Not sure what the base pay is, but we are desperately short of Diesel Mechanics and Welders. Especially Welders who know how to weld stainless steel.
Average age of Diesel Mechanics are 60+
In the next 5 years we will not have enough mechanics to answer truck breakdowns on the Interstates.
Perhaps that is because diesel mechanics have had such crappy working conditions and lack of job security. Freight lines screwed over guys in that job in the 80s and 90s as I recall from buddies I knew that had that job.
I have a friend that was a diesel mechanic and I was a gas mechanic for 20+ years.. the money is gone from both jobs. He went on to be a warranty claim adjuster at a engine re-manufacturer and I still wrench but on my own products. I am a used car guy now.
when I started wrenching it was a 60/40 split on labor and 5% of parts.. Now, you are lucky if they offer you high teens on flat rate. The best paychecks I ever got were at that first shop, as I got more experienced and more tools pay just kept going down..
There is a reason no one is entering these fields.. They no longer pay to enter. Who is going to drop 50-100K on tools for 16 dollars an hour?
“desperately short of Diesel Mechanics and Welders”
and
“screwed over guys in that job in the 80s and 90s”
Yep I remember that too.
Promised the moon Treated like crap, shiitey working conditions, ZERO security. Constantly moving on after two years.
Great for a young guy to start his own thing and put the existing folks out of business.
But don’t ever work for someone else.
My brother is a diesel mechanic and other speciaties related to repairing NYC transit buses. He’s 52 and a most valuable member of that team who works on the most challenging problems due to his skills. He’s worth every penny they pay him and then some whatever that amount is.
The same for aircraft mechanics. Avg age is fifty something.
Another career that is desperately short of new members is HORSESHOER/FARRIER.
You are self employed...
Many horse owners pay cash ( I do)......
You do your own scheduling.....& you can drop a client that is not paying timely or has horses which are not property trained to deal with the shoer. Mine get their feet & legs handled & picked up from a day old, and we tap the bottom of their feet gently with a small shoer hammer so nothing is a surprise when they get their first set of shoes.
Farrier schools are not long, nor are they expensive.
There are more horses in the USA today than before the machine revolution......
Got a kid who doesn’t fit the college model & likes to be outdoors? See if this works for him-—OR HER.