Mechanic? Try Automotive Technician.

[Ranger44]

I was reading the latest issue of Petersens 4wheel drive, when I read something that kind of bothered me.....

They refered to an automotive technician as a mechanic. A MECHANIC!

I know this may not sound like a big deal, but when I think mechanic, I think back to the old definition. Someone who works on machinery. Someone who is not necessarily trained or doesn't have some type of formal education.

And Grease Monkey? Those are fighting words. I'd take someone out to the parking lot for discussion.

My point is, me, like many others are going are going through training, or have been trained on some very complicated systems. This stuff isn't childs play, it's complicated to the untrained mind, and it takes alot of work, hands on experience, and research to make sense of it. Enough that the title AUTOMOTIVE TECHNICIAN is well earned, and deserved.

So people who'd refer to me as mechanic.......

 

[JamesC]

I have to disagree, it seems to me that every trade or job calls the workers technicians these days. I do get your point about the complex systems and how its not the way it used to be, but I would prefer to be called a mechanic. to me a mechanic is the person who knows what they are doing when they fix vehicles. With a trade like this formal education is not as important as on the job training or experience. But I do agree with you about grease monkey.

 

[97BlackBetty]

I agree with you completely. And I am proud to call myself a mechanic and a grease monkey. I am a good wrench, and I never want to be a technician.

Everything I know has been learned the hard way. When I cant figure something out I want to take it to a professional.

 

[GoodysGotaCuda]

I'm a BMW Master and ASE Master Technician, mechanic bugs me. Average "mechanic" doesn't deal with fiber optics, 5 different bus systems in a car, etc, etc. I think mechanic, i think your basics, brakes, engine stuff, probably a/c, etc. 2cents.

 

[wahlstrom1]

^^^^ To me thats a good Tech, I on the other hand am a Heavy Duty Mechanic...

I work on all kinds of large equipment, I do everything from engine-driveline-hydraulics-bodywork-electronics etc. I also do a decent amount of fabrication and design work, as well as troubleshooting and field work.

-andrew

 

[dusto2]

I'm a BMW Master and ASE Master Technician, mechanic bugs me. Average "mechanic" doesn't deal with fiber optics, 5 different bus systems in a car, etc, etc. I think mechanic, i think your basics, brakes, engine stuff, probably a/c, etc. 2cents.

i agree with you i was a jaguar, and mazda technician, senior tech for both almost master at jag, before i got laid off, and would make me made when someone called me a mechanic, i am sorry but i worked hard and studied hard to become a good technician. just like you wont refer to a doctor as something else they worked hard and studied hard to deserve that title. now that i dont work at a dealership and am just do general work on the side that i get from my store i dont mind being called a mechanic; technician is someone who knows how to diagnose a problem and fix it, a mechanic is just a parts changer.

 

[holyford86]

Technician, mechanic, all one in the same in my book. I see automotive technicians around here that are idiots, I also see brilliant mechanics. Its just a title, Both denote the same kind of work. Training in a formal setting is one thing, finding a problem, gaining the knowledge to fix it, then fixing it is just as good. I have had no formal training in automotive systems, I think I'm pretty good at it and so does my employer. In the end it doesn't really matter what you're title is, If you know what you're doing and can prove it, that's all that matters.

 

[LittleHorse]

I'd rather be called a mechanic. To me, technician (in any trade) sounds like someone who was insecure in themselves and their job title and thought a job title would get them taken more seriously. Just like steward/stewardess vs flight attendant. Custodian vs janitor. I mean hell, girls that do nails are calling themselves nail technicians these days. What, because they went to cosmetology school?!

Education all too often means nothing. I've seen enough people with degrees and certifications that didn't know their ass from a hole in the ground to know this simple fact:

you can lead a person to knowledge, but you can't make them think.

I don't mean to offend anyone here, I'm just trying to encourage you guys to be proud of what you do no matter what your job title may be or what people may mistakenly call it. Life's too short to sweat this stuff.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I know this may not sound like a big deal, but when I think mechanic, I think back to the old definition. Someone who works on vehicles. Someone who is not necessarily trained or doesn't have some type of formal education.

My dad has been wrenching professionally since two days after he graduated high school in 1976, at one point he was one of the highest trained John Deere mechanics in the area. He started doing setup to start out with (putting farm equipment together...) he left as the shop foreman after the dealership was bought out by a new coorporation to start his own business.

He is scary good, he goes by "mechanic". If I have to pay to have work done I would be thrilled to have someone like him do it.

This stuff never has been for the faint of heart, a mechanic of the 1970's would make a modern day "Automotive Technicion" look just as stupid on their jobs as the modern equipment would make them look.

 

[Rangerman4158]

I am working on finishing my for senior master tech classes and training and I think that I have earned the title Technican but if I have to work on anything other than a Ford I'm just a mechanic

 

[thegoat4]

I'm a mechanic.

 

[bobbywalter]

I was reading the latest issue of Petersens 4wheel drive, when I read something that kind of bothered me.....

They refered to an automotive technician as a mechanic. A MECHANIC!

I know this may not sound like a big deal, but when I think mechanic, I think back to the old definition. Someone who works on vehicles. Someone who is not necessarily trained or doesn't have some type of formal education.

And Grease Monkey? Those are fighting words. I'd take someone out to the parking lot for discussion.

My point is, me, like many others are going are going through training, or have been trained on some very complicated systems. This stuff isn't childs play, it's complicated to the untrained mind, and it takes alot of work, hands on experience, and research to make sense of it. Enough that the title AUTOMOTIVE TECHNICIAN is well earned, and deserved.

So people who'd refer to me as mechanic.......

theres a few "automotive technicians" that regularly call this uneducated retarded backwoods mechanic.

some even work at rousch facilities

 

[bobbywalter]

I'm a BMW Master and ASE Master Technician, mechanic bugs me. Average "mechanic" doesn't deal with fiber optics, 5 different bus systems in a car, etc, etc. I think mechanic, i think your basics, brakes, engine stuff, probably a/c, etc. 2cents.

those are the guys that call me.


and yes i do call them as it is a two way street.


its like this....when your in the middle of no where in a vehicle your not familiar with and stranded...and have no or few tools and no spec books....


can you get it to go?

 

[GoodysGotaCuda]

those are the guys that call me.


and yes i do call them as it is a two way street.


its like this....when your in the middle of no where in a vehicle your not familiar with and stranded...and have no or few tools and no spec books....


can you get it to go?

Figuring this is my toy for the past five years that I've built (hense the screen name), you bet your ass I can get things on the road.

I can say that there aren't really guys at my dealer that are book worms, need specs for everything, can't "make things work". Depends on the person, there are car people that are techs. And there are people that are techs for a career. The people you mentioned that can't think or do things outside of the box, are the people doing it because its work. To me, it's a daily challenge that I enjoy, yet it's far enough away from my hobby (muscle cars) to keep me from getting burnt out on it.

You need something to run and go, I can do it. Boat, RV, Quad, Lawn Mower, whatever. You need the MOST bus in your 760 worked on, I can do that too. lol

Also was on the crew for putting my Dad's Challenger together on Overhaulin'

 

[Will]

The old mechanics were called engineers. They got training. They had to do more with less than people do now. Take Henry Ford, for example. He was an engineer on a stationary engine and out in the field, you made that fawker work or somone that needed whatever it was doing done would kick your butt because you weren't picking up the phone and getting another one brought out or parts shipped overnight. With the skills he learned, he fabricated a car--including the engine and fuel mixer. Try that. An old mechanic could forge parts in the field, make a casting in the field--you name it. And lots of what you did had no precedents. There wasn't even electric welding--you had to blacksmith stuff out of nothing.

For us, the unwashed masses, the certifications don't mean alot. I did the airframe part of an AMT when I was messing around for a year in Columbus, Ohio. Certainly some of the students stood out, but it didn't exactly take a genius to pass the oral and written and be a certified AMT. You had to show up sober everyday and make sure your name was clearly marked on your lunch--unless you had money for the roach coach. We take our car in, sometimes it's not fixed. Sometimes the interior trim had the clips broken and were pissed because the kick panel is hanging out. We hope we get a guy like you all, but it just isn't the case that we always do.

Point is, I wouldn't fret over your title. You take pride in what you do and people in your shop defer to you when they are stumped, that's what counts. It only matters what people in your own profession think of you. The rest of us are completely ignorant.