With a nod to Bob Dylan’s 1964 political statement song, The Times They Are a-Changin’, so too are changes now afoot within our service truck industry.
When I was a senior in high school in the 1970s my guidance counselor told me, “You need to go to college/ university if you want to make a decent living.
”My, how things have changed.
This past year, a guidance counselor told my oldest grandson, “You’ll make as much money with a tech school degree as you will with a Bachelor’s degree—you’ll have way less debt when you graduate, and businesses will be lined up to hire you.
”The worm has turned. The overwhelming burden of college debt, combined with a growing shortage of skilled mechanics, electricians, plumbers, and other tradesmen, has suddenly made dirty hands a much sought after and valuable commodity.
Computer programmers are a dime a dozen. You can find them in the extra bedroom or basement in the homes of many middle-aged parents.
People who can rebuild a fuel injection pump, pull an Allison tranny, or diagnose a CAN-BUS wiring system— those are the people now in great demand.
Today’s mechanics are literally and rightfully known as technicians. Wages and compensation packages for top-level techs, especially creative, self-motivated techs who can handle the challenges of field repairs, can often reach six figures.
It’s still dirty, oily, and demanding work, and not everyone can handle the load, physically, mentally, and emotionally. For the mechanics and tradespeople who can, respect is finally being given.
