Originally Posted by
BigDick
Oh really! Pray tell where might that be because I'd sure be interested? With a B.S. in computer science and an A.A.S. in HVAC/R and I have read every book/manual that I could find on it I can't even find a starting position much less an interview for one of those positions.
Drew, the first thought that came to my mind when I read your post was a number of years ago I took the Imaging Science Foundation training and the instructor from Boca Raton, FL talked about this person who ran this shop doing wheel balances the older way where the tires were actually balanced on the vehicle. The guy constantly had the business. It was sort of a niche automotive related service but he made the money doing it.
Sam Maloof who passed away earlier this year sold rockers for around $20,000 each and had over a year backlog of orders. He too specialized in a niche furniture making trade. He led a frugal life style and lived within his means and survived. A few years ago he drove a Porsche that I knew of. Not bad if you ask me.
Your original posting really doesn't blare "get me out of automotive repair" what I see is a dissatisfaction with your pay. I can't blame you there.
As a vehicle owner who doesn't trade too often people like myself trust our vehicles to mechanics that we can trust to get the work done right. Too me it really hasn't been so much as what I have to pay but rather what I want done gets done and done right. So there are people out there that are wanting the dependable service.
As for the HVAC/R trade. Well you see my first reply up above. If you search and look even for more recent postings in this forum your will see more where people just like myself are discouraged. For me my reason is to get out of IT, I'm tired of the offshoring or as we like to call it offwhoring and never knowing if the next day you'll have a job. Not too many people have the use for a database administrator vs. say someone to work on their HVAC/R or their automobile.
I know this economy suks for all of us, aside from the oil companies, banks, credit card companies and Wall Street. Being in the automotive repair trade reminded me of a posting I saw on Business Week this week in regards to how Cadillac would be GM's savior. One poster to the article said something like well when grandpa bought his Cadillac he knew he had a job and Cadillac's will sell when people have a dependable job.