Auto tech wages are starting to come in line with their value. I have seen non ASE techs be smarter and work harder than ASE Master Techs. I got my ASE Master Tech certifications to make more money. It did not change my work ethic. The career is looked down on because tech's get dirty and cater to the needs of all walks of life but the "look down the noses" comes from the white collar workers. I know when I was a tech, I made more than a lot of freshly graduated lawyers that were searching for their first jobs.
I am smart enough that I could have done the white collar work scenario but I liked diagnosing what others couldn't and liked fixing what other's couldn't. Now days, middle school kids can do what the white collar workers do and still depend on people like me to fix their vehicles. I feel pretty good about being retired and still get $80 an hour for my work at home. I also don't have to work on everything that comes to me. I turn down what I want to and work on what I want to.
I personally am not a fan of unions. My dad was a Teamster and we almost lost our home when I was a kid. Unions typically are ran by politician like people and IMO are crooks. They line their pockets and collect dues and party hardy on those dollars.
I am smart enough that I could have done the white collar work scenario but I liked diagnosing what others couldn't and liked fixing what other's couldn't. Now days, middle school kids can do what the white collar workers do and still depend on people like me to fix their vehicles. I feel pretty good about being retired and still get $80 an hour for my work at home. I also don't have to work on everything that comes to me. I turn down what I want to and work on what I want to.
I personally am not a fan of unions. My dad was a Teamster and we almost lost our home when I was a kid. Unions typically are ran by politician like people and IMO are crooks. They line their pockets and collect dues and party hardy on those dollars.