What flavor of industrial mechanic are you apprenticing for? "Industrial mechanic" covers a lot of ground, but every variety I am familiar with are good solid career fields.

I was a gear head growing up and naturally got into working on cars. Did my apprenticeship time at a Chevrolet dealership. After a tour in the military, I signed on in the National Guard and I went back to working on cars. After a couple years of that and not making great money, I met a guy who was an independent heavy equipment field service mechanic and started working for him on weekends. After a couple months he hired me full time. Surprised me that as an independent he could pay me twice what the car dealers could, and it was hourly rather than commission with time and half for OT. The light went on after a couple of months. Cars don't make people money. Heavy equipment makes people money, and when equipment is down, it is worth big money to get it back running. Depending on what the equipment is, and what it is used for, it can be worth BIG money to get it running. I spent 17 years working for Cat dealers as a field service tech on large mining machines before getting recruited away by a an oil and gas company that was running 300 natural gas compressors with Cat engines. That was 13 years ago. As I near retirement I look back on my carer and I have had a very good career. Have made excellent money, always had benefits, been all over the world and seen and done things that most people would never get the chance. I retired out of the Army National Guard with 22 years of service. I would be retired already and set for a good retirement if my ex wife hadn't cleaned me out for everything she could get a few years back, but whatever. I will still retire by 65 and be in excellent shape.

OP, if you like working on motorcycles, and it is your real passion, I would be the last guy to tell you not to persue it. But, I will tell you this. People don't make money with motorcycles, and for the most part, they don't like spending money having someone else working on them. It's hard to make money in that position. If you want to mechanic, the best thing is finding a trade you like where someone is making money with the thing you are working on. Then it is worth money for them to keep you around and keep you happy.

MMI is one of the better known trade schools around, and I do believe they have programs that are factory aligned so you can get on with a Harley dealership (or Honda or whatever) after graduation. But I agree with everyone else telling you to be prepared to not make great money, spend a few years working up to being respected, you will be buying tools, expensive tools and lots of them, at the same time you are paying off student loans and not making much money. It won't be glamorous. I hired a guy several years ago who had gone to MMI in Phoenix. I put him on working in a PM bay on mining haul trucks and he was tickled shitless at the money he was making. He worked 14 days on, 14 days off alternating back and forth from day shifts to night shifts every other rotation. He worked on motorcycles on his days off and was very happy. Stuff to think about.

 

The only folks I know who work in Harley dealerships who can afford to buy Harley's are retired from another profession.

 

OP do yourself a favor and make rounds through several dealerships and ask managers their opinions of MMI and the like school graduates, do they hire and if so what to expect. You may find it eye opening.

 

So...... My 2 cents as a career as wrench for 15 yrs before moving onto present career 16 + yrs..... Kinda long, but hope it helps.

Grew up wrenching on bikes and autos as a kid. At 18 just outta HS jumped into the auto field as it was what I knew and enjoyed. I know MCs and autos are different, but its not and is relevant. I spent $ on basic tools to get started and of course progressed $$$$$$ through my career. Its an expensive job being a wrench, tools alone. No trade school for me. Education and training always paid by employer. The rest was best as it was field knowledge. I never spent a dime of my money on training. Soon ASE master tech and Cali smog tech all paid by employers. Did it all from driveability to heavy line. If it paid, Id master it. I was a damn hard worker, got a good rep with locals and eventually became 100 + k a yr career. It was a move that still benefits ME to this day as I do all my own work on my autos and bikes. Including the kids, family, friends. Like a good dr, a good mechanic is always working. Ended up with a few large Snap On boxes loaded with SO tools. ( Though this is the only pro and career wise not really a smart move at the end.) During that career what I saw....

1) Trade school guys always came and went. Just because they had a piece of paper and some book knowledge they PAID for, Id throw a speed handle in their hands and theyre lost. 99% quickly learned home garage world (working on easy maintenance stuff on clean cars on the side was cool) vs real world (greasy, dirty, unmaintained, headache stuff people want fixed for as little $ and freebies AND also make money flat rate outta it wasnt so cool)... Needless to say majority moved on soon. They paid expensive loans off NOT doing what they paid for. I can tell you I worked alongside 3 guys that eventually became instructors for a local UTI. 2 of those guys were absolutely not fit to be teaching anyone repairs.

2) No future in it. I spent 18 to 33 always working alongside some old guys. Guys who were no closer to retirement at 55+ then myself at 20 and had no choice, but to work indefinitely. Wrenching is hard on bodies. Working cold and hot. Busted body parts. Cramming body parts into areas. Fine and dandy at 25, not so much 55. Fortunately these guys helped me more than anything. I chose to move onto a career with a future and a light at the end of the tunnel in my early 30s because of them. Hard at the time to just uproot with wife and kids from a 100+ k career to a MUCH lower start pay. Best thing I ever did, though.

In your situation it makes even less sense because of the MC side. I never understood being a MC wrench. Id always talk to buds that went that route vs auto. Money isnt there. Benefits arent there. Yeah HD rates are silly, but the techs arent getting it. They arent MC wrenches anymore either...

Good luck to you. In no way Id ever recommend my kids get into any field wrenching. Autos and MCs are even more of a pain in the *** now vs 16 yrs ago. If you do choose the wrenching route...... Do yourself a favor and do the job 1st by getting in the door somewhere. Even an Independent and not a dealer. Doing small stuff and work up. Know the job 1st BEFORE spending cash on training for a job you may later figure out is F'd and possibly dead end.

I got lucky in I never got pulled into the game you need a trade school to wrench and a big loan to go with it. I had the basics and love to wrench. Good employers who knew a valued employee and vested in me. I made them $$$$$ for a long time.

 

I'm learning to work on factory machinary. I wanted to be an auto mechanic was even set up to go to school for it. When I was talking to a couple old mechanics. They said there is no money in working on cars. unless you have your own shop. And to get there you have to work for someone for little money for a while to get experience. And then when you get your own shop. there is no insurance unless you pay for it your self. and they said uncle Sam can be a pain when it comes tax time. as you got to keep a log of ever thing in case they audit. I was not interested in all that so I worked in a couple factorys for a while as a machine operator. Thats when I found out where the money is at if you want to wrench for a living. Its in industrial equipment. So I sent my self to school and about half way through school. The factory I was working at picked me up as an apprentice and is going to pay for the rest of my schooling to. They told me when they hired me that it's been hard the last few years to get new mechanics to replace the older ones that are retireing. Becouse no one my age wants to wrench creating a high demand low supply situation in my area so there should be plenty of jobs available in this field for a while. Even when automation takes over completely some one will still need to be there to fix it.

 

Good for you man. I would agree 100% with your employer that for the most part, young people do not want to go into maintenance fields. It is hard to find mechanics in the fields I am familiar with.

Make it your mission to learn everything you can, to understand how every system works. Become a top notch troubleshooter and you will be even more valuable to your employer. And, most importantly, work smart and be safe. Don't be a hero lifting heavy **** and doing "short cuts" to get stuff done faster. Machinery is dangerous as hell and will kill you in a heart beat.

Good luck with your career going forward.

 

I had just talked to the wife about moving to orlando and me attending MMI. I'm 47 and wanted to change professions but after reading this thread I'll stick to hauling hazmat tanker...dammit, really wanted out of trucking.

 

I've only ever heard that the pay wasn't there for motorcycle technicians. I'd check that out. Also, depending on where you are, it's pretty much seasonal work. I went to the local dealer last week and went in the service area to talk to the service manager. There was nothing going on. Not a soul working. They were probably laid off for the season. There's not much need for repairs here in Pennsylvania this time of year as there aren't many guys riding.

 

I went to local Harley dealer yesterday to "interview" for a part time parts position. I'm retired and looking for something to do a few hours a week. During the discussion, the parts mgr mentioned they have 4 technicians and they are working on winter storage bikes.... they offer a deal that if you spend xxx amount of dollars on repairs or maintenance, they will store for free. Sounded like they had a number of bikes in storage, and the techs were somewhat busy with the service work on those. They are planning to add 1 more tech, and a full time parts guy in the next month. So they sound like they are planning on a busy season. I never wandered back in the service area....posted off limits. I would love to work part time in a HD dealer, but I'm afraid they will be difficult to work around any time off I might want and being the new guy would have to "cover" for existing guys. But..... I do want to get up and move around and do something productive.
But as others have said, starting out, especially at an older age, can be difficult. Try to be aware and go into this with an open mind and open eyes.....good luck!!!

 

The only people making money at MMI is MMI.