thinking of becoming a transport engineer

[mr saw]

thinking of crossing over from ac to transport due to the lack of work (ressession,winter, etc) any tips anyone, whats the pay like, is there loads of o/t. are you paid door to door. also job vacancies is there plenty or am i being a bit silly.

[Quality]

No not being silly - get a big van bed in the back, couple of quilts, you could earn a fortune

[Latte]

Its not a bad job, saying that i dont do it anymore.
Pays quite good and there is always going to be work with all the supermarkets the logistal quantity makes sure of that. However its getting more specalised these days, years ago when everything was belt driven its was simple, now were getting into the realms of diesel engines driving gennys to power everything. Carrier & Marshall TK have quite a good hold on everything although there are some notable independants (Michael Wards pring to mind).

As quality said, Hours can be long as everything in this field is an emergency. If an A/c breaks down you can normally go a day without it, if a 40ft trailer full of stock at -20 breaks down they want it fixed. As i said earlier, pays good but if you are the going rate for an a/c engineer in London you will find that hard to beat. Wet weather gear is a must though, you need to be ok with working outside all year round, sunburn in summer, and wet all winter. Youre best bet is probably to approach one of the big boys to see whats going on. There are a few of them using the forum. hopefully one of them can point you in the right direction

[mr saw]

cheers chaps, sounds like a good career move even in this ressession. think will have to look deeper into this.

[abbsnowman]

Its not a bad job, saying that i dont do it anymore.
Pays quite good and there is always going to be work with all the supermarkets the logistal quantity makes sure of that. However its getting more specalised these days, years ago when everything was belt driven its was simple, now were getting into the realms of diesel engines driving gennys to power everything. Carrier & Marshall TK have quite a good hold on everything although there are some notable independants (Michael Wards pring to mind).

As quality said, Hours can be long as everything in this field is an emergency. If an A/c breaks down you can normally go a day without it, if a 40ft trailer full of stock at -20 breaks down they want it fixed. As i said earlier, pays good but if you are the going rate for an a/c engineer in London you will find that hard to beat. Wet weather gear is a must though, you need to be ok with working outside all year round, sunburn in summer, and wet all winter. Youre best bet is probably to approach one of the big boys to see whats going on. There are a few of them using the forum. hopefully one of them can point you in the right direction

Very well put. Cheers to you!

[FREEZER1970]

hi mate,i have just done the opposite to what your thinking about,i have been working in transport for over 15 yrs,but have joined a comm ref & a/c company 3 months ago, transport is also very quite in the winter,the basic rate on average is lower than the comm sector, i enjoyed doing transport,sum of the breakdowns could be a nightmare,etc,
im hearing from friends in the transport ref sector that engineers are poss going to get made redundant
so tread carefuly if you have a secure job,its tight for work everywhere at the moment

[mr saw]

thanks for that insight freezer

[wilt]

Dont Do it mr saw iwas in the trade for 12 yrs and i been wanting to get for the last 11 it can be a nitemare job these days are good with a pc coz they moved heavily that way diagnostically. and you can get really **** up to the eyeballs swiming in diesel etc. be cautious very cautious

[MONKEYPOWER]

Its a mans job .....only divorced alcoholics need apply , and they all look ten year older than they actually are .

[aircon50]

If you like being out in all winds and weather, with the rain running down your neck and out your arse, if you're single, if you LIKE being on call 24/7 then this might suit! (and no thanks for it)
It's a marriage breaker - broke more than 1 for me! I had 35 years of it - now been in the sun installing air con and pool heat pumps for 5 years. Wouldn't want to back to it.........
My son was going into it, and then thought hard about it, and decided NO.
As wilt says - be very cautious!
Regards Graham

[djbe]

Used to do the 24/7 thing. If you go self employed you can find customers that will work with you in hours. Sub the out of hours stuff out. (Within reason out of hours i class as between 22.00 & 06.00 hrs). If you work for anyone else expect to run your backside ragged at both ends of the candle. Yes there is decent money to be made, in my mind you have to cover more skills than a commercial refrigeration engineer but there is a price to pay!! When I met my missus I told her this is what I do, hence I am still married. But what the other guys said, take heed, with caution!!

[kelvin278]

try www dot michaelward dot co dot uk

[bentleybow]

mr saw please think before you jump, remember the saying from the frying pan to the fire, the grass is greener on the other side, done this merry go round for the last 16 years, my advise take a holiday come back with a clear head.

[bentleybow]

forgot to say , i thought of being an astronault. failed exam due to delusions of grandure and reeking of diesel

[carrier_trained]

You could always think about moving to the southern hemisphere, we need all the tradesmen we can get down here! especially fridge techs, namely transport!

[celcius007]

good luck as nike said JUST DO IT

[m_l_ca]

Its a mans job .....only divorced alcoholics need apply , and they all look ten year older than they actually are .

Wow, this is so true. Ha. The job ruined more than one relationship for me. I'm 28 and look 35

I'll tell you what, there is a few hundred positions open for hvac and refrigeration techs in Canada. Pay can be from $15 to $50 per hour depending on what part of the country you are in.

Check the Canadian job bank website.

[MONKEYPOWER]

I like the job , don,t get me wrong ,13 years in it now .
But i,ve seen blokes come over from truck repairs to fridge and hated it aspecially when there used to the 8 till 5 working .
if your coming from refrigeration and you don,t mind getting ****ted up every other day , then give it a go .
also installs is good clean work and undercover ,fitting the new kit , which i enjoy .