Do You Need an Automotive Education?

I believe that 20 years ago it may have been possible to be a successful technician without formal education. In today's vehicles, you need an automotive education. You need to become an electrical guru. You need to know how to use scopes, scan tools, diagnose sensors, measure voltage drops and understand the network communication bus for example... and that's just scratching the surface.

Definitely need some education to do basic service like the G1 cert. If you want to be a real technician, plan on getting more education than a doctor, I mean you have to keep learning as technology evolves

I have worked with guys who think education is crap and those are the guys who are stuck doing tire work and other insignificant jobs. The days of breaker points and analog systems are ancient history.

Eric, I like what you are doing here

No one has mentioned that the auto technician has the power to kill his or her customers. Who wants a brake job that is only 80% correct? (and that's without the pressure of having to meet flat-rate book time) With such liability in today's " sue everybody " world, it is important that the technician receive the highest possible training available.

Thats a good point and I have turned people away if I am concerned about the work they want done due to the liability placed upon me by DOT. I work on commercial trucks and can be held accountable if fault is determined after an accident... I will not rebuild any air valve because the customer thinks it will work and is too cheap to buy a guaranteed part. :stick:

Hello everyone! Eric this is a great discussion! Well let's get down to the nuts and bolts of this conversation. I'm a person that believes knowledge is power, your power is governed by your knowledge. I'm 55 years old, and 20 years ago I became paralyzed from the chest down from a (GSW) gun shot wound. I started my career in the automotive industry at the young age of 18 as an auto body and fender apprentice. I spent a year learning the basics from professionals in that field. How do you know who is a professional? This is a part of my intuition, or God given skill set. By my 19th birthday I began learning to be an automotive mechanic, I don't know about anyone else, but the man that taught me to be a mechanic gave me a screw driver and a pair of channel lock pliers, and told me to take an alternator off 72 eldorado. For those of you that are interested, it took me 2 hours to take the old one off and put the new one on. There was a method to that madness, I had gained this mans respect because the guys that came before me couldn't demonstrate the creativity necessary to complete that task with the tools given. I have a God given talent to understand electrical systems, and every repair shop, from dealers to independents, looked at me as if I was gold walking through the door. During my mid to late 20's, I was working at an auto body and fender shop, and a automotive repair shop and doing side jobs at the same time, I'd developed a customer base that shops would kill for. From 89 till the later part of 1990 I worked as a manager for an independent repair shop, driving the tow truck and car carrier, and repairing automobiles. I accomplished everything without ever going to school. As education goes, I towed a car to a vocational college, and while waiting to get paid for the tow, I saw a young man struggling to diagnose a no start, so I showed him what was wrong. The instructor saw me and thought that I just lucked up on that diagnosis. So he asked me to diagnose three other cars, and I did them within 15 minutes, remember I was on a tow and had to get back to the shop. He asked if towing cars and mechanics was all I did, and I told him no, I also did auto body and fender work, and electrical systems. He begged me to follow him to his friend who was doing auto body and fender work. His friend asked me to explain the process, from metal straightening to refinishing and painting, and I did so quickly. Both men asked me would I consider teaching at the college, and I told them that I never finished 9th grade, and was short on time and would consider their offer. I never had a chance to get back to them before my injury, although I would think about them from time to time. As education goes, it would be an advantage to you to completely understand the reason for OBD II systems, and how they operate. Bus systems/networking, I've always been successful showing you what I'm capable of rather than rattling on about what I can do. And in conclusion, I would like to add if you want to enjoy doing this kind of work for a long time, "diversify" expand your skill sets.

Hello again everyone! So far we've addressed the certified automotive technician, the none certified technician (parts hangers) or (R&R), the experienced vs certified technician. What about the type of technician that quantifies me? The automotive technician that has spent the last 20 years self educating himself in the field of electronic engineering, classical physics and ect. One who knows how to proficiently use a scope, understands the different meanings of the sine wave, square wave ect. Proficient in using scan tools, understands why some sensor output voltage is AC instead of DC, Proficient in using DMM, and now the power probe III and the ECT2000. I have none quantifiable hours of education from 1993 to present, my disability allowed me this learning curve. So once again I ask the academically certified automotive technicians, to quantify a none documented highly educated automotive technician!!

What about the type of technician that quantifies me? The automotive technician that has spent the last 20 years self educating himself in the field of electronic engineering, classical physics and ect. One who knows how to proficiently use a scope, understands the different meanings of the sine wave, square wave ect. Proficient in using scan tools, understands why some sensor output voltage is AC instead of DC, Proficient in using DMM, and now the power probe III and the ECT2000.

^^I hope this is me in 20 years