A little more than a year ago, Courtney Hall played around with a nursing career. She enjoyed diagnosing health problems, figuring out the proper treatment and making patients healthy again. But nursing wasn’t quite the perfect fit for her. Deep down, Hall prefers patients with four wheels and an engine."Cars were more friendly than people," laughs Hall, a 24-year-old auto mechanic and mom living in Mount Holly, N.J. "I wanted to do what I really wanted to do -- work with cars."
Courtney's story is continued below.
Hall will soon graduate Philadelphia’s Lincoln Technical Institute with a degree in Automotive Technology, but she’s already finessing her skills as a service advisor for a Honda dealership. With two technicians reporting to her, Hall ensures a car’s problems are correctly diagnosed and advises customers about their options. And that means being on top of her game at all times.So if your vehicle is making a curious humming noise, she can pinpoint why. Need her to replace a fuel pump? No problem. Is it time for new spark plugs? Done. She can even rebuild an engine.
Hall just digs cars and always has. As a youngster, she was obsessed with testosterone-flavored shows like the "Dukes of Hazzard" and "Knight Rider." She says the sound of a finely tuned engine makes her heart race -- combine that passion with a desire to fiddle around with malfunctioning appliances, and it’s no wonder Hall feels comfy under the hood of a car.
"When things broke around the house, I always fixed them. Well -- I tried," Hall says. Now she tinkers with cars and enjoys nurturing them back to health. "I enjoy seeing them fixed afterward."
She also doesn’t mind the grease and grime under her manicured nails. Hall, like a growing number of women, is putting a softer face on the auto repair industry. According to WomenTechWorld.org, the number of female auto technicians doubled between 1989 and 1999, from an estimated 6,000 to 12,000, respectively. Lured to attractive salaries and work that’s challenging, women are driven to succeed no matter what the guys think.
"At first, they’re taken aback," says Hall about men’s reaction to her career. "They say it’s a man’s job, that type of thing. Once I’ve shown the guys I’m serious, then they respect me."
Women, on the other hand, shouldn’t be so intimidated by the workings of a car, Hall says. Instead, she advises them to at least learn the basics and know these important car tips:
- Pay attention to your oil level, and know when it’s time to change it. Oil is the lifeblood of your car.
- Extend the life of your tires by rotating them. Usually, you should rotate them every 5,000 to 10,000 miles, but check your owner’s manual for specifics. The tires with the best treads should be in the front of the vehicle.
- Take the time to read your owner’s manual. Knowing your car lessens the opportunity for you to be taken advantage of by dishonest auto mechanics.
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