Hi everyone,
I am a technician/service advisor at an independent shop located near Cincinnati, Ohio. I graduated from Sinclair Community College with an associate degree in automotive technology, and proceeded to knock out ASE tests A1-A9 and L1 to make myself more marketable and learn along the way. I've been in it professionally for a meager ~2.5 years. That said, I very carefully chose where to start my career so as not to be stuck doing lube and tires. Obviously, at a small independent, those things have to be done - but I have also been able to work closely with an owner/lead technician who strives to learn, understand, and fix cars and I gain something and get closer to the level I want to be at every day.
Mechanical repairs are work; electrical, engine performance, and diagnostics are the fun that made me start this journey. I spend a good amount of my free time studying, watching the now abundant YouTube channels of highly skilled mechanics/diagnosticians, playing around with my family's cars, and reading things like the new Diagnostic Network forums.
I was a little apprehensive about spending the money I did on the Magnum kit I just received this early in my career. I kind of felt like I hadn't reached some milestone that would afford me the right to make a Picoscope my first scope purchase. Then I thought about how much more carefully I've spent my tool money than many I know. And I thought about how many people in this industry (or at least in my area) with more experience than me are complete hacks. A big reason I started working on cars was my desire to provide people with an honest, skilled alternative. After much consideration, and getting the support I have thus far from Autonerdz (just in the purchasing process), I decided it would be well worth it in the long run to start playing with my own 4-channel oscilloscope and get the supplemental training I need NOW. And those benefits will lead to realizing its amazing potential when it goes to the shop with me. I couldn't afford NOT to dive into this now. It also compliments my Autel and 87V well!
I am ecstatic to be a part of this community, so I figured I would take the time to give some background on myself. I plan to spend a good portion of this weekend taking advantage of the resources in my kit and poking at wires and such.
Thanks everyone for being here,
Clay