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samsquanch
Samba Member
Joined: May 10, 2014
Posts: 2
Location: minneapolis
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 Posted: Sat May 10, 2014 5:00 pm Post subject: Realistic Career Choice? |
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I live in Minneapolis! I'm extremely interested in air cooled vehicles and their simplicity compared to the rest of the car world. Ive always had an interest in cars so I'm looking into maybe making it a career... I would love to specialize in VWs and similar classics. Do you have any suggestions of where to start. I dont currently own a VW.
I work retail right now and would love to get out of it. I'm in my early 20's and my current job (Apple) offers flexibility with the time aspect.
I've asked around a bit on some of the local shops and who offers what. Do shops generally do internships with inexperienced passionate young adults? I would like to have an idea of what to present and ask if I were to walk into a shop looking for work...
Any suggestions or comments? |
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joe56vw
Samba Member
Joined: June 24, 2004
Posts: 3202
Location: Olympia wa
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samsquanch
Samba Member
Joined: May 10, 2014
Posts: 2
Location: minneapolis
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| Posted: Sat May 10, 2014 6:30 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks joe56vw!
That helped a lot... |
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vwracerdave
Samba Member
Joined: November 11, 2004
Posts: 15308
Location: Deep in the 405
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| Posted: Sat May 10, 2014 7:47 pm Post subject: |
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VW's are dying steadily and I would never consider a career choice for a 20 something year old man that will provide a living 30-40 years into the future . If I were young again I'd move to the Carolina's and heavily pursue a job in a NASCAR shop.
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2017 Street Comp Champion - Thunder Valley Raceway Park - Noble, OK
2010 Sportsman ET Champion - Mid-America Dragway - Arkansas City, KS
1997 Sportsman ET Champion - Thunder Valley Raceway Park - Noble ,OK |
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60vwnewengland
Twin #2
Joined: June 25, 2003
Posts: 1784
Location: District of Columbia & Cape Cod
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| Posted: Mon May 12, 2014 5:20 pm Post subject: Re: Realistic Career Choice? |
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| samsquanch wrote: |
I live in Minneapolis! I'm extremely interested in air cooled vehicles and their simplicity compared to the rest of the car world. Ive always had an interest in cars so I'm looking into maybe making it a career... I would love to specialize in VWs and similar classics. Do you have any suggestions of where to start. I dont currently own a VW.
I work retail right now and would love to get out of it. I'm in my early 20's and my current job (Apple) offers flexibility with the time aspect.
I've asked around a bit on some of the local shops and who offers what. Do shops generally do internships with inexperienced passionate young adults? I would like to have an idea of what to present and ask if I were to walk into a shop looking for work...
Any suggestions or comments? |
Go to college and be a Pharmacist! Them baby boomers are getting old and Pharmacists make really good money.
_________________
77 Westy - Cape Cod Sage
LLAP |
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grey60
Samba Member
Joined: May 29, 2013
Posts: 172
Location: Texas
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| Posted: Mon May 12, 2014 5:31 pm Post subject: |
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I had no direction coming out of high school and barely much more after college. But I knew how to type, thanks to advice I got from my 8th grade history teacher. Typing got me a low-level clerical job, which within a few years got me into computers. (This was back in the 80s, dawn of Internet.)
I've done fairly well for myself in the field, but personally I think it's been heading for a major watershed period as more and more computation is centralized or off-shored, sent to the Cloud, etc..
My advice? Look for a field you 1) like, 2) in which you excel, 3) that pays well.
It's anecdotal, but if you can't do what you love, at least do something you like that will pay the bills and let you do what you love outside work.
Note: The world doesn't need any more lawyers or marketing people. Seriously.
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1960 grey panel |
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KTPhil 
Samba Member
Joined: April 06, 2006
Posts: 34013
Location: Conejo Valley, CA
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| Posted: Mon May 12, 2014 9:26 pm Post subject: Re: Realistic Career Choice? |
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| 60vwnewengland wrote: |
| Go to college and be a Pharmacist! Them baby boomers are getting old and Pharmacists make really good money. |
Just don't sample the merchandise. |
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coad
Samba Scapegoat
Joined: September 12, 2002
Posts: 7552
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| Posted: Tue May 13, 2014 5:54 am Post subject: |
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You're at Apple? That's one of the hottest jobs in retailing. Stay put, at least for now. Get a few years in at Apple (decent pay, good benefits, profit sharing, stock plan, etc.) then with that on your resume go do whatever you want to do.
Employers will jump at an ex-Apple employee, you'll have your choice of positions down the road.
As far as working on air-cooled, it's like an old book I read about beekeeping. It said "A man can make a good living keeping bees, but for the time and effort involved, he can make a better living doing almost anything else." |
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Meyer
Samba Member
Joined: October 30, 2003
Posts: 807
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| Posted: Tue May 13, 2014 3:07 pm Post subject: |
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Advice for somebody looking to specialize in ACVWs? Sure!
1) Find a good covered doorway for an out-of-the-way business that closes early. Having a good, dry place to sleep is important.
2) The local library will let you use their bathrooms and hang out during the day. You can even use their computers.
3) Be aware of the local vagrancy laws.
4) Locate the nearest food bank and be aware of their hours and policies.
Hope this helps!
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skills@eurocarsplus
Samba Peckerhead
Joined: January 01, 2007
Posts: 16879
Location: sticksville, ct.
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| Posted: Tue May 13, 2014 4:19 pm Post subject: |
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^^^^^this
if you love cars, you won't after working on them for long (i'm 35 and have been at it for over 20 years) i am falling apart...click and rattles like a 80 year old tons and tons invested in tools etc....
do i love it?
yea, in a twisted way i do. if you have no automotive background you will be a tire a lube grunt. it sucks.
unless you find a small mom and pop shop that will see the potential you may (or may not) have any dealer is going to look at you like a warm body to fill the spot...tech's are like paper towels to most shops
it really is a shitty way to make a living, and on your best day, you *may* make 70k a year. ASE/ICAR etc don't mean shit (to me...other than you can pass a test) i am a shitty test taker, but blow my co workers out of the water in repairs/finding work arounds etc.
as far as classic repair goes, most people own them because they can work on them. the only people that can't work on them bought them at barret-jackson, or are just yuppies.
you will be able to make a living, but not really a killing if that's what you're looking for
_________________
| gprudenciop wrote: |
my reason for switching to subaru is my german car was turning chinese so i said fuck it and went japanese....... |
| Jake Raby wrote: |
| Thanks for the correction. I used to be a nice guy, then I ruined it by exposing myself to the public. |
| Brian wrote: |
| Also the fact that people are agreeing with Skills, it's a turn of events for samba history |
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joe56vw
Samba Member
Joined: June 24, 2004
Posts: 3202
Location: Olympia wa
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| Posted: Tue May 13, 2014 5:01 pm Post subject: |
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| skills@eurocarsplus wrote: |
^^^^^this
if you love cars, you won't after working on them for long (i'm 35 and have been at it for over 20 years) i am falling apart...click and rattles like a 80 year old tons and tons invested in tools etc....
do i love it?
yea, in a twisted way i do. if you have no automotive background you will be a tire a lube grunt. it sucks.
unless you find a small mom and pop shop that will see the potential you may (or may not) have any dealer is going to look at you like a warm body to fill the spot...tech's are like paper towels to most shops
it really is a shitty way to make a living, and on your best day, you *may* make 70k a year. ASE/ICAR etc don't mean shit (to me...other than you can pass a test) i am a shitty test taker, but blow my co workers out of the water in repairs/finding work arounds etc.
as far as classic repair goes, most people own them because they can work on them. the only people that can't work on them bought them at barret-jackson, or are just yuppies.
you will be able to make a living, but not really a killing if that's what you're looking for |
x 1000 on this after 23 years of working on cars and having to keep a day job (mostly parts counter and warehouse work) I am in the process of becoming legally disabled so I can be retrained to do a desk job or something like that
both my knees are shot and my back is fucked the doc said I have the knees of a 70 YO and i'm not even 40 yet 
there was a time during the late 90's/early 2000's were me and my buddy had so much work we had a 3-6 month wait on some projects/customers builds
over the last few years I have made more money on selling off my cars and parts stash then I have wrenching on peoples cars
my friend who train me and has work on aircooled vws for 30+ years rarely even touches a aircooled cars anymore
I know several guys who make a good living on aircooled vws but they also have 10-20+ years into them already
I doubt most of them would be doing so good if they had to start their careers today
_________________
'60 15 window walkthrough
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=559931&highlight=
why is there no sarcasism button on here? |
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Mike Fisher
Samba Member
Joined: January 30, 2006
Posts: 17970
Location: Eugene, OR
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| Posted: Wed May 14, 2014 7:53 am Post subject: |
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Danny makes a living working on/lubing poor peoples cars,trucks,motorcycles etc out of his home charging $30/hour. He even repaired & painted my wife's Trooper for $750 there in his 1 car garage/shop. 
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69 FI/AT square Daily Driver
66 sunroof,67,70,71,71,71AT,72,72AT,73 Parts
two 57 oval ragtops sold
'68 Karmann Ghia sold
Society is like stew. If you don't keep it stirred up you end up with a lot of scum on the top! - Russ_Wolfe/Edward Abbey |
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skills@eurocarsplus
Samba Peckerhead
Joined: January 01, 2007
Posts: 16879
Location: sticksville, ct.
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| Posted: Wed May 14, 2014 8:11 am Post subject: |
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Is he a legal shop or just some dude working out of his home shed? Big difference...
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| gprudenciop wrote: |
my reason for switching to subaru is my german car was turning chinese so i said fuck it and went japanese....... |
| Jake Raby wrote: |
| Thanks for the correction. I used to be a nice guy, then I ruined it by exposing myself to the public. |
| Brian wrote: |
| Also the fact that people are agreeing with Skills, it's a turn of events for samba history |
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Kirk
Samba Member
Joined: December 05, 2003
Posts: 5487
Location: North Texas
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| Posted: Wed May 14, 2014 2:21 pm Post subject: |
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| grey60 wrote: |
It's anecdotal, but if you can't do what you love, at least do something you like that will pay the bills and let you do what you love outside work.
Note: The world doesn't need any more lawyers or marketing people. Seriously. |
I agree with everything here x500. My job aint glamourous, but it pays well, has a shit ton of vacation time, paid health care, and I make enough to have fun on my off time.
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MAKE FORUMS GREAT AGAIN
Bear
Coble
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Manfred58sc
Samba Member
Joined: October 05, 2009
Posts: 3382
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| Posted: Wed May 14, 2014 6:46 pm Post subject: |
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I say do what calls you, office work is a special kind of hell that forces you to buy crap that approximates happiness for 10 seconds. I have plenty of work coming into my shop and hire/train younger folk from time to time. They have all made money with the skills. Life skills are what you make of them, ignore all other "analysis". I've been at it for 30 years, still love it and have a mechanic in his 70's still going strong.
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Fat chick owner/operator |
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Volks Wagen
Samba Member
Joined: February 13, 2013
Posts: 2926
Location: Germany
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| Posted: Thu May 15, 2014 4:47 pm Post subject: Re: Realistic Career Choice? |
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| samsquanch wrote: |
I work retail right now and would love to get out of it. I'm in my early 20's and my current job (Apple) offers flexibility with the time aspect.
Any suggestions or comments? |
How nice of Apple to offer you flexibility with your time. Time is that one thing you can't get back. Better that you try to control how you allocate your time rather than having a fruit do it. Use your energy while you have it to become self employed, speak your mind, stick by your principles, trust trustworthy people.
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1973 1303 with AB-motor - sporadic
reconstruction as time permits, 1986 ex-Bundeswehr Doka - on the road again.
I'm definitely, probably, the worlds greatest lover.
Aithníonn ciaróg ciaróg eile. |
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pb_foots
Samba Member
Joined: April 15, 2010
Posts: 1089
Location: Ben Lomond, CA
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| Posted: Thu May 15, 2014 5:02 pm Post subject: |
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I think maybe it's like cooking. I love to cook, I love to tinker. but if I had to do either for living, it would suck the soul out of me.
Other hand, I had a neighbor who was a seriously pro mechanic. Started with Packard, ended with Chrysler. told me he felt like he found his calling. Loved every busted knuckle of it, and made a decent living. If it wasn't for Les letting me wrench on that straight 8 when I was about 6, I'm not sure I would know which end of the screwdriver to hold.
Can't hurt to try, do it while you're young. Hell, do 10 different things. You get a mortgage and a kid, you better have it figured out. |
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Spezialist
Banned
Joined: July 01, 2005
Posts: 1941
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| Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2014 1:28 pm Post subject: |
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| Meyer wrote: |
Advice for somebody looking to specialize in ACVWs? Sure!
1) Find a good covered doorway for an out-of-the-way business that closes early. Having a good, dry place to sleep is important.
2) The local library will let you use their bathrooms and hang out during the day. You can even use their computers.
3) Be aware of the local vagrancy laws.
4) Locate the nearest food bank and be aware of their hours and policies.
Hope this helps!
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Hawaii, is warm so that base is covered.
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bigdog1962
Samba Member
Joined: August 11, 2010
Posts: 1586
Location: Augusta, Georgia
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| Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2014 5:58 pm Post subject: |
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| I used to think I wanted to work outside. One day while in my late 20's while working with a patient (I work in a hospital), I was small talking with a family member. The topic of jobs came up and he ran a construction business. I said something like "I always wanted to work outside." He replied "Son, stay inside in the air-conditioning. You'll be glad you did when you get to be my age." (He was probably in his 50's). Turns out, he was right - for me, anyway. Outside and working on my bug is a hobby - I work to pay for my hobbies (as well as other things). |
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johnnypan
Samba Member
Joined: October 24, 2007
Posts: 7431
Location: sackamenna
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| Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2014 6:36 pm Post subject: |
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| Been a heavy equipment mechanic for over 30 years.. its physically and mentally stimulating whether your 20 or 50..at my current age it keeps the joints active and muscle tone up.Just pick a segment of the field that pays well,for instance heavy equipment (CAT iron ect) pays well so you can do aircooled when you want.. |
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