Machines | Being a Technician vs Being a Mechanic ~ Podcast Episode 70

videos | at work | information | view | construction

1. I am a mechatech.
2. a mechanic is stuck in a narrow spectrum of doing things, a technician is continually learning new technologies.
3. The word mechanic is also interchangeable especially here in New York City where we have tons of elevator mechanics. But you could say that auto mechanic is the most popular type of mechanic.
4. I also believe that the words are interchangeable but I would call myself a mechanic because the only reason I do is that I am an Apprentice still learning the way of being a technician, so the point in my mind is that I don't have the complete training and experience to hold the term. technician to me has a bigger weight to it in society.
5. the term or terms is there are areas of cross overs in both technicians and mechanics jobs......you cant be just be a tech or just a mechanic or you probably wouldn't have a job very long...as I like to say -you have to know your job from the ground up to be good at your jobs......and if you know your stuff/your job backwards and forwards you are likely to be better at your job all around......because you will have the answer to most problems you come upon in your daily jobs....blahblahblah
6. Mechanic vs Technician that's funny, the difference is that the auto mechanic generally owns a shop,breaks less then or equal too the stuff he or she fixes. Which translates to profit for the shop. Easy to tell if you got a good mechanic around they generally aren't crying about not making enough money.
   
   Same thing with a technician except they don't own a shop, and they generally make rounds between other shops looking for more money to keep them from starving.
   
   Key factors when looking at a auto technician, there main vehicle is a key sign of what craftsmanship of work they do,this trickles down to many other disciplines. If its a POS but, obviously isn't hacked together this guy or gal might give a gigacrap of what they might do to your vehicle.
   
   Auto Technician accolades are just way better on your resume then Mechanic. Auto Technicians in other fields can make way more money then you would ever make at a dealer. That's generally because the known skill set of a auto technician is clearly defined.
   
   I'm not 100% positive but I think auto technician is an ISO 9000 certification. Which is a standard of skills that this individual has shown that they are competent.
   
   This translates in many production field not service field jobs that the auto technician is technically trained to do certain processes to a standard determined by eggheads to be the proper protocol.
   
   Mechanics have there own standard protocols that work for them, and vary greatly between other mechanics. Generally speaking mechanic standard protocols are not egghead approved.
   
   The difference is that auto mechanic is a rule breaker and rule maker we generally don't know if this individual has been technically trained standard protocols. So as another person going behind a mechanic is a nightmare unless their standard protocols are the same as the technician.
   
   The auto technician is a follower of outlined standards and is required to abide by the standards they proved they were competent. More or less licensed to be an auto mechanic and can be shunned and called a hack mechanic when they cause a loss of profit or endanger another's life by not practicing standard protocols.
   
   So in today's age of political correctness and of literal technicalities.Best business practices of having a shop full of human beings that happen to repair broken machinery at a place that charges astronomical prices to get your piece of machinery fixed would be wise to call them technicians vs mechanics.
   
   Mechanics in other fields where standard protocols don't exist such as inland oil drilling rigs. where they have 12 cylinder wakasha engines that aren't diesel still have carburetors driving a natural gas compressor being fueled by natural gas. Auto Technicians become mechanics quickly cause they are expected to be precise using there standard protocols that they were taught and be infinitely flexible when real problems that require out the box thinking because there isn't a dealership with a parts department and special tools lying around at your convenience.
   
   You haven't lived until you have used a connecting rod to hammer out a cylinder out of an engine because your 12lb maul can cut it. You made sure you brought 2 proper cylinder sleeve pullers but they broke. Your job is simple get the sleeves out today. Mechanics will get this done technicians will analyze and see if there is a protocol, not good when a company is paying 60 an Hr just for you to grace the job site.
7. I'll take a mechanic any day over a tech. I'd rather have someone who has worked on cars for 45 years and understands how all the parts of a vehicle work together, who can diagnose any given vehicle, who can not just replace parts, but fix the broken parts. To me, a tech is lost without a computer.
8. Technician is a generic word that some people think somehow makes their job sound more difficult. Experienced guys will most likely call themselves a mechanic. They old guy who has an issue with the word mechanic seems to be pretty unconfident
9. A technician uses technical skills or diagnostic equipment to find out what the problem is and a mechanic knows how to actually fix the problem. For example, A technician may diagnose a bad ball joint or oxygen sensor but it takes a mechanic to change that part out. If a customer has no respect for you as a mechanic then I doubt they will have much more respect for you as a technician. I have been working on various equipment a long time as a hobby and consider myself a mechanic but I am not a professional or master mechanic. The people who fix automobiles for a living while working at shops and dealerships are at a higher level than me. I respect them for their vast knowledge of diagnostics and mechanics knowing that it is not easy and understanding they are highly educated in their field.
10. Considering someone a technician or a mechanic is one thing, but I tend to see the terms as separate skillsets.. For example: Somebody may be very mechanically inclined, but isn't so keen on the technical, advanced aspects of vehicles. On the other hand, there may be a guy who is very knowledgeable and comfortable with diagnosis, but doesn't know how to use a torch or pull a broken stud.. Most techs or mechanics are quite well-rounded, but there can be alot of variation between the two general skillsets.
11. Considering someone a technician or a mechanic is one thing, but I tend to see the terms as separate skillsets.. For example: Somebody may be very mechanically inclined, but isn't so keen on the technical, advanced aspects of vehicles. On the other hand, there may be a guy who is very knowledgeable and comfortable with diagnosis, but doesn't know how to use a torch or pull a broken stud.. Most techs or mechanics are quite well-rounded, but there can be alot of variation between the two general skillsets.
12. So does a technician learn everything a mechanic learns and a little more ?
13. to me based on my experience Tech sounds better to a customer and i guess its the tittle you earn based on tech school, a mechanic is the title you earn after years of experience on many different engines and vehicles. to say the least the term Mechanic to me is a well rounded technician that with years of expereince can get to the problem and fix it. Both words are inner chanable i think the guys just get upset because a customer has made them feel less. prime example i got called a tire guy even though our shop does everything
14. To me, a mechanic is one who knows the mechanical aspects of auto repair while a technician knows the technical aspects of auto repair. Are they the same thing, no. Both involve training and working knowledge, but a technician, in my mind, is someone who knows the theory on diagnosing and interpreting information given to him from a scope or scanner or a multimeter. While most people can do simple auto repairs, a mechanic, it is much more involved in figuring out drivability problems, a technician. I have been working on cars and motorcycles for 50+ years. Started as a mechanic and I am still learning the technical aspects of auto repair. Auto repair is constantly changing and we need to keep educating ourselves or we will be run over by the new technologies.
15. Technician to me implies a dealership mechanic who has had training for a specific manufacturer or manufacturers for certain systems used in their vehicles. I.E. At the ford dealership that I worked at we had a Diesel Tech, Alignment Tech, Trans Tech , and a pair of guys who worked together on all the heavy duty vehicles (F450 and larger, and Ambulances).
    Mechanics are people who can Diagnose a problem and fix it efficiently with a high standard of quality,, one who can't diagnose is merely a parts swapper and one who can but not fix efficiently is a sub standard mechanic.
    The specialty performance shops that do custom builds with turbos and other non-bolt on mods with high quality I believe are worthy of being called Techs even though they are typically thought of as just mechanics.
16. I don't know if you've covered this topic in another episode, but i thought it was interesting some of the comments in this episode about customers' low perceptions, or perhaps ignorance, of technicians and what they do. I'm just wondering if part of the problem is the modern dealership's obsession with keeping customers away from the technicians and workshop? As a customer, i hate this! i never get to speak to the person who actually touches my car...heck i can't even see what's being done. how can a customer build trust etc that they are actually being looked after by the dealership? i hear of people resorting to marking bolts to see if they actually get touched. Pretty crazy. so long story short....why do dealers keep customers and technicians away from each other?????
17. 02:06 "They're technicians... Damn near engineers". Just NO. Please don't compare a technician with 1 year of formal education with an actual engineer with 5 years of formal education. It's undermining our work.
18. Was that little bit of camera weirdness from turning it on at 4:20 ;)
19. Self righteous pretentious marking mumbo jumbo for the modern world of PC... They have the same meaning... If you are tasked to do a job you are expected to know and understand how to do it correctly... What a person is called isn't important as long as they have the knowledge and ability needed... Or let the finished product of their work do the talking... And if there is a ranking system that uses "names" I would like to be the lowest so I never look down on anyone else...
20. I feel the difference between a mechanic and a technician is a technician replaces a starter for example a mechanic tears apart the starter to replace the burned-out brushes. Which one is like $150 and the other ones like $20-$5. Which way is better depends on how much money you have to spend at the time but if you just fix the brushes you know that you need to save up some more money to get a new starter down the road. And with that being said I would say that I'm a mechanic for my own car. But for someone else car I would be a technician. Just because I wouldn't want them to need to get it fixed again and be upset with me for saving them the money. Even if i explain what is going on. Some people you just can't make happy. You get 2 out of 3 price, service, or quality. Everyone wants all three.