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I've gone through the same path. Started in Independent for the first 6yrs of my career, gone through my apprenticeship, and eventually my red seal ticket.
I loved it for what is was, which was my training ground to develop the foundation for both my wrenching skills and my diagnostic process. I loved the fact that i could work on everything and do everything each day was a new adventure. I loved the fact that i could take my time to become the master of my trade. It was really a byproduct at working at and awesome shop under and awesome boss.
When you work in an independent your customer base is 90% out of warranty , so the newest thing will be aprox 5yr old to fucking ancient. Cars have come along way in the last 10 years, so if you want to be on the forefront of technology indy's don't really satisfy that itch. In the area i specialized in (euro's) it was becoming more difficult to diagnose and repair due to information and special tooling. Diagnostic equipment and information is horribly expensive to invest in so most shops don't do it.
I dont know , so what made me leave. Well i grew up and started having grown up responsibilities like marriage and home ownership. I had to step up my earning game and thats the area that indy can't hold a candle too. I would say at the least you would double wage before you factor in benefits and flat rate bonus.
Going to a dealer, it was nice to finally work on new cars all the time. No more shit boxes, rusty bolts, old greasy jalopies. I was blown away at how technology inside car's has come along in the last 10 years, depending on what manufacturer. The information base at the dealer level is unmatched. I recieve tech support on the engineering level, All factory tooling. There is literally nothing you can't fix. There are no excuses for being frustrated anymore, you have all the resources at your disposal that you would never had before.
Dealers are great but.... there not all created equal. Its totally dependent on the crew and how well its run. If its a full flat rate shop, its pretty cut throat, no one gives a shit , there just there to make money. There are many moving parts in the operation like parts department, foremans, service advisors and service managers.
From my experience, coming from an indy give you a huge advantage, if you have your red seal, the world is your oyster. I find Dealer trained techs far inferior to the indy equivalent generally speaking from my experience. The top 20% of the techs from my shop came from the same back ground, apprentice and trained on the indy side.
Your happiness in this career is totally dependent on the level of your competency, so go find a manufacturer that makes a product you love working and and get er done.
Best of luck!
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