Field Service vs Resident Mechanic

I have two opportunities available to me. The first is a field service EPG job with Cummins and the second is a Resident mechanic job with a CAT dealer. Assuming similar pay and benefits which opportunity is best and why?

If you work for Cummins, you work on engines. If you work for a Cat dealer you get an enormous breadth of experience working on the full range of equipment backed up by the best parts and service information systems in the world.

I used to be a resident mechanic and I enjoyed it immensely. I can't say that it will be the same working for every dealer but it was practically like being your own boss. Customers would contact you direct and you would organise your own workday and only make contact with your supervisor to phone through your hours every week or if a job needed to be shipped to the workshop.

What a person does have to have though is confidence in their own abilities. You get to know the customers on your own patch and they get to know you. If you turn up to a job and either screw it up or try bullsh!tting your way out when you're stuck, word will get around quick. If you're not a the stage in your career yet where you can show up and confidently and safely tackle (for example) changing a track roller, fixing a HEX pressure problem, cutting a counterbore or diagnosing a fault code without just throwing a new sensor at it then you should probably get more experience with a workshop based field service role where you would have more backup.

If you make a good job of being a resident serviceman for a Cat dealer, it can be a springboard to a successful long term career with Cat. Good luck.

Thanks for the info. I spent a few years at a CAT dealer at a large gold mine so I know their systems and SIS/DBS pretty well. I am also fully certified with ET and their big bore engines. I have lots of truck shop experience with ISX, ISB and all their troubleshooting. I'm confident in my abilities haven't had to do counterboring yet but the other items I am familiar with.

I agree with Cmark, I was also a resident field service mechanic with a caterpillar dealer which can be a very rewarding role for the right person with the right attitude and commitment for the position. you will build up your own client base and they will contact you direct, so be prepared to be there night in shining armour.You end up being there inside contact with the cat systems and the first person they will contact when they have a problem or something goes wrong. this role can then lead on to other positions within CAT e.g. training, tech services etc.
PS: best of luck. I have worked for a number of cat dealers in field service and training and love every minute of it.

Mark

I'd take whatever you don't!!!!

Mark250 said:

I agree with Cmark, I was also a resident field service mechanic with a caterpillar dealer which can be a very rewarding role for the right person with the right attitude and commitment for the position. you will build up your own client base and they will contact you direct, so be prepared to be there night in shining armour.You end up being there inside contact with the cat systems and the first person they will contact when they have a problem or something goes wrong. this role can then lead on to other positions within CAT e.g. training, tech services etc.
PS: best of luck. I have worked for a number of cat dealers in field service and training and love every minute of it.

Mark

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That is great to hear. I do miss working for a CAT dealer. The fleet trucking world leaves much to be desired in the name of training, parts availability, any kind of manufacturer support and the customer version of ET and Insite are like lite versions of apps. You can do the basics and that's about it. Although a fleet shop is a great place to get familiar with field work and "making things work". I also had a different style of dealer experience since we were a large customer's Resident shop so to speak. That gave me a great deal of work in the pit and a field type environment.

simonsrplant said:

I'd take whatever you don't!!!!

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Yeah it's been a long road to get call backs and offers. The biggest problem I see is getting someone to call and interview you. I also didn't limit myself geographically which many people aren't willing to do. I applied everywhere west of the Mississippi and a few jobs east. Luckily my family is in Las Vegas (where one job offer is) and I have always had a love for Texas (where the other offer is) for some reason.

Where at in Texas? We are busy all over even with gas and oil in a slump.

I'd throw my vote in for the Resident position. As Cmark said, its very much like owning your own business, but with none of the risks! Factor in constant training, being provided with a truck, and sometimes many of the tools that even a field tech won't get, and its a pretty cooshy gig. There is also the guaranteed hours per week, so even if you don't have a job for that day, you're getting paid(not sure if all resident's get such a thing).

For me, though, hours aren't a weekly or a daily thing. We've got to do it through our cell phones, switching from diagnosing, repairing, and travelling parts on a job order.

Anywho, its a hard to beat job, but takes a certain type of person I'd imagine. You've got to be a great self motivator and starter, as well as honest.

caterpillarmech said:

Where at in Texas? We are busy all over even with gas and oil in a slump.

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Texarkana area. Haven't heard back in about a week though

Update gents. I got a call from Cummins and they are flying me down to interview! Pretty excited and hope it works out because I think it will be a great career upgrade

Akdiesel said:

Texarkana area. Haven't heard back in about a week though

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Met my first wife in Texarkana, it will be 30 years this fall. I still do business there a few times a year. Each time I visit the city it looks older and more run down.

However, we have a big project starting up there in TexAmerica industrial park, part of the old Lone Star Army Ammunition Plant so I have a number of additional trips coming up. I normally stay in the Central Mall area.

Remember, the Texas side is dry, the Arkansas side is wet.

Howard

Well I may be down in that neck of the woods Howard. The CAT dealer got back to me and wants to fly me down too. Pretty excited we'll see as it develops how that turns out

Best of luck and hope you get the job.

Howard

Is the resident job in Texas? I'm from there and think I know what the job is, maybe lol

Texas

Hey guys
To give everyone an update...got the job with Cummins! Not in the field but starting in the shop but I think it's a great opportunity to further my career and build my skillset even more. Thanks for the well wishes everyone

congrats...

Congratulations and best of luck, bit of a change from Alaska