughter. I...ahem...forgot what she looked like. Maybe just to be certain that I would never..ahem...pork her.
TIA a very straight 19 year old!

I feel a love connection coming on here!

Oh and like lesbians don't come with their fill of drama!!!! Ask me how I know!

How do you know?