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Only $10 for all 2026 SX, MX, and SMX series.
FUCK NO.
and
slim to near poverty level for an entry level mech.
Thanks for the link!
S
The Bad news? We're still in a shit economy and there's not a lot of money to throw around.
So, in the end, it would seem that more of them are gonna get a "better" wage; however, I'm sure many will feel they should be making more.
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My advise to you having gone through the same thing is to stick with your engineering job. So many more oppurtunitys and good salary jobs to be had if you just stick with it and be patient until the right job comes open. I would suggest keeping your eyes open on the OEM websites as they often post positions for Engineers in the powersport divisions.
Another tip, you really better know your stuff if you want to go on a team as a mechanic. All those mechanics in the pits know so much and work so quickly it's amazing. And If you ARE that good, take an ad out in your local paper and work out of your garage at night charging $40-$60 an hour and stay home and raise your family.
They have an Indy location as well as a bunch nationwide. Seems to pay decent for experienced people.
When I completed my mechanical engineering curriculum, I was given a Bachelor of Science....you know, on account of engineering being....a science!!!!! BTW, did they cover proper use of apostrophes at your school?
I'm just busting your chops, man!
MX_563, I also got a chuckle about the "BA's degree in Engineering" comment, but given the butchering of the English language and piss-poor spelling and writing skills I've witnessed over the years by some brilliant engineers, I just chalked it up to right-brain/left-brain syndrome.
Layinbody 531, I have to agree with Trey's mom about the paltry salary you say you're pulling. Go to work for HNTB and you should be pulling in $60-70k for starters. Work in the field as an inspector on a project that receives federal funding and prevailing wage is around $48/hr.
Hell, I brought my older brother in when I was QA Manager on the 22 Frwy back in 2005 and he knew NOTHING about construction...ZERO. He'd been a juvenile probation officer for years after getting a BA in Sociology from UCSB. Anyway, him and his degree were worthless, but I hired him and taught him enough to pull it off, while also being in a position to kind of carry him and see that one of my other inspectors kept an eye on him. He got all the Caltrans certs I told him to get (no-brainers) and ended up outlasting me as the project wound down in 2007. I hooked him up at HNTB after that and he's been making $50/hr there ever since, which is at least 3 times as much as he ever made as a P.O.
- New family = not recommend to work on the road......
- Connections/experience needed
IMO If older than 25 probably too late to get in to
This is how I would do it to become a mechanic at pro level IMO
-Be a kid who rides and already mechanically incline and has desire
-Work at a local mx shop/dealer during highschool
-Then move over to a local mx suspension shop
-Work on some local A/B riders for experience for cheap
-Get a job at a creditable dealer/shop (PC, RG3.....) as a intern while completely a degree
-Work your way up the ranks at that shop while getting connections
-Convince them to let you tag along on a couple of races as a helper for no pay
-Work as a private mechanic for a season
-Move back to a creditable shop that has a team with now experience/connections/hopefully a degree
-Get that job as a mechanic for a satellite team
-Make a name for yourself
-Mitch calls you for a job
Even my ex that struggled for 8 years to get a ME degree got a job just days after graduating making 2x the numbers you are talking.
You need to figure out a way to get into oil field, that is where the money is.
Besides running your own business, sales it's where it's at for good money. All the sales people in my family make strong 6 figure salaries.
Good Luck.
Pit Row
https://www.cco.purdue.edu/common/SalaryMay10.pdf
MEs: 107 reporting with low of $33K, Average $57K, High $95K. Chem-E, Nuc's, EE, and C-EE seem to still carry the highest average starting salary.
My company is hiring as many undergrad Purdue engineers that we can get and we are north of $60K on average for technology Consulting careers. If you have the grades and proven summer work experience and extracurriculars (demonstrated self-starter, high-performer, hard-worker), then you're good to go.
I didnt finish college, but if I had an engineering degree I wouldn't waste my fucking time with "engineering" ...i'd get into finance and business.
Your engineering degree, granted you market it right, will be more compensated in business than engineering.
The other thing to consider is stability....there is ZERO...new crew cheif, team manger, owner and you could be out on the street having done nothing wrong....It happens every year around here and its a real shame...there are probably 200 people looking in this area right now. Their skills are awsome but unfortunately it becomes a very specialized discipline that can cause serious problems trying to get into regular industry after just minimal years in racing.
As much as I know you really want to do it I would have to say its not the life it appears to be from the outside.
If you figure $5 an hour for 40 hours that equals $200.
If you add overtime and figure $7.50 an hour for 50 more hours, that equals $375.
Doing this math you end up with $30,000 a year ($575 x 52 weeks).
Using 90 hours and $20 an hour Goose comes out around $120,000. People laugh at this when I bring it up, but do the math. I don't know if they put in 90 hours a week, but I bet that isn't a shocking number. Remember, race weekends are basically full-on work straight through from when you leave for the airport until you get back home. I assume they are all salaried but this helps put an hourly figure on it.
Don't expect to have the same family time you would working 40 hours at the engineering gig.
To be exceptional it takes long hours, ability to figure anything out (from the fundamantals), detailed oriented work, and the ability to communicate it. If you don't have those, you wont be exceptional.
You need to mke up your mind soon, as most companies will not hire entry level engineers if they have been out of school for 4 years or more. So, you either need to be an expert at something if you are looking at another company or say where you are.
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