Need every bodys opinon on something ...kind of long sorry

[99firehawk]

I need every bodys opinion on this one. I am a mechanic for an ambulance company. I make decent money for a 21 yr old
roughly 40k a year (paid hourly, not flat rate). I am the fng (been there 2 years) so I am stuck with the night shift 1:00 pm till 9:00 pm makes for a pretty shitty day. Now usually if I need to do some thing my boss lets me work whatver hours I want for a day or two becuase he understands that you cant do anything working 1-9 mon-fri and 2 saturdays a month.
So now the company is having some problems , not being profitable. All these problems point at the paramedic crews and the dispatch center, not the maitenence dept. Well since the dispatch and crew supervisors are sick of getting hasseled they have decided to nitpick us so we can get cussed at to. So their new decision is I am no longer allowed to come in or leave early, "I will be there till my off time." Also they have decided that no two mechanics can eat at the same time, they feel this will lead to shorter lunch breaks. They also are going to peroidicaly have some one "spy" on us beacuse they feel we spend to much time conversing or "horseing around."
Now as most mechanics will tell you the only advantages to working as a fleet mechanic or even hourly is flexability and less strees on knocking out 60+ flag hours in a 40 hr work week. Today while ordering parts from the local ford dealer I was offered a job as a diesel tech. Their current diesel guy has been working on diesels for about a month now and only becuase their last diesel guy retired. They said he is slow and cant diag. anything on the first try. Yet he has still been grossing 1200-1600 a week. In my 40 hour week with conversations and "horse play" I still pull off 60-70 flag hours a week (not that that matters when you get paid hourly.)
Now I really love my job (how many people can say that) but over the last 6 months or so I have been working 50-60 hours a week and they are sucking out all the enjoyment I used to get from work. So what do you guys think should I suck it up and hang out here making 40k a year busting ass every day and working my night shift. Or should I go to the dealer and bust my ass for 1400+ a week working 7-3 mon-fri.

brad

 

[mudjunkie 82]

you should enjoy your job.pick the one you will be most happy at!

 

[84_Chevy_K10]

[ QUOTE ]
you should enjoy your job.pick the one you will be most happy at!

[/ QUOTE ]

Exactly. I used to make pretty good money for doing basically nothing but I hated my job and I told them to shove it. Go anywhere where you can make money and be happy.

 

[yeild2me]

Will......comin' from a dude who has DONE everything.....I say F' em and go to Ford. There is enough drama day to day with out the added hassels of work. I FINALLY found where I belong in Special Forces....After 2 Branches, WTI, and LOTS of civialin jobs.....We grab ass all the time and I love it.....You are a young dude and even if the Ford thing goes sour (which I doubt, sounds like you could prolly smoke the other diesel guy), I dont see you haven a problem getting another job. Its not like you have TONS of time there and they have you by the balls. I used to cut meat at a grocery store, and was amazed at the amount of "politics" that take place there....It happens at most places, and is ok in moderation, but sounds like things could get nasty at the ambulance place.

Dont worry,,,,no one will call you a sell-out for working for FURD

Either way.....just my .02 and the best of luck to ya.....Rob

 

[DBLAZER]

You should enjoy your job. BUT remember the grass is not greener on the other side. Every job has it's pro's and con's , before quitting I would make sure that the new one is solid, benifits good, etc etc

DB

 

[Z3PR]

[ QUOTE ]
Dont worry,,,,no one will call you a sell-out for working for FURD

[/ QUOTE ] As long as he doesn't trade off the Chebby for a Exploder anyways. /forums/images/graemlins/rotfl.gif /forums/images/graemlins/rotfl.gif /forums/images/graemlins/rotfl.gif /forums/images/graemlins/rotfl.gif

 

[Confedneck]

ok...well let me start by telling ya...you aint leavin work at 3 if you go in at 7...not working on raggedy ass busted piece of [darn] fords...trust me i know, i do it every day..

dealerships rely on warranty work for A LOT of their paycheck and warranty is declining fast, not because they are building better vehicles like they claim, because people are keeping cars longer, and ford is cutting warranty times across the board, a good amount...
think about what happens when your car goes out of warranty, do you still take it to a stealership? HELL NO...very few cash jobs coming through the shop mean you have to rely on warranty..and the occasional customer who buys a LOT of cash work once in a while..dealerships also have seasonal swings, big ones..we are the "nations largest single point ford dealer" ie we sell only fords as a new vehicle on our lot and do it all from one location and our shop is DEAD this week...id find out what they can guarantee you for hours a week if they can..they dont do that here, but ask them what kind of average hours the guy who just retired turned... ok i know it was long...but im just trying to help /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif

 

[K1Orion]

I have a family friend who went through the same thing only backwards. He worked for several ford dealerships both day and night shifts for 20+ years and now only works on ambulances, but for ford,not the ambulance company.

He took advantage of every certification class or training ford offered and now makes 55-60 a year.He can pick and choose which dealership he works for and has finally settled down with the ambulance gig. With his diesel expertise and training he was in high demand and went where he liked who he worked with and where.

IMHO go to ford and work days like everybody else. Nights suck, no time for other stuff. If you can, stick with ford and take all their classes and certs you can get. Good diesel guys are in demand now that oil burners are so popular and ford sells plenty of them so you will make more $ soon enough. And if this dealership doesn't work out you can try another one, if your foot is in ford's door you can look around inside and see what else is avilable.

Hope this helps, good luck.

 

[84_Chevy_K10]

If I had 20 years of dealership experience and I only made 60 grand a year, I'd be disappointed. I'd certainly hope a guy that's a good wrench can do better than that.

 

[99firehawk]

I probaly should mention that I have already been through ford factory training on the 7.3 and the new 6.0. Also state master tech and only a few short of my ase master. Im leaning towards walking in tomorrow and not saying a word just packing up my box and leaving sideways /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif.
Not really but i do see a 2 week notice in my future. thanks for all the replies guys keep the opinions flowing.
new job =more money = more money to spend on my k5 and my car /forums/images/graemlins/thinking.gif why was i confused ?????

 

[jekbrown]

yeah, unless you know peeps working there... how do you know the higher ups dont make the guys at ford just as (or more!) miserable than the ones where you work now? I dunno... right now Im 28 and unemployed... so 21 and 40k sounds like ur doing pretty dang good to me...

j

 

[Confedneck]

i think you should go in and talk to some of the techs not only in the diesel shop, but also in the light car side and find out what the management is like and how they handle things..