The $160k Mechanic Job That Ford Can't Fill

> Only a small sliver of mechanics stick around long enough to get to that level of pay. The work is physically grueling. It is costly to start because mechanics need tens of thousands of dollars worth of tools. And the starting pay is closer to fast-food wages than to six figures. The 2024 median pay for a dealership mechanic or technician in the U.S. was $58,580, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Say they'll pay high wages. Won't actually pay high wages.

There are a lot of industries where there are outliers that receive high pay, but people know they're unlikely to become that outlier.

There doesn't really seem to be much to this article: the work is physically demanding, has a lot of up-front cost, and the path to good pay is not certain. Although it's sort of implied, the article really doesn't touch on the increasing complexity of automotive repairs.

Like so much else that's going wrong with cars these days, they're getting more and more difficult to repair, and there seems to be no way to back off from the precipice. I visited a corn maze with my kids late last year, and they had an old fire engine there. The inside of the doors were just a flat sheet of metal held in place by normal-sized Phillips screws. Anyone could have serviced that door without specialized tools or knowledge.

We should be able to build cars like this these days. Obvious, exposed bolts and screws, designed intended to allow for repair-ability. But like so many other trends, forces are sending us in the wrong direction.

Also, the article offers a helpful explanation of what a transmission is, just in case you didn't know:

> "transmissions, the duffel-bag-shaped, 300-pound machines that transfer power to the vehicles’ wheels."

As the son of a mechanic, I was explicitly barred from becoming a mechanic. The hours can be long, but they are more inconsistent than anything. In the summer it's hot and even hotter under engine bays, in the winter it's cold and melting snow/ice cause constant drips from cars.

The physical demands are real, you will likely have back/neck problems from leaning into engine bays, looking up constantly, contorting your body to get at a bolt or connector.

You are constantly exposed to toxic fumes and chemicals in the air and on your skin. You will be burned from hot exhaust, cut open on dirty rusted metal, bruised from impacts or falling objects, hearing loss from air lines hissing, air tools and hammering on parts. Those are the lucky ones... unlucky ones get eye injuries (even with 'safety' glasses), severe burns or cuts and broken bones from crushing injuries or even death from a variety of sources.

The pay structure promotes cutting corners and speed. You are paid X hours for a task even if it takes you X*2 (oh no!) or X/2 (oh yeah!) hours. You don't get extra time and pay to clean dirt and mud from an area to prevent contamination or just do a good job in general.

Vehicles are generally designed to be easy to assemble, not repair. This is why a mechanic may spend 5 minutes cutting a hole in a plastic fender well to access a bolt and plug the hole afterwards. That bolt is easily accessible when the engine is removed, but dropping an engine (they come out the bottom easier) can take 2 hours. With a shop rate of $100/hr+, you'll want the quick hacky fix to replace that $10 gasket.

Often, there is no workaround like that, so you're racing the clock... hoping something else doesn't break along the way or you get hung up on a rusty bolt. And when something does break, you hope to any god that will answer you that you can get the part in a short amount of time.

$160k is not enough for some of those talented guys... they are like professional athletes in the sense that it's a young man's game and your body is getting used up every day you're in there wrenching.

"...takes five years to learn..." -- and the requirement for participation in the cost (which is merely abusive) is an ever greater obstacle. If the CEO of Ford wants to prioritize the recruitment of more mechanics, then he needs to order his designers to implement designs that require less training. (The other remedy -- persuading the accountants to allow the dealerships to capitalize training -- seems to be off the table. Much of the perversity of business decision-making is down to the fact that training is classified as an operating expense.)

I could swear this article has been on here like a dozen times recently

There has to be a reason: grueling work or long hours.

no paywall: https://www.wsj.com/business/autos/the-160-000-mechanic-job-...