My Career: You’ve got to have passion and drive

Name: Alice Handke 

Age: 27 

Lives: Conna, Co. Cork 

Job title: Motor Technician/ Mechanic.

Education background: After obtaining a Leaving Certificate and spending a few years working in a non relevant field, I went through a 4 year apprenticeship program.

Hobbies: My hobbies naturally involve cars but I also greatly enjoy various aspects of home improvement and DIY.

Describe your job in five words: Character building, intense and physically femanding.

Describe yourself in five words: Humble, headstrong, kind and goal driven.

Personality needed for this kind of work? You need a patient and humble personality. You must be willing to work hard and never stop learning.

How long are you doing this job? 6.5 years.

How did you get this job? In order to get to qualify as a technician I went around various garages across cork looking for an apprenticeship opportunity, after finding it with my current employer (Blackwater Motors), I have served out my four years of the apprenticeship and have a Craft Certificate.

Do you need particular qualifications or experience? To work as a qualified technician you need to successfully complete the apprenticeship program which includes on and off the job phases and examinations.

Describe a day at work: I start work at 8 am. After this it is very difficult to specify the exact series of events of any particular day.

It varied from day to day dependant on the type of work which is it through the workshop. On a daily basis you would carry out schedule servicing, vehicle repairs (mechanical, electrical etc.) geometry setting as well as vehicle fault diagnostics.

How many hours do you work a week? I work a 39 hour week What do you wear to work? I wear PPE at all time which is made up of overalls and safety boots.

Is your industry male or female dominated? Male dominated.

Does this affect you in any particular way? Absolutely not.

Is your job stressful? How? Rate it on a scale of 1-10: Yes, it is stressful. You are working in a busy, fast paced environment where each job carries responsibility where the majority of the time the work quality mirrors customer safety. Out of 10 it’s about a 6.

Do you work with others or on your own? I work in a garage full of technicians there is about 17 of us all together.

When do you plan to retire or give up working? I don’t know the answer to this. I would like to say at the stated retirement age but who knows.

Best bits: the best bit of my job is well I am doing what I like Worst bits: the worst aspect is definitely the physical demand on your body.

Advice to those who want your job? I wouldn’t discourage anyone from doing the job but the advice I would give it that you need to feel passion for the subject. It’s a tough job both mentally and physically and if the passion isn’t there it will become a chore. But if you have the drive and passion just prepare to work hard and be humble everyday is going to be a school day, the learning never stops.