It’s December. I’m some 4,000 feet up the South Rim of the Grand Canyon and my legs feel as if they weigh a thousand pounds. Each step feels robotic as I keep climbing steps on the switchback-style trail, and my knees are getting weak under the 20 pounds of gear I have strapped to my back. I still have hours to go until I reach the top, and I start to think, “I can’t do this.”
We all have thoughts of doubt that creep into our minds, no matter what we’re doing. It could be that next test coming up, the complex repair your auto instructor has tasked you with or even the idea of making your dreams of working on cars or trucks a reality.
The future of automotive technicians for years has been a lot of “can’t”: Can’t skip out on a four-year college education; can’t have a future fixing cars because it’s a “dirty job”; can’t be a mechanic because your parents don’t approve.
What you’re not hearing enough is the “can.” In the last few years, we’ve seen a serious shift in our country once again embracing technical education, and even more specifically, automotive technology. Cars are getting more and more complex, and people have started to realize they need the technician. As a student in an auto technology course, you have skills the general public doesn’t have, and they need you. Because you “can” figure out what’s wrong with their car. They’re the ones who can’t.
Here at Tomorrow’s Technician, we try to cultivate a magazine that helps you learn everything you need so that you can fix a brake problem or paint job — so you can become a successful automotive, diesel or even collision technician.
If you can just withstand the “can’t” stopping you, a career in automotive will offer you knowledge and experience few will have, but many need. (And, that is even more difficult, and more important, than hiking up the Grand Canyon.) Push through those moments of doubt and you will find yourself at the top.
CARLEY HULL
Editor
Contact Carley at [email protected]
Follow @CarleyHull on Twitter