I accepted an entry-level tech I position with a county's fleet management yesterday. I've heard being municipal fleet is a cherry spot to be if you're going to be a mechanic so I'm pretty content. Today I got an interview offer from my county's school district for a bus mechanic position I applied to earlier this week, which their shop is only 10 minutes away from where I live compared to an hour for the city fleet job. I already have a start date for the city fleet job, but the school district interview lands before that so I'll be able to scope out their offer, if I even get one. I don't have any experience in diesel or heavy vehicles, all my experience is in regular automotive. No idea what to expect from a school bus shop. I assume pay and benefits are relatively the same. How shit is working on school buses compared to cars to have a 10 minute commute or is city fleet the clear winner?
>>29016094Follow your heart.
>>2901609410 minute vs 1 hour commute is a pretty significant factor
>>29016115this
>>29016115It's not an hour in traffic though, so it doesn't really feel like an hour. I can also move closer once my apartment lease is up. But I do agree that 10min vs an hour is big.>>29016110Heart is saying city fleet. I had an interview and shop tour for United Rentals a month ago and immediately felt a "no" in my gut once I stepped in the shop. I'll know once I tour the bus shop.
>>29016192I don't have any experience with school bus places, but I work on city buses and I can say its where mechanics come to retire. I'm not sure if its the case with the transit authority near you, but mine is union and the atu negotiates a contract every 2 years that scales along inflation as a base, and then whatever extra amount they can manage + other stuff like a yearly tool allowance and whatnot. At the end of the day, its not a bad idea to begin working on the schoolbuses and later on switch to transit if there's a difference in pay and benefits. A lotta guys where I work at came from school bus, peter pan/greyhound, and waste disposal. There's also guys who were bakers and dishwashers before they started and they basically just fucked stuff up till they got the hang of it and they never had an issue cause the union covered them every time. Just evaluate what the bottom line is as far as pay, benefits, and what your personal expenses will be in terms of logistics. Paying $600 in gas a month for a $1500/ a week job is not as good as paying $100 for a $1000 a week job
Working on a county school bus fleet sounds cosy as fuck. You'll learn them like the back of your hand in a few years and work will be a breeze, and you're doing a solid for your community helping the kids go get educated. Not your fault education is poor quality.
you don't want to waste two hours of your life driving to and from work every day. if you're stuck with the city job then plan to move closer as soon as possible.
>>29016192>so it doesn't really feel like an hourIf you stick with that position for a few years you are basically wasting nearly 10% of your week life just commuting. If you did that somewhere different each time you can enjoy the scenery and the differences but when you do the same thing over and over again it just becomes a drag and you will start to miss those extra hours in the day you can use for anything else. Exercise, groceries, shitposting, gaming, alcoholism, anything else.The only upside to the city transport work is that you will have much more variety on the job.
>>29016208>Paying $600 in gas a month for a $1500/ a week job is not as good as paying $100 for a $1000 a week job$1500 x 4 - 600 = $5400$1000 x 4 - 100 = $3900
>>29016217Depends on the fleet. Here at least, most school buses are powered by Ford V10's. Having to work on Ford anything sounds like a nightmare.
>>29016257Having to work on ANYTHING these days sounds like a nightmare. The older stuff even if problematic can have standard procedures set in place and generally have more space to work with. Even if the hood clamshells open all the way you still need to pull 5-10 things out the way just to get to a sensor.
>>29016306School buses wouldn't be too hard to work on as they're based on a 5 ton truck chassis and have quite a lot of room to work. Cars would be a nightmare and heavy machinery is supposed to be pretty bad.
>>29016312>School buses wouldn't be too hard to work on as they're based on a 5 ton truck chassis and have quite a lot of room to work. Cars would be a nightmare and heavy machinery is supposed to be pretty bad.Like I say, even when it opens right up it still isn't like the good old days.
>>29016192If you go with the longer commute you will seethe every day about how you would be home by now.
>>29016257I thought sharts used chev 350s and detroit diesels and shit like that in the school buses? What the fuck is going on with USA
It's a no brainer for the 10 min job
>>29016367There hasn't been a 2 stroke Detroit Diesel school bus in like 50 years. 350's were pretty much never used in anything that big. A gasser school bus from the 350 era would have been a 454. Most were still diesel powered back then. Now days they use the Ford V10 or the Godzilla 7.3 because fleets are too afraid to run a modern diesel. Yes it's weird having V10 noises come from a school bus.
>>29016094>only 10 minutes away from where I live compared to an hour for the city fleet jobTake the job closer to your house because you will absolutely fucking hate going an hour both ways; it means you have to get up earlier and you have less free time. The former alone should be a deal killer; an extra hour of sleep is damn near priceless.
>>29016245>>29016365>>29016372>>29016413>>29016219I'm sure the hour commute will be a fucking slog after the "new job" feeling wears off, but again I can always move closer if I end up liking the job. Closest I could move while not being in the ghetto is probably 25-30 minutes.I have already accepted the city fleet job and started the onboarding forms n shit and I'd feel like a shithead for backing out like 2 weeks before l start. However, if the bus job is genuinely better in terms of pay and overall work, then the 10 minute commute is just a cherry on top. I'm curious as to what their reaction will be to me having zero experience in diesel/buses. I'll ask for a shop tour and ask the techs what their overall opinion is of the job, maybe even allude to my situation and ask if buses are better than auto. From what I've read of being a bus tech, it's mostly routine maintenance and inspections, with heavy work going to the dealer. Boring and stable work, but a boring job is a good job. Either way, I have to pick one and burn the other.
>>29016426You can transfer later on anyways.
>>29016553True, if the position gets posted again
>>29016426You're more desirable with some city fleet XP
>>29016603It'd be a good resume material for sure. Right now I only have 1.5 years as a Audi dealer lube tech and 5 years as a freelance mobile mechanic and hobbyist. The city fleet hiring team thought that was impressive enough to hire me though, thankfully.
>>29016094Do the school busses. You want to fuck with school boards, not city council.
