Meet Taylor Green, an automotive technician in Billings, Mont. Green is a self-professed “Ford guy" working at a Chevy dealership.
Motor Age is partnering with TechForce Foundation to share profiles and perspectives of young automotive technicians who are in the early days of their careers.
How can the automotive industry better support techs?
The biggest gripe I have with the industry, especially working at a dealership, is the expectation to start off from nothing with thousands of dollars worth of tools.
Major brands should have an incentive program. After working for a certain amount of time, if you’re starting at the bottom, say the lube rack, and working your way up, the program would help you with the cost of tools. Because yes, your tools will last you a while, but your tools help make the shop money.
Is the automotive industry doing enough to help shops keep pace with technology?
The two dealerships I have worked for are working to keep up with the industry, but I have seen where the industry has started to move too fast, and dealers are now backtracking and starting over. The biggest example is how many basic computer reprogramming recalls are out there. Slow down, build it right, program it right, and don't just push a vehicle out to meet a deadline and then have to go back and spend so much extra money to fix those problems.
Who has been influential in your journey as a technician?
My biggest help and inspiration has definitely been my service manager. He puts faith and trust in me and my work. And when I admit to not knowing what to do or where to go with a problem, he will sit down and go over it with me to lead me to the next step. If we can't come to a conclusion that way, he will put hands on it and give me some hands-on training, which has made me become a much better mechanic than I was before I came to work for him.
