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Comment by pixelatedindex | Hacker News Reader

> I closed my linkedin, and I went to go work in the trades as a diesel mechanic.

Love it! A score of years ago, I considered being an auto mechanic after graduating HS but then ended up back in CompSci.

Did you have to go back to school? Did you find a shop that would take you in as an apprentice? And if they did, how did you convince them you can/will be good at the job?

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I had lots of personal experience under my belt. I built a hot rod out my garage on the cheap (because I was broke and wanted a nice car). I used that on my resume and they were extremely excited on that. The company I work for is famous for their fleet of "show" semis. It's super super cool and I think the mix of my passion for cars mixed well with their eye for details on their fleet.

However, the bar has never been lower.

I didn't want to do automotive, the piece work is a cancer. You'll do 12 hour days and get paid for 8. Not my cup of tea. I was interested in the big stuff. Offroad equiptment sounded cool too.

FWIW, there's a huge difference in job quality between diesel and a regular auto mechanic (at least if you're in the states): Unless you work somewhere rare and amazing, auto mechanics typically work within the flat-rate system. In case you're not familiar, this is a joke of a wage system wherein you're not actually paid for the time a job takes, but the time a book says it should take in a perfect world. Rusty fasteners, broken equipment, bad/wrong parts- all the real-world complications that come up during jobs will conspire to make you take longer than book time and, especially for new people, can leave you making less than you'd make in fast food.

Adore it! Why did you not become an auto mechanic, then?

Turns out that I was really out of my depth when it comes to ins and outs of a car at the chassis level. I also realized that if I can’t toy with it in my free time then I’m not going to pursue it as a career. Working on cars needs a lot of space which a broke college student doesn’t have.

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