wanter: Porsche technician or trainee

Doug Steinel · Doug Steinel's Garage

wanted: technician or trainee

A Porsche shop in Northeast Ohio ( near I-480 and Ohio Turnpike) is looking for either an auto technician, or a mechanically inclined Porsche enthusiast who would like to be trained as a technician. The shop deals exclusively with Porsches. If interested, call:

Eric Steinel 330-425-8582

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speedracing944 · speedracing944's Garage

Would you consider moving the shop more up north? Say Wisconsin?

Doug Steinel · Doug Steinel's Garage

I bet Porsche shops have saturated the South Central Wisconsin area.

nynor · 01-30-2005, 07:36 AM

hmm... how about salt lake city utah?

pokey · 01-30-2005, 11:43 AM

Long Beach,California?

bluebullet · 01-30-2005, 12:10 PM

arg....another job not around..

AFJuvat · 01-30-2005, 01:39 PM

Doug,

Something to consider,

If you have a few customers that are considering a career change, or some younger customers that would be desirable to train.

AFJuvat

Registry Editor · 02-03-2005, 04:52 AM

I applied

McClintock16 · 02-03-2005, 09:19 AM

What type of pay, and what chances for advancement???

Britwrench · 02-03-2005, 10:20 AM

If the first thing you ask is about pay, don't think anyone I know would be intersted.

Mike(dat's me) · 02-03-2005, 10:38 AM

lol... if you need to eat and pay rent, pay is the #1 consideration.

I would love to do what I like most for a living, but my family is not going to suffer for it!

Britwrench · 02-03-2005, 10:42 AM

True, but if you are going for that type of job the research into pay, what skills needed and what you can offer is something done before applying. Most people in, or want to be in the business know what the pay scales are anyway. Shops are looking for people with commitment rather than "this is a job" mentality.

AFJuvat · 02-03-2005, 12:35 PM

I agree,

Unless Doug's shop is the exception rather than the rule, you will not make a whole lot of money in the first year. Over and above that, you will probably need to buy a good number of tools. Many apprentice positions will allow you to work out of another mechanics box for a little while, but eventually, you will be expected to purchase your own tools.

Additionally, it normally takes that long to really get up to speed and get "good" at what you are doing.

Example, if a waterpump bills out at 8 hours, and it takes you 10, guess what, you get paid for 8. After you've done a couple, you can nail it in 6, and still get paid for 8.

Shops like this are generally looking for someone that is willing to leard a trade. The money will come in time, but you are going to have to put your time in first.

AFJuvat

Mike(dat's me) · 02-03-2005, 12:47 PM

Yes, I concede you both have good points. And yes Brit, research should be done for a "proper" interviewee. heh, I liked that word.

There was no harm in McClintock16 asking though. Maybe an honest answer will make him decide on a career change, or that he couldn't afford one. Don't just shoot him outta the sky.

I think I took it personally because in about 6-10 years I will be changing jobs. Have no idea what I want to do after the AF. Being a wrech would intrigue me... AFJuvat threw out info I had no idea about. (tools and all)

And i'd still like to here what kind of pay is to be made.

Doug Steinel · Doug Steinel's Garage

Guys,

the position is with my brother's shop Steinel's Autowerks. My brother Eric has been doing Porsches for 20 yrs. Learned basics of being an automotive techinician while I was doing college. He was a technician for a Porsche dealer, then crew chief for an IMSA 935. The cars are his life and just going through his shop is a blast. 911 engines is various stages of rebuild, a host of cars waiting in line. People learn these skills by working along side guys like Eric. I know he has taught me everything I know. If you are an enthusiast and want to get into this line, this is the kind of thing you do. Porsche technicians seem to be a throwback to the Middle Ages where one became attached to an older artisan and learned the train through experience with the old hands. Here is a chance to do just that.

toolboy62 · 02-03-2005, 03:40 PM

and, of course, he's nowhere near Ohio.

Some days I'm about ready to quit my job and do something a little more fun, I don't know if I could handle wrenching as a real job, but I guess there's only one way to find out...

nate

Britwrench · 03:51 PM

This is very true. The problem today is finding people that would commit into this type of work. There is a shortage of skilled technicians and planning a business taking into account this problem is tough. Locating people with the aptitude to be trained and understand the technology used today is just as difficult.
Some of the major manufacturers are changing how the workshops operate; for instance in Europe, Official Porsche dealers do not allow techncians to bring their own toolbox into the workshop, no posters are allowed on the walls and everything has to be in the Porsche AG approved method. This is the same for some other German makes.
Basically this also means the only cars they want to work on are current models still under factory warranty.
Things are changing and the current age of technicians is going up, so they will and are tending to be more selective.

bluebullet · 02-03-2005, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by AFJuvat
I agree,

Unless Doug's shop is the exception rather than the rule, you will not make a whole lot of money in the first year. Over and above that, you will probably need to buy a good number of tools. Many apprentice positions will allow you to work out of another mechanics box for a little while, but eventually, you will be expected to purchase your own tools.

Additionally, it normally takes that long to really get up to speed and get "good" at what you are doing.

Example, if a waterpump bills out at 8 hours, and it takes you 10, guess what, you get paid for 8. After you've done a couple, you can nail it in 6, and still get paid for 8.

Shops like this are generally looking for someone that is willing to leard a trade. The money will come in time, but you are going to have to put your time in first.

AFJuvat

Hit it on the head man. If the dsm community wasnt whoring itself out here and the owners being cheap bastards, Id love to keep doing it. But being a porsche mechanic is starting to win me over. Ive never once screwed any of my old boss' over, its always the other way around. Show faith and loyalty to the shop and you're always the first to go in my case. It used to take me all day to do a timing belt on a mitsubishi. I can now do it in 4 hours tops. Pulling a motor can take me a day if everything goes right. I do it without thinking half the time, and afterwards you sit back and go whoa, I just really did that. Thats how much its put into your head.

Im at this point in my life where I want to settle into a good career and make something of it. I can see myself with a shop for 20+ years. I want to meet the big name people who are going to help me at one point or another with my own quests. And give me a wrench and Im always willing to learn how to do something

AFJuvat · 02-03-2005, 04:10 PM

Actually Doug's shop sounds a lot like the one I work at: A small Porsche only shop that has a few people. It is easier in the long run to take someone in that is willing to learn and train the hell out of them.

The nice thing about working like that is you really are in charge of how much money you make. After you start getting good, how much, or how little you earn is entirely up to you.

Mike: I'm turning a wrench after a 12 year stint in the USAF and a 1 year stint as a network engineer. I work harder and work longer hours now, but I'm having a lot more fun doing it.

FWIW, I started out at $16\hour Now I'm making $22

AFJuvat

Britwrench · 02-03-2005, 04:27 PM

Doug's and AF's shops are the same as the one I'm in. A small shop with skilled people. We are choosy on which cars to work on and expect the customer to understand the costs of repairs. I have been doing this for a while and like it.