Dnalunchie

Hey all

I like many of you love subaru's, I love pretty much everything about cars in general actually from learning about new performance engines to seemingly boring stuff like improving fuel economy and interiors

Anyway what I wanted to know was whether any of you guys feel the same and if so why you have chosen to work in the automotive industry or why you have chosen not to do so?

EG The compromise of job stability as a mechanic vs trying to be involved directly in something like motorsport engineering with the possibility of less job security and needing to travel a lot for work etc.

Basically where and why did you draw the between your passion for cars and your need to have a reliable job.

Also for those of you that work in the very center of the industry like RCM or LitchField, did you find pursuing this job meant less stability and more sacrifices than something that is still automotive related but perhaps more traditional/mainstream like working for a car dealer etc.



So to sum up, do you love cars heaps?, If the answer is yes then are you doing the job in the automotive industry that you really really want?, and if the answer is no then what factors influenced your decision to go another direction?

P.S If you don't want to post this in public then feel free to PM me in confidence.

Cheers guys.

Lunchie



PP.SS.

I know this could be placed in off topic section but since I intended it to be a serious discussion rather than simply "I do it for the chicks bro!" I thought it would be better suited here, hope the mods don't mind

thenewgalaxy

I love my car to bits. I bought it so that I could impress the lasses that hang around outside the local kebab shop when my dump valve vents to air.

I don't work in the automotive trade. I'm not clever enough to bash bits of metal with a mallet. Instead I bash people with one.

tubbytommy

iTrader: (20)

Dreep

I work for a main Audi dealership. Having completed my apprenticeship with them I can say its a good qualification to obtain. However, my love for performance cars made me want to become a dab hand at working on them hence the mechanic job.

Now, I actually feel that it makes me hate cars now. I spend all week fixing other peoples cars and when there is an issue with my own car I find it hard to build any enthusiasm to work on it straight away as I am already sick of the sight of cars having worked on them all week!

I'm currently looking at a career change away from the Automotive industry.
Everyone's different though, some people will still enjoy cars whilst working with them on a daily basis

thenewgalaxy

kirky1

iTrader: (1)

i work as a long wheel base van driver for argos, its a fiat ducato not sure what engines in it but its quite fun on the back lanes in cornwall. all the drivers there love there cars but most of them have bmws and constantly going on about how good there build quality is, i comeback with their too heavy and expensive for parts. one lad has spent about 4 grand on his in the last year or so and hes done all the work to it himself. ive spent about a grand on my uk turbo since i got it in sept but well worth it i love it now

hodgy0_2

This can happen, often better to keep your passion and your job separate

pflowers

Similar thing has happened to me, I was into off road bikes and quads in a big way so opened up my own quad centre. Now I can't stand the sight of them!

angel1368

iTrader: (1)

i used to love sex but cos i work in **** i never look forward to sex anymore

theduck

I used to think I wanted to work in mechanics trade or Motorsport, actually had a few opportunitues to get experience in Motorsport, but the reality for me is as much as I love cars and they are one if the biggest parts of my life, getting into Motorsport would have made them my entire life, and I didn't want that.

stonejedi

iTrader: (51)

Maybe your just bad at itSJ.

jonnyricer2

iTrader: (9)

I work as an mot tester and mechanic i still love my cars i dont get enough time to work on them though!!
Also its saved me lots of money doing my own stuff.when we get cars in with big bills just for mot
and servicing i think thank good ness im not paying!!

DT-SPD

iTrader: (7)

I work with JLR on calibrating OBD systems, love it, get paid for driving around in prototype cars in UK, Europe and USA

In many ways I am doing my dream job but it does have it's downsides though as vehicles and systems are getting more and more complicated and the time to develop them is never long enough.

lordharding

iTrader: (1)

I love my cars and talking about them so naturally I should of become
A car salesman but talking about them all day would make me loose my passion
For them so I've kept away from that as a career

carterv3typeR

I'm a mechanic, then when I get home I get to work on the subaru til 11pm, and most of Saturday. Would love to get into motorsport at some point, maybe when my rally cars done I may get a chance! Find myself skint most of the time cos of cars.

rob84

iTrader: (5)

I work For a Subaru/Isuzu Main dealer as a Tech & to be honest I don't ever get sick of it to be fair. everyday faced with a new challenge and something odd that's not been seen before gives it a bit of variety. End of the day I save myself & family a fortune on repair bills as I do it all & in my spare time just tinker on some more with the Hatch sti lol

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

I was heading towards being a mechanic as a 17yr old, my cousin who had been one for about 15yrs at the time told me if I want to work with cars get into the electrical side, because it's a dirty job and your never get your hands really clean, sometimes working in sh!ty, cold conditions and don't make particularly good money as for most there is a limit to what you will be earning.

I took that advice and stated work at as an accessory installation technician fitting stereo's, alarms, central locking and electric windows, which lead me onto car phones and tracking systems, was a decent living but nothing fantastic, best thing about it was I was always mobile so had company cars and free fuel, I also got to drive all sorts of cars from fiestas & metro's to Bentley's, Ferrari's and Astons.

I'll never forget the time I did a burn out in a Bentley Turbo R in an underground car park on Park Lane London, Parked the car into the space I was working on it in and a couple of minutes later a thick cloud of burnt rubber smoke came wafting along, or nearly loosing the back end of a Magnum style Ferrari that belonged to someone from a famous rock band in Loughborough, ahhhhh the good old days when they would just chuck you the keys and say it's in the compound, don't crash it.

I'm glad I listened to that pearl of wisdom because I hate doing anything electrical on a car now, my eyes glaze over when people start talking about in-car entertainment / alarms or the latest gadget, but I love the mechanical side and learned a lot being around garages and mechanics all the time, now I do all my own work on my cars and look forward to taking engines out and stripping them down, doing some research and putting it all back together again, then going for a blast knowing that I rebuilt it myself, it's a very satisfying feeling and really appeals to the tinkerer and miser in me.

But no ******* way would I do it for a living same as being a builder, yet i'm rebuilding a house and currently doing a real stone extension by myself and love it but no way i'd be a bricky.

Go figure.

edsel

iTrader: (2)

I work for a big motor co. Ive been a petrol head since my schoolboy moto cross days. Getting this job was a dream come true, I thought.
I've worked on assembly lines, machine shops and on/in various other projects and depts. There's nothing glamorous about working in manufacturing, it doesn't matter if its V8's going down the line or fridges the assembly principle is the same. I don't think I would have stuck it out this long if I couldn't relate to the end product though.

On the plus side its a great company to work for, I'll never be a millionaire but as a whole the package is good; security, sick, holiday pay, pension etc and as a rule no two days are the same.
On the down side it doesn't allow me to get hands on and that's where the hobby car comes into it.

Having a project car is a real stress reliever for me, I look forward to spending a few hours in the garage and enjoy researching and planning the next job. Working with engineers and strict quality processes the job has made me very **** when it comes to working on my own cars.
The Day job is all about the end product. The Subaru project is the same but what I learn and who I meet on the way is just as important.

jameswrx

iTrader: (4)

Copper?

ScoobyNoob79

Sounds like we're doing someones homework assignment for them...

edsel

iTrader: (2)

Was thinking the same.... He'll be ****ed if uses Scooby net grammar.

ScoobyNoob79

Hahaha, yeah!