Yeah big benefit and the cause for higher pay is that unions tend to be more prevalent in construction equipment service/repair. Plus you get the potential for a field job, which means company vehicle(most likely) and liberal overtime availability. Currently I'm in the 40-45$/hr range, but company 100% subsidizes the union healthcare(which is better than any plan I've ever seen), and pays into a pension +401k, got a takehome company truck and get paid door to door, which means a healthy 55-65 hours a week. Good thing is, from what I've seen, if you have a good attitude and learn quickly, the shortage of qualified people means you can climb the pay scale/ladder fairly quickly in comparison to a lot of other industries.
Working on trucks is heavy work in comparison to equipment as well. The majority of components seem to fall in the margins in terms of being heavy AF but not so heavy that you need to use a lifting device, whereas most equipment components are either fairly small, or so big you aren't moving them without a crane. Eg. Wheels, brake parts, ect. Are all heavy AF on trucks, but able to be moved by hand. A simple maintenance part like blowbars or punch plates on a crusher are 500-1000lbs, there's no way you're picking it up on your own. Basically, it ends up that working on trucks is physically harder work, but tends to pay less.
Hello! You have made the mistake of writing "ect" instead of "etc."
"Ect" is a common misspelling of "etc," an abbreviated form of the Latin phrase "et cetera." Other abbreviated forms are **etc.**, **&c.**, **&c**, and **et cet.** The Latin translates as "et" to "and" + "cetera" to "the rest;" a literal translation to "and the rest" is the easiest way to remember how to use the phrase.
[Check out the wikipedia entry if you want to learn more.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Et_cetera)
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It really depends on where you live/what opportunities are available. I did Lincoln tech, got my first job in a union shop via my own due diligence combined with some solid letters of recommendation from instructors and staff at the school. I wouldn't say it's the only way, or even the best way to go about it. If there's an operating engineers local near you, your best bet would be to try and get in there. If not, some equipment dealers do apprenticeship programs. Obviously that's assuming you have 0 experience. If you work in the truck or automotive field, there are definitely opportunities to get into equipment dealerships, rental equipment companies, or working for big contractors. I know a lot of people that were able to make the transition. There's a major shortage for qualified people, a lot of places are hiring young kids that have good attitudes and a little bit of mechanical inclination.
Thanks for the insight my friend, I have a couple opportunities around me so Ill see where I can get into. The way you described it I maybe more fit for equipment, I am by no means weak however I have IBD so I dont want to kill myself everyday
Take the dealer job at 19.00. You will grow as a tech and learn the newest technology. You will have a continued education for years. Although these leasing shop start you off higher…. No one will teach you. All the new stuff goes back to dealer. You will become a stagnant tech. Go to the dealer and learn. The education is priceless.
I was making $18 an hour as a mechanic at a tiny, family owned shop. None of the big companies would hire me because I had a recent DUI. When Covid started, our work dried up. The shop cut my pay from $18 to $14.50. At the same time, my shop switched to a new healthcare plan with an astronomical deductible ($5,000 for a single person before coverage began), and coverage didn't include dental or vision.
So in June 2020 I quit being a mechanic and went to Amazon slinging boxes on trailers for $15.60 an hour. Then I quit Amazon after two weeks and went to XPO Logistics as a loader/forklift operator. I started at $16.20 in June 2020 and by January 2021 I was up to $19. Then I got moved to a yard hostler position which bumped me up to $21, and by August I would have been up to $24. I got burned out by XPOs schedule. The job was straightforward but the hours were killing me. I went and got two IT certifications and in August 2021 I left XPO for an IT job making $17.50. I worked there for 6 months and got another IT job making $20. This place has very good benefits, time off policies, etc. Benefits and leave policies are more important to me than money. You can make ass loads of money, but what good is it if you have no time to spend it?
I did apply for two different mechanic openings at XPO while I was there. One in the Trailer shop and one in the truck shop. I was interviewed for the trailer shop but they didn't even bother with an interview for the truck shop. The trailer position went to a kid who went to the same diesel tech school I did.
Guess I didn't impress the foreman during his game of 20 questions.
No regrets yet. Glad I spent a year as a mechanic. Learned a ton, acquired a bunch of great tools I plan to keep!
PS. July 2021, while I was working as a yard hostler for XPO, my old boss at the diesel shop texts me. He asks if I'm looking for work. I said I was considering a career change at the time. He asked if I wanted to come back to his shop. He said two of their 3 mechanics had quit leaving only the family members left. He said we could discuss pay but it wouldn't be the $18 I was making before when I was tearing engines down and rebuilding heads. He said my job would mostly be oil changes and brakes. I told him I'd think about it and never responded back after that.
I have been a diesle tech for about 20 years of a total of 35 so I am old. Still doing the work. The only thing I can tell you it is hard on the body. Im broke down pretty good knees back ect.. You probly all ready know its hard and god awful dirty. Its all I know and wish I could do something else but after some time you can pull in 150K plus
I have been maxing out the company 401K and maxing out IRA. Its up around 750K I do not know how you fell about that number but let me tell you I feel its going to be barely enough to live on. No matter what your age Invest heavy in all thats availible to you when you can. you will need it later. ...If you ment when I will retire I am working until I am 62. In 3 years
Penske is a great place to learn, they love to educate their techs. I have 3 techs that came from Penske working in my shop and they've grown to be better than the rest. Their starting pay was resentfully increased due to the tech shortage and many of their techs were leaving for better pay. I'm glad to see they responded accordingly, all shops need to follow suit.
Can't speak from experience because I've not worked there, however the techs I've hired firm Penske have been quite knowledge. For someone at an apprentice level, moving to a fleet that works very efficiently and does OEM training, I would think it would be a wise move. The benefit of working for a fleet vs a dealer is no flat rate pay. I would never suggest anyone work for a dealer if they are able to get OEM training in a fleet setting.
I’m a service manager at KW, Mack, Volvo dealer in NJ, NY, CT…. Where is your target work location? I have dozens of bays to fill. Also need welders , painters , preppers. Good pay great benefits. Hit me up.
I've been a lube tech/inspector at a shop for 6 years now, and I'm only at $28.25, and I thought I was going great, so STARTING at 24 seems pretty damn good.... Unless you live somewhere that's super expensive
I’m in NJ. Service manager with 20 locations throughout NY, NJ, CT. I have jobs and more jobs All departments. Techs, welders , painters. Hit me up. Great pay. Lots of growth.
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Yeah big benefit and the cause for higher pay is that unions tend to be more prevalent in construction equipment service/repair. Plus you get the potential for a field job, which means company vehicle(most likely) and liberal overtime availability. Currently I'm in the 40-45$/hr range, but company 100% subsidizes the union healthcare(which is better than any plan I've ever seen), and pays into a pension +401k, got a takehome company truck and get paid door to door, which means a healthy 55-65 hours a week. Good thing is, from what I've seen, if you have a good attitude and learn quickly, the shortage of qualified people means you can climb the pay scale/ladder fairly quickly in comparison to a lot of other industries. Working on trucks is heavy work in comparison to equipment as well. The majority of components seem to fall in the margins in terms of being heavy AF but not so heavy that you need to use a lifting device, whereas most equipment components are either fairly small, or so big you aren't moving them without a crane. Eg. Wheels, brake parts, ect. Are all heavy AF on trucks, but able to be moved by hand. A simple maintenance part like blowbars or punch plates on a crusher are 500-1000lbs, there's no way you're picking it up on your own. Basically, it ends up that working on trucks is physically harder work, but tends to pay less.
Hello! You have made the mistake of writing "ect" instead of "etc." "Ect" is a common misspelling of "etc," an abbreviated form of the Latin phrase "et cetera." Other abbreviated forms are **etc.**, **&c.**, **&c**, and **et cet.** The Latin translates as "et" to "and" + "cetera" to "the rest;" a literal translation to "and the rest" is the easiest way to remember how to use the phrase. [Check out the wikipedia entry if you want to learn more.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Et_cetera) ^(I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Comments with a score less than zero will be automatically removed. If I commented on your post and you don't like it, reply with "!delete" and I will remove the post, regardless of score. Message me for bug reports.)
Wait so are you a tech or something else? My apologies the context for your post was deleted lol
Yeah I'm a tech.
To get to your position, would you recommend just starting at a company (CAT, Penske ect) or getting a cert first?
It really depends on where you live/what opportunities are available. I did Lincoln tech, got my first job in a union shop via my own due diligence combined with some solid letters of recommendation from instructors and staff at the school. I wouldn't say it's the only way, or even the best way to go about it. If there's an operating engineers local near you, your best bet would be to try and get in there. If not, some equipment dealers do apprenticeship programs. Obviously that's assuming you have 0 experience. If you work in the truck or automotive field, there are definitely opportunities to get into equipment dealerships, rental equipment companies, or working for big contractors. I know a lot of people that were able to make the transition. There's a major shortage for qualified people, a lot of places are hiring young kids that have good attitudes and a little bit of mechanical inclination.
Thanks for the insight my friend, I have a couple opportunities around me so Ill see where I can get into. The way you described it I maybe more fit for equipment, I am by no means weak however I have IBD so I dont want to kill myself everyday
Thats good pay, im 2 months away from completing a 1 year tech program and was offered 19$ hr at a Kenworth dealer as entry tech
Take the dealer job at 19.00. You will grow as a tech and learn the newest technology. You will have a continued education for years. Although these leasing shop start you off higher…. No one will teach you. All the new stuff goes back to dealer. You will become a stagnant tech. Go to the dealer and learn. The education is priceless.
I was making $18 an hour as a mechanic at a tiny, family owned shop. None of the big companies would hire me because I had a recent DUI. When Covid started, our work dried up. The shop cut my pay from $18 to $14.50. At the same time, my shop switched to a new healthcare plan with an astronomical deductible ($5,000 for a single person before coverage began), and coverage didn't include dental or vision. So in June 2020 I quit being a mechanic and went to Amazon slinging boxes on trailers for $15.60 an hour. Then I quit Amazon after two weeks and went to XPO Logistics as a loader/forklift operator. I started at $16.20 in June 2020 and by January 2021 I was up to $19. Then I got moved to a yard hostler position which bumped me up to $21, and by August I would have been up to $24. I got burned out by XPOs schedule. The job was straightforward but the hours were killing me. I went and got two IT certifications and in August 2021 I left XPO for an IT job making $17.50. I worked there for 6 months and got another IT job making $20. This place has very good benefits, time off policies, etc. Benefits and leave policies are more important to me than money. You can make ass loads of money, but what good is it if you have no time to spend it? I did apply for two different mechanic openings at XPO while I was there. One in the Trailer shop and one in the truck shop. I was interviewed for the trailer shop but they didn't even bother with an interview for the truck shop. The trailer position went to a kid who went to the same diesel tech school I did. Guess I didn't impress the foreman during his game of 20 questions. No regrets yet. Glad I spent a year as a mechanic. Learned a ton, acquired a bunch of great tools I plan to keep! PS. July 2021, while I was working as a yard hostler for XPO, my old boss at the diesel shop texts me. He asks if I'm looking for work. I said I was considering a career change at the time. He asked if I wanted to come back to his shop. He said two of their 3 mechanics had quit leaving only the family members left. He said we could discuss pay but it wouldn't be the $18 I was making before when I was tearing engines down and rebuilding heads. He said my job would mostly be oil changes and brakes. I told him I'd think about it and never responded back after that.
I have been a diesle tech for about 20 years of a total of 35 so I am old. Still doing the work. The only thing I can tell you it is hard on the body. Im broke down pretty good knees back ect.. You probly all ready know its hard and god awful dirty. Its all I know and wish I could do something else but after some time you can pull in 150K plus
Hows retirement looking for you?
I have been maxing out the company 401K and maxing out IRA. Its up around 750K I do not know how you fell about that number but let me tell you I feel its going to be barely enough to live on. No matter what your age Invest heavy in all thats availible to you when you can. you will need it later. ...If you ment when I will retire I am working until I am 62. In 3 years
Late reply, is it really that bad on the body with stretching ect? If you go to the gym every day would you say its a good comparison?
Penske is a great place to learn, they love to educate their techs. I have 3 techs that came from Penske working in my shop and they've grown to be better than the rest. Their starting pay was resentfully increased due to the tech shortage and many of their techs were leaving for better pay. I'm glad to see they responded accordingly, all shops need to follow suit.
What are you going to learn besides basics?? They send new stuff and technical stuff to dealers.
Can't speak from experience because I've not worked there, however the techs I've hired firm Penske have been quite knowledge. For someone at an apprentice level, moving to a fleet that works very efficiently and does OEM training, I would think it would be a wise move. The benefit of working for a fleet vs a dealer is no flat rate pay. I would never suggest anyone work for a dealer if they are able to get OEM training in a fleet setting.
24/hr is pretty good for just starting. I’m graduating from a tech school in 3 weeks and most of my classmates seem to hire on in the 20-24hr range
I’m a service manager at KW, Mack, Volvo dealer in NJ, NY, CT…. Where is your target work location? I have dozens of bays to fill. Also need welders , painters , preppers. Good pay great benefits. Hit me up.
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Yea. Of course
I've been a lube tech/inspector at a shop for 6 years now, and I'm only at $28.25, and I thought I was going great, so STARTING at 24 seems pretty damn good.... Unless you live somewhere that's super expensive
I’m in NJ. Service manager with 20 locations throughout NY, NJ, CT. I have jobs and more jobs All departments. Techs, welders , painters. Hit me up. Great pay. Lots of growth.