The last thing you want, imho, is being pinned down in a cubicle or service bay. Get a job where you can move around, not be a caged animal. Unless you like getting paid in $3 bills.
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What's the average wage for a licensed motorcycle mechanic in Toronto vs car mechanic
- Thread starter kawiking
- Start date
I'll address what most people here are already saying, not many people will get into the motorcycle trade for money. It is not the highest paying trade by any stretch of the imagination. You can make a living, but very rarely in the GTA. The cost of living is very high compared to the income associated with being an automotive tradesperson. Much easier to make a living in the outskirts (Barrie, KW, London, Ottawa, Sudbury...). Or smaller markets, assuming you want to stay in Canada.
Pros: this trade is generally clean. Motorcycles are small and clean, sleds and ATV's not so much. So the abuse your body takes is much less. Ask any truck tech about clutches and see for yourself. Fun-factor, it is a fun industry. Tons of cross-training - even though there might be cyclical employment, if you are trained in multiple products you can walk into any city in North America and find work if you are willing to work. Lots of roles coming available, but not for "just technicians" - we need people who can fill multiple roles.
Cons: barriers to entry... not many shops, not many positions. The old guard... this is a touchy subject with some. A lot of the more "experienced" members of our industry have very different views (business, personal, etc) than the current generation of employees, this could cause friction. I have experienced all manners of prejudice and outright racism working in this industry. Not as much lately given my position, but it is hard to escape from it all in a small industry. This could be true for many trades so take it with a grain of salt, and if that kind of thing doesn't bother you disregard it altogether. It can be tough to find an employer you get along with 100% of the time.
Pay: apprentices can start anywhere from $12 - 18 per hour, and journeypersons range form $20 - 35 per hour. That is a huge range, but pay rates depend on many factors: hourly vs flat rate vs salary, experience, ability to fill multiple roles within a business, etc. There are always exceptions of course.
If you are serious about getting into any trade, take a pre-apprenticeship program. Then secure a position and work your butt off. Learn everything you can. Learn about the business side of the trade. Make yourself valuable to your journeyperson/employer. You won't make them money as an apprentice, but lose less then the others and eventually you will succeed. In automotive: learn the parts and computer systems, so when someone is sick you can help. Talk to customers, nothing says "committed" to an employer like helping the business grow. Take your job/work seriously! In the trades, peoples' lives are literally in your hands at all times.
If you (or any one else) has questions, stop by and chat at the shop: Oakville Yamaha.
Last edited:
Iceman
Well-known member
This is an excellent example of starting out and making a living of it. Great area if you like to ride.
Please view this ad:
Live ,Work and Ride in the Kawartha’s,
http://www.kijiji.ca/v-motorcycle-other/peterborough/live-work-and-ride-in-the-kawartha-s/1138340583
Download the application from the Google Play Store.
http://goo.gl/Hs9Yg
Sent from my Le Pan TC802A using Tapatalk
Please view this ad:
Live ,Work and Ride in the Kawartha’s,
http://www.kijiji.ca/v-motorcycle-other/peterborough/live-work-and-ride-in-the-kawartha-s/1138340583
Download the application from the Google Play Store.
http://goo.gl/Hs9Yg
Sent from my Le Pan TC802A using Tapatalk
ask Timmay
10/10
-Maverick-
Well-known member
Theft.
Sky's the limit.
Probably technician still, but depending on your financial expectations you might end up running your own small business anyway. There is lots of weekend work to be had in cottage country, and the weeks leading up to bass opener, friday the 13th etc... Some of the more successful people I know started as technicians and transitioned into something else: manager, owner, instructor... It is a good starting spot to understand the industry from the ground up.
Anybody who completes a full m/c tech apprenticeship and works as a competent tech deserves much respect. Learned problem solving skills are transferable to all other trades. Same can't be said for drywallers, no disrespect to anyone including brickies.
Anyone who completes a trade, 8000hr+ deserves alot of respect for sure, its a tough row to hoe, depending on chosen trade, there is overlap with others. As for the OP's question, id hate to deal with internet educated, parts sourcing individuals on a daily basis, asking me why i charged what i did when they read or saw on youtube how "easy" it was. Just imagine a stone chip on a customers bike that he did not know was there, after giving him/her there bike back, they go berzerk claiming you damaged it:violent1:. If your living at home and have some time, enroll at GBC, take the course, get the credit and try it out, what have you got to lose if your doing nothing anyways.
I'd consider motorcycle/atv/snowmachine, but if was really interested I'd also collect a marine ticket with the diesel. There is a reasonable amount of money in just spring commissioning and winterizing those $800k powerboats all over the GTA marinas.
ie; winterizing my bosses 38ft sailboat, they (marina services) charge $48.00 per fitting, 3bilge pumps, shower drain, head,sink faucet, galley faucet,heater, gusher bilge and $150 for engine. that's $600 and it takes me 45mins, cost is 3 gals of plumbing safe antifreeze.
ie; winterizing my bosses 38ft sailboat, they (marina services) charge $48.00 per fitting, 3bilge pumps, shower drain, head,sink faucet, galley faucet,heater, gusher bilge and $150 for engine. that's $600 and it takes me 45mins, cost is 3 gals of plumbing safe antifreeze.
If only it wasn't so seasonable - my issue with these sorts of trades is that if you also enjoy the sport you're working in, just when the season arrives and YOU want to go out and enjoy it as well, you get flooded. If people would bring their broken crap in during the off season to get it fixed it would keep a lot of techs in work during the off season, but no...guy blows up his boat on labor day weekend, puts it away for the winter, and then the second week of May shows up at the Marina (along with everyone else and their brother) and wants his engine rebuilt yesterday, and is now angry that he's not going to have his boat in the water for the long weekend...unless of course all the techs work 80 hour work weeks.
And I agree, some things are charged ridiculous rates..but how much of that do the techs get? My sister has a big 30' twin cruiser with intercooled engines, winterization literally takes about 60 seconds per engine (90 if you fog them), but the marina charges them the same as if they were doing a full traditional winterization. Along with the plumbing and everything they pay $500 for what amounts to about 1 hour on the boat. I doubt the techs get much more than their hourly wage, however, assuming they're working for a marina/third party, and not independently.
There is a lot of truth in this post..
I have both Certificate of Qualifications, which took a huge investment of time. The marine side of the industry is a lot of fun and there is tons of ways to specialize, especially in larger crafts. That is another industry that has been hit hard the last few years. Disposable income spending has been down and expensive hobbies (like boats and sleds) were hit hard. Still some opportunities if you are mobile and willing to move. I'm hoping they standardize the marine trade to red seal so it is the same on both sides of the country, not likely though. Probably should be two different trades: pleasure craft (for lakes and such) and offshore, with a diesel option in there somewhere.
I worked many 80 weeks during my apprenticeships, mostly during season opening and closing. Great money to be had, but yes, tends to be seasonal and affected severely by weather. A proper winterization can be really involved, especially when there are $20,000 engines at risk. Ask anyone who has not drained their cooling system properly and the frost plugs didn't save their block. Or had a ballast system crack a line. Those can be expensive fixes, much more than a $500 winterization. And those are usually the same customers who want to walk to their boat on a Friday, and expect everything to work perfectly, every time. There is also a huge financial risk to the marina/shop that improperly winterizes a boat and is liable for the repairs. Many shops will not winterize I/O based boats if the temperature has hovered too low for too long, it is already too late and they are not willing to gamble.
Skimping in the marine world is a huge mistake that more than a few people have discovered to their detriment, including the drowning deaths of their entire family.
That is a great industry to work in and I am still considering getting my captain's papers so I can work on the bigger boats too..
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