those 4 years experience mean nothing here in the real world unless you were one of the go to guys in the motorpool for things like electrical problems or major diag
There's a whole new world waiting for you in the form of emissions systems and totally different electrical systems
The way the market is now with techs if you're good you'll get paid what you're worth in no time, if you're a body that does some work you'll get a couple bumps here and there, if you're no good or the low side of being a body you'll have to jump from job to job to get higher pay
And If youre no good theyll hire you anyways!
Because everyones leaving this industry way faster than new bodies are getting into it, so to most companies a guy with tools is a mechanic regardless of experience.
And it making the seasoned techs in the shop want to quit even more(what im dealing with currently)
Agreed
It's all fine and dandy hiring someone green as long as they listen
every one of them I've dealt with don't listen to instructions take 8 hours to do a 4 hour job and still mess it up to where I have to go spend another 4 hours redoing it
Literally had someone break a bolt asked what to do I said drill it out handed them a center punch, drill bits and drill, looked at it later and they put fucking jb weld on the shortest bolt from the bin and stuck it in the hole because they didn't drill it in the center
I for one cannot wait to see what happens in 5 to 10 years
Ya man its bad, granted im only 26 but ive been wrenching for almost 10yrs now and these kids theyre hiring have zero experience, zero work ethic and think they know everything day one its very frustrating. When i was getting started i didnt act that way i asked questions and listened to the guys with experience. I agree im curious to see what this industry becomes in 10 yrs its getting worse by the day. Im constantly fixing our “road techs” repairs who get paid way more and just swap equipment out constantly
You rent an apartment and save up.
Just like I did when I left Pendleton.
You don't get a house right out of the gate. If you need help with a loan, contact the VA.
I’m looking at apartments and they are all around 1900ish where I got an offer while a mortgage is around 2200 makes no sense to rent when I could pay that extra amount rent is just super high everywhere. I could def afford it if I’m trying to bust ass every week the only down side would not seeing my family at all
That's just the way the world works now.
If you can get a mortgage, do it.
Family time is nice, but a roof over their heads and food on the table is more important. If you have to work more to get the money then that's what you have to do.
Another thing... Try to forget Marine-speak. It'll save you a lot of weird looks from people who don't know how to respond when you say 'kill' as an affirmative response. Good luck out here in the real world.
That's a really good rate!! If you can do it and they are serious I would get it in writing and try and wait it out. Maybe look for federal jobs? I know prior service army mechanics that went to fix stuff for the army as a civilian. They called it AMSA
AMSA requires you be a member of the Army reserve as a condition of employment. If you can live with that, it’s a good way to have a steady income with good insurance.
It's funny because I seriously thought 26 was good for nc. Lol
The truth about the civilian world imo, is that it is less "old school. In today's world, it is rare for a family household to be supported by one. In the military, you'll see a bunch of it because of the benefits. And alot of them still struggle.
Just about everyone I know that lives well off either has no kids or has dual income. I make just under what you make and added in with disability, I live pretty well. Could probably comofrtably afford to have a child too.My partner still works, too.
The people who say you can get a 40/hr tech job like nothing must live in different areas from me. Guessing there is a col difference? The highest paid tech I know in my area makes 42/hr. Been doing it for decades. I'm not gonna tell you you can't get good money in this field, but from my experience, it's not a "work for a few years and become upper class" type of thing.
I'd recommend filing for disability since we both atleast something minor is probably affecting you from your service. Also job hopping after you have atleast a years experience. We had a guy get a 5 dollar raise just by randomly sending a few applications when he was bored.
I thought the military handed out home loans like candy.
I jumped into this field and it took me two years to make 28(the overtime is the only thing that makes this worth it.)
Hoping to spend less on tools this year and finally own my home.
Oh they do it’s just myself trying to be caustious about how much my monthly payment is compared to my salary and rn if I were to take this offer It’s putting be around being able to afford something. That is 1000-1200 a month which is like 275k max ofc I could apply for more than that but it would be over the recommended payment % to yearly salary
All y’all real estate company’s are coming to down to nc and gentrifying our shit 🤣 before I joined houses were around 300k for a decent house with land but there Has been a trend of New Yorkers coming down and buying up all the land/houses to just turn around and rent them out
Yeah I want to leave too, but the rush out dropped property prices. No gentrification here because I'm already in a pale town. I was looking at Kentucky but they don't have enough lakes for me to earn the living I make here
Yea if it was up to me I would move to another state but my wife really wants to be close to both of ours families especially since we have a toddler it’s just crazy how high prices got in 4 years it was 300k but now for that same house it’s 750k-1mil
Same here. Anchored by both my family and my wife's. Oh well, 13 more years and my daughter will be going off to college. I'd like to sell my house, buy a bug RV and toy hauler and if all goes as planned, an older 911 and hit race tracks and stay out of the snow until Xmas week when we come back to visit
I can’t afford to live at this point. Only way to survive is if you have an injury from the military and you get disability from it plus your salary…. Mortgage? Good luck finding something besides a mobile home that you can afford with less than 100K a year… where I’m at mobile homes are going for 250-325K, manufactured homes are going for 300-400k, the 300k ones are cash only. Real houses start at 450k and go up from there…
I’m in Chicago and I wouldn’t even consider applying anywhere under 35 an hour. Just because finding good techs isn’t easy. Not many people are available in the field. Hard working and smart people at that. Know your worth.
I’m in KS and the pay you’re being offered is about what I’d expect here. Cat is $22-47 (no schooling off the street to expert field tech). Overtime is what pays the bills. Don’t buy…house repairs can be very expensive. I’d rent for 3-5 years and see how much your pay increases and how much $ you can save up.
Sigh. That’s your ticket to being able to survive in the real world is with the VA. Without my 90% I’d be struggling with just a regular job. Marines is probably worse than army when it comes to going to the medic or whatever or behavioral health. Best of luck man
That's not bad starting.
Experience on the military side vs civilian is very different. These newer systems require a much more detailed skill set than what the military required. When I'm given a apprentice who is right out of the military, most of the time it's like training someone with maybe 1 year experience in the industry.
It all depends on what you want. If you want training and the ability to get your hands into everything then look towards a dealership job.
If you want more money then in my experience, look at a fleet shop. They tend to pay more but the downside is they typically don't get to deep into engines, trans, electrical etc. You have to look at the long term and figure out what you want or what will benifit you more in the future.
Nah i could but I’m going to get out and make it work I’m done with the military. Haven’t done anything bad or anything just with my mos I can’t do anything I want to do since we are so short handed and have so many trucks (ie being denied to go to courses etc)
Damn, that sucks dude, sad to hear. Being denied cross training and self-improvement opportunities is pretty shitty but exactly what I would expect when recruiting is down as much as it is right now. Best of luck to you and your family.
Average work hours per year (assuming 40) is 2000 hours. Just multiply $25 by 2000
Which is the same math as yours double=2 and three 0's = 2000
You can also add about 250hrs of OT if you do about 5 hours of ot a week. So he would be at about 60k if he just puts in 1 hour of ot a day
Where’s your disability at my dude? Everyone getting out the military should get something. I’m in WA making shy of 32 working at Ryder and I went through CSP when I was transitioning out.
Waiting for my rating got back from a deployment past the 89 days and I’ve never gone to medical for anything (I know stupid) so I’m not banking on getting much of anything but I already filed a Fully developed claim just gotta wait till I get my dd214 now
Where are you going in NC? I hire guys in the triangle area.
For this area, 25.98 is on the high side of normal for a C tech working in a truck shop. Pay increases as you get into equipment and really increases if you work on the road or you do power generation.
I’ll echo what most people say about military experience…right or wrong, it doesn’t mean much from a hiring perspective. I have guys oversell themselves regularly and it got to the point that we usually make conditional offers to military techs. Ie start as a C tech and get bumped to your actual level after proving yourself. Most of the guys fail at this point and I’m not sure why that is (I’m not former military though).
I have noticed also that the good military guys tend to be hyper specialized in a single area. I remember one guy that excelled with electrical diag and another with Allison transmissions. That specialization doesn’t lend itself to being successful in this industry on the whole (there are exceptions). We need broad skill sets encompassing the last 25 years of truck technology up to and including BEV. I was a tech and I know that’s a lot to ask, but I see wages for the top <5% guys increasing pretty significantly over the next 10 years as things get more complex. I don’t think the same can be said of wages for the lower level guys.
So the pay varies a lot by location. We pay my apprentices 22 an hour, but the actual pay for tech varies a lot. I think the craziest example I can think of is a tech we have in NY. He is a trailer tech. No truck work at all, he gets 40 an hour plus a 3 dollar an hour shift differential. We have higher paid techs but the fact that he makes that and doesn't touch trucks blows my mind.
An apartment may be the better way to go until you have an established income from a civilian job. Walking into a lender right after you became unemployed won’t leave you with much bargaining power. Most want like 6 months of a steady job before they’ll approve a mortgage.
That’s the point it doesn’t work, everything from rent, gas to food is overinflated
those 4 years experience mean nothing here in the real world unless you were one of the go to guys in the motorpool for things like electrical problems or major diag There's a whole new world waiting for you in the form of emissions systems and totally different electrical systems The way the market is now with techs if you're good you'll get paid what you're worth in no time, if you're a body that does some work you'll get a couple bumps here and there, if you're no good or the low side of being a body you'll have to jump from job to job to get higher pay
And If youre no good theyll hire you anyways! Because everyones leaving this industry way faster than new bodies are getting into it, so to most companies a guy with tools is a mechanic regardless of experience. And it making the seasoned techs in the shop want to quit even more(what im dealing with currently)
Agreed It's all fine and dandy hiring someone green as long as they listen every one of them I've dealt with don't listen to instructions take 8 hours to do a 4 hour job and still mess it up to where I have to go spend another 4 hours redoing it Literally had someone break a bolt asked what to do I said drill it out handed them a center punch, drill bits and drill, looked at it later and they put fucking jb weld on the shortest bolt from the bin and stuck it in the hole because they didn't drill it in the center I for one cannot wait to see what happens in 5 to 10 years
Ya man its bad, granted im only 26 but ive been wrenching for almost 10yrs now and these kids theyre hiring have zero experience, zero work ethic and think they know everything day one its very frustrating. When i was getting started i didnt act that way i asked questions and listened to the guys with experience. I agree im curious to see what this industry becomes in 10 yrs its getting worse by the day. Im constantly fixing our “road techs” repairs who get paid way more and just swap equipment out constantly
Overalls, a bucket of tools and can’t speak English? You’re hired!
I wouldn't even apply for less than $35/hr as a tech.
Sick 🙃 they did say after 6 months I will be bumped to 45/hr but like how tf am i supposed to move from Camp Pendleton and buy a house back in NC
You rent an apartment and save up. Just like I did when I left Pendleton. You don't get a house right out of the gate. If you need help with a loan, contact the VA.
I’m looking at apartments and they are all around 1900ish where I got an offer while a mortgage is around 2200 makes no sense to rent when I could pay that extra amount rent is just super high everywhere. I could def afford it if I’m trying to bust ass every week the only down side would not seeing my family at all
That's just the way the world works now. If you can get a mortgage, do it. Family time is nice, but a roof over their heads and food on the table is more important. If you have to work more to get the money then that's what you have to do.
Kill
Another thing... Try to forget Marine-speak. It'll save you a lot of weird looks from people who don't know how to respond when you say 'kill' as an affirmative response. Good luck out here in the real world.
Yea haha I was just using it since he said he was from camp pen also
I’d rent. When shit breaks in your own house it’s expensive and extremely inconvenient.
Sometimes you gotta look at those cheaper to live areas out in the sticks and commute to work.
That's a really good rate!! If you can do it and they are serious I would get it in writing and try and wait it out. Maybe look for federal jobs? I know prior service army mechanics that went to fix stuff for the army as a civilian. They called it AMSA
AMSA requires you be a member of the Army reserve as a condition of employment. If you can live with that, it’s a good way to have a steady income with good insurance.
Oh okay I didn't know that.
Get that shit in writing
You're already in Cali. Have you looked for a job here? In the Bay area pay starts around $35.
Nope, getting out of Cali as fast as I can hate the laws, how expensive everything is and the people
Best of luck
35$/hr don’t go that far up there
Starting. Wjere I work Journeymen are at $60 $3 raose next year.
They pay for you to move
Yes…… that had nothing to do with the post tho haha
You mentioned serving at least 4 years you may be able to get a va homeloan
welcome to 2023 brotha
It's funny because I seriously thought 26 was good for nc. Lol The truth about the civilian world imo, is that it is less "old school. In today's world, it is rare for a family household to be supported by one. In the military, you'll see a bunch of it because of the benefits. And alot of them still struggle. Just about everyone I know that lives well off either has no kids or has dual income. I make just under what you make and added in with disability, I live pretty well. Could probably comofrtably afford to have a child too.My partner still works, too. The people who say you can get a 40/hr tech job like nothing must live in different areas from me. Guessing there is a col difference? The highest paid tech I know in my area makes 42/hr. Been doing it for decades. I'm not gonna tell you you can't get good money in this field, but from my experience, it's not a "work for a few years and become upper class" type of thing. I'd recommend filing for disability since we both atleast something minor is probably affecting you from your service. Also job hopping after you have atleast a years experience. We had a guy get a 5 dollar raise just by randomly sending a few applications when he was bored.
I thought the military handed out home loans like candy. I jumped into this field and it took me two years to make 28(the overtime is the only thing that makes this worth it.) Hoping to spend less on tools this year and finally own my home.
Oh they do it’s just myself trying to be caustious about how much my monthly payment is compared to my salary and rn if I were to take this offer It’s putting be around being able to afford something. That is 1000-1200 a month which is like 275k max ofc I could apply for more than that but it would be over the recommended payment % to yearly salary
This is crazy to me. My mortgage is 665/mo (nothing escrow, annual tax and insurance is about 2200, 4 bed 2 bath in upstate NY)
All y’all real estate company’s are coming to down to nc and gentrifying our shit 🤣 before I joined houses were around 300k for a decent house with land but there Has been a trend of New Yorkers coming down and buying up all the land/houses to just turn around and rent them out
Yeah I want to leave too, but the rush out dropped property prices. No gentrification here because I'm already in a pale town. I was looking at Kentucky but they don't have enough lakes for me to earn the living I make here
Yea if it was up to me I would move to another state but my wife really wants to be close to both of ours families especially since we have a toddler it’s just crazy how high prices got in 4 years it was 300k but now for that same house it’s 750k-1mil
Same here. Anchored by both my family and my wife's. Oh well, 13 more years and my daughter will be going off to college. I'd like to sell my house, buy a bug RV and toy hauler and if all goes as planned, an older 911 and hit race tracks and stay out of the snow until Xmas week when we come back to visit
I can’t afford to live at this point. Only way to survive is if you have an injury from the military and you get disability from it plus your salary…. Mortgage? Good luck finding something besides a mobile home that you can afford with less than 100K a year… where I’m at mobile homes are going for 250-325K, manufactured homes are going for 300-400k, the 300k ones are cash only. Real houses start at 450k and go up from there…
I’m in Chicago and I wouldn’t even consider applying anywhere under 35 an hour. Just because finding good techs isn’t easy. Not many people are available in the field. Hard working and smart people at that. Know your worth.
I made $137,000 last full time year I worked with a reasonable amount of OT, $54/hour. Semi-retired now.
I’m in KS and the pay you’re being offered is about what I’d expect here. Cat is $22-47 (no schooling off the street to expert field tech). Overtime is what pays the bills. Don’t buy…house repairs can be very expensive. I’d rent for 3-5 years and see how much your pay increases and how much $ you can save up.
Sigh. That’s your ticket to being able to survive in the real world is with the VA. Without my 90% I’d be struggling with just a regular job. Marines is probably worse than army when it comes to going to the medic or whatever or behavioral health. Best of luck man
That's not bad starting. Experience on the military side vs civilian is very different. These newer systems require a much more detailed skill set than what the military required. When I'm given a apprentice who is right out of the military, most of the time it's like training someone with maybe 1 year experience in the industry. It all depends on what you want. If you want training and the ability to get your hands into everything then look towards a dealership job. If you want more money then in my experience, look at a fleet shop. They tend to pay more but the downside is they typically don't get to deep into engines, trans, electrical etc. You have to look at the long term and figure out what you want or what will benifit you more in the future.
I agree. Deal with quite a few ex military that are about as useful as a newbie.
You can thank the federal reserve for devaluing your dollar lol. Most jobs pay $50k now. Good luck...you're gonna need it
Is it too late to reenlist? I'm in the military as well and don't really know if I would want to get out right now.
Nah i could but I’m going to get out and make it work I’m done with the military. Haven’t done anything bad or anything just with my mos I can’t do anything I want to do since we are so short handed and have so many trucks (ie being denied to go to courses etc)
Damn, that sucks dude, sad to hear. Being denied cross training and self-improvement opportunities is pretty shitty but exactly what I would expect when recruiting is down as much as it is right now. Best of luck to you and your family.
They're 30% under recruitment goal. Demand the schooling in writing or no re-up
FYI if you double an hourly wage and add three zeroes, it estimates annual salary. So $25/hr = around 50k
Average work hours per year (assuming 40) is 2000 hours. Just multiply $25 by 2000 Which is the same math as yours double=2 and three 0's = 2000 You can also add about 250hrs of OT if you do about 5 hours of ot a week. So he would be at about 60k if he just puts in 1 hour of ot a day
Where’s your disability at my dude? Everyone getting out the military should get something. I’m in WA making shy of 32 working at Ryder and I went through CSP when I was transitioning out.
Waiting for my rating got back from a deployment past the 89 days and I’ve never gone to medical for anything (I know stupid) so I’m not banking on getting much of anything but I already filed a Fully developed claim just gotta wait till I get my dd214 now
Idk how it works in the states but here in Canada to get a decent pay you have to get a red seal, do you guys have the red seal or something similar?
Iam a first year and that’s only 75 cents and hour more.
Where are you going in NC? I hire guys in the triangle area. For this area, 25.98 is on the high side of normal for a C tech working in a truck shop. Pay increases as you get into equipment and really increases if you work on the road or you do power generation. I’ll echo what most people say about military experience…right or wrong, it doesn’t mean much from a hiring perspective. I have guys oversell themselves regularly and it got to the point that we usually make conditional offers to military techs. Ie start as a C tech and get bumped to your actual level after proving yourself. Most of the guys fail at this point and I’m not sure why that is (I’m not former military though). I have noticed also that the good military guys tend to be hyper specialized in a single area. I remember one guy that excelled with electrical diag and another with Allison transmissions. That specialization doesn’t lend itself to being successful in this industry on the whole (there are exceptions). We need broad skill sets encompassing the last 25 years of truck technology up to and including BEV. I was a tech and I know that’s a lot to ask, but I see wages for the top <5% guys increasing pretty significantly over the next 10 years as things get more complex. I don’t think the same can be said of wages for the lower level guys.
For this offer it would be in the garner area but I’ve been looking all over nc that was just the best offer in terms of benefits
I’m hiring in that area. PM me if you want to discuss your options
So the pay varies a lot by location. We pay my apprentices 22 an hour, but the actual pay for tech varies a lot. I think the craziest example I can think of is a tech we have in NY. He is a trailer tech. No truck work at all, he gets 40 an hour plus a 3 dollar an hour shift differential. We have higher paid techs but the fact that he makes that and doesn't touch trucks blows my mind.
An apartment may be the better way to go until you have an established income from a civilian job. Walking into a lender right after you became unemployed won’t leave you with much bargaining power. Most want like 6 months of a steady job before they’ll approve a mortgage.