RyanG Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 Looking to make a job change and was wondering if anyone has any advise. I'm interested in a CAT dealer that has openings for on highway truck repair and heavy equipment repair. I also got a job offer for a trucking company that maintains a fleet of dump trucks and gravel slingers of various makes. Anything I should look for? From what I have read, being CAT certified is like gold but I don't know anybody directly with experience. I don't know what kind of manufacturer support they have as far as tools and diagnostics but they seem to stay busy(trucking company). They work on anything from light duty all the way up. The CAT dealer seems to have way better benefits but I have yet to interview. If have any recommendations or what to expect, how big of a change going from light duty in a dealer to heavy duty, pay etc. I know a lot of guys on here have a lot of different experience and would like some input. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Browning Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 All I can say from my brief experience with CAT is you are probably better off working for them to get the training and support you will need. EVERYTHING having to do with them from an outside entity you get treated like crap from my experience. At least at a Ford dealer for me it was. I imagine being on the inside would be a great opportunity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dieseldoc Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 I worked for a cat dealer for 9 years. We were paid hourly, benefits were excellent. The tooling and tech support was fantastic(at my dealer anyway). The reason I left there is the oil field was booming big time here, after three years of 70-100 hour weeks and no relief in sight I had enough. They had us going out to the oil fields 2 weeks min at a time every month or two. The work was good and plentiful. Cat no longer produces an on highway engine or truck anymore so they are getting creative trying to keep there truck shops busy. The cat suppprt will likely be great but anything else coming in the door will be like working at an Indy shop most likely. There's good and bad everywhere you go. Most truck shops you end up starting on the night shift, generally they pay a differential for it though.Do the research on the shops and ask around about them. I ask if I can go around and talk to some of the techs in the shop to see what they have to say about the place,( there will be gripes but you can usually get a general feel in a few minutes). Good luck and hope you find what you are looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forddieseldoctor Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 I ask if I can go around and talk to some of the techs in the shop to see what they have to say about the place,( there will be gripes but you can usually get a general feel in a few minutes). Good luck and hope you find what you are looking for.I fully agree with that. I got to talk to one of the techs where I work now before I was hired. They gave me the tour and introduced me to him since we were standing right there talking anyway. Then I ran into him at the local training center a few weeks later. And we had a discussion about working there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanG Posted September 25, 2017 Author Share Posted September 25, 2017 Thanks for the input. The fact that Cat does not produce on highway anymore was concerning but from what I have seen they seem to stay plenty busy. As far as I know I don't think they run a night shift so I wouldn't have to worry about that. They do have a few heavy equipment spots open and I'm thinking it may be the better route. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
66glide Posted October 6, 2017 Share Posted October 6, 2017 Thanks for the input. The fact that Cat does not produce on highway anymore was concerning but from what I have seen they seem to stay plenty busy. As far as I know I don't think they run a night shift so I wouldn't have to worry about that. They do have a few heavy equipment spots open and I'm thinking it may be the better route. I'd go with CAT. Unless it required night shift. Fuck that shit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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