Next week as I get some time off from the driving, going in person to the Linn State Technical College and apply for instructor. Don't have credentials but was told could still be hired provided I made attempt at getting said credentials. Cannot hurt and I am tired of watching what comes out of the schools these days. If I cannot be a influence there then I will give up. The other aspect is I have figured out my body is letting me know I cannot do the driving very much longer. The 'other' neck disc that is bad at C4/5 is now collapsing according to the Doc, is causing a itch sensation back of my L shoulder along the inside of L forearm and at the base of the large muscle of L thumb, Right SI joint is just STEADY pizzed off, harder and harder to get more than 4 hours of continuous sleep and harder still getting things moving in the mornings. ****!! I am not liking this getting old crap.
Lord help us if there are little Miller wannabes running around
Could be Worse!! Not certain HOW, but could be!!
That sounds like a great idea ! I was fortunate to have an older teacher in Tech school . Guy was in his early 70's and retired service manager from an International Harvester dealership . Man … He went in to extreme detail on whatever the subject was . Rebuilding engines , transmissions , rear ends . Sub sections on 3 angle valve jobs , Detroit Diesel blowers & injection pumps . Even how to make a good pot of coffee & mop the floor . Always held everyone's interest with his hands on approach . With DMiller's mechanical background & experience at the nuclear plant who better to teach a classroom full of young knuckleheads headed in to the Trades .
Thanks td!!
If they wont take you then we know they are not qualified to do the teaching either as far as I know most trade schools value real experience over paper credit If they listen to an old timer these young guys would be shocked what they learn i so value the time men like you spent with me teaching I still take those opportunities to learn anytime
This one hits home with me attending a Tech School in the late 1980's Picked up allot of good information and training quick that would stay with & apply to endless tasks in the future due to having a great teacher ! Not to mention I was able to afford the tuition cost on the two year program working for a farmer at the time . That looks like a pretty good school with reasonable cost & good teacher to student ratio . https://www.usnews.com/education/community-colleges/linn-state-technical-college-CC04690 Hope it works out for you DMiller .
My high school welding and mechanic instructor, who is well into his mid eighties now, is still a good friend and a positive influence on my life. I still learn from his stories and memories. Hats of to you, Mr. Finifrock.
Good for you. Went through the college instructor deal with my mom....umpteen years in the classroom, 3 degrees, then elementary principal (that did her in), wanted something different. Told her, get your backside over to MSU (40 minutes away). They hired her instantly, overseeing student teachers, several years later she was running the program. Whole different world once the K-12 life is left behind. Experience counts. Ed
Another defining moment Almost came to the decision to walk away from the truck last evening Owner called asked if could start early three days this week and he will spell me in late afternoon to get three grain loads moved froma local He had the first load loaded and would reload for the subsequent two following mornings The otherwagon had been dedicated to ten loads of fertilizer for another yard. He is trying to accomplish fleet service with but two wagons and has not a clue why it is not working as well as he planned Used to be a common proverb in trucking One will keep you eating three can make Some money two will break you and a fleet will keep you too busy to care
Now THAT sounds like fun! Im not quite old enough to consider it yet, but its coming sooner than later. Im hoping to maybe pick up a shop foreman or service manager position in the future.
All my best teachers were old industry guys. At city college and Embry Riddle. I have always been a bit too smart for my own good, and would get them talking about all sorts of random stuff instead of teaching. Those were the best days.
I’m not sure if I’ve got the background yet but I’d like to see about teaching before my body gives out!
Teaching is something I'm seriously considering going into once I've got another 10-15 years experience under my belt. The kids nowadays just aren't cutting it. We've got a couple guys who just got their journeyman papers and they're afraid of taking on anything more than oil changes.
Can we teach them every intricate detail about every machine? No. Can we teach them fundamentals, how to diagnose along with a computer (not trusting it implicitly), how to not be afraid to try a few things instead of throwing parts at it, how to check their work, how to disassemble components in a logical manner taking notice of things..... I don’t see any reason we can’t do that and in doing so hopefully teach them how to learn from each repair or diagnosis. I’ve yet to stop learning every time I see a new set of symptoms.
DMiller Hope you can do this every trade needs people who know what they are doing to teach the next couple generations! One of the things I always get pi$$ed about is how I was never given any real formal education in the mechanical field. Picked up some basics from dad and some uncles but only real basic things as none of them were full time mechanics. When still in high school in late 1960's I tried to sign up for the at that time new trade school for the area schools and the SOB of a guidance counselor flat out said NO! She said I was "Too smart to do that stuff"! That was over 50 years ago and I still get upset about it! Sad thing is there are still idiots like her telling kids not to waste time with those kind of courses. I know this for a fact as just a couple years back my older brother retired as a principal at just that kind of a trade school and right up to the day he left he was arguing with guidance counselors who still try to use trade schools as a place to dump students who they want to purge out of the "normal schools"! I have to think that some guidance counselors get a bonus for ever kid that gets accepted to a "Real College"! I know way too many people think the "trades" are out dated, but until we have robots that can build robots we need people who can take a piece of steel and make something from it and somebody else who can fix it when it does break. When the day comes that you don't need people to do that it means you don't need people period and we will all be considered obsolete.
I got told the exact same thing by my teachers. Trades are dead end, waste of time etc. I wake up and go to work with no regrets. There's no way I'd be where I am in life if I took on $50k in student debt just to have some mediocre job (that I'd probably hate) and make peanuts doing it. I love getting in the truck and heading 2 hours out into the middle of nowhere to fix something. Me vs the iron. Love it.
I’ve had many a conversation with a college bound student about considering the trades. They all say the same ****, I won’t make enough. Until we discuss my wages and benefits. Then the light bulb goes on. Will everybody be as lucky as I am? I don’t know. If you bust your ass and know your shortcomings I don’t see any reason you can’t make a helluva living.
Average US Doctor makes $191K annually. Listed as highest paying job.
Another thought....I’ve probably invested well over a four year college worth of tuition in tools...haha
There are exceptions of course. Most kids weren’t thinking that high on the food chain. Several were considering what I think are useless degrees. To the point if I was hiring I would look PAST some of them for fear of silly indoctrination!
Could very well have that much invested, BUT and that is a big but, if at sometime you have to get out of the profession there is a good chance you can get some of that money back. Maybe only ten cents on the dollar but has anyone checked to going rate for a slightly used four college degree????
Well I never had any real formal training other than a few one week classes every year or so back when the shop was going strong at the company. But still was lucky enough to weather all the storms of change at the company for 45 years. Won't claim to be living "high on the hog" but comfortable for my life style. Own my house outright and never made a mortgage payment, helps to be willing to get your hands dirty and have friends and relatives willing to help! Don't have what I would call lots of toys but more than I need or have time for these days.
I wont even try to figure what I have in tools not as much as some folks but gosh and I find myself lacking certain things from time to time But I would rather invest in tools than a degree as mentioned you can sell the tools or pass them on or use them to teach the next guy
Have sold some tooling over the years, at a loss, gave some away even traded some for what I can use. Still out the original cash for them. At one time Not including the manuals I had bought or the training programs I paid for I had close to $65k in mine and NO Truck to haul them in that went away YEARS ago. I do understand they have curriculum that has to be adhered to, I also know a instructor can also be a mentor to those willing to listen. At my present stage of life is about the best foot forward I can take IF accepted.
Exactly. I’ll most likely hand them down. My oldest boy seems to have the most interest. He watched me assemble a drive motor Saturday and I showed him why I put races in the freezer, warmed up bearings, had to weld a bead inside of the old races etc. He seems to be catching on. Not bad for 8.
My first form of formal education was when I bought a copy of "Hot Rod magazine ". Pretty fascinated buy the articles in it and took it to high school to help pass the time ….. Now they are interested & want my opinion 30 years later on how to isolate a water leak in the system . LOL ! Funny how life works .
I never had any formal training on anything I have done, it was all blood from the knuckles and having a good grasp of things mechanical, It helped to a point that I was a conscripted mechanic for my dad. "Fix it or get a butt kick"
Hard Knox U beats Harvard or state hands down.
Cut the cord on the driving this morning. Owner decided needed me FULL time which I would not accept, asked me to start early MTW this week for a grain run that needed really bad to drop bin levels, then came up needing fertilizer as well moved. DONE, done enough, stepped back and turned the truck back over to him.
Now sit back and see how much he'll appreciate your efforts.
I had my 5 year old helping me disassemble an engine the other day too. Had him remove the nuts, rockers, push rods and lay them in order for later reassembly. I just had a thought reading through this one. When the guidance counselor says you are too smart to get dirty. Some people do best if they spend their time in the trade to learn what the employees go through before moving up to management and ownership. Often that is the way to make a business run effectively, to have done the job you are asking other people to do now. I'm expanding my business right now and taking on a few jobs I would rather sub in the future, so that I can have an understanding of how things work.
When I was coming up, I was told that mgmt had or should be able to do my job. It was explained that they need to be able to fill in, in the event of illness, death or strike. Nowadays, if I say that, folks look at me as if I got an arm growing outta my forehead. By the same token, I've also heard that, "those who can't, teach. Those that can, do." I'd rather learn from the fella who has navigated the quagmires and pitfalls, than the guy who hasn't. My whole early career was picking old guys brains for all they would share. Some gave freely, others I had to pick, pry and beg.
I can brag some that I am a font of mainly useless crap information that was never written down in the books but was a necessary knowledge to get something done where one guy knew something and handed it off word of mouth. I cannot just produce such information but when the appropriate context is in my face that brain cell tends to fire.
You also paid for your tools as you were making money and did not pay a ridicules interest rate on a school loan for half your life. Your tools paid you.
One of my friends dads retired as a master sheet metal guy and went to the local VoTech to volunteer. It wasn't too long until the school and the Local begged and begged until they had him working full time on salary. Good luck to you.
I finally went to the doc recently about that exact thing. Sucks. +1
Does not get better as we age. The addition of glucosamine works for a few but to the majority is a snake oil placebo as noted by my doc as is not ingested very well and as such if consumed and ingested loses much of its value being broken down to component materials. I have been to chiro's and tried holistic meds, nothing came even close until the surgery where I was explained "Do NOT continue to beat yourself as a 19 year old, you are NOT". I failed to listen and am dealing with that, is hard to give into NOT working.
What's the interest rate on tool truck credit though?
Do you eat sushi? It won't solve anything, but it makes my joints a bit happier every time I gorge myself. A ton of natural fish oil that your body actually processes. After a tough week, that's where I like to go.
If I could sell my tools and equipment at todays replacement costs, I could retire tomorrow. Can I take the pill version instead? lol
Tried sushi, not bad but the point is I don't eat bait.
My seafood menu is limited to Long John Silver's . https://www.ljsilvers.com/more-meals " I'll have a 3 piece fish & more and a schooner of beer " . Ring the Captains bell on the way out
Beats me. I never bought anything I couldn’t pay for on the spot. But I know guys who’d be cleaning out their ash tray to scrape up a week’s payment....*** over?!?
i completely flabbergasted a new young snap on salesman the other day. caught up with him at one of our local dealers. i needed a new 1/1/4 deepwell socket asked him if he had one on the truck he did. so i went to pay him cash for it he did`nt seem to know what to do with it
I stopped dealing with tool trucks since the local Matco dealer left. He always had great deals. The other guys were just out to screw you.
That's strange, We have had 3 Matco dealers in 6 years. None last long and their prices were a full 1/3 over our Snap On guy that's been here 30+ years. These Matco guys were out to screw us as fast as they could.
It hardly maters what's for sale it's priced way too high. A fully loaded diesel pickup (man toy} any brand top of the line with all the crap 95,000. Anybody who buys one doesn't care about their funds. Tools are the same way anymore. If you had their money you could burn yours. Truck Shop
Tool trucks are dangerous very dangerous lol I personally am to cheap to buy off the trucks except for a few things I also dont turn wrenches ever day for a living
Craigslist, Amazon and Ebay. Barter, swap, negotiate or bid. I'm hard pressed to buy off the truck. The prices are insane. I can't justify in excess of $100 for a 3/8 ratchet let alone a 1/2
When started out bought a few tools as a new impact or specialty sockets off the tool trucks, mostly bought used tools from aged wrenches looking to retire and leave the work behind, most got pennies on the dollar when sold but had made a lot of money off them when were using them.
Is that what they are asking for a 3/8 ratchet these days?! I know it is only a Craftsman set but the 3/4 drive socket set I bought back in the day only cost $75.00! I was lucky as where I worked the company supplied the larger tools, actually anything over 1/2 drive but the 3/4 drive sets seemed to always be missing the stuff you needed so most of the full time mechanics owned their own sets. See the guys out in the quarry did not have to supply hardly any tools as they were considered "operators" not "maintenance people", most were lucky if they had a 12 inch adjustable wrench, a pair of pliers, and a hammer! And to avoid looking for tools they often left them out in the various parts of the plant where they would be using them. I will admit that 98% of the time they were good about respecting the tools of the mechanics in the shop unlike how they treated the company owned tools!
I was known for always having a grip of foldin' money on hand and would get calls from guys selling tools, guns, etc. to make the payment on the wife's Lexus or the 'dream house'. One guy in the complex I had my office would sell tools to make the payment on his new tools and shop space. Brother this isn't going to end well for you get rid of the Lexus and the trophy wife and keep the tools.
By order of the court! Ex wives sell tools and equipment cheap...
"Decided to give her her fair share. Brother, I didn't know it was gonna be that much !" Jerry Reed... She got the goldmine, I got the shaft.
I used to do shovel outages at the mine. I laughed when I found out the mining company deemed it unneccessary to supply any tooling smaller than 1/2" drive in their tool trailer. These were the mining company's tools for their employees. I lost track of how many times I lent out my 3/8" and 1/4" drive stuff so they could do their jobs lol.
Never used it so I do not know. I would guess it credit card rate though. Way high.
I never used the company credit either, cash all the way or my dealer would give me "X" number of days (60 or 90) with no interest.
I got lucky starting out. My Dad was a mechanic in the Army for 4 years. Gramps had been a master mechanic in a sugarbeet factory for 40 years. I grew up on the ranch following Dad around we fixed everything we could as town was 30 miles away. 1988 was a tough year, I ran out of hay, grain and cattle to haul in December. I had an old cabover 4070 International. I was in Denver at the International dealership getting parts, and knew the owner and Service Manager. I mentioned to them I was looking for something to do to make a buck until we started calving. They said come work for them on second shift. I was so lucky, I didn’t know anything. Country mouse in the city. Ended up working there six years, until the dealership sold. They sent me to every class that they had. Got to work with a bunch of great guys that had been there for years and they shared their knowledge with a kid full of questions. Looking back I was really lucky to have worked with so many that were willing to teach me so much.