Mechanic

Not enough.

 

Depends on how much experience and what you know.

 

I haven't had a year where I made less than $100k

 

Do road service mechs make more?

 

Typically a few bucks an hour more. But considering you work in pretty much any weather, -30C or +30C you definitely earn it lol.

 

A good qualified mechanic can make a very good living.But it can be tough work,not many people want to do it anymore.Esp. heavy equip mechanics.My oldest son,he's 37 is a Union heavy equipment master mech,(Operating Engineers)goes on long term jobs that last years,he works as many hours as he wants.The job he's on now wants 6-12's.40 hours,plus 32 OT ,time and a half.Double time Sunday.Four year job.Plus,extremely good benefits.He owns his own service/crane/welder truck,and is compensated separately for it,and its expenses.I'll just say he does very,very well.
And the op asked,my sons pay is in the $30.-$40. and hour range straight time,depends on the job.

 

Remember too that's Canadian. Probably about $70ish US.

 

That is a loaded question, but I would say that average in the US is between 50 and 60,000/year, but there's much lower and higher. I'm on salary and work 50 hours/week on average, I made 120,000 last year in total compensation. That's 90K base salary, health insurance fully covered, year end bonus and 401K contributions. Make sure you compare apples to apples, health insurance alone is almost $1000/month for a family of 4, don't fall for high base pay for less total compensation.

On the other hand, we have a guy making 40,000/year that has no real motivation to learn more. He's good for brake jobs, clutches, tires, etc., but not good with electrical. Totally useless on computer diagnostics, which a a huge factor in good pay. He has pretty much peaked in his abilities and wont go much further than where he is.

If you want to do well in mechanics, get a good understanding of the complex electrical systems in new trucks. You still need to know how to do the bull work, but if you get good at the engine, emissions and multiplexed system diagnostics, you wont have to do many brake jobs. You can make more money with your brain than your hands. You need a very good understanding of circuits and how to test them, you need to get comfortable and proficient with several software packages.

2 rules to live by, especially when you're first leaning.
1. Read EVERYTHING before you do anything. If you're the type of person to throw directions away and jump right in, you wont be a highly paid mechanic. Things change fast, updates to manuals are weekly, sometimes less. Keep up on current procedures, read directions.

2. Understand how it's supposed to work before you try to fix it. If you don't understand the function of all the valves in the air brake system and how they work, you're not ready to diagnose a brake issue. If you don't know how the emission system works, leave it alone, I'll fix it myself. The next time you change a failed part that isn't a core, rip it apart and see exactly how it works. Air valves are quite interesting. Pull a leveling valve apart and follow the air paths when you move the lever. Pull an ABS modulator apart, study it, you'll be better at diagnosing when you undersatnd

 

^^^^This!

Brains will make you more $$$$ (and saves your body!)


I'm more about the time off now. I put 80 hours in over 7 days, then I get 7 off with the option of overtime if its available.