Hey guys being 17 and obbsessed with my DSM, i would like to know if i could take my passion and turn it into a career. I love working on my car and with the pressure of college life and the dreaded question "do you know what you wanna do for a job" getting more and more annoying. I would like to know if there are a demand for jobs in performance shops or even auto body? What types of jobs are DSM owners doing.. Post them up.!!!!

I work in the Oil field. Spinning wrenches on your own car is different than doing it on someone else's car. Stay in school, get a degree and learn how to tune cars. Become adept at multiple tuning softwares. You can make decent money as a mechanic but it's hard to get ahead if you aren't the shop owner.

I work in the Oil field. Spinning wrenches on your own car is different than doing it on someone else's car. Stay in school, get a degree and learn how to tune cars. Become adept at multiple tuning softwares. You can make decent money as a mechanic but it's hard to get ahead if you aren't the shop owner.

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I know many people in my class going to the oil fields...

I Will be finishing up high school with a decent amount of college credit. Just would like to know what people are doing as a career.

Quest4Boost said:

I work in the Oil field. Spinning wrenches on your own car is different than doing it on someone else's car. Stay in school, get a degree and learn how to tune cars. Become adept at multiple tuning softwares. You can make decent money as a mechanic but it's hard to get ahead if you aren't the shop owner.

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This.

I've got a couple buddies that did Auto Mechanics, neither of them work in that field any more.

Personally get a college or university degree; trades (choose wisely) are a good idea too.
I did a Tool and Die course years ago and couldn't get a job, this was in the early 2000s when everything was being sent to China for cheap.
Years later I did my Electrician course and I couldn't be happier with what I do for a living.

I've never wanted to do mechanic work as a career simply for the fact that I enjoy it as a hobby. I did get my tech degree in mechanical performance but only wanted it to show I knew what I was doing. I'm an Analytical lab tech for my daily job and enjoy ever second of it. I make a decent wage that allows me and my wife to do what we want within reason of course.

Doing your hobby as a job is a good way to make you hate your hobby. The automotive aftermarket industry is a wasteland.

You're 17. Move out of your parents' house, let the car sit a while, go party, kiss girls, and if you're really obsessed with cars, consider mechanical engineering.

But that's just me speaking from experience of trying to keep a modded DSM going at the same time as college. I missed out on a ton of life experience.

Cars aren't everything, and you're only fresh once.

TOOL AND DIE here for the last 11 years

I'm twenty years old and I took two years of auto tech in highschool. My senior year I started working at a dealership as a mechanic. Three years later and three dealerships later I'm about to start working as a machinist once I finish my school up.
I love wrenching on my car. Not other peoples. You will hate flat rate and won't even want to work on your car when you get home. I've seen what thirty years of being a flat rate mechanic can do to anybody and that's why I'm becoming a machinist.

Nothing is impossible, if you want to be a professional tuner its going to take a crap load of blood sweat and tears and you still might not make it.

BUT
This is just my life experience

AND
If you want to be a tuner, be a mechanic at a dealership and become a master mechanic while also making your car an unblievable machine to show off your capabilities and sell sell sell the f*ck out of yourself.

I could see how working on a car for 8 plus hours a day then coming home to work on your own car could get old real fast.

I did apply to become a Non-destructive tester but got put on a waiting list. Ive thought about machinist but haven't looked into it too much. Thanks for all the post, I like to see what other people are doing as a career.

I'd advise going into something like welding or CNC work. I wish I would have but I'm 2 semesters from finishing my degree and really can't afford to restart.

You'll likely end up with great fab skills or capabilities to create stuff for your car that will save you money, and the field is very employable, profitable, and won't make you hate life as much.

I would agree with what was said about mechanical engineering. I'm not going to lie to you, the math and formulas are hard, but anyone with patience and drive can get through it. I fell into a little niche trade of Quality Engineering specifically for the turbine engine field. It keeps me very busy, I get paid well, good benies and I'm not wiped out at the end of the day and can still work on my DSM at night.

I would also look into a fallback career, maybe invest in something during summer breaks or weekend cash. I have some experience with landscaping and tree removal. Just in case something happens I can always cut trees.

Good luck, and you might even find that what you learn in school and career will improve your DSM skills.

Yup don't turn your hobby into a career. Next thing you know you hate working on your own cars during your spare time.

Whatever you choose, do some research on the job prospects in your area. Decide if moving away will work for you or if working away will work (camp job).

Nothing like going to school and not being able to find work.

Like other people have said, turning a hobby into a career is a good way to ruin both. I'm sure some people can do it, but if you think about it your interests tend to come and go. Imagine if you got sick of working on your own car, you could either just let it sit until the interest comes back again, or sell it. If working on cars is your career, you're now stuck doing something you dont' want to do.

Oddly enough, when were living in a house with a garage, the HVAC people came to do some repairs and saw my car in the garage (in pieces). They asked my wife what shop I worked at .

Anyway, I sit in a cube all day processing claims for the government. Not really a career, but I basically make my own hours (and therefore never get stuck in rush hour traffic), the benefits are decent (although the pay could be better), there's almost a 0% chance that I'll ever be laid off, when I'm done I don't take anything home, I don't have someone breathing down my neck most of the day, and I've already got my foot in the door for a lot of other government jobs.

I am in the same boat. Now that I have a little one on the way it's time to back track on my dream and look for new house with garage (to fullfill my car needs) and give my family more of what they need. More comfort, space, safer area etc...

89Patches said:

Yup don't turn your hobby into a career. Next thing you know you hate working on your own cars during your spare time.

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Yep, been a mechanic for two years. Haven't done anything to my DSM. I do good to keep the upkeep on mine and my wife's DD. I love working on cars, but I can assure you that unless you luck out and work for chip foose not everyone is out to be famous. Sure fast and loud looks cool. The real world is someone brings you car, the oil is black as death , no transmission fluid, the rear end howls and the front and they don't know what it's doing or why and either want to spend 0$ On their 91 honda civic with 260K. They severely mistreat ther vehicles, they will blame you for everything. (Why do my tail lights not work after you Changed brakes??) (you changed the fuel pump. Why is my AC not cold? This is your fault!) you will get home and curse cars, atleast that's what I have done. I quit today to finish up my medical schooling.


All of this is from experience. Love what you do and if you really want it go for it.
Good luck.....