Im a plant operator (loaders,diggers etc).did a few years in the pilbara now travellin round oz til i run out of cash lol
Im a plant operator (loaders,diggers etc).did a few years in the pilbara now travellin round oz til i run out of cash lol
I work at Ideal Electrical, and electrical wholesaler. I'm in charge of internal sales and the store room, and I do the deliveries.
Maritime Industry, on the east coast.
Shipping is the main game IE: Ships engine/deck stores/spares, Safety equipment service/repairs, right down to the general commercial fleets, tugs, WP vessels, AFC, Fishing, commercial charter.
Comming up in March this year, it will be 30 years of doing the same thing, sorta, and I still have'nt reached 50 yet.. bugga. I still enjoy it, mainly because of the characters who are my customers, such good value as mates.
Cheers
Rick
Life is like a box of chocolates
Hi all,
Been an automotive mechanic for 13 years, currently run the floor of a fairly large workshop here on the sunshine coast.
Have worked in about 6 different workshops over the years, have done RACQ style roadside work, efi diagnosis, petrol/diesel Dyno tuning, air conditioning, auto electrical, engine reconditioning, lpg instalation and just about any mechanical job u can think of.....
Absolutely love the trade and look forward to going to work every day, have always had a passion for cars and think I always will!
Have been trying to splash a bit of help through here since I joined a few weeks ago, this forum is great and if I can be of help to anyone then please don't hesitate to ask!
Can't wait to meet a few of u in the future!
Steve
snicko (26th January 2012)
Take my hat off to you mate. I would have been 13 years this year too, many workshops and very different roles, sorta similar to yourself. I lost a lot of interest in cars in 3rd year and it kept going downhill until I finally left the industry and went to trucks and high pressure water pumps, eventually ending up in mining as mechanical fitter. A bit brain deadening.
I did enjoy the challenge of motor mechanics, but bills have to be paid. Do miss it sometimes.
Good to hear some mechanics still have the passion, few and far between.
GU IV 2006 4.2 TDi wagon
Steve cooper (27th January 2012)
Thanks for that mate, the trade can be very frustrating at times, and its getting increasingly harder to get young blood interested in the nitty gritty that being a light vehicle mechanic involves. I think out of the 15 odd apprentices I have had under me over the years, only 7 fully completed their time and as far as I know, only 3 are still working in the trade.
The mines have soaked up most trade qualified guys, the last 3 blokes I had through as replacement tradies were from overseas, 2 from the uk and 1 from Prague! U should have seen the fella from prauges face when I had him do a complete front hub overhaul on a GU, he kept calling it a tractor and was constantly replacing the rubber gloves he wore because they kept tearing apart! He was so astounded about the 4.8 liter engine and it's fuel usage he took a heap of photos and sent then home to all his mates.
Lol. Gloves? ? ?
They mustn't have real size cars!
Yep it's a pitty the mines take so many, usually to become operators. I know of plenty of tradies gone over; mechanics, plumbers, bakers, all kinds.
GU IV 2006 4.2 TDi wagon
Yeah, latex gloves!
It's actually OH&S law in the UK and most of Europe to wear gloves when your a tech, we got proper ones in and I gave it a go, it's actually not that bad!
The costs of living it Prague were quite bad he said, only the very rich drove larger petrol cars, every one else just drives small diesel shoeboxes..... In fact he thought a 1.8 diesel Astra was a great car to buy and was wondering why we don't have em here!!!!!
Im a store manager for Aussie Disposals.... great industry to be in for the hobbies I enjoy
My trade history is very similar, 16 years as a motor mechanic, master tech (Ford) qualified, LPG fitter/repairer, RWC inspector etc etc. I didn't mind the job but the pay was terrible even with all the qualifications and experience.
I still work as a mechanic but now doing mobile servicing of industrial floor sweepers and scrubbers. Much better money and I spend more than half my time driving.
Tony