becoming a tractor mechanic/tech

[thepumpguysc]

Shop rates ARE in the 100.00 +/hr & the mechanic rate is in the "low teen's" when starting out.. UNLESS u have years of experience.. & know darn near EVERY component on a machine.. Fuel systems, hydro & electrical.. Brakes & trailer rebuild.. 18.00/hr..
Just depends on how bad u wanna job..
Mechanic work IS LIKE nursing.. in the fact that u can go anywhere in the world & get a job, once u know/mastered your craft..
I use to move around A LOT when I was younger {20's}.. Not just down the street but State to State..
Back then it was> get bored w/ the job, pick up the phone & find a fuel shop, talk to the Mngr. & plan a day off for an interview, hop in the car & travel 200 miles JUST TO TALK to someone about a job.. & of course u get it because there aren't any new fuel injection guys {mechanics} around..

 

[thepumpguysc]

Its gotten to the point now that the companies are putting in their ads.. "Great job for retired person".. because they aren't paying squat..

 

[rScotty]

Its gotten to the point now that the companies are putting in their ads.. "Great job for retired person".. because they aren't paying squat..

Or maybe they are looking for experience.

 

[rScotty]

....fact that u can go anywhere in the world & get a job.
Shop rates ARE in the 100.00 +/hr & the mechanic rate is in the "low teen's" when starting out.. UNLESS u have years of experience.. & know darn near EVERY component on a machine.. Fuel systems, hydro & electrical.. Brakes & trailer rebuild.. 18.00/hr..
Just depends on how bad u wanna job..

If local shops are charging too much and paying their mechanics too little, that's a golden opportunity to go into business for yourself.
Or as you say, a mechanic can go anywhere in the world and get a job. .... Or create one.
rScotty

 

[thepumpguysc]

Lol.. Scotty.. That's exactly what I did.. I built a fuel shop at my house to help folks out..& "retired"..
The ONLY THING I retired from was "driving to work".. NOW>> I take a golf cart.. Lol.

 

[rScotty]

Lol.. Scotty.. That's exactly what I did.. I built a fuel shop at my house to help folks out..& "retired"..
The ONLY THING I retired from was "driving to work".. NOW>> I take a golf cart.. Lol.

Hah! I'm laughing because that's real familiar. At one point in my early 20s I was helping so many friends fix their machines after my job at a local shop that I rented an old building just so we would have a clubroom space to gather in the evenings. You can guess what happened next..... Inside of a year it was a bustling business.
rScotty

 

[flashpuppy]

In 2009, I started heavy equipment wrenching in the civilian world. I did have military experience and was CAT certified in several things. As such, I started at $24.50/hr. I wound up around $28/hr after year.

I would not do that job for less than $35/hr today. Keep in mind, when we are discussing 100lb starters and impact gun/socket that needs to hang from the crane on your service truck, this stuff wears on your body quickly. I am not sure that at 33 I could do that job as well as I could 10 years ago. I am positive I could not do it as well 10 years from now. This is part of the reason I no longer am in that field.

 

[rScotty]

In 2009, I started heavy equipment wrenching in the civilian world. I did have military experience and was CAT certified in several things. As such, I started at $24.50/hr. I wound up around $28/hr after year.

I would not do that job for less than $35/hr today. Keep in mind, when we are discussing 100lb starters and impact gun/socket that needs to hang from the crane on your service truck, this stuff wears on your body quickly. I am not sure that at 33 I could do that job as well as I could 10 years ago. I am positive I could not do it as well 10 years from now. This is part of the reason I no longer am in that field.

Lots of jobs require using muscles while the brain develops... That's just as it ought to be. There are plenty of shops looking for knowlegeable older mechanics. It's even harder to find a good shop foreman than a good mechanic. The job market is pretty good for both.
rScotty

 

[1930]

I would start with some personal research. Face to face, as well as online. And I'd advise you to approach getting the information just exactly like you would any mechanical job. Instead of building a transmission you are building up some information. It's really all the same kind of thing, 'cause being a mechanic is just as much about how you do something as it is about what you do. Think of this information gathering as just another mechanical problem to be solved. But less greasy....

You do want as much information as you can right at the start.

Ask some local tractor dealer or shop manager if they would be willing to sit down and talk to you for 15 minutes about becoming a mechanic. Take some notes. Then maybe run what you find out past an instructor at the local vo tech school or night school or adult ed or even a rural high school shop class teacher if such still exists.

Sometimes writing up your conclusions helps to make things clear. I tend to keep these sorts of projects in a notebook. In fact, I've noticed that most mechanical type guys tend to keep notebooks of some sort or another.
luck, rScotty

What he said. Done, you will have a job

 

[BHD]

How would one go about getting into being tractor mechanic at a Kubota dealer or another brand too? Would they want someone who has gone to tech school. Should I just call the dealer and ask them who they hire and what qualifications are necessary?

In my opinion, what kind of mechanic are you now, do you understand basic workings of engines? and transmissions?

some people are naturals, some need a lot of guidance to get started, some people do not need school and some may need some, even with some school most will start a young person out floor sweeping and putting machines together, to see what one knows and where they can be most valuable to the dealership, if you have some experience the process may be different,

Schools are not bad, or depending on the person are they necessary,

but talking to the dealership you have an interest in and see what they require and what it takes , if you have some basic aptitude mechanical, they may be willing to "teach you".