This will be an interesting thread moving forward......

I don't think it matters what an average wage for a mechanic is.
What matters is what the mechanic is worth to a specific business. To take it to extremes, to my business no mechanic, no matter how good they are is worth 10k, because I simply don't have the work for them more than that. Obviously I don't employ a mechanic because no one would work for that.
But if the value is there as junkyard stated then it's whatever the business thinks is right for them.

Money isn't everything. Find what you love to do, if your just chasing the dollar, you'll have a lot of stuff, but may be miserable

Finding and getting a job you like to show up at every morning is half the battle. I'll take better working conditions over higher pay any day. There are too many people working in jobs they may not hate but certainly aren't excited about going to. You're also more willing to put in overtime or do extra's if the company appreciates you and you're not just a disposable number.

In our business the workplace has changed. Like it or not, the highly skilled in trades will be able to name their price and that’s not going away anytime soon. The labor force has shrunk and will continue to get worse……which is better for guys like us.

Mechanics/Service techs have always been viewed as necessary evils as long as I can remember. The wages have never been great but the demand for this work is steadily jumping up those incomes.

People still have the same thoughts on mechanics today……not worth the money. Let’s put it this way……..
…….When your $50 Mil Highway contract is stalled due to broken down unusable equipment in need of repair…….yeah, that $200k mechanic is pretty dam cheap. This is what it’s coming to and in my opinion…..it’s about dam time.

The guy's that hook up the lap top and read what the screen says are probably making more than a lot of mechanics who actually fix the problems are. Probably classified as some kind of computer tech similar to someone like a radiographer or ultrasound technician.

Welder Dave said:

The guy's that hook up the lap top and read what the screen says are probably making more than a lot of mechanics who actually fix the problems are. Probably classified as some kind of computer tech similar to someone like a radiographer or ultrasound technician.

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Thing is with a lot of the new systems, you need someone who can hook up the laptop And make the repairs. On a tier 4 machine we always put it through a service regen and watched the graph to find out where the issues were. For instance on a Volvo Tier 4 interim if the burner didn’t reach between 1350 and 1500 degrees you put a burner on it. There’s no old school mechanic who could properly diagnose this without a laptop or just guessing.

Same with Auto and Boat motors, all require a laptop and software

As much as I may bitch about needing a laptop there are times that I’m grateful to it in the seat and read data or run tests.

suladas said:

While $200k is far more then I guessed, $200k is a far cry from $300k and I would bet that their top dollar isn't much over $200k, and is nowhere near $300k. Using your leverage to try and get insane pay will backfire at some point because they will look for someone else to bring in more cost effective, meanwhile if it's fair on both sides they won't.

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To your point on leverage, the way it would work is if they could find someone to do the same job for less. They already have ample evidence of the current market of mechanics and it has cost them far more than the $300K value I gave.

Also a quick question, in ball park numbers, how much do you gross in a year? More or less than $300K.

Welder Dave said:

The guy's that hook up the lap top and read what the screen says are probably making more than a lot of mechanics who actually fix the problems are. Probably classified as some kind of computer tech similar to someone like a radiographer or ultrasound technician.

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The guys hooking up the laptops are the mechanics. And you better know how to be skilled at mechanical, hydraulic, electrical and electronic diagnosis and repair to be an effective mechanic these days.

there are product support reps and such who try to look at stuff electronically as you portray but they usually fall far short without the system knowledge and skills. I’ve had them send me on wild goose chases before because they just don’t understand there is far more than “plug in and let the computer tell you what’s wrong”. Usually you have to play along and then teach them a lesson to get them to understand.

Vetech63 said:

In our business the workplace has changed. Like it or not, the highly skilled in trades will be able to name their price and that’s not going away anytime soon. The labor force has shrunk and will continue to get worse……which is better for guys like us.

Mechanics/Service techs have always been viewed as necessary evils as long as I can remember. The wages have never been great but the demand for this work is steadily jumping up those incomes.

People still have the same thoughts on mechanics today……not worth the money. Let’s put it this way……..
…….When your $50 Mil Highway contract is stalled due to broken down unusable equipment in need of repair…….yeah, that $200k mechanic is pretty dam cheap. This is what it’s coming to and in my opinion…..it’s about dam time.

Click to expand...

For sure, but I think no matter how bad the shortage gets, there's a ceiling for the wages, you can only afford to pay so much and it would cause everything else to go up. And where does it end? If the people fixing them want more, the people running them will too, they are just as valuable and then it never ends. I think someone working a skilled trade should be able to live comfortably on 40 hours a week and support a family and the wage to do that is going to vary a lot depending where you are. But I don't see a day coming where the average mechanic is making $200k in 40 hours, around here right now i'd say it's like $75k.

And some of these laptop diagnostic charges/and diagnosis is fairly worthless-in some cases.
For instance DD15-16 engine miss at idle low on power, a very common issue. All one needs
to trouble shoot the problem is having experienced level of hearing, a blind man could trouble-
shoot it. Intake valves so tight you can hear it 50' away at idle popping back through the air
cleaner. I even pointed one out to a Freightliner warranty cop. He stood there with a rather
dumb look. To hook up it costs $300, which is excessive. And that's only one.

First you need to understand mechanical aspect.

So how does that explain the insane money being paid to executives?

The laws of supply and demand has to apply here and institutional stock holders are not stupid when it comes to reasons that companies are not profitable.

I like the term demand and supply-no need to supply it if no demand.

A technician who can read the lap top and also do the repairs and diagnostics with it is worth the big bucks. I've read several posts on here that some of the lap top readers would be lost if they actually had to diagnose something the manual way. They don't deserve the big money a lot of them get.

Vetech63 said:

…….When your $50 Mil Highway contract is stalled due to broken down unusable equipment in need of repair…….yeah, that $200k mechanic is pretty dam cheap. This is what it’s coming to and in my opinion…..it’s about dam time.

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Be careful. You are starting to sound like the cashiers at McDonalds who thought they were worth $15/hr. They got replaced by machines.

I am on your side. You have a valuable skill and should be compensated accordingly.

I think you are caught in a bad/ interesting place. You should be paid for your skill and knowledge. I think you are at the point that you should be paid for that and not the turning wrenches part. You are probably worth $150k + bennies to a company like that, but should be doing a different job. You should perhaps diagnose, but mostly call what to do, maintenance schedules, run techs/mechanics. Then your pay seems better because it allows you to ease into retirement physically speaking. We can't do the hard stuff forever. You are getting paid well without having to do the grunt work.

I don't know if this company is in this position, or has this mindset. You have already stated that there is no one competent to hire as help/tech... You have not indicated that this is what they 'ultimately' want from you.

Maybe this will stir ideas in you for your next round of negotiations!

Best of luck, you sound like you will come out well whatever way it ends up.

JD955SC said:

The guys hooking up the laptops are the mechanics. And you better know how to be skilled at mechanical, hydraulic, electrical and electronic diagnosis and repair to be an effective mechanic these days.

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This is what I think his job should be, but an analog version. He needs to diagnose and call the repairs. The company needs other techs to do it. This company needs organization. He can provide it between maintenance and staging repairs with proper part replacement (vs leaving new parts laying around and not replacing the correct ones)

Welder Dave said:

A technician who can read the lap top and also do the repairs and diagnostics with it is worth the big bucks. I've read several posts on here that some of the lap top readers would be lost if they actually had to diagnose something the manual way. They don't deserve the big money a lot of them get.

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Same as I suggested for Vetech. The guy with the laptop needs only to be able to direct others to the problem parts. Let them replace the parts and do the grunt work.

ianjoub said:

This is what I think his job should be, but an analog version. He needs to diagnose and call the repairs. The company needs other techs to do it. This company needs organization. He can provide it between maintenance and staging repairs with proper part replacement (vs leaving new parts laying around and not replacing the correct ones)

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If it were only that easy.
There are to many pitfalls that will come with that position. For whatever money is decided on. The big wigs will want results soon. He would have to find people as talented as him to get those results. That's not easy and that's not cheap. You can't be the equipment manager and lead mechanic at the same time. A good leader will hire competent and skilled people while keeping the rest of the management team out of their hair so that they can get it done. Then there will come a time to explain the money being spent. All of the labor, all of the overtime, all of the parts. And when things get better. Then they will look at the money being spent again. And then they will want to trim fat. The high wages and salaries. It's a vicious cycle. People with degrees don't like it when people without degrees make more money than them. If it were me in Vetech63's position. I would pass and keep my freedom. Unless I was thinking about shutting it all down before the offer was made. And then it would be under contract taking care of any concerns that I may have. Good luck Vetech63. I wish that I was in your shoes. It must be a great feeling to be valued. And to have the leverage on your side.

Only one problem with this thread---people who wear office clothes/suits and ties. Can't be trusted.