I fully agree with this topic, I started doing body repair at age 16. Started out as a tech helper, and I have to say 98% of the guys in the shop were negative. Always saying stuff to put a young man down and try to turn you away. Just stay determined and learn as much as you can that way in a few years you will be a body man and then after you are in you can start dishing it back to them. I never understood why so many people were so bitter about there career, I mean if you don't like what you are doing than change it.

Too bad about poor coworkers.Has anyone thought that the shop itself was less than stellar to begin with?
Most techs that chide,talk down to and talk about others are very insecure about their abilities and have poor self esteem to begin with.These are the guys who have the most comebacks (a good shop will not stand for ANY),neverleaves (cars that the customer refuses to pay for and leave) and redos.They are also the guys who are always changing jobs.
Having said that,autobody repair and refinishing is a tremendous occupation to be in.
My advice would be to get your first job in the highest quality shop possible.
Technicians are more able,and you will learn how it should be as far as quality work goes.Not to mention management will be a whole lot better than the shops descibed above.
In this business,all you have to sell is your ability to produce quality work,on time.
And remember,you will work with the same people on your way up,as you do on your way down.
Be nice to everyone.

Eric Strandberg wrote:Too bad about poor coworkers.Has anyone thought that the shop itself was less than stellar to begin with?
Most techs that chide,talk down to and talk about others are very insecure about their abilities and have poor self esteem to begin with.These are the guys who have the most comebacks (a good shop will not stand for ANY),neverleaves (cars that the customer refuses to pay for and leave) and redos.They are also the guys who are always changing jobs.
Having said that,autobody repair and refinishing is a tremendous occupation to be in.
My advice would be to get your first job in the highest quality shop possible.
Technicians are more able,and you will learn how it should be as far as quality work goes.Not to mention management will be a whole lot better than the shops descibed above.
In this business,all you have to sell is your ability to produce quality work,on time.
And remember,you will work with the same people on your way up,as you do on your way down.
Be nice to everyone.

I couldn't agree with you more Eric. I started out at 17 myself. I caught a lot of razzing "same one Deny, Same One?" Some of this you need to put up with. Jerks you will find everywhere, in all professions be it a shop, an office, a factory or a lab. People are people. I worked at several stellar shops over the years. I watched for the guys who knew their stuff and cared about what they were doing. These were the people I wanted as my friends. Those old Masters taught me so many tricks to the trade once they knew it meant something to me.

Deny

i love the posts guys! i just started working for a "hack" shop. im sorta changing it, by doing the right thing, and telling my boss that being cheap is always more expensive. i went to college and got my diploma for body and paint. i didn really learn (my own fault) i learned more on the job and by asking guys with more experience than me. aslo when i went in on my first day of my job it was just this other guy who was just not willing to start teaching me just telling me where stuff was. so yeah, he left a week later and i was now in charge of the paint department and still am . i have improved so much withing this year, started in january. im thinking about going back to school and learn more in frame and body. since i sorta got the spraying down decently.

I started @ 19. Still with the same shop. I never been treated badly, but i've lerned that when new fish come into the game, it's a testing phase to see if u have what it takes to stay init. There @ times some one would throw mme for a loop. I also know folks in this bussines worry bout being replaced, which is why they dish crap out on the newbie. Plus when your green, they take advantage of you when the boss isn't looking. The longer one does this the more entiled they feel. I stared knowing nothing, now managed the paint shop for over 10 yrs, as well being the omly painter with 3 prep guys under me. So if your serious stay @ it, & always be willing to leArn new things, & never consider your self being above of being showed something new.

I see this topic first started in 2005. I wonder how this fellow is making out today.

--
Gordon

ever read the want ads and see that some of them stress how friendly there place is to work for? Bottom line, they want it fast and cheap. The bad thing is that your morals and the right way of doing things get thrown out the window, so you can keep your job. A huge shame, but reality. The worst scenario is when they hire a pizza hut manager to run a body shop. Aka, a guy with management skills, but knows nothing about the craft, just bottom dollar.

Talk to the painters. When I was working flat rate we would hire and pay our own helpers. Times they are a changing though, with more and more MRO's you may want to start out washing cars at Service King or the like. One good thing about starting at the bottom at a state of the art shop is the if you stick with it you'll end up at a better position with better pay and working conditions than at a lower tier shop. I can say that with assurance beings I sprayed for over 20 years and never had benefits or the working conditions some of the big shops have now.

Painthead

20 years would put you starting there in 93?. Times have seriously changed since then.

Actually I started in 87 but there were times when I did other things for a living and only painted at night in my own shop so I don't count them. The first real place I worked used PPG Kondar primer under Glasurit 54 and 21 line....


Painthead