Tool list, What do you require ...

[cdhowell]

... for entry level tech's? Any one have a list they are willing to share?

 

[tirengolf]

CDHowell, I have been in the business for 40+ years now. The landscape has changed so much. I personally like to see a entry level tech with smaller collections of tools, I look to see how many electrical devices they have, Volt meters,  Etc. The older techs have all these huge boxes  today it generally does not require as many large tools and boxes. So much today is just diagnosing correctly and changing a part.This is just my opinion, I hope it helps. Good Luck,David

[Alex]

Topic moved to Automotive Shop Tools & Equipment forum.

[autoguy]

Reviving this topic...interested to know what you and your techs are using for hand tools; snap-on, mac, craftsman, or other. I've always had a ton of craftsman tools with a few specialty snap-on and other branded tools. Growing up in the industry, craftsman was always cheaper and an easy exchange at the sears store. Now lowes is carrying craftsman and honoring warrantied tools so I'm starting to visit lowes over home depot for this alone. I'm also seeing a ton of hand tools from harbor freight and amazon.

[T S]

After 25 years of wrenching I have built quite a diverse set of hand tools and equipment including programming and key making. The way I like to bring my young techs up is to let them use my tools when they assist me on my jobs and through this process they discover the value of name brand tools and learn what they borrow the most. This helps them make well informed purchases. I insist that they do not buy anything they haven’t borrowed yet. 

[autoguy]

That's good mentoring @T S

Some of the techs that attend training at specific automotive technical school and colleges are sponsored or given the ability to procure a small tool set from snap-on, which is smart on snap-on's side because they'll be introduced to their brand early. However, you can get away with many other less expensive brands and there are many smaller starter sets available for entry level techs for sockets, drivers, etc.