Have you thought about places to work? Picking a company to work for is a very important step for your career. Finding the right company that has great benefits along with pay is hard thing to come by.
I can tell you from experience! When I started I asked myself these same questions. I started working in family owned automotive shops. After working at several independent shops I realized that it was a good place to get your feet wet. When you first start off your not going to very productive and make the flat rate pay scale all the time. You will most likely spend a little more on a job then what the book calls for. By working an hourly rate at a smaller shop this will give you the ability to learn and experience more hands work. I would say working for a smaller shop to start for an automotive or diesel technician is a smart choice and it just felt like being on some kind of technical school.
After I had experience I began working on school buses. Working on smaller vehicles to school buses was a big change. I began to adapt quickly though. I started off working as a technician and slowly worked up over the years as a shop manager. I really think once you get experience picking a bigger company that has more money to spend will be in your favor. When I started off I was not making that much money. After working my way up I realized that there was more potential and opportunity in bigger company’s to move up and make more pay. There is only so many places you can move up in a smaller shop and they can only pay you so much. Generally a bigger company is going to have more leverage. If you could find a place with a expensive fleet like school buses, semis, limo’s, or even boats. When a company can afford a fleet, they can afford to pay you. When your working on someones fleet you will generally always be busy due to amount of vehicles. These are just some things to think about. These are very vivid points that you should think about. I just wanted to give you some advice. I’m not saying smaller companies are bad but there are more potential in bigger companies in my opinion.
Take this home! Finding a job or changing jobs can be a big risk. In my opinion I would say always explore your options but remember to do your research on that particular company that you are looking at. There are many site out there like BBB that will tell you about that certain company you are looking for. They will give you reviews and let you know different things about that company. I hope this helps. Feel free to contact if you want to know more about me.