Hey gents, New to the forum. I am looking into a career as a heavy equipment technician. Ive been laid off from my job as a welder for a few months now and jobs in my area are few or are very low pay for experienced welders. So I have been looking at going back to school and heavy equipment has always interested me. Here in Ontario there is a government program called Second Career ( http://www.secondcareerontario.com ) which helps laid off workers go back to school. They help with tuition and living costs etc. As part of my application to this program I am to ask people in the industry both employers and employees about their jobs and job prospects. I have already reached out to local dealers and service centers, but I though I would also ask here as well. The more research I can do the better it should help with my application. Here is the heavy equipment course I intend on taking http://flemingcollege.ca/programs/heavy-equipment-techniques There are two sets of questions, One for employees and one for employers. I hope you guys can take the time to answer these questions. Thanks! Employees: 1) How did you decide to become a Heavy Equipment Technician? 2) What part of this job do you find the most satisfying? 3) What part is the most frustrating/difficult? 4) What does a typical day involve? 5) What education/training did you have to get for this position? 6) What other firms hire people with your background? 7) Is there anything else I should know about becoming a Heavy Equipment Technician? Employers: 1) What skills/qualifications do you require for someone in this position? 2) What does a typical day involve? 3) Does your organization have a preferred school/program of study? 4) Is the school/program that I am planning on attending recognized by your company? 5) How would you rate the employment opportunities in this field? 6) How many Heavy Equipment Technicians has your organization hired in the past 3 years? 7) How many Heavy Equipment Technicians do you anticipate hiring in the next 3 years? 8) What is a typical entry-level salary in this position? 9) How do the salaries progress in the first 5 years? 10) What are the opportunities for advancement in this field? 11) Whom do you recommend I contact for more information about job opportunities in this industry? 12) Have you any other suggestions for someone considering this career?
I have worked this job before...hard, dirty work. It requires a major tool investments, and a good service truck, and knowledge of a all kinds of varied equipment. If you are good, and can work to factory spec on a wide variety of equipment, the money is there. Best of luck. Howard
Employees: 1) How did you decide to become a Heavy Equipment Technician? There was a job opening at one of the dealerships, and I had always liked fixing things. 2) What part of this job do you find the most satisfying? Electrical and hydraulic diagnostics. 3) What part is the most frustrating/difficult? Dealing with customers. 4) What does a typical day involve? Safety meeting. Get work order. Travel to site. Perform job. Travel back. Repeat. 5) What education/training did you have to get for this position? Had high school welding and mechanics. Rest of training was on job. 6) What other firms hire people with your background? All dealerships of heavy equipment, highway truck dealerships, any company with heavy equipment or highway trucks. 7) Is there anything else I should know about becoming a Heavy Equipment Technician? It takes many years to get good at this job. If you want to succeed you will need to be focused on your training. This will mean you need to take your training home, and do most of it on your time. The best place to learn this trade is a dealership, as they are generally focused on doing things by the book, have a good safety program, proper tooling, and proper training. You will need a small fortune invested in your tools. Snap on and Mac tools both have student pricing, so make sure to take advantage of that.
1) How did you decide to become a Heavy Equipment Technician? 2) What part of this job do you find the most satisfying? 3) What part is the most frustrating/difficult? 4) What does a typical day involve? 5) What education/training did you have to get for this position? 6) What other firms hire people with your background? 7) Is there anything else I should know about becoming a Heavy Equipment Technician? 1)I grew up in logging camps in coastal BC, I always managed to sneak into the shop and watch the guys at work. I have always loved machines, the bigger the better. It was just kind of a natural progression into the trade. 2) Getting a piece of broken equipment back to work. I find the most satisfying ones are the ones where you work all through the night and it is running for the next day. That is when I get that real feeling of accomplishment, knowing that there is a logging crew who will go to work that day instead of staying home. 3)Toss up between getting the proper parts, getting them on time and dealing with management. Dealing with a manager who does not understand maintenance can be trying. 4) I work afternoon/night shift. So it is get to the shop, pick up your jobs, gather your parts then head out to the forest to repair what ever the lads broke during the day. It can be as simple as a service all the way up to an engine swap. You just never really know. 5) I started my apprenticeship in 1976 through the Province of British Columbia, Ministry of Labour. It was a 4 years of on the job training and yearly schooling, I obtained my journeyman Redseal Interprovincial status in June of 1980. Now it is all run through ITA BC. 6) Since 1980 I have worked in factory setting, mining, logging, manufacture. If you are a good mechanic it is not hard to get a job. Heck, I even worked in a Hydo-Electric generating station. Being involved on a rebuild on a 125 Megawatt generator was interesting. 7), Never stop learning. Like GaryHoff said, it takes a long time to get really good at this job. Listen to the people who know. If you do decide to go with it, welcome to the ranks, it is a great job. I would do it all over again if I had to. I'm just about at the end of my career, retirement is only a few years away. SOMEBODY NEEDS TO TAKE MY PLACE
Thank you both for taking the time to answer my questions. Which do you guys prefer, working in a shop or doing field service? Also the school I plan on attending has an optional semester on diesel generators. Do you guys think that this is something that would be beneficial to take, would it make me more employable as an entry level technician?
Glad to help Gamac I prefer field work to the shop, but doing what I do is different from working for a dealer. Unfortunately I am broken right now, down with a back injury. I don't know if I will ever get back to working in the field. So now I am stuck behind a desk. As far as diesel generation goes, I don't know if you can ever get too much training, but the question I would ask is, is that what you want to do. There is more time in school and more money involved. Do you want to do it, or are you just looking for a bit more to put on your resume. Is it something you could do later in life if you were so inclined. Why not get your basic training in and get out there and see what part of the job you really like and then specialize in that. By that I mean heavy equipment, Trucks, mining, forestry, dealer... Well you get the picture. I worked as a mechanic in several different industries before I finally decided that I love logging and have stayed with it ever since. Feel free to PM me anytime if you want more information Brian
An extra semester on generators would make you very good a gen set repair and rebuild. The generator section is pretty simple, but the control circuits can be a bear. A mixture of shop and field work is nice, but good training is money in the bank. I would have a good idea of what local jobs are available before borrowing money for tech school.
1) How did you decide to become a Heavy Equipment Technician? Always liked heavy metal... From a kid. Nothing has changed. Just my toys got a whole lot bigger. 2) What part of this job do you find the most satisfying? Hard challenging fixes. Things I gotta think about, and getting it right. 3) What part is the most frustrating/difficult? Doing things twice when employers over rule decisions. 4) What does a typical day involve? Another great thing about this job, every day and every fix is different. 5) What education/training did you have to get for this position? Ex military and civilian licence in HD mechanic. Probably 3years worth. 6) What other firms hire people with your background? All sorts, construction, mining, demolition, oil and gas... 7) Is there anything else I should know...? Yeah, the industry is mercenary. Take finning cat as an example, hire when busy, lay off when quiet. The o of way to be real secure is to be your own boss. And that has its own problems too. I'm heading back that way and by mid next year I'll be on my own. It costs a lot to get established, a hell of a lot.