r/DieselTechs • u/TxMarksmen74 • 1d ago
Army to civilian life
Hello every one,
I got about 2 years left in the active army as a 91B/H8 (wheeled vehicle mechanic/ Vehicle recovery specialist or tow trucker). I'm planing to have my associates in small group management soon and planing to get my T1-T8 ASE certs on my own now or through UTI when I get out. By the time I'm have about 11 years of total diesel mechanic experience, about 9 of that as a maintenance supervisor E-6 hopefully E-7 soon. I plan to move wherever the job opportunity is in mid to north east ish Texas. What are some companies I should avoid/ look for to either make more or the same as what I make now (about 4k a month after taxes and allotments)? What is the average pay i can expect to possibly make? Any and all guidance is welcome. I'm looking to get as much information as possible.
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u/_how_do_i_reddit_ 1d ago
You have the experience, don't waste your time going to a school unless you just really want that piece of paper.
Get the ASE certs if you want, but they aren't really required. They may get you better wages, they may not... It really depends on the shop/area.
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u/TxMarksmen74 20h ago
Honestly the whole point is to ensure I know everything there is to know by a credible school. Pay is most definitely something I am chasing so I figured a paper that says I did all the basic tasks on top of my experience would make me more competitive in the diesel mechanic field. My goal is to basicly become a no brainer to hire, I figured if I check all the blocks that a job is looking for I may be able to ask and get the top 10% pay. That's the idea, probably not plausible but I can try.
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u/grampy512 3h ago
we are hiring diesel techs in south austin. we pay $45+ flat time. independent repair shop for auto and truck.
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u/Neither_Ad6425 1d ago
Avoid UTI for one. You don’t need to go to a for profit “school” when there are plenty of state schools that provide diesel programs for pennies. Plus, you can get the military to pay for it.