Doing this a while and still nothing

I was directed here by Mr. Danner on a youtube reply so I hope he sees this and that this is the right place for it. My name is Anthony, go by Tony, and am new to the forums. I have been spinning wrenches for 20 years now and enjoy fixing things but have been growing bitter over the last 5-10. I have heard about all the changes that are supposed to be coming to the industry and how techs need to be paid for their knowledge and the like but so far this seems like hopes and dreams. In 20 years I have established myself as an honest, reliable mechanic with customers who seek me out for repairs but have never even managed to make 40k in a year. I have spent the last 10 years working for dealerships and it drives me crazy that the guys that slam things together and do shady work are always hailed as the shops golden child because they make 60-80hrs a week but most of it comes back for someone else to fix. I have always tried to do good solid work and used to get on myself really bad when I couldn't figure something out because I knew there was a way to test it but I didn't know how. Finding scannerdanner was a blessing because he was that guy that knew how to do the testing for so many problems. I've even heard him discussing how this is a good industry and how he supported his family well and gave them a good life. I feel like there is a small percentage of techs (5-10%) that make good money doing honest work but they are a special breed, the Danners, Erik Os, etc. but for the regular guys it seems its either work shady and get paid or work honest and starve. I hope I'm just missing something and someone knows what it is. I've been talking to folks on the ford dealer forum and apparently I'm making the same amount as their first year trainees. It's just soul crushing to have 20k+ in tools, 20yrs in the business ASEs, dealer certs etc, and trying to support and raise 5 kids on 30 something k a year. If anyone has any good advice I'm all ears. Coming from Chambersburg Pa.

Hi, Tony. Welcome to the SD Community!

I'm not the best advice giver but, I'll throw my 2 cents out there.

The key to making more money is being able to offer a rare commodity. The information and methods that Paul, aka ScannerDanner, teach ARE such commodities.
The fact that you are here, seeking more knowledge, places you into the upper tier of technicians.

So, now that you have a rare commodity to offer, you must understand its value. You don't need to slam out 60-80 hrs per week, if you can fix the cars that no one else can fix.
If you can fix the cars that no one else can fix, you can name your price. Know your value and don't sell yourself short. You can make more money, with less cars, if your customers seek you out because you are the guy that can fix it, not because you're cheap.

If you are confident with your diagnostic skills, maybe, go hustle up some side work by going around to the independent repair shops and offer to diagnose any cars that they may be struggling with.




 

I think the dealership is the problem. If I had to work around all the red tape you guys deal with, I would have hung it up a long time ago.
I've been fortunate enough to work for independent shops that value my time and knowledge and pay salary.
Maybe a decent independent shop is what you need.