this post was submitted on 03 Jun 2024
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[–] [email protected] 68 points 5 months ago (5 children)

Would a local mechanic train a stranger who had zero knowledge?

[–] [email protected] 47 points 5 months ago (3 children)

The Army doesn't either. He scored highly on the test for that.

[–] [email protected] 73 points 5 months ago (2 children)

The ASVAB tests for aptitude, hence the name, not the ability to step into a job without training. Looks up practice questions for the Mechanical Comprehension portion to see the kinds of questions that might suggest someone could be a good mechanic.

The U.S. army absolutely does provide training to its mechanics, and does not assume people know jack shit coming in. I scored high enough on the MM portion of the ASVAB to be one and don't don't know a damn thing about fixing vehicles.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 months ago

That sounds like the responsible thing to do, with reasonable expectations

[–] [email protected] 21 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I thought the army gave recruits an IQ test and then trained them for what it thought they were good for.

[–] [email protected] 27 points 5 months ago

Some portions of the ASVAB have questions very similar to those you might find on an IQ test, but it is much more broad than just IQ.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 5 months ago (3 children)

My parents didn't let me or my sister to go to school on the ASVAB test day. They didn't want recruiters contacting them constanty.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 5 months ago (1 children)

That's probably for the best.

I spent 4 years in the USMC and have a very complicated relationship with my time enlisted. There is a lot I'm proud of, but there's also a lot that would be nice to forget.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

Did you file with the VA? If not, you need to. Get all the benefits possible.

I filed three times after getting out, got a lot of “we lost it, file again! Haha!” I told myself since all my limbs are attached, didn’t deserve anything. Someone finally convinced me otherwise and now I get a little extra every month as well as being able to go to the VA for routine stuff.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago
[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Wait. Some school districts actually have everyone take this by default? Our public schools kept the recruiters in a dark corner of an unused hallway behind the library and you had to actually go out of your way to talk to one to make an appointment for ASVAB testing

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

This was a long time ago, and in a city with a military base.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 5 months ago

Yes. More often than you think. If you can tell a 1/2 inch wrench from a pair of pliers you are already ahead of some applicants.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I have a buddy who went from smoking crack to making more money than me in a year working as a mechanic being trained basically from scratch. Now that's obviously anecdotal but it does happen.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago (3 children)

Are you now a mechanic? If not, why not?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago

Probably still likes smoking crack. It is a powerful drug.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago

Oh no, I'm not in that field at all.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

My soft, delicate hands

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago

You get a job as an oil tech sweeping floors and if you aren't an idiot, you will learn on the job and study. Eventually you take the ASE certification tests and are then a mechanic. If you are looking to get into a performance shop, this is the best route to go because you will learn specialty knowledge and can eventually be paid well, but those jobs are hard to get and you have to really make an effort and put up with a lot of shit to get to a great place in your career.

You can do college courses to get a degree and then pass ASE certs. You can then get a job in a shop and will have to prove you aren't just someone who can pass a test before you are actually a mechanic.

There are trade schools, which you can get scholarships for or be sponsored to go to. The sponsorships usually come from working in a dealer shop, some sponsorships are for secondary trade schooling(like diesel tech) and they pay for the secondary schooling and will give you a job for a certain number of years after under contract. I know a few people who had Ford pay for their diesel program, one is doing really well for himself and the other failed out because of a girl and was on the hook for thousands to pay back Ford.

If you want to make great money, you will have to work for 5+ years in an Audi dealer and then can try to work for an exotic car dealership. You can work for an exotic dealer with experience from a brand like Toyota with a degree or the right trade school, but you are less likely to get the job.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

You can go to college on budget

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago (2 children)

In fact, you can do them with thrown away magazine clippings.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

If it was because of typo, then good one

[–] [email protected] 0 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Car mechanic? Nah. Maybe reading many articles from internet and watching many videos can somewhat help with theory, but not with pranctice and foundational knowledge. Well, maybe you can get foundational knowledge if you follow what people learn in colleges, but then getting on budget is probably easier. Practice still would be a problem.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I believe they were making a joke about your use of the word "collage."

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Oops, lol. I meant this. Or even this.