A number of factors have contributed to tremendous changes in the economics of working as an independent mechanic. For nearly a century, being a mechanic has been a stable profession that could earn a decent wage. But now across the board, from automobile to heavy machinery to electric motor repair, it is becoming harder and harder to earn a living as a mechanic.
As the industrial revolution changed the landscape of production, machines proliferated around the world. There were machines in factories. There were machines on farms. There were machines for transportation. There were machines at sea. Regardless of who made them, what they were for, or what they cost, all those machines had one thing in common: they all broke down.
That meant that everybody who bought a machine had to have a way to fix it. Most of the early machines were simple, straightforward designs. They were intuitive to a person with a good mind. They were even designed to be easy to repair. After all, a company that sold threshing machines all over the United States didn't necessarily want to have mechanics all over the United States to fix them.
When Henry Ford used an assembly line to speed up production and slash the price of an automobile, he not only revolutionized transportation, he created a need for a professional class of automobile mechanics all over the country. The cars were made with a working man's mentality in mind, and they were made to be easy to work on and repair. But the proliferation of the automobile meant the proliferation of the service station.
For decades, what went on under the hood of an automobile was the province of the mechanics who worked in service stations. Those mechanics were generally men of little or no formal education. But they were good with their hands, and they understood machines. A hard-working mechanic could earn a good income; and being a mechanic was good, honest work.
Repair industries for all kinds of motors grew along with the automobile mechanics. During the 1950s as the suburbs were built, machines for the home proliferated. Home appliances were invented and churned out. A city family lived in an apartment or townhome; but a suburban family had a lawn to mow and needed a lawnmower. Small gasoline engines and electric motors in home appliances all needed repair. That meant jobs for the mechanically minded.
As the industrial revolution changed the landscape of production, machines proliferated around the world. There were machines in factories. There were machines on farms. There were machines for transportation. There were machines at sea. Regardless of who made them, what they were for, or what they cost, all those machines had one thing in common: they all broke down.
That meant that everybody who bought a machine had to have a way to fix it. Most of the early machines were simple, straightforward designs. They were intuitive to a person with a good mind. They were even designed to be easy to repair. After all, a company that sold threshing machines all over the United States didn't necessarily want to have mechanics all over the United States to fix them.
When Henry Ford used an assembly line to speed up production and slash the price of an automobile, he not only revolutionized transportation, he created a need for a professional class of automobile mechanics all over the country. The cars were made with a working man's mentality in mind, and they were made to be easy to work on and repair. But the proliferation of the automobile meant the proliferation of the service station.
For decades, what went on under the hood of an automobile was the province of the mechanics who worked in service stations. Those mechanics were generally men of little or no formal education. But they were good with their hands, and they understood machines. A hard-working mechanic could earn a good income; and being a mechanic was good, honest work.
Repair industries for all kinds of motors grew along with the automobile mechanics. During the 1950s as the suburbs were built, machines for the home proliferated. Home appliances were invented and churned out. A city family lived in an apartment or townhome; but a suburban family had a lawn to mow and needed a lawnmower. Small gasoline engines and electric motors in home appliances all needed repair. That meant jobs for the mechanically minded.
