Advice for going from Heavy Duty Truck to Heavy Equipment

[SlowTiming]

Hello, new to the forum. I found this forum from this post here, and It answered some of my questions, but I was looking for advice for transferring from Heavy Duty Truck to Heavy Equipment and, more specifically, Field Service. I'm currently an Apprentice Heavy Duty Engine Technician for a company that shall not be named (may or may not paint their engines red). I'm about 2 years into my Apprenticeship. At my specific shop, we don't offer any chassis work, engine-only. They also shifted the end of the apprenticeship training program from Hydraulics and Welding to Electric Vehicles. In addition to that, the shop is extremely slow and hours are being cut for the foreseeable future and lay-offs could be a possibility for this winter. I'm not sure what to do at the moment. I'm hoping to ride it out until I get my AS degree and Trade certificates in the middle of next year, but I'm not sure if that'll be possible. If I do happen to do it, I'm trying to figure out what options I have for making the transition to Heavy Equipment and Field. What can/should I do and what should I expect? and is it worth sticking it out for the "degree" (aka fancy title that means jack) or should I move on to somewhere I can actually learn from?

 

[crane operator]

Most dealerships aren't going to send you to the field with no experience. The particular area of the country you live in will make a difference in job availability. Midwest can get you Ag as well as construction equipment jobs.

Most dealerships are dying for good help, so I don't think you should have a problem finding work. You've gone this far in your apprenticeship, I'd hang with it until you get your certificates. They don't make a huge difference after you've been in the industry for 10 years, but they might help you get your foot in the door.

 

[SlowTiming]

Most dealerships aren't going to send you to the field with no experience. The particular area of the country you live in will make a difference in job availability. Midwest can get you Ag as well as construction equipment jobs.

Most dealerships are dying for good help, so I don't think you should have a problem finding work. You've gone this far in your apprenticeship, I'd hang with it until you get your certificates. They don't make a huge difference after you've been in the industry for 10 years, but they might help you get your foot in the door.

That's kind of what I expected. I don't mind working my way to a Field position after some time in a shop, and that's probably what I'll do. Construction and Ag are probably the two biggest industries here. Since I live in the Northern part of the People's Republic of Kalifornistan, we don't get much snowfall, and most of the area I live in doesn't get any.

 

[Welder Dave]

If you're one of the better mechanics in the shop you may have a bit more priority for them to keep you. They may want to help you get your journeyman ticket. Sometimes shops will lay off the journeymen and keep apprentices because they are paid less. I've had it happen to me. I was a 3rd year and they kept the 1st years. It really pi$$ed me off because I did way more overtime when they were busy. I did get called back but didn't volunteer for overtime just to get laid off again.

 

[MarshallPowerGen]

The way things have been running for years now; even if you apply for a shop spot they will try to put you in a truck ASAP, experience or not.

 

[funwithfuel]

Well, I'm sorry for your situation. I wouldn't wish Commifornistan on anyone.
Talk to locals. Find the Operating engineers local in your area. Befriend those people. Get references and referrals to join the locals apprentice program. Yes, you're starting over. Yes, it feels like a step backwards, but it's an investment in your future. My local has one of the best training programs you can imagine. You can choose which direction you want, pulling levers or pulling wrenches. Spoiler, noone in the right mind wants to wrench. It's hard on your body. Tools are expensive. The environment is against you. The parts department is against you. Management is against you. You got it coming from all sides. But... and this is key, a company gets a hold of a good tech, they're reluctant to let him go. Keep your head straight, maintain a good work ethic, you'll go far. Or just far enough. It's up to you.

 

[mowingman]

Our son went from import auto mechanic, directly into working on heavy equipment at a major Cat dealer. If you have the abilities and are willing to work, you should be able to hire on at one of the major equipment dealers. In my son's case, a local dealer hired him to do oil changes and other service type work in the field on clients machinery. After a year of that he was moved into their large engine rebuild dept., then moved on to other field mechanic positions from there. Apply a lot of places and list your related experience. Work hard if hired. You can make the change you desire.

 

[SlowTiming]

Well, I'm sorry for your situation. I wouldn't wish Commifornistan on anyone.
Talk to locals. Find the Operating engineers local in your area. Befriend those people. Get references and referrals to join the locals apprentice program. Yes, you're starting over. Yes, it feels like a step backwards, but it's an investment in your future. My local has one of the best training programs you can imagine. You can choose which direction you want, pulling levers or pulling wrenches. Spoiler, noone in the right mind wants to wrench. It's hard on your body. Tools are expensive. The environment is against you. The parts department is against you. Management is against you. You got it coming from all sides. But... and this is key, a company gets a hold of a good tech, they're reluctant to let him go. Keep your head straight, maintain a good work ethic, you'll go far. Or just far enough. It's up to you.

The local Operating Engineers Union near me is one of the most difficult Unions to get into in the state and maybe even the country. They get several thousand applicants a year and have a 2 year waiting period for call backs to applicants. Your spot is also subject to your test scores and they have you take the ASVAB, which is about a 2 hour long test at least. I've done it before when I first got out of high school cause I wanted to run Heavy Equipment. I scored fairly well, but I never got a call back in the 2 year timespan. Pretty sure the only way to go that route without acing the test is by knowing someone. However, the local CAT franchise for my area is a unionized workforce that is represented by that same union. It seems like that might be best route for me. CAT also offers the ThinkBig program, but I'd prefer to avoid starting over if I can help it. If things don't work out here and I get laid off, I'll definitely jump on that program. I'm pretty much familiar with all the BS we have to deal with on a daily basis. I have several classmates from different branches around the country and I've had the shittiest one out of all of them. I could go on for days about all the BS we put up with but it's pointless. I've accepted that it's part of the trade. I'm kind of an idiot, because I don't like easy work or staying inside. Lol. I appreciate the advice, thank you.

 

[ahart]

Personally, I recommend going the Cat route if you’re so inclined to work on heavy equipment. I started off at the Tech Center as a night shift mechanic at Cummins, went to Deere as an Ag field service tech, then made the jump to Cat and started at the coal mine on night shift in a field truck. 9 years of that hell and I bought my own truck and deal with a heavy highway contractor on the daily for 2 years now. Of all the industry I’ve been involved with over the last 17 years, heavy equipment has been the one that stood when others fell, you’ve got to be willing to eat off of everyone’s plate because when one market is slowing, another is ramping up or at least maintaining. When the coal market dove, I switched to trash machines in the landfills, not a job you brag to your buddies about doing but no matter the economy condition, everyone throws sh*t away on the daily. Being in an industry that serves many markets is the key to staying busy during a downturn. That’s my .02, probably only worth about that much.

 

[funwithfuel]

The garbage never stops. Whole lotta truth in that.
Have you considered the "back door?"
No. Not that one...
Be a backdoor bandit. Get hired in at a shop that has what you want, they can sponsor you in to the union. Once your probationary period is over and you're no longer on permit, but a card holder, you can take advantage of the apprenticeship training in addition to learning while you're earning. Approach Cat, see if they need an entry level tech, maybe a porter or work in a wash bay. Anything that gets your foot in the door.

 

[Truck Shop]

First there has to be food, then garbage. If you were located in the Northwest there isn't a
Freightliner dealer that isn't hiring or PacCar for that matter. The Big Question everyone has to
ask themselves--And health matters over money because you can't buy your health--{You want
to work indoors on a concrete floor with heat and cooling through the seasons-OR-work in the
dirt and elements which will really work you over and in short time.
*
There is a reason You don't see very many old guys working remote. I worked both and can tell
you I wouldn't have made it 48 plus years had I stayed working in the dirt.

 

[ahart]

I will agree truck shop, field work is hard work and it’s definitely not for everyone. But I can relate with Slowtiming and his statement of not liking to be indoors. Some guys are just field guys and that’s all there is to it. There’s fewer and fewer every day that are willing to do the work in the conditions we do it in.

 

[Truck Shop]

I will agree truck shop, field work is hard work and it’s definitely not for everyone. But I can relate with Slowtiming and his statement of not liking to be indoors. Some guys are just field guys and that’s all there is to it. There’s fewer and fewer every day that are willing to do the work in the conditions we do it in.

Really it boils down to how long you expect to do it. But I've always been of the mind if a company can
afford D11's they can afford to pay labor rates of $250 an hour to the mechanic repairing it. Same with
a $300,000 and up motorhome. The guy fixing it gets the money not the other way around.

 

[SlowTiming]

Really it boils down to how long you expect to do it. But I've always been of the mind if a company can
afford D11's they can afford to pay labor rates of $250 an hour to the mechanic repairing it. Same with
a $300,000 and up motorhome. The guy fixing it gets the money not the other way around.

Yeah, I work on Motorhomes, Highway Trucks, and some smaller Equipment like forklifts the most often and that's part of the reason I want to go to the field and do equipment. We have a Field Technician here who's been in the Field for over 40 years and employed at this company the entire time. Two other guys pushing their late 50s that have been here for over 10 years. But Heavy Truck and Heavy Equipment are two different ball games from what I can tell. From what I've heard it really boils down how you go about doing your job. If you're jumping off of trucks, yanking batteries, and tires and what not all with your body and slinky-ing yourself into tight spaces all the time you're gonna end up in poor shape. TheSe old timers just did it the smart way and used their crane or other tooling to make it easier on their body. Like I said before we don't get much snow unless you head up into the mountains, which is a possibility but probably not that often if I'm working on Earthmoving Equipment. Summers can get pretty spicy here but we don't have to deal with humidity as much as the folks towards the east so I can kick on a small portable fan and drink water. If one day I decide it isn't for me anymore, I'll just move back to the shop. I'm 21 years old tho, so I've got plenty of time to switch back or change my mind.

 

[JD955SC]

Really it boils down to how long you expect to do it. But I've always been of the mind if a company can
afford D11's they can afford to pay labor rates of $250 an hour to the mechanic repairing it. Same with
a $300,000 and up motorhome. The guy fixing it gets the money not the other way around

Reality is unfortunately different.

For the complexity of the job I had as a heavy equipment mechanic and the knowledge I used with it I ought to have been working in a brand new shop with AC and heat, had a full selection of speciality tools, and been provided with all the support I need. The level of knowledge, particularly electrical and hydraulic, I needed not to mention being able to cope with a huge variety of products was extreme. It isn’t a stretch to compare that kind of specialized knowledge and skill with that of a doctor with the caveat of course no life at risk (usually!)

Instead I worked in an old shop with everything breaking, it was a pile of crap, and we had nothing hardly in the way of special tooling (and what we had was often missing or broken). And we were often treated like we were cancer by other departments.

 

[SlowTiming]

Reality is unfortunately different.

For the complexity of the job I had as a heavy equipment mechanic and the knowledge I used with it I ought to have been working in a brand new shop with AC and heat, had a full selection of speciality tools, and been provided with all the support I need. The level of knowledge, particularly electrical and hydraulic, I needed not to mention being able to cope with a huge variety of products was extreme. It isn’t a stretch to compare that kind of specialized knowledge and skill with that of a doctor with the caveat of course no life at risk (usually!)

Instead I worked in an old shop with everything breaking, it was a pile of crap, and we had nothing hardly in the way of special tooling (and what we had was often missing or broken). And we were often treated like we were cancer by other departments.

Story of my life brother. Lol

 

[Welder Dave]

You're only 21 so have only had a very small taste of the BS yet to come. I'd gladly take less money for better working conditions and coworkers who weren't constantly trying to show me up or stab me in the back. Two people who get along and think on the same level can accomplish more in a day than 6 grumpy bastards who think it's a competition.

 

[crane operator]

The garbage never stops. Whole lotta truth in that.
Have you considered the "back door?"
No. Not that one...
Be a backdoor bandit. Get hired in at a shop that has what you want, they can sponsor you in to the union. Once your probationary period is over and you're no longer on permit, but a card holder, you can take advantage of the apprenticeship training in addition to learning while you're earning. Approach Cat, see if they need an entry level tech, maybe a porter or work in a wash bay. Anything that gets your foot in the door.

Do this. Its much better than trying to get into the apprenticeship program that has a two year wait list. Get hired by the CAT man, he'll get you in the union, and once you are journeyman, you can go wherever you want, or stay right with the CAT man.

 

[Truck Shop]

Reality is unfortunately different.

I realize that-it's just the way I feel about it. My days have ended and the type of independent shops
with it. Now it's corporate and people who work there are corporate soldiers.

 

[crewchief888]

ive been wrenching on const eq for almost 40 years, (machinist and welder before that.)
ive spent most of my years as a field mechanic at the 5 dealers ive worked at. been at my current dealer since '98.
field work is a tough job, have to know something about EVERTHING
the "younguns" only see it as a "free ride" (company truck, that comes home with me). i work in all weather conditions, from bl 100F to -50F, rain, snow and mud
i'm 65 years old, we have 2 other field guys that are in their mid 50's. i tpyically work 5 days a week, 45 hours average.