In April of 2020, I wrote an article about ATRA’s Virtual Training Solutions, VTS platform and how to bridge the gap between the student and the shop. We spent the majority of Friday driving around the Phoenix area visiting schools. During this time, we wanted to introduce ourselves to the various schools and talk to them about how they can use ATRA’s VTS as part of their curriculum.
I interviewed three high school students to see what they think about our industry, perhaps, as a career. They were genuine and willing to give their honest and sincere comments. Here are excerpts from the interview.
LANCE: “Right now, at this point in time, you’re in an Advanced Automotive class. What drew you to that?”
NATE: “Racing dirt bikes and just working on the bike getting ready for races. Then I started looking for a car. I got my truck and just liked fixing it up and getting it running so I could start driving it on the road.”
KURTIS: “I’ve just always been interested in cars, but then it grew more into how they worked and all the mechanical stuff. I decided to take the auto class in the 10th grade, and I really enjoyed it, and that kind of lit the fire, I guess you could say.”
DYLAN: “Yeah, same here. My grandpa gave us an old car, and I grew up fixing it.”
LANCE: “Thank you, and for the record, it’s true; hobbies are a big deal in our industry, that’s for certain. Most of our guys have hobby cars. Do any of you have a job with an automotive shop, and if so, who are you working for?”
NATE: “I currently work at All About Transmissions. Transmissions interest me. I have no idea how they really work, so that’s why I’m very interested in them. It’s just pretty much fluid pressure that makes them shift but it’s just kind of cool, and like, motors I get the basic concept, so I wasn’t super interested in them. But transmissions, when I first heard how it worked, I was super confused, and I wanted to learn more.”
LANCE: “Good, that’s a good starting point. Kurtis and Dylan, what type of job are you looking for? Are you thinking about going to college for this, or are you thinking about just getting out of high school looking for a position at a dealership or aftermarket shop?”
KURTIS: “My plan is to go to Ventura College and their auto tech program. Then, if I really enjoy auto, getting into the in-depth stuff. Then I think I’ll pursue it further at other tech colleges.”
LANCE: “They offer a Toyota program at Ventura College.”
KURTIS: “Yeah, we’ve been over that a little bit. They offer those Toyota dealership programs.”
LANCE: “What if there was an opportunity for you to learn about transmissions from the basics; from the root, in a university type of setting? Meaning potentially, in this case, hands-on but in other cases virtually. Would you be interested in that?”
KURTIS: “I would. Yeah. I know nothing about transmissions.”
LANCE: “ I’ll give you a background story: I started working for Ford when I was 18. I was painting fences, taking people home, and washing cars. The oil change guy happened to leave a tire loose on a car. It just so happened to be a judge’s daughter’s car. Needless to say, he got fired. I asked if they needed someone to change oil. The service manager said yeah and that job started on Monday! I went to Sears that Saturday, bought a 300-piece toolset, and on Monday when the Snap-On guy showed up, I spent $500 from my savings account on an impact gun and a 3/8” air ratchet.”
LANCE: “What are your expectations of a shop? Other than Nate, have any of you been in a shop?”
DYLAN: “I’ve been to his (Nate’s) shop (ALL About Transmissions) and watched the technician take apart a transmission.”
LANCE: “What was your first impression?”
DYLAN: “There are a lot of pieces that go in the transmission. Yeah, that’s crazy.”
LANCE: “Overall, not necessarily the transmission itself, but the shop itself; what are your thoughts?”
DYLAN: “I mean, I think it’s cool. There’s a lot of transmissions that are in the shop getting ready to get open and stuff.”
LANCE: “Nate, you work there. What’s your opinion of the shop itself?”
NATE: “Some spots are very organized, and then it’s super easy to work when you’re there. Then there’re other areas where you’re looking around for a tool or looking for something to get the job done, and you’re looking for 20 minutes.”
LANCE: “Yeah, but the technician can probably walk into that area and grab the tool that he needs immediately, and that’s how that works.”
NATE: “It’s cool just to be around other cars. And he does a lot of specialty stuff too, like hot rods and off-road vehicles.”
LANCE: “I’ve had the opportunity to train thousands of guys. I’ve done seminars in the UK, Mexico, and Canada, and have been in every US state. One of the things that I talk about is putting the “Cook in the Kitchen.” What that means is mirroring the cook. I bring you with me, and we sit here, and I put the flower in the bowl, then you put the flower in the bowl, and I put the sugar in, and you put the sugar in, and we mix it together and then pour together. We’re doing the same thing at the same time. That’s the way that people were taught how to do transmissions a long time ago. The problem with that concept is that, as a shop, you’re trying to make money and time is money. They don’t have a lot of time to teach you, Nate. You’ve got the most experience in the shop. Have you ever run into a problem where you’re trying to learn something, but you know your employer doesn’t have enough time to teach you and you kind of just sit around? How does that feel?”
NATE: “Just like when you can’t do something, you just have to wait around to be taught. You just kind of feel a little dumb. Like, what am I doing here? Okay, find something to clean or help someone else that’s working on the car.”
LANCE: “Are you guys going to be doing any internships while you’re here with the school? Do they have that as a plan?”
DYLAN: “I think we’re going to talk about that a little bit.”
KURTIS: “I didn’t even know we’re going to get into that, but that sounds interesting, even if it’s unpaid.”
LANCE: “My internship was at the Texaco station, pumping gas. It was customer service, it was washing the floors, it was emptying trash cans, and then one day he says, “Hey, you want a job? It’s a great job, and it’s $2.75 an hour.” Don’t laugh. That was big money back then.
Then the guy from Ford would come and get fuel, and he liked the way I was working. One day he said, “You want a job with Ford?” That turned into a career for me. The internship is a great way to get into the industry. If that opens up for you, would you be interested in doing that? Have you ever reached out to any shops to see if they’re hiring for after school?”
DYLAN: “Not this year because, you know, I’ve been busy with school and football, but towards the end of the year I will.”
KURTIS: “I have another job right now, so I’ll probably do something after I graduate.”
LANCE: “If you had the opportunity to go into a shop that was local in the Ojai Valley or Ventura, would you go?”
DYLAN: “For this year, probably.”
KURTIS: “Same for me, getting home late and all that, yeah.”
LANCE: “Now comes the tough question. Are you ready? Knowing what you know right now, knowing what you know currently in school, what type of money would you expect to make when you walk through the door for your first year?”
DYLAN: “Hopefully, I would like to make $18-$20 an hour.”
NATE: “Yeah, that sounds about right.”
LANCE: “Okay, what about after a year? If you’re working full time, your interest is there. The automotive part, for you, feels easy, right? It’s not as hard as it is for other people. You can understand what that vehicle is doing, and you’ve become proficient. You’re getting paid good money, or you’re happy with your money. Now I’m going to try and push you into thinking a year from now. What would you expect to be making a year from now?”
DYLAN: “I would say about the same, $20 an hour.”
KURTIS: “Maybe $21 or something like that.”
NATE: “Depending on how you’re doing, really. I feel like it’s more based on that. If you’re still pulling your weight the same way that you were when you first started, then they’re right. If you’re pulling anything more, then you should be paid more. But if you’re not pulling your own weight, the chances are, you probably won’t be working.”
LANCE: “The class that you’re in right now is the advance automotive class here at Nordhoff High School. Does your instructor give you the life lessons you think you might need going into the next chapter of your life? If you’re planning on leaving here and going to a technical school or a college for automotive, maybe take the Toyota class… Maybe you’re interested in transmissions, and you find it more interesting than the general automotive. Does your instructor give you any advice as far as directions, positions, money, or types of income that you can make?”
DYLAN: “He definitely does. We’re working on engines right now, and after our assignment, he’ll start saying you can have these jobs. It’s hard work but you can get paid a lot of money doing it.”
KURTIS: “Sometimes he tells us techniques to do something better than what the manual says and just stuff like that which, I would have never guessed to do it that way. That’s something that he would say; there’s always a better way, there’s always a faster way.”
LANCE: “If the Automatic Transmission Rebuild Association were to give you a free two-week trial on the introductions to transmissions, would you be interested?”
DYLAN, KURTIS, NATE: “YES!” LANCE: “Prior to our conversation, have any of you ever heard of the Automatic Transmission Rebuilders Association?”
DYLAN, KURTIS, NATE: “No.”
LANCE: “To be perfectly honest with you, I was 30 years old when I first heard about it, and I was a specialist in every category with Ford. I thought I knew everything about vehicles. I went to work for ATRA in 1999, and thought I knew everything about transmissions. In this business, the one thing that is most humbling is knowing that there’s always somebody that you can count on to give you a better answer or better technique. You can always rely on somebody, and that’s what we do. We are the helping group for the transmission industry. If you like putting puzzles together, transmissions are in your future. Thank you for your time, guys!”
IN CLOSING:
As I was talking to these young adults, something so profound came over me. It was genuine interest; they were excited to have someone excited to talk to them. I don’t think we have the patience for day-to-day teaching. But when you have guys like this, feed them, and they’ll grow!
I’d like to thank Fender Carnine, Nordhoff High School Shop Instructor, Nate Callahan, Kurtis Vasquez, and Dylan Stone for the opportunity to talk with them and allow our industry to gain some insight into our future.
Next step, a conversation with shop techs and owners about what we can do to help bridge the gap!
