Read Online Blue Collar and Proud of It: The All-In-One Resource for Finding Freedom, Financial Success, and Security Outside the Cubicle by Joe Lamacchia, Bridget Samburg - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Joe Lamacchia, Bridget Samburg
Tags: Business
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equipment, necessary to remove exhaust systems. High-tech tools are needed to fix the computer equipment that operates everything fromthe engine to the brakes and transmission.
Having physical science andmath classes under your belt is considered a good thing. If you are interested in the green aspect of the automotive industry, hybrid cars add a whole other dimension to the work. Being able to service a variety of cars such as diesel, hybrids, and even electric ones will be seen as a benefit. In the next decade, technicians will need to be familiar with alternative-fuel vehicles; their job security will improve as their skills become more advanced.
Work Setting
Generally, service technicians work indoors in repair shops; however, some shops can be drafty and noisy. Some technicians work outside or at least in bays that open to the outdoors. Although many problems can be fixed with simple computerized adjustments, technicians still frequently work with dirty, greasy parts, and in awkward positions.
Training and Certification
Most employers viewvocational training programs in automotive service technology as the best preparation for trainee positions.High school programs are a greatway to start training or to test thewaters to see if this is something you have a knack for and enjoy. But these days, high school programs alone are not enough, and most employers require additional training. The highly regarded Automotive Youth Educational Systems (AYES) is a partnership between high school automotive repair programs and the automotivemanufacturers’dealers. Studentswho complete these programs are prepared to take on entry-level technician positions or to go on to advanced technical education courses. Generally, courses in automotive repair, electronics, physics, chemistry, English, computers, andmathematics provide a good educational background for a career as an auto technician.
Postsecondary training programs in this industry usually provide intensive career preparation through a combination of classroominstruc-tion and hands-on practice. Some trade and technical school programs provide concentrated training for sixmonths to a year. Community college programs usually award a certificate or an associate’s degree.Various automobile manufacturers and participating franchised dealers also sponsor two-year associate’s degree programs across the country. Students in these programs typically spend two to three months at a time attending classes and then work in the service departments of participating dealers.
Blue Collar in ACTION
A New Generation of Auto Technicians
“Most kids don’t grow up working on their own cars, ” says Vince Williams, who is a training and development specialist with General Motors. Auto mechanic wannabes must have more skills than ever before, and the ones whom Williams is looking for may seem surprising at first. He says he wants apprentices who have good reasoning and problem-solving skills. “I’m looking for a high-level thinker, ” he adds.
Williams works with GM’s Automotive Service Educational Program(ASEP), which is a partnership between dealers, schools, and students. ASEP participants alternate between classes and hands-on technician work. Upon completion of the program, graduates are placed with dealerships. Williams says students can learn the technical andmechanical aspects of the job all through ASEP. But he’s especially interested in recruiting students who have an innate sense of how to problem solve. “The more successful people, they get a hold of a problem and follow it through to solve that problem, ” saysWilliams. “You have to have that conquer attitude.”
The ASEP program has a partnership with sixty-four schools around the country and graduates approximately 800 students each year. The cost to enroll is about $5, 000 when all is said and done, butWilliams points out that this is a small and beneficial investment considering earning potential following
Having physical science andmath classes under your belt is considered a good thing. If you are interested in the green aspect of the automotive industry, hybrid cars add a whole other dimension to the work. Being able to service a variety of cars such as diesel, hybrids, and even electric ones will be seen as a benefit. In the next decade, technicians will need to be familiar with alternative-fuel vehicles; their job security will improve as their skills become more advanced.
Work Setting
Generally, service technicians work indoors in repair shops; however, some shops can be drafty and noisy. Some technicians work outside or at least in bays that open to the outdoors. Although many problems can be fixed with simple computerized adjustments, technicians still frequently work with dirty, greasy parts, and in awkward positions.
Training and Certification
Most employers viewvocational training programs in automotive service technology as the best preparation for trainee positions.High school programs are a greatway to start training or to test thewaters to see if this is something you have a knack for and enjoy. But these days, high school programs alone are not enough, and most employers require additional training. The highly regarded Automotive Youth Educational Systems (AYES) is a partnership between high school automotive repair programs and the automotivemanufacturers’dealers. Studentswho complete these programs are prepared to take on entry-level technician positions or to go on to advanced technical education courses. Generally, courses in automotive repair, electronics, physics, chemistry, English, computers, andmathematics provide a good educational background for a career as an auto technician.
Postsecondary training programs in this industry usually provide intensive career preparation through a combination of classroominstruc-tion and hands-on practice. Some trade and technical school programs provide concentrated training for sixmonths to a year. Community college programs usually award a certificate or an associate’s degree.Various automobile manufacturers and participating franchised dealers also sponsor two-year associate’s degree programs across the country. Students in these programs typically spend two to three months at a time attending classes and then work in the service departments of participating dealers.
Blue Collar in ACTION
A New Generation of Auto Technicians
“Most kids don’t grow up working on their own cars, ” says Vince Williams, who is a training and development specialist with General Motors. Auto mechanic wannabes must have more skills than ever before, and the ones whom Williams is looking for may seem surprising at first. He says he wants apprentices who have good reasoning and problem-solving skills. “I’m looking for a high-level thinker, ” he adds.
Williams works with GM’s Automotive Service Educational Program(ASEP), which is a partnership between dealers, schools, and students. ASEP participants alternate between classes and hands-on technician work. Upon completion of the program, graduates are placed with dealerships. Williams says students can learn the technical andmechanical aspects of the job all through ASEP. But he’s especially interested in recruiting students who have an innate sense of how to problem solve. “The more successful people, they get a hold of a problem and follow it through to solve that problem, ” saysWilliams. “You have to have that conquer attitude.”
The ASEP program has a partnership with sixty-four schools around the country and graduates approximately 800 students each year. The cost to enroll is about $5, 000 when all is said and done, butWilliams points out that this is a small and beneficial investment considering earning potential following
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