Episode 165

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Published on:

18th Dec 2024

The Job Shadow and the Education Mountain [E165]

Thanks to our Partner, NAPA Autotech

Matt Fanslow discusses his experience with a student from a local school who came to job shadow. This encounter highlights the challenges of training newcomers to the automotive repair profession, especially those lacking basic mechanical knowledge. Matt reflects on the student's unpreparedness and the broader issues within automotive education. He emphasizes the need for extended training programs and proper mentorship to adequately prepare individuals for careers as automotive technicians.

Show Notes

  • Job Shadowing Experience (00:01:19)
  • Student's Attire and Demeanor (00:02:32)
  • Tour of the Shop (00:03:39)
  • Understanding the Complexity of Automotive Work (00:05:09)
  • Student's Lack of Mechanical Background (00:07:24)
  • Pathways to Becoming a Technician (00:11:38)
  • Challenges in Training Duration (00:12:39)
  • Tools and Basic Knowledge Required (00:13:51)
  • Complexity of Troubleshooting (00:15:15)
  • Educational System's Demands (00:16:25)
  • Need for Extended Training Programs (00:17:58)
  • Challenges in Automotive Training (00:20:06)
  • Changing Backgrounds of New Entrants (00:21:07)
  • Shift in Learning Environments (00:22:28)
  • Expectations and Frustration in Training (00:25:01)
  • Encouraging Job Shadowing (00:26:07)

"Ask Us Anything!" with Matt Fanslow and Brin Kline

📆 Save the Date: Thursday, December 19th, 2024

🕒 Time: 8:00 PM EST

Register Here: https://streamyard.com/watch/M3JjMR53s5Ct

Thanks to our Partner, NAPA Autotech

NAPA Autotech’s team of ASE Master Certified Instructors are conducting over 1,200 classes covering 28 automotive topics. To see a selection, go to napaautotech.com for more details.

Contact Information

The Aftermarket Radio Network: https://aftermarketradionetwork.com/

Remarkable Results Radio Podcast with Carm Capriotto: Advancing the Aftermarket by Facilitating Wisdom Through Story Telling and Open Discussion. https://remarkableresults.biz/

Diagnosing the Aftermarket A to Z with Matt Fanslow: From Diagnostics to Metallica and Mental Health, Matt Fanslow is Lifting the Hood on Life. https://mattfanslow.captivate.fm/

Business by the Numbers with Hunt Demarest: Understand the Numbers of Your Business with CPA Hunt Demarest. https://huntdemarest.captivate.fm/

The Auto Repair Marketing Podcast with Kim and Brian Walker: Marketing Experts Brian & Kim Walker Work with Shop Owners to Take it to the Next Level. https://autorepairmarketing.captivate.fm/

The Weekly Blitz with Chris Cotton: Weekly Inspiration with Business Coach Chris Cotton from AutoFix - Auto Shop Coaching. https://chriscotton.captivate.fm/

Speak Up! Effective Communication with Craig O'Neill: Develop Interpersonal and Professional Communication Skills when Speaking to Audiences of Any Size. https://craigoneill.captivate.fm/

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Show artwork for Automotive Field Theory

About the Podcast

Automotive Field Theory
From Automotive Diagnostics to Metallica and Mental Health
Automotive Field Theory explores the forces that shape automotive repair, including the ones measured with a meter or oscilloscope and the ones that cannot be found on a wiring diagram.

Hosted by automotive diagnostic specialist, shop manager, and instructor Matt Fanslow, the podcast begins in the automotive aftermarket but rarely stays inside its traditional boundaries. Diagnostics, electricity, technology, leadership, psychology, economics, game theory, history, music, movies, family, and human behavior may appear unrelated. Look closely enough, however, and connections begin to emerge.

A vehicle may arrive with a technical fault, but the work surrounding it is rarely technical alone.

Information is incomplete.

People make decisions under pressure and uncertainty. Incentives shape behavior. Standards gradually drift. Good intentions produce unexpected results. The official process may say one thing while the system quietly rewards another.

Automotive Field Theory is an attempt to understand those interactions.

Drawing from real diagnostic work, shop management, industry conversations, personal experience, and an occasionally inconvenient level of curiosity, Matt examines not only how things work, but why they work that way, how they became what they are, and what apparently unrelated subjects might teach us about repairing vehicles, leading people, running businesses, and improving the automotive industry.

Some episodes begin with a failed component. Others begin with Metallica, quantum physics, professional wrestling, a historical disaster, a round of golf, or a question that refuses to leave Matt alone.

Eventually, they all enter the same field.