[Anonymous]

5 years out of college and I am still not sure where my career is headed. I managed a family business for 3 years and am currently working in marketing for a print distributor. Besides healthcare, the automotive industry is probably my number one interest as far as vertical markets go.

Between the manufacturers, OEMs, dealers and aftermarket companies in So Cal, there seems to be a great opportunity for employment despite the slow job market.

Please share your experiences! I appreciate you input.

[Anonymous]

you asked so here goes 😀

I stumbled into the dealership world because I needed a job for rent and beer while attending SDSU… I was always a car guy and if I ‘needed’ to work then being around cars seemed like a good gig – so I delivered parts for the dealership for a couple of months and then moved on up the ranks and have been a delaership parts manager for almost 20 years now –

here is my take on the industry (from a dealership point of view) – we do such a terrible job of recruiting good people that when someone with some drive and some ethics (work & moral) stumbles into this industry, the industry embraces them and really compensates them pretty well for the work that you have to do – now it takes a couple of years to pass the ‘testing’ period that this industry seems to have before you start making $$ and you need to be prepared for 11+ hour days but it is a pretty dynamic business and there is lots going on –

you need to be prepared to take some heat – from customers (everyone thinks we are out to get them and there are still some dealerships keeping this theory alive and well :o), from friends & family (he does what for a living?), and from the job in general (it is just a high strung enviroment day in and day out) but… in the end it is still a fun place to come to work everyday – even though my mom reminds me regularly “you still need to finish your degree” (see family above) – yes mom… I have a wife, two kidz, a house and a job I like that takes up 11 hours a day of my time – I may someday finish but it is not in the cards at the moment…

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