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Old 04-06-2005, 11:50 AM   #6
happasaiyan
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Member#: 37731
Join Date: Jun 2003
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jblaine
I think the biggest thing to realize ahead of time is that it is not what it seems to be. I'm a pretty observant guy (I like to think so at least) and the biggest misconception I think people have about it is that you spend the majority of your time actually tuning interesting cars, when the reality as I've seen it is that you spend very little time actually tuning interesting cars, much less time than you think spent actually tuning at all, and leading a far less glamorous life than a lot of people seem to have a picture of in their heads.

It takes a special breed of person to tune for a living and still have any interest whatsoever in continuing it 2 years down the road.

Here and there, you will get a gem of a car that is a pleasure to tune from start to finish and it will be rewarding and fun. The time in between those gems is spent making a paycheck by tuning "another frigging stage 2 car with a boost leak and poor plugs" that you could do half asleep and make enough safe power to keep the customer happy.

Like I said, this is what I see. It is the unspoken ugly side that bright-eyed excited "want to be a tuner" folks typically aren't aware of.

In my personal opinion again, I also think that too many tuners try to do WAY too much as a sole person, stretch themselves VERY thin, and don't really approach tuning as a business (the latter being a choice, not a good/bad thing). You end up with these lone "hitmen" who typically either end up burning out, moving onto a new make of car to liven their job back up, etc.

Or, you end up as a business/shop that starts as yourself and another person who takes care of a lot of things you don't want to deal with anymore, all while mentoring that person to bring them up to speed as another tuner your company can use for income... and you hire a replacement when he/she moves up to that level, because neither of you are going to want to deal with "those things" anymore -- tiring front-line customer support questions you've answered 10 times already since Monday morning, keeping a website up to date with new information, tips, forum responses, shipping things... and 20 other chores that come with the job day-in-day-out.

Case 1 - Many people who post here
Case 2 - PDX Tuning, Vishnu Tuning

Which one is a better path for you is a matter of preference. I tend to think the "Case 1" folks get a rude awakening 3-6 months in and find themselves overwhelmed, frustrated, and no longer having a positive mindset after a year or so, but it all depends on how analytical, structured, and regimented about how you approach it -- set goals and rules, and live by them.

In the end, I think you have to have a very positive attitude, a clear understanding of what reality in the field will be like, a passion for new challenges, and a curious desire for upcoming technology and the interesting challenges it will bring to you.

Enough rambling. Go for it -- just be realistic and get a good idea ahead of time what you are in for. Asking this question was a great step.
good post.
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