How to Become an Auto Mechanic in Florida
There are a couple of ways to become an auto mechanic in Florida. You can get schooling or you can work for a shop and gain experience. Being a technician is a great job if you don’t mind getting dirty. Once you gain enough experience, you can even open your own shop and hire your own mechanics. The best mechanics know how to work on all makes and models of cars.
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Instructions
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Get an education. Take classes at a technical school. This will give you a basic knowledge, and shop owners or dealers will be more willing to hire you.
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Decide on what type of vehicle you would like to work on. You can choose from cars and light trucks or heavy duty trucks and buses. Heavy duty trucks and buses usually have diesel engines, and these engines are different than gas engines.
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Get experience. If you don’t mind starting out with doing simple things such as oil changes and tire changes, you can skip the schooling and work your way up in a shop. This is the best type of experience you can get, as you will be working on just about every make and model vehicle. Once you have enough experience, take the ASE tests. There are eight sections for automobile/light truck: Engine Repair (A1), Automatic Transmission/Transaxle (A2), Manual Drive Train and Axles (A3), Suspension and Steering (A4), Brakes (A5), Electrical/Electronic Systems (A6), Heating and Air Conditioning (A7), and Engine Performance (A8).Many mechanics will only take the portion of the test that includes their specialty (such as engine repair or suspension). If you pass all eight tests, you are considered a master mechanic.
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Work under someone for at least five years prior to attempting to open your own shop. You will gain experience in repairs and shop management. You will need to know how to manage the shop, including employees, customer relations, state taxes, federal taxes and inventory items before you can open your own shop.
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Tips & Warnings
Work for an independent shop where you will gain experience on all makes and models.
The ASE tests are not simple. They give you questions and answers to choose from, and more than one answer will be correct. You will have to be able to read and comprehend the problem and pick the best solution for that particular set of circumstances.
Be careful of getting experience at a dealer. While the experience is good, you will typically be working on only one make of vehicle.
