Changing Direction / Working for a Shop
 

After a 9 month stint of being unemployed and unable to find work in my field, I have decided to branch out, to strike out on a new path and to follow my heart.

I decided today to stop by one of the most well-respected Porsche shops in this great city and ask the owner for a job.

Being a non-pofessional mechanic myself, but displaying my eagerness wholeheartedly, his response was quite positive and he said that there will probably be enough work to warrant bringing somebody else on after the first of the year.

I am currently working on a resume for him highlighting my (DIY) mechanical abilities as well as my experience in business. If working with car guys has taught me one thing - it is that not all of them can run a business as well as they can tune a 911. I feel like my business / marketing savvy combined with my natural ability to work on and general PASSION for these cars may help me land this position.

My question for you Pelicans is: what advice (as Porsche owners, shop patrons, shop owners, shop mechanics, etc.) would you offer up to a young, dedicated, hungry-for-knowledge, ready to work HARD man that is trying to land a job at a Porsche shop and dictate his life's direction?

Thanks in advance for any advice you may have.

-Ben

Congratulations on having the drive, enthusiasam and huevos to persue an occupation that is also your passion. Good luck.

There is another thread like this a member here got a job at a well respected shop and there was awesome advice from both shop owners, business owners, and just good advice all around. Let me see if I can dig it up, its a good read.

Be prepared to do ALOT of oil changes!

Most garages require you to supply your own tools, mine did. The shop usually will have all of the specialty tools.
Just a few things in my box that made my life a WHOLE lot easier:

-A GOOD set of "wobble" extensions
-Black & Decker plastic spring clamps
-dial micrometers and caliper
-STRONG pry bars
-An extra clutch alignment tool (they have a tendancy to walk)
-2 sets of Allen and hex bits (they will brake)
-strong cheater bar
-spare torque sticks (they too will brake)
-the list goes on and on...

If you would like a detailed list, PM me and I will put together a list of everything in my main box and roll around.

Be prepared to spend alot of your "free time" reading up on odd issues. It's amazing how much time it takes to stay on top of the game.

hope it helps,
Nick

Congratulations! I hope this works out for you!

Ben
Hope it works out, the "bringing somebody else on after the first of the year" line was used on me a number in the '80s when I was a maniac mechanic.
Nick
What are torque sticks? Am unfamiliar with the term.
Jim

I wish you luck. I had a passion for cars in general, I lived to work on anything, this led me to becoming a wrench. After 20+years of turning wrenches, I almost detest going to work on mondays. I like the people I work with and we have a good time, as well as working, but...............I'm so tired of people who buy crappy little, econo boxes, made from the junkiest materials ever designed, and expect to have a Mercedes. Don't get me wrong I do work on alot of very nice cars, owned by people who care, but it only takes one jerk-off to ruin the day. I love getting a funky eletrical problem, it keeps the boss off my back and no 2 problems are the same.
Be prepaired to spend alot of money on tools, and make very little money at first.
I hope you don't end up like me, I just don't know any other kind of work.
Stay off the Snap-On truck at first, buy your starter tools from sears, you can take them home when you start to replace them with better stuff. Also keep all reciepts for tools and such. It does end up as a good tax break at the end of the year

Ben,
I was a part time mechanic during the summer. The one tool that I couldnt live without is a flashlight pen, it fits in ur pocket and has a small LED on the end. AMAZING! Also, be prepared to do lots of oil changes. Thats what I started with, then brakes, and now I can do quite a bit of stuff. If you want to learn, you will learn fast.

Jim,
Torque sticks:
A pre-stressed socket type device that has a specific diameter shaft that is used on an impact wrench for tightening lug nuts (available in many size/torque combinations). They are actaully quite accurate (within 1 lb +/-). After about 2000 uses, they have a tendancy to "twist apart" which is what they are designed to do. Makes brake jobs, tire rotations, balancing jobs a LOT quicker. We usually double check them once a week, by checking the lugs just torqued with a torque wrench, just to make sure they are still within spec.

When your doing 4 brake jobs and 3-4 30, 60, 120K services in a day, it truely is a godsend!

-Nick

Hey, good luck!

I can tell you from experience that working on other people's greasy, oily cars 8 hours a day 5 days a week is a different ballgame than wrenching on your own baby in your garage.

Most of the guys that I knew really didn't like it anymore, the cold garages in the winter, hot in the summer, constant dirtiness, busted knuckles, etc.

But some did like it.

The ones that liked it the most were the ones that eventually developed their own clientele, opened their own shop, and spent 7 hours a day developing business, running the front office, and only touching the cars when they wanted to.

But I don't mean to discourage you. In fact, I encourage it. It is a tremendous, valuable learning experience. However it works out, I don't think you'll regret it. You are doing the right thing, go for it!

Also, given what you are (a non-professional mechanic), I doubt that any shop that will be hiring you will expect you to bring your own tools. You will be hired more as an entry level shop boy, parts chaser, cleaner upper, etc.

Also, "maybe after the first of the year" is a classic blow off, but keeping going back. Not on an hourly basis, but keep following up and expressing your interest.

And if it doesn't work at that shop, try the same thing at all the shops in your area. IMO, just walk up ready to make your pitch, start up a conversation and go for it. IMO, it's the only way to do it. A letter will get tossed in the trash instantly. A phone call won't do it, either.

It doesn't matter how much you don't know. Your ability to learn and work hard and clean is key. Go to a community college and ask them if they have a manufacturer's training plan. Some dealers will sponsor you and pay for the training as well as starting you at the shop with a senior / mentor tech. You could also contact Porsche North America directly for some pointers. Even if the college doesn't have a pro plan go anyway to relearn all the stuff you think you know (like the difference between exhaust gas velocity and pressure :D). The teachers there probably know every service manager in the city and get calls all the time for apprentice trainee recommendations. The advice about Craftsman vs SnapOn is spot on. Work for a couple of years before you start a $25K credit line with SnapOn. Best of luck. And pretend your child is riding or driving the car you're now working on....

My profession is a lot the same. By Nov and Dec the funds have run out for anything that is not an emergency item and all the hiring that should have been done in the last quarter of the year is done after the 1st of January. After the New Year the next years funds have been released and everyone gets rolling for a years worth of work, so now we can hire more people.

Get to know the driver of the Snap-On, Proto, MAC and so on trucks. Do not buy a load of Craftsman tools. You will make your living with these tools so they have to be good. You also might look on Ebay for Snap-on and so on tools. Usually a bit cheaper but you have to pay for them all at once.

Good luck and learn all you can!

Joe

Good Luck and be persistant. Stay off the snap on truck if you can help it. I've actually had better luck with Craftsman stuff. The only time Snap on was better was when I needed a thin walled socket. Other than that they aren't worth it. I've loosened bolts that 3 snap on sockets couldn't handle. To each is his own I guess.

I was a mechanic in the military and they use snap on. There was a bolt that two snap on sockets striped out and one cracked couldn't remove. For kicks, I got my Craftsman socket out of my truck and it came right off. Of course I heard the standard joke how it was loosened for me, but ever since I've been a Craftsman tool guy. Plus I don't have to find the snap on tool truck.

Craig's list. At least buy a used roll around. Those things are stupid expensive, like 8K for the Snap On granddaddy and I think you could hang another 2K on it somewhere. That's EMPTY, my friend. I hear some have a shaving mirror. ;)

My advice is to get to know a specialty like trannys or even engine rebuilding. A guy told me once that if you could lay carpet, you could go to work any day, anywhere. Not the best job in the world, but a good layer can make decent money. A trade is portable. There's always a need for a good technician.

However, knowing your way completely around the shop and some makes and models will make you an all around person with a couple of specities. It doesn't get any better than that.

Should be worth a minimum of a grand a week take home, depending on location. More in LA and I suspect many other markets.

take a picture of your tools to attach to the resume.

Really, no reputable Porsche shop is going to expect a guy with NO professional mechanics experience or training to roll up with a tool chest and start working on customer cars. Just ain't gonna happen, and if it does that's an irresponsible shop. And one that isn't afraid to insult its professional mechanics.

If you want to attach a pic to your resume, attach a pic of a big pushbroom.