Ever think you missed your true calling? (LONG)

[konish]

Although I do LOVE my career thus far (Naval Flight Officer), I always found myself extremely attracted to repairing / modifying cars and motorcycles. When I was in college during my freshman year, I used to lend a hand with an idependent VW mechanic in town...he worked out of a barn. The guy used to work at the Porsche dealership in town, but decided he liked the more laid back atmosphere of his own place. Anyway, after a while, we discussed ways to get hired at the local P dealer (with his good word) at which point they'd probably send me off to some training. Well, that would have required dropping out of college, which I was not prepared to do at the time....and eventually I got my commission in the Navy.
The Navy indeed has been a great adventure, but at times I REALLY get frustrated with the demands / sacrifices of family sep, personnel issues (ie young, immature kids that want the world handed to them on a silver platter) politics etc. The fun challenges have outweighed the bad ones, which I'm happy to say. When it comes to cars and bikes though my patience knows no bounds, I don't feel hungry or cold/hot or tired etc when wrenching....a very Zen like experience. I've find although I never enjoyed reading any of my texts / novels in college and don't generally read novels for fun, I can read tech pubs cover to cover several times over. In fact, I just finished reading Probst's Bosch Fuel Injection book for the third time since I purchased it 2 weeks ago.
I think the great thing for me is that at the end of 20 years with the Navy, and nice pension at age 42 I can think about another career. With my GI Bill (long story for an Officer, but I managed to hook myself up with the plan), I was thinking about getting some formal training through UTI and eventually the PTAP program in GA. I'm not looking to own a shop or get filthy rich, but I do want to be able to pursue my life's passion in my next life outside the Navy.
Anybody in the same boat (no pun), who made the career transition, or share the same feeling? I know I can't be alone just from the guys who contribute to this board. Sorry... "Deep Thoughts" on a lazy Sunday morning.

R/
Dustin

[gregk1]

Well Dustin I am in the same Boat witch I have four of, Boats that is, I sarted destorying my dads lawn mowers at an early age and its been a afliction ever since, I started in the shipyard welding at 18 (1974) and now work at a major Aircraft Builder In the seattle area You Know Who?? with out naming any names as a Crane opp. 23 years and 6 1/2 years to go, and will be doing the same thing as you are thinking about, I have never wrenched for a living But have done a lot, I build from the ground up and do EVERYTHING! rust repair, body work, Paint, engine, you name it, I started Porsches three years ago wanted a change from chevys witch I still do also and am on porsche #10 buy fix sell Play and have made money on every one I have done, Doing a 70T for the girlfriend as we speak I must love it because things keep showing up my friends think I'm NUTS! and I think there right but I can't sit still and be a couch spud that doesn't work for me, Lazy sundays?? what's that

[HawgRyder]

If you're not enjoying yourself..why make the trip?
You only go around once (in life)...be happy doing it.
For myself...started with lawnmowers...then to motorcycles...and cars...and aircraft engines....and boats...the list goes on.
I love the mechanical side...begrudgingly do body work if absolutely necessary....have painted, but rather farm it out....love working on something rare...just to keep it running or get it running better.
Am a notorious modifier of machinery....the thought being, in the time that the engine was designed until now...there have been improvements in technology to make it better.
Bob

[fintstone]

Personally, I have had lots of hobbies that have made money, but I think the reason I enjoyed them so much is that I was able to separate them from work. The only wrench I have used, fixed my P-car up better than his own. You know what they say...the plumber's own faucets always drip! Sorta like mowing my lawn, nice on a warm spring day..doing it for a living is just work and would spoil my fun. As they say, the grass is always greener......Think long and hard before making that hot, interesting date your wife.

[MY83SC]

Yes I did...I should have been born with a Titanium spoon in my mouth and able to afford Sienfields collection of P-cars..........

[gregk1]

I second that one, A wife I have never had or Kids, I'm Happy with beeing Uncle Greg! I think that Is why I never done it for a living, it would take all the fun out of it

[MY83SC]

At 41....I do not have any biological children....But then I do have my SC

[Mark sP]

A Navy boy from Kansas!!!???

You obviously have a well developed imagination! How did you even know that boats existed? LOL

I say go for it. Follow your dreams. It's obviously worked for you sofar!

[rattlsnak]

How ironic. I have been wrenching (professionally) for 20 years, and although I do enjoy it, it really depends on the facility you work for. Dealership vs independant, etc. There is a strong arguement on both sides. Keep in mind a trend that I have seen over the last ten years... Cars being manufactured today dont "break down" half as much as they did 10 years ago. 90% of Techs get paid on flat rate, or book time. No work, no money, even if you are there 40 hours a week, you could bring home a 15 hour paycheck. If it takes you 3 hours but the book pays 1, you get 1 hour, etc. Of course it works the other way too. It takes the average tech @5 years to get comfortable (meaning, not losing his butt on every ticket he gets) with ONE brand, let alone more if you are in an independant or multi line dealership. Some of the best techs in dealerships were making over 100K a year ten years ago, those same techs now make @ 50K on a good year and will continue to decline. The cars are simply getting better. You will be in a good situation if you can live off of your pension while you learn the ins and outs of the trade. Believe me, there is a TON of b u l l s h i t in this industry. There are no sick days, no retirement, little vacation, and most store now work you 6 days a week.

Oh, yeah, the ironic part?.. I gave it all up to fly. (pursue an airline career, which I am doing today.) Now, the double irony?? I fly at night, 3 on 3 off, and I went back to work at a dealership full time during the day. You figure it out........

[Shaun @ Tru6]

I agree with Flintstone. My story: I love my job (custom marketing consulting to IT) but the hours are long, the politics bite, you are connected 24/7, have to travel to the West Coast every other week and it's pretty high-stress these days with the economy the way it is. But last February I went for a 2-week hike through New Zealand and never thought about work once, a first. What I did think about were 2 passions in life, working on cars and coaching crew (rowing).

Having been an entrepreneur (Modern Dad and FirstTime Dad magazines) over the years, I know how 100 hour weeks can feel like an afternoon rollerblading around Central Park. You get lost and it's so much fun. But I also know, especially looking back at my Social Security statement, how it feels to have $0 income in a year, or pull in $30K at best. So as I pondered going back to a dual coaching and mechanic (apprenticed at a small Porsche shop in Mass after college) career, I reasoned that qualitative quality of life would be very high, but quantitative ($) would be low, probably 1/3 of current.

So I got back and talked with the garage where I worked after college, and many beers and hot wings later, many things were remarkably clear. I would love this set up for all of 6 months. After that, my back would hurt, my hands would be beat to hell, I would start to walk down the lonely road of misanthropy (after dealing with "us") pretty fast, and I would start to resent having to "work on cars" rather than "play with cars." This last thought really crystallized why left the apprenticeship in the first place. Everyone is different, but for me, this all rang way too true.

My solution was to wake up and be a bit more demanding about work schedule, responsibilities, staff, etc. It was a growth experience and I am much happier. The Navy may not be so accomodating, so YMMV.

[konish]

Well, with only 10 more years to go in the Navy before retirment, I can't complain. Truly, its been a TON of fun so far, and some pretty exciting/hairy times as well. Besides, LCDR pay ain't too shabby these days which allows me to have the prosche as a toy more or less. I'm really just considering the apsects of life outside of the Navy and the possibilities of pursuing a hobby on a more commercial basis.
I do agree with a lot of you though, that the grass is always greener. Without a doubt, I'm grateful and PROUD every day I put on my uniform and have the opportunity serve my country.

R/
Dustin

[atlporsche]

what you really have to ask yourself is....can I see myself doing this for my LIVING???

ME:

Mechanical Engineer with the mind of a mechanic. I could be one HELL of a mechanic, but I'm too curious about why it failed, and couldn't ever just be a 'parts changer'. My friends are marketeers, and Computer guys with engineer minds as well. i guess that's why I hang out with them. When dinner conversation revolves around figuring out how much fuel is consumed in a top fuel dragster per cylinder per revolution of the crank...yeah we're DORKS....but damn proud of it...

Anyway...do something that will get you a nice cushy desk job, but continue to be "hands-on" for the rest of your life. I never thought it would happen, but I see myself changing into wanting to have a daily driver I DON'T have to work on, with a nice warranty, so i can work on my other projects.

I'm lined up for small shop in 2-4 years, but right now, I'm engineering away in the corporate world, under paid, and working a steady schedule...in this economic climate it's all I can ask for.

I'm rambling...what was the question again? LOL!!!!

sjd

[anh911]

You are not alone, the question comes up for nearly everyone these days regardless of their occupation/sutuation. In the early 90's after having wrenched for 12 years I was tired of the life and needed a change. I sold, gave away or stored everything and went to college. The last 5 years I've been doing internet gigs, but now I'm "on the beach" as we say and going through the process all over again. Wondering what's next.

When I went to college a good friend gave me a card with this quote from George Eliot on it:

It's never too late to be ~

what you might have been.


cheers~

[911nut]

Dustin,
I have a friend who told me to "never make your hobby your livelihood" because he did just that. It's funny because he's a multimillionare from doing it but he'd much rather design his products than run his manufacturing operation.

I will echo the advice of some of the wrenches here and say that as you get older you won't want to be on your feet all day.

I'm like altporsche in that I'm an engineer but I work for a big car company. It's kind of like the military in the sense that there's politics, paperwork and spoiled, whining newbies. However I like to build/tweek things and in manufacturing there's plenty of opportunity to do just that.

Working on my Porsche is fun and relaxation and I wouldn't that to change.

Having the cushion of your retirement will allow you to take your time to choose your next occupation/profession which is a unique position to be in. In my limited experience I've seen some military folks do well in civilian life as planners or managers so you should be ok.

I have to say that I envy you a little as I'd like to take off and land on carriers (got to love those bad weather night landings )as it must be quite the hoot. By the way, what are you flying these days?

Good luck and stay safe.

[Rick Lee]

I wrestle with this topic on a regular basis. I have an easy, enjoyable, intellectually stimulating job in news and politics that pays just enough to drink good bourbon and play with Porsches. My golden rule is that any job I have must be such that, even on my worst day, I'm surrounded by things I love. I got that now.

Sat. I was helping a lady friend buy a BMW. We were in that dealership a good 4 hrs. The sales staff were more interested in my 993 than anything else. I was drooling over the M5's and model cars of old 2002's and 3.0's, bs'ing with the sales guy about his Bimmer, poking around under the hood of the 325i my friend eventually bought, etc. I kept thinking to myself that this is the sort of job I could do and really enjoy. I'm already in sales, am not at all phased by being told to go to hell or getting hung up on and am used to spending hours on a prospect that eventually walks away. But as most of are, I'm just too fat and happy in my current job to take that leap, risk going 6 mos. without a paycheck during the ramp-up period, blah blah. I almost left this job a year ago to work for Audi, but my boss matched their offer (which stunned me), so I stayed. Now, quotas are about to be raised and I have some more soul-searching to do. If I jump ship here, it's gonna have to be something car-related.