Rachael (00:00)
I was on the broom every day organizing things, cleaning things and there was a mechanic that just needed some help and he's just like, can you just help me
Put this tail shaft in, I'll hold up you put the bolts on. So he was
Louise (00:17)
Mm-hmm.
Rachael (00:18)
holding it up there while p putting the bolts on and this forming comes past and then he's like, Rachel, get off the effing he's like, get back on the effing broom where you belong. And I was just like, I kind of just went like a bit
Louise (00:37)
Like a bit in shock.
Rachael (00:37)
Maybe like a little bit shock,
And then just kinda like remove myself from the workshop so I could go have a cry.
Louise (00:45)
Welcome back to the Building Confidence Podcast, where I host Louise as a party, what I've learned through the years, through the tears, so you don't have to. This is episode 164 and we're joined by Rachel. Rachel, thanks for joining us. This
Rachael (01:00)
That's all right.
Louise (01:05)
is Rachel's first podcast interview, everyone. That is all.
Rachael (01:08)
No, it's good. It's
it's nice like it's good to talk to you again 'cause we met each other c what maybe like four years ago, I think. Something
Louise (01:16)
Yeah, I think so.
Rachael (01:18)
like that. And then just been catching up at whatever event truck events or things like that that we
Louise (01:23)
Yeah.
Rachael (01:24)
can. So yeah. It's good to catch up again.
Louise (01:25)
Yeah, that's it. Yeah.
It's definitely, I did an Instagram story like before this and I'm like, I love interviewing like trade someone on the podcast because one, most of the time I'm interviewing my friends or two, I'm meeting someone really cool. So it doesn't even feel like I'm working. That's it.
Rachael (01:39)
Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Yeah.
Louise (01:44)
Okay. So Rachel, what are you doing now?
Rachael (01:48)
At the moment I'm just working as a dealership tech and also doing the breakdown sides of things as well for the dealership. So that's probably my biggest passion is the breakdowns the breakdown work. because
Louise (02:05)
Yeah.
Rachael (02:06)
Before before I started doing breakdowns, it was getting to a little bit of a point where I was like, am I enjoying this still or should I find something else? And then I got the opportunity that I had to push for to get out there on the road. And since then it kinda gave me like a second win for the trade.
Louise (02:24)
yet.
Rachael (02:25)
and just been like loving that part of the trade ever since. So I still do
Louise (02:29)
yet.
Rachael (02:30)
the twenty-four hour call out work now.
Louise (02:33)
Yeah.
That's it. Well, like,
if you love it, I think like the... like some people like repetitive work and some people like variety. And I think like
Rachael (02:42)
Yeah.
Louise (02:43)
some workshop based work, can't like you do do a bit of diagnostics in the workshop, but it can get a bit more repetitive of more like those services, mid-lives, you know,
Rachael (02:51)
Yeah.
Louise (02:52)
the same predicted fault recalls. But when you're out in the field doing like diagnostic stuff, it's like every day is a surprise.
Rachael (03:00)
Yeah.
You just never know what you're gonna rock up to. Like you're constantly thinking so like you hear what comes in, what the issue is, and you you just have to make sure that you're pretty certain of what it could be, so you're not having to drive back somewhere and get the right part or things like that. You need to
like really good at problem solving based on the information that you're getting. And sometimes it's not much information but you can work off it and you just bring anything and everything that it could be before you actually get to the truck. So yeah.
Louise (03:34)
Yeah, that's it. And
the dealership that you work for, you work on the truck like from end to end, don't you?
Rachael (03:40)
Yeah, like whole vehicle, or it doesn't matter what it is, like yes we're a dealership, but we may do other things like trailers as well. or some other brands and things like that, if they bring it in, we'll just do it.
Or there was one time that I did go up to Perishha and they had one of our brand's engine in a snow groomer machine. So I had to go up to Perishha to go get that started. And I drove up there
And it's just like road clothes because the rest of the road is snow. So
Louise (04:13)
Mm-hmm.
Rachael (04:14)
then the machine was in the snow. So they I just grabbed the backpack with a computer, couple tools, things like that. And then they just drove me up in a little snowmobile buggy thing to get to it. got it started, got it moved back down to the car park so then I could actually
get a bit more in depth with it and had all my tools there. So yeah, you just never know what you're gonna get. Which is pretty cool. Yeah, I definitely made sure
Louise (04:36)
Yeah, that's it. Yeah, you've told me that story before. I love that one. That's a cool That's it.
Rachael (04:43)
to take many a lot of photos of it just because it's so unusual. Like it's not a truck, but it's something so different. So yeah.
Louise (04:53)
Yeah,
that's it. I did a little bit of field service work myself, it was mostly like we were all servicing farms and stuff. But every
Rachael (05:01)
Yeah.
Louise (05:01)
now and then you'd get something a bit random that was like, okay, this old guy has this in his back shed and he wants it to move now and it hasn't moved for a very
Rachael (05:09)
Yeah.
Louise (05:10)
long time. Can you do that?
No, that's it. So now you're a diagnostic tech, you are working on really cool things. How did this all start for you?
Rachael (05:24)
So while I was in probably my final years of high school, I w I wasn't actually sure what I wanted to do. But during
school I decided to take like the vet pathway which is the certificate pathway and I was already doing I was doing a search to in engineering there so a lot of metal fabrication work and things like that. And then one of the career
guidance counselors came up to me and she said, Look, there's a CERT 2 in heavy commercial diesel going on or is about to happen. Would you like to do it? And I just said, Yeah, sure. I'll give it a crack. So then I did that, which was through TAFE Queensland. And I was doing that
while I was at school as well and completing all my other certificates and it got to a point where the school was like, you gotta either choose one or the other when it comes to your certificates because you can't you're doing too much. So then I did end up dropping one, completed the cert two in the heavy vehicle.
took back took the other certificate back up, completed that as well. And I got
Louise (06:31)
Mm-hmm.
Rachael (06:32)
like I got everything done. Like I was already over what I needed to be able to graduate. But I think it's because one of the head of departments said she said to me, she's like, if you do this you're never gonna graduate. She's
Louise (06:46)
Hmm.
Rachael (06:47)
like, you're not gonna make it
and that was enough to just say, well, I'm gonna do it all anyway. Like I'm just gonna get it all done anyway. And I did. So yeah, so then through the cert two, we had to do a work experience. And I got in with the place that I wanted to do work experience at.
Which was really cool, like a big eye opener of what the actual trade is like. And by the end of my work experience they offered me an apprenticeship to start the following year. And I said, Yep, I'll do it.
Louise (07:18)
Mm-hmm.
Rachael (07:18)
And
Yeah, so the next year came around, so graduate school next year came around and to get into that place I did have to push a little bit to get like to get the job. Even though that they said that they're happy to take me on, I still had to push and say, like, when do you want me to start? When do you want me to start? And they're just like, just not yet and then another week would roll by and
I'm happy to start right now and st then they eventually said, Okay, yep, time to come in, like so then I quit my other jobs and
Louise (07:50)
Yeah.
Rachael (07:52)
and started my apprenticeship. 'Cause I was like
Louise (07:53)
Yo.
Rachael (07:55)
always employed from like when I was sixteen, so
I've always I've always had a job and just made sure like once I was set on a start date with my apprenticeship then I resigned from the others and moved into it. So
Louise (08:10)
Yeah.
Rachael (08:11)
yeah.
Louise (08:10)
No, that's it. And I think
that's one of the things that can kind of get like adults and you know, even if you're after high school and it's not like straight after high school, it's like, are you doing in that in between while you're waiting? And like some companies like
Rachael (08:22)
Yeah.
Louise (08:23)
big dealerships often have like, okay, we start our kind of recruitment process in like June for people to start at the end of January. And that's like a formal process. It's like, what do do while you're waiting for that?
Rachael (08:37)
Yeah.
I don't I don't think they had like a formal process for that because the plu like the place I was working at wasn't it wasn't really a dealership kind of thing but
Louise (08:47)
Mm-hmm.
Rachael (08:48)
it was big enough that there was like enough work and stuff like that. So they'd they didn't really have like a recruitment thing. It was just because I did the work experience with them, they offered it to me and said like, look
if you want to start next year. But then I was just like, I'm ready to s when it was the next year, I was like, I'm ready to start. I'm ready to go. Yeah, so that was a yeah. Yeah, bit of a Death straight
Louise (09:06)
I'm waiting. Let me know when I can come That's it. So you had that transition Yeah that transition from There you go
Rachael (09:20)
from school and then sh pretty much like
You're so used to finishing school and then obviously have your school holidays. but then from there straight into full time work in the I think I did start in the January so of that year. I think it was
Louise (09:33)
Yeah.
Rachael (09:34)
it was twenty eighteen. January twenty eighteen
Louise (09:36)
Yeah.
Rachael (09:37)
is when I started in the trade, so
Louise (09:39)
Yeah, nice. No,
it's good. It's like sometimes you're moving so quick. It's just like those finer details of like when you started and all that kind of thing. They become like distant history. Like you're so in the now that it's like, yeah, that's it. But.
Rachael (09:51)
Yeah, it's so blurry. Yeah. It's really hard to remember
back but they're definitely
Louise (09:58)
Mm.
Rachael (09:59)
like there's definitely a couple things that I do remember. Like most of the cr most of the team there was really good. and especially their other apprentices that they had at the time. They were always like happy to teach me as well and
never put me down and stuff but there was one form in that we had and that was a bit challenging.
Louise (10:19)
Yeah.
Rachael (10:22)
Cause all I remember just one day I was just cleaning 'cause I spent like the first six months just cleaning. Didn't touch any tools,
Louise (10:29)
Thank you.
Rachael (10:30)
didn't really get onto anything. I was on the broom every day organizing things, cleaning things and there was a mechanic that just needed some help and he's just like, can you just help me
Put this tail shaft in, I'll hold up you put the bolts on. So he was
Louise (10:44)
Mm-hmm.
Rachael (10:44)
holding it up there while p putting the bolts on and this forming comes past and then he's like, Rachel, get off the effing he's like, get back on the effing broom where you belong. And I was just like, I kind of just went like a bit
Louise (11:00)
Like a bit in shock. Yeah.
Rachael (11:00)
Maybe like a little bit shock, yeah.
And then just kinda like remove myself from the workshop so I could go have a cry.
Louise (11:11)
Yeah. Yeah.
I've been in that series of events before, yes.
Rachael (11:17)
Yeah, just like I was like I was cleaning and not really doing anything productive. Someone needed help to like just get the job done. And it was nothing big or anything. And then I just get yelled at for that. Because I was helping. I was there for like thirty seconds and he didn't just come scream at me. But then one of the other tests counted came and found me and then he
He just made sure I was okay and he said like what he said to you was not on like there's absolutely no need for that. Like you
Louise (11:47)
Yeah.
Rachael (11:48)
don't need to be like that to people. So yeah, and I think after I had my cry I picked myself back up and kept going on with the day.
Louise (11:56)
Yeah,
that's it. When did it start to transition to more on the tools rather than on the broom for you?
Rachael (12:06)
I think
Probably around that six month mark. so I think it was like a six month probation and then around the six month mark that same foreman came up to me and he's
Louise (12:19)
Mm-hmm.
Rachael (12:19)
like, So you think you wanna be a diesel mechanic? I was like, Yes. I'm still here. I'm still
Louise (12:24)
Yeah, I've been here for six months.
Rachael (12:27)
here.
And then he's like, Well, today you're gonna jump in the truck and move it.
Okay, I'll do it. And since then, like I was on with other techs and stuff like that. So I was with other techs for maybe a couple months after that. And then I got given my first job by myself, which was just a water pump on a little workmate Hilux. Just to do that, give
Louise (12:52)
Mm-hmm, yep.
Rachael (12:54)
it a go. And I got that done.
And then my next kind of like big job majority by myself after that was a it was a defense heavy wreck like a defence heavy tow truck.
that one of the winches on it wasn't working, so you had to pull the whole toolbox off the side, which was undo all the hydraulic lines for like the controls for it. Then we had an overhead crate, so we slung put that on slings and took the whole toolbox off. But I did all the work of undoing absolutely everything. Then
Obviously grabbed some other people to help when it came to using the crane so someone could be on either side making sure it's not gonna hit anything and
The winch got changed over, the toolbox got put back on the side and put everything back together. So like all the hydraulic lines back on where they need to go and stuff like that. And they tested it and everything was perfectly fine. So that was like my first real big win in the trade. As a first year.
Louise (13:57)
Yeah, that's as a first year. Yeah,
because everything like I think it's really good to kind of reflect in just like in calibration with where you're at. Like now looking
Rachael (14:08)
Yeah.
Louise (14:09)
at it, if you did something like that, you'd be like, cool, like another day. But like when you were a first year, like, holy shit, like, look at it. It's working after I pulled it apart and put it back together. And you're like, look what I did.
Rachael (14:21)
Yeah,
there was like that many hydraulic lines going to these hand controls because it was o like it was old school setup as well, so there's just a lot of a lot of hydraulic lines and wires and things like that. So yeah, that was pretty cool and then it
Then they got they tested the winch and all that stuff which worked perfectly fine and made sure it pulled properly and yeah, so and
Louise (14:47)
Yeah, no, that's awesome.
Rachael (14:48)
yeah, and then started doing a lot of we did a lot of trailer work as well. So
These trailers would come in from the auctions, we'd completely strip them down. There may have been like two of us on it. Just so we could either work on s on either side and then just work our way down and rip all the wheels off, rip all the hubs, all the brakes and do all the bushings in it and things like that. So yeah, that was really good to just get in and like
Louise (15:14)
Yeah.
Get it done. Yeah. And getting familiar
Rachael (15:14)
Smash it out kind of thing. Yeah.
Louise (15:18)
with stuff like that, like, I think when you're doing like repetitive work, I think a lot of people like discredit how important becoming familiar with something is. once
Rachael (15:27)
Yeah.
Louise (15:28)
you know exactly how it's supposed to look like and like its second nature pulling it apart and putting it back together, it helps so much later on with the actual diagnostics. It's like, you really, really know what's going on.
Rachael (15:37)
Yeah. Yeah.
But it definitely does feel like your first year is to where I'm now, looking back, your first year is such a blur. Like it's like I can't really remember much else that I did in my first year. Like so it
Louise (15:53)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, that's it. I like to say that it's
like being dunked by a wave in the beach. Like you just got so much stuff coming at you and you're like, okay, where do I look? Where do I put my feet? What do do?
Rachael (16:03)
Yeah. I think
a lot of it's information overload, so you're not taking in a lot. You forget a lot because you're so overloaded.
Louise (16:12)
Yeah.
Yeah, that's it. And like once you started getting hands on and getting more like more independent, more skills, how was that for men? Like did he like come around and become a decent human?
Rachael (16:26)
he ended up leaving not long. Like he wasn't there for long, kinda thing.
Louise (16:30)
Yeah. I wonder why.
Rachael (16:32)
So
Yeah, so then it like there was another one that came in that was a little bit like that, but I just kind of s like put my head down and worked on the jobs that I was given. You know, it just keeps me keeps me busy and they don't have to bother you as much. Unless
Louise (16:50)
Yeah.
Rachael (16:51)
if there was something I would go and ask someone.
Louise (16:53)
you
Rachael (16:54)
But other than that I just s because he was a little bit like the other one, I'd just try and stay out of his line of sight kind of thing. You know, fly under the radar.
Louise (17:01)
Yeah, was like out of sight. Yeah, that's
it. especially like if there's other texts that you can ask questions to that are kind of like safe
Rachael (17:09)
Yeah.
Louise (17:10)
to ask questions to, you'd gravitate towards
Rachael (17:11)
Yeah.
Louise (17:12)
them anyway.
Rachael (17:14)
Yeah.
That was kind of like what I did. Go
Louise (17:16)
Yeah.
Rachael (17:17)
usually go to those other techs first. and they were always able
Louise (17:19)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, didn't see that. Get that support there.
Rachael (17:23)
to they were always able to help sort come up with a solution so it wouldn't really ever need to go higher which
Louise (17:31)
Yeah.
Rachael (17:31)
made it all right.
Louise (17:33)
Yeah, that's it.
Rachael (17:34)
Yeah.
Louise (17:35)
And I think it's like, it's good to see that you kind of didn't let that supervisor kind of dictate your experience where you're like, cool, like if I don't have to talk to him, then I won't, I have other ways to get the information. Whereas some people are just like, I need to impress my supervisor. I need to be on his good side. I need to be there. But sometimes you just don't, sometimes you just need to get the job done.
Rachael (17:58)
Yeah.
And I've always looked at it like as long as my managers and the boss is happy, that's all that matters. Like there's no need to if you know someone doesn't really like you so much, there's no need to try and impress them so much and bow down to them. As long as your managers and your boss is happy, mainly that the boss is happy,
Louise (18:17)
Yeah.
Rachael (18:18)
then you're doing a good job.
Louise (18:20)
Yeah, that's
it. Everyone else is just like, whatever, and this is the one important person. Yeah.
Rachael (18:27)
Yeah. But
like if you like you still respect though like that form and stuff. Like you respect their position. You may not respect them as a person because that's the kind of experience that you've had. But I've always
Louise (18:40)
Mm-hmm.
Rachael (18:41)
been like I respect their position. So if I do need to do something to go up the chain, I will go to them first.
And then you know, it's always strictly work business. It's nothing, you know, no personal,
Louise (18:52)
yet.
Rachael (18:53)
no it's just about the job. That's it. That's the only thing I'll talk to them about.
Louise (18:56)
Yeah, it's just like kind of more... Yeah, it's more like logistics
and practical and we don't stray from that. Yeah,
Rachael (19:03)
Yeah, exactly.
Louise (19:04)
that's it. yeah, you managed like you did your apprenticeship, head down. Were you at the same workplace your whole apprenticeship?
Rachael (19:13)
No,
so started in Brisbane. and I just did my first year in Brisbane. So I just did the work experience in the first year in Brisbane and then I ended up coming down to Canberra and that's when I continued my apprenticeship as well. working on a new brand. like at a dealership. So
Yeah, the f first stay there was a little bit daunting as well. 'Cause I come in and everyone's just staring at you.
Louise (19:38)
Yes. Were
you the first girl at that workplace? Yeah.
Rachael (19:42)
Yeah, I think. Yeah.
so yeah, everyone's just staring at you because they're like I don't know what it is. The guy's just going to, my god, it's a girl.
Louise (19:52)
my god. It's like we're kind of
like aliens sometimes and it's just like, what is this foreign creature? It's like I have two arms two legs just like you're here to do a job. I don't understand.
Rachael (19:57)
Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
and then their senior tech, like old fella senior tech, seen me on the first day and said to everyone, let's see how long she lasts. But he came around and became like became
Louise (20:17)
That's good.
Rachael (20:20)
like one of my best friends. So
Louise (20:22)
Yeah, that's cool.
Rachael (20:25)
He'd he's still says to this day, he's like, You proved me wrong and you made me see like another side that I shouldn't have judged you straight away and he's like and now like we've become so close. So And especially for
Louise (20:42)
Yeah, that's really cool.
Rachael (20:45)
like an older person who's been in the trades f like
where the mentality was that very sexist and females should never never be in this industry and stuff like that. And to be able to change someone's perspective on that is pretty cool. Like,
Louise (21:02)
yet.
Rachael (21:03)
you know, you're p you're part of changing them as a person for the better kind of thing.
Louise (21:08)
Yeah, that's it. You're giving them that... Ideally, like he said, he acknowledged with himself that he probably shouldn't have judged so
Rachael (21:14)
Yeah.
Louise (21:15)
hard as well, but being part of that process is pretty cool. It's pretty special. Yeah.
Rachael (21:20)
Yeah. sometimes
like when we can we still catch up for dinner and things like that. 'Cause I don't work there anymore, but still kind of like keeping contact and things, so yeah.
Louise (21:32)
Yeah, no,
that's it. That's cool. And so how long were you at that workplace and then what did the transition look like to your next workplace?
Rachael (21:41)
So the place in Canberra, I was there for five years, I think. So that's where I ended up finishing my apprenticeship. And started getting thrown into like a lot of different things kind of thing. Because it's a dealership you get you get a lot of experience.
to all sorts of different problems and you're able to have the workshop manuals there at your disposal kind of thing. So you're able to find information and how to test things and stuff like that. So the first couple of years, I was kind of just on like the servicing work and
Just like little things here and there. And even then doing my apprenticeship there it was a little bit challenging as well because there were other some of the guys in the workshop were a bit a bit like, no, you can't do this or I'd go to do something and they're like, No, no, no, don't do that, that's too heavy kind of thing and they'd just grab it and then do it for me.
Louise (22:36)
Mm.
Rachael (22:37)
Which was hard because like I didn't want anyone to do it for me. And if I
Louise (22:40)
Yeah.
Rachael (22:41)
did need help I would say that I need help
Louise (22:44)
Mm-hmm.
Rachael (22:45)
as well. So that one definitely feels like I did miss a lot of things as well
Louise (22:50)
Yeah.
Rachael (22:50)
when it comes to learning. like when I look back on it now I feel like I missed out on a lot.
Just because of
Louise (22:57)
yet.
Rachael (22:57)
the jobs that I'd get and things like that. And then coming from my third and fourth year into it, I kinda got thrown more into the electrical diagnostic side of things.
Louise (23:08)
you
Rachael (23:10)
so I didn't really get to do like a lot of heavy heavy repairs and things like that. Like yeah, I'd do a couple of gear like gearboxes and did my first engine rebuild there and
things like that but not a lot of say suspension work and stuff like that. I just kinda got thrown more into the dyag and wiring and things like that. So but I think it was also because there wasn't as many people in the wiring and dye so that
same old fella kinda just grabbed me to take me under his wing to train me up to help him out kind of thing. So everything wasn't just left on him. He was training
Louise (23:47)
Yeah.
Rachael (23:48)
me up to be someone that can help take the weight off his workload. So that's
Louise (23:53)
yet.
Rachael (23:53)
why I kinda got kicked down that way. But it's not a bad
Louise (23:56)
Yeah, that's it.
Rachael (23:57)
thing. It's like it's not a bad thing.
Louise (24:00)
Mm-hmm.
Rachael (24:01)
Because what he's taught me is a lot.
Louise (24:04)
Yeah.
Rachael (24:05)
and it did teach me like did help me out with like the gearbox rebuilds and engine rebuilds and stuff like that. so there there was a couple couple things that weren't just wiring or things like that. So
Louise (24:18)
Yeah, that's it. I have the conversation with like a lot of people where like just the fact that a lot of the stuff in the heavy vehicle space you end up specializing whether it's on purpose or not on purpose
Rachael (24:31)
Yeah.
Louise (24:32)
just because there is so much to know and if you wanted to be good at everything or like not like good like but if you wanted to know everything it's an endless it's an endless journey.
Rachael (24:45)
Yeah,
like you never stop learning. And I think if
Louise (24:48)
Yeah.
Rachael (24:48)
you were if you wanted to know how to do say everything, you'd probably have to go to a different couple workplaces to get that experience kind of thing.
Louise (24:59)
Yeah,
definitely.
Rachael (25:01)
But then that's why I went like p I pushed so hard to get into the breakdown side of the work. Just to give me like get me out of the shed, give me something else to do. Like I was ready for that next challenge kind of thing. I was like, I need a challenge. I need something. Yeah. Yeah.
Louise (25:20)
Yes, I need the next thing. I've definitely felt that before. It's like, okay, this is is
cool, but what's next?
Rachael (25:27)
Yeah. I'm like
I need to move on to something else that's out of my comfort zone and just start. So yeah, so that took that took a little bit to push to get into that breakdown work because it did end up coming down to gender because I am a female.
because I would be going out by myself in the middle of the night because most truck drivers are male they like they didn't want me to go out there. But I said like
Louise (25:52)
Yeah.
Rachael (25:53)
I wanna do it. I wanna get out there. I wanna do I just wanna do it.
Louise (25:58)
Yeah,
that's it. You're not unaware of the challenges that, you know, being a female in these spaces. Like, if
Rachael (26:05)
Yeah.
Louise (26:06)
you weren't born yesterday, you know how to manage that side.
Rachael (26:11)
Yeah. Like I get I get that if anything were to happen to me, they would feel absolutely horrible and be like, we could have prevented this by not letting her go out. But I was also like, you know, I'm h I'm doing a trade like everyone else. And the other guys that are in the trade
have been given the opportunity to do the breakdown work when they asked that they wanted to do it. But then I say I wanna do it and they're like, no, because you're a female. But
Louise (26:39)
Yeah.
Rachael (26:40)
anyway, I got my way.
Louise (26:42)
That's
it. How long do you reckon you were kind of like pushing for?
Rachael (26:50)
Probably a couple months or maybe a bit longer.
Louise (26:54)
Yeah.
Rachael (26:55)
to like say like I wanna do it or can I do it? Can I do it and then
I think or they f I don't know, someone I can't remember who, but someone finally gave in and said or it might have been a a new like general manager that we got and
Louise (27:11)
you
Rachael (27:12)
he's like he kinda helped me get into it. Like he was the one that kind of said like as long as you're comfortable doing it, it's okay.
Louise (27:22)
Yeah, that's it.
Rachael (27:22)
So then
since then I I started doing it, started going on like a little bit of a roster. But then they kinda made the roster a little bit unfair. They were like, Okay, this person will be on for three weeks and then you will be on for one week. And then I was just Yeah, I was like, Mm,
Louise (27:35)
That's a bit of a rip-off.
Rachael (27:38)
why not fifty fifty?
Louise (27:40)
Yeah.
Rachael (27:41)
but then that other breakdown tech ended up leaving.
And then it was just me for like a whole year. It was just me on call. And I just said, like, look, I'm happy to be on call every single night, but when I put in annual leave, you have to give me those days off. You know? I was like, that's pretty fair because
Louise (27:59)
Yeah.
Rachael (28:02)
I'm doing every every weekend, public holidays, things like that, Christmas time.
Louise (28:06)
isn't it?
Rachael (28:07)
And if I want time off
you gotta organise someone else like you gotta help organise someone else to fill that time just so I can have the time off. So it was pretty alright. Like th they give me the annual leave whenever I put in the annual leave. Which wasn't very often, but just for, you know, some things and stuff. But yeah, stepping Yeah, yeah.
Louise (28:25)
Yeah, having some type of life, yeah.
Rachael (28:28)
s stepping stepping into the breakdown side of things.
It felt very much, my god, I don't know anything. Yeah,
Louise (28:37)
It's a whole new world.
Rachael (28:39)
it was. It definitely was. I was like, I don't really know anything. So
I was getting all the phone calls from, say, call centres or drivers or things like that and learning to diagnose over the phone and learning to ask what kind of questions and taking payments or making sure that they are that they have accounts and things like that and organise what parts that I need. So I was all doing it all by myself. I mean I just like
just got qualified kind of thing and and started getting out there.
Louise (29:12)
Yeah.
Rachael (29:13)
but yeah, definitely a shock like doing it all myself and just trial and error kind of thing as well. Like figuring things out.
So I had to figure out a lot by myself in the middle of the night when there's nobody to nobody to call and ask for help. You just had to make it happen.
Louise (29:28)
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, yes, yeah.
Try this, try that, try everything in your mind. Maybe Google some online forums to see if anyone had any other ideas, but in the heavy vehicle world, there's not too much. Like in the light vehicle world, I feel like there's a lot of forums that people are like, I've got this fault, whatever. But it's not like
Rachael (29:46)
Yeah. Yeah.
Louise (29:49)
too common to have that like online and available for the heavy vehicle space.
Rachael (29:54)
Yeah, there's not a lot really. You just gotta try and really channel your taf days and remember you know channel it and just be like okay, so we had this system and this is how we tested it or you know, you c you really have to remember about everything that you've ever learnt.
Like you may not have done something before in a breakdown, but you gotta try and use something else to make a resemblance in it to
Louise (30:20)
Mm-hmm.
Rachael (30:20)
then apply those processes to whatever you're trying to fix and do. So I feel like
Louise (30:26)
Yeah, whatever you're trying to find.
Rachael (30:28)
the first six months of doing on call work
was a massive just shake up. But it's what I needed. Like I needed that.
Louise (30:35)
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, you're at that
time when you needed that. Were you... So how old were you at this point? Were you about 24, 25? Or younger?
Rachael (30:50)
Probably younger, I think.
Maybe about twenty two. Twenty two, twenty three, around that. Yeah.
Louise (31:04)
Yeah.
Yeah, that shake up stage. No, that's
Rachael (31:12)
Yeah.
Louise (31:13)
good. Yeah, so you're in there, you're on call, so... And you've been on call in that role since?
Rachael (31:20)
Yeah, so I was I think I did about two years at the last place and then changed jobs and when I came over, I said, Look, I wanna do breakdown work. I'm happy
Louise (31:30)
Mm-hmm.
Rachael (31:31)
to do it. So then still doing breakdown work but just for a whole different brand.
But yeah, still doing it and still doing it to this day. So that's what that's like four years of been doing breakdown work. And I haven't got
Louise (31:44)
Yeah, that's it.
Rachael (31:46)
tired of it yet. Like I'm not sick of it.
Louise (31:48)
Yeah, you kind of found your groove. It's got enough variety in the one roll to keep that kind of part of you tickled and it's just... yeah, you found your groove.
Rachael (31:56)
Yeah. Yeah.
Like some people how they they're really passionate about just transmissions or just engines or things like that. I guess I'm just passionate about broken down trucks. Yeah, like you just get a
Louise (32:10)
Yes, why not? Somebody has to be, right? Yeah, no, that is awesome. And you go like...
Rachael (32:20)
you just it just gives you a buzz like
I call it the breakdown buzz. You just get that.
Louise (32:24)
Yeah.
Rachael (32:26)
Like you're heading out, you're thinking what is it? You get out there, you diagnose, you test, you fix the problem. Sometimes it can be like something big or it can be something small. But at the end of the day, like at the end of it your main goal is to make sure that that truck drives away and it doesn't get towed.
Louise (32:42)
Yep. Yep.
We try and avoid towing. Yes.
Rachael (32:47)
Yeah well I
always have a like a running joke with my partner because he's he's a heavy record driver, so he is the tow truck in our area. And
Louise (32:58)
Yeah.
Rachael (32:59)
I'll come back and then I'll just feel like I didn't need to get that one towed. Didn't didn't need you Yeah. Or he'd be like
Louise (33:04)
I'm doing you out of a job. No.
Rachael (33:08)
He'd be like, can you stop fixing anymore? 'Cause he's like, When are you gonna let us have a toe?
Louise (33:14)
god, that's so good. And you and your partner
Rachael (33:17)
Yeah.
Louise (33:18)
go to a lot of industry events, don't you?
Rachael (33:21)
Yeah, we try to get to a lot of truck shows and truck events that we can get to. Because we just find like you meet a lot of people or especially him being out on the road, he
meets a lot of people through kind of like social media and then these truck events are where you can meet these people in person and
Louise (33:41)
Mm-hmm.
Rachael (33:42)
you know, you just you just catch up with people or
You see people that that you haven't seen at a long time and you meet again and it and you just catch up from where you last left off as well. And it's always such
Louise (33:53)
Yeah, no, I really love them too.
Rachael (33:55)
a yeah, it's such a positive environment as well. And everyone's there
Louise (33:59)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Rachael (34:01)
for the same passion and everyone just loves trucks kind of thing.
Louise (34:05)
Yeah, that's it.
Rachael (34:07)
Yeah, so we do that and then also
go to like the Golden Convoy for kids as well. Like we always make sure that we get out to that one too. And you know, you you represent the your business as well. Like you're out there you're representing your business. It's for a good cause. It all goes f to charity and
It's always really good to put a smile on people's faces, especially the kids when you drive past and things like that. You know? Ta you
Louise (34:37)
Yeah, that's it.
Rachael (34:39)
you you're not working but you're still in your work vehicles kind of thing.
Louise (34:45)
Yep,
it's like the fun part of your job. Or like, you find most
Rachael (34:48)
Yeah.
Louise (34:49)
of your job fun anyway. So, an extra bit of fun. Yeah, that's it. How did-
Rachael (34:51)
Yeah. Yeah. I mean s some of the
I was gonna say some of the managers at work call me crazy because they just say like you come to work, you deal with trucks all day and then in your spare time you're still dealing with trucks for fun. So
Louise (35:06)
Yes.
Rachael (35:10)
we're just always around Yeah.
Louise (35:12)
Yeah, that's it.
How did you go like going to your first like few events? Because I talked to some girls and they're like how like how do I go to an event if I don't know anyone or I've never been before? Like how did you get into going to events?
Rachael (35:29)
do you just mean like truck show kinda things?
Louise (35:31)
truck shows or networking
events that kind of stuff.
Rachael (35:37)
I think with the truck shows well I was a little bit I was a little bit the same like I'm not sure kind of thing and then my partner who is also very very passionate about trucks when I met him he he knew a lot of people around obviously because he
is constantly he goes to pretty much every heavy vehicle workshop. He knows everyone there. He knows a lot of people. And then so I just go with him kind of thing. And we go together and then he introduces me to people and then like I start then you start kind of branching off yourself and then you meet
other people and then introduce them to him and and things like that. So it kinda just starts as a little thing like that. I think it was it's probably like a little push kind of thing.
Louise (36:23)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Rachael (36:25)
to do it. But I feel like if you were to go by yourself or if maybe you wanted to like
create like a little group or something and say like who wants to come with me or things like that.
Louise (36:36)
Yeah.
Rachael (36:36)
You can do it because everyone is like you get there and everyone is so friendly and it's so easy to talk to anyone and you
Louise (36:43)
Yeah.
Rachael (36:43)
just you just chat about trucks and you have a c it's and it's an easy conversation.
Louise (36:48)
Yeah, it's an easy conversation. There is a
conversation starter there already prepped, ready to go. Everyone's got a common ground already from being in that spot. Yeah.
Rachael (36:54)
Yeah. Yeah. Like you could just
walk up to anyone and just say I just walked up to anyone say, What's the payload on this? and then you'll be there for an hour chatting so
Louise (37:07)
Yeah, get a few questions
out and then yep, anyone would be happy to talk to especially like a guy standing next to a lady could be sitting next to the truck but like if they're wearing like the company gear standing next to the company truck they are wanting an excuse to talk about that truck. Yeah. That's it. no.
Rachael (37:23)
yeah, everyone wants to talk about their truck. Everyone wants to talk. Everyone's happy
to chat. You know you're just asking questions. sorry. That's all good.
Louise (37:32)
That's it, it's so good. Well thank you. Yeah. No, that's all again. Just asking questions.
Everyone wants to talk about their truck. It's just, yeah, it's amazing to see. Well
Rachael (37:40)
Yeah. Yeah.
Louise (37:42)
thank you for coming on. Is there anything else you would like to share with the audience before we wrap up?
Rachael (37:50)
I'm not sure. I'm not sure. Like There probably there probably
Louise (37:52)
That's alright, well you should.
Rachael (37:56)
is, but I can't think of anything right now.
Louise (37:59)
Yeah,
no, that's all good. Well, thank you for coming on. Thank you for sharing your journey with us
Rachael (38:03)
That's all right. Thanks for having me.
Louise (38:05)
and your passion for diagnostics and even just that kind of that transition period where you were kind of you threw yourself in the deep end and you embraced
Rachael (38:14)
Yeah.
Louise (38:14)
it and you went for it like that that challenge of learning something new and doing it independently can scare a lot of people but it is possible to get through that
Rachael (38:22)
Yeah. I was definitely scared. Like I was so scared
and just and and I did have the self a lot of self doubt around it. Like, am I good enough for this? kind of thing. But I just
Louise (38:34)
Yeah.
Rachael (38:34)
kept pushing through. Like you just gotta keep pushing through. If you're really passionate about your career and what you wanna do, you gotta get out of those ruts to be able to
Louise (38:42)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, to make it through. Yeah,
Rachael (38:44)
Black for it to be smoky styling, yeah. Yeah.
Louise (38:47)
that's it. And even like, yeah, some of the hard times, like the harder times in your apprenticeship, like once you make it through them, they're kind of like a blip on the radar. They might be, you know, three months in a 30-year career, kind of like looking to the future. And it's just like this tiny little moment that, you know, at the time felt like it was the whole world. But once you make it through it, it's like, yeah, that's cool.
Rachael (39:08)
Yeah.
It builds builds you as a person, like it just adds kind of thing and keeps shaping you to the way that you are. So I don't know, any little hiccup or any little problem, don't really look at it so negatively. Just take it as a learning curve and build on it and use it as experience, I guess. So yeah.
Louise (39:28)
Yeah, no, that's it.
No, all good. Well, yes. Thank you again for coming along and
Rachael (39:33)
Thank you.
Louise (39:33)
Yeah, and anyone in the audience remember if you don't believe in yourself right now, please borrow my belief in you I know you can do anything you put your mind to you might need to have a nap or a snack first But I know you can do it and we will see you next week
I was on the broom every day organizing things, cleaning things and there was a mechanic that just needed some help and he's just like, can you just help me
Put this tail shaft in, I'll hold up you put the bolts on. So he was
Louise (00:17)
Mm-hmm.
Rachael (00:18)
holding it up there while p putting the bolts on and this forming comes past and then he's like, Rachel, get off the effing he's like, get back on the effing broom where you belong. And I was just like, I kind of just went like a bit
Louise (00:37)
Like a bit in shock.
Rachael (00:37)
Maybe like a little bit shock,
And then just kinda like remove myself from the workshop so I could go have a cry.
Louise (00:45)
Welcome back to the Building Confidence Podcast, where I host Louise as a party, what I've learned through the years, through the tears, so you don't have to. This is episode 164 and we're joined by Rachel. Rachel, thanks for joining us. This
Rachael (01:00)
That's all right.
Louise (01:05)
is Rachel's first podcast interview, everyone. That is all.
Rachael (01:08)
No, it's good. It's
it's nice like it's good to talk to you again 'cause we met each other c what maybe like four years ago, I think. Something
Louise (01:16)
Yeah, I think so.
Rachael (01:18)
like that. And then just been catching up at whatever event truck events or things like that that we
Louise (01:23)
Yeah.
Rachael (01:24)
can. So yeah. It's good to catch up again.
Louise (01:25)
Yeah, that's it. Yeah.
It's definitely, I did an Instagram story like before this and I'm like, I love interviewing like trade someone on the podcast because one, most of the time I'm interviewing my friends or two, I'm meeting someone really cool. So it doesn't even feel like I'm working. That's it.
Rachael (01:39)
Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Yeah.
Louise (01:44)
Okay. So Rachel, what are you doing now?
Rachael (01:48)
At the moment I'm just working as a dealership tech and also doing the breakdown sides of things as well for the dealership. So that's probably my biggest passion is the breakdowns the breakdown work. because
Louise (02:05)
Yeah.
Rachael (02:06)
Before before I started doing breakdowns, it was getting to a little bit of a point where I was like, am I enjoying this still or should I find something else? And then I got the opportunity that I had to push for to get out there on the road. And since then it kinda gave me like a second win for the trade.
Louise (02:24)
yet.
Rachael (02:25)
and just been like loving that part of the trade ever since. So I still do
Louise (02:29)
yet.
Rachael (02:30)
the twenty-four hour call out work now.
Louise (02:33)
Yeah.
That's it. Well, like,
if you love it, I think like the... like some people like repetitive work and some people like variety. And I think like
Rachael (02:42)
Yeah.
Louise (02:43)
some workshop based work, can't like you do do a bit of diagnostics in the workshop, but it can get a bit more repetitive of more like those services, mid-lives, you know,
Rachael (02:51)
Yeah.
Louise (02:52)
the same predicted fault recalls. But when you're out in the field doing like diagnostic stuff, it's like every day is a surprise.
Rachael (03:00)
Yeah.
You just never know what you're gonna rock up to. Like you're constantly thinking so like you hear what comes in, what the issue is, and you you just have to make sure that you're pretty certain of what it could be, so you're not having to drive back somewhere and get the right part or things like that. You need to
like really good at problem solving based on the information that you're getting. And sometimes it's not much information but you can work off it and you just bring anything and everything that it could be before you actually get to the truck. So yeah.
Louise (03:34)
Yeah, that's it. And
the dealership that you work for, you work on the truck like from end to end, don't you?
Rachael (03:40)
Yeah, like whole vehicle, or it doesn't matter what it is, like yes we're a dealership, but we may do other things like trailers as well. or some other brands and things like that, if they bring it in, we'll just do it.
Or there was one time that I did go up to Perishha and they had one of our brand's engine in a snow groomer machine. So I had to go up to Perishha to go get that started. And I drove up there
And it's just like road clothes because the rest of the road is snow. So
Louise (04:13)
Mm-hmm.
Rachael (04:14)
then the machine was in the snow. So they I just grabbed the backpack with a computer, couple tools, things like that. And then they just drove me up in a little snowmobile buggy thing to get to it. got it started, got it moved back down to the car park so then I could actually
get a bit more in depth with it and had all my tools there. So yeah, you just never know what you're gonna get. Which is pretty cool. Yeah, I definitely made sure
Louise (04:36)
Yeah, that's it. Yeah, you've told me that story before. I love that one. That's a cool That's it.
Rachael (04:43)
to take many a lot of photos of it just because it's so unusual. Like it's not a truck, but it's something so different. So yeah.
Louise (04:53)
Yeah,
that's it. I did a little bit of field service work myself, it was mostly like we were all servicing farms and stuff. But every
Rachael (05:01)
Yeah.
Louise (05:01)
now and then you'd get something a bit random that was like, okay, this old guy has this in his back shed and he wants it to move now and it hasn't moved for a very
Rachael (05:09)
Yeah.
Louise (05:10)
long time. Can you do that?
No, that's it. So now you're a diagnostic tech, you are working on really cool things. How did this all start for you?
Rachael (05:24)
So while I was in probably my final years of high school, I w I wasn't actually sure what I wanted to do. But during
school I decided to take like the vet pathway which is the certificate pathway and I was already doing I was doing a search to in engineering there so a lot of metal fabrication work and things like that. And then one of the career
guidance counselors came up to me and she said, Look, there's a CERT 2 in heavy commercial diesel going on or is about to happen. Would you like to do it? And I just said, Yeah, sure. I'll give it a crack. So then I did that, which was through TAFE Queensland. And I was doing that
while I was at school as well and completing all my other certificates and it got to a point where the school was like, you gotta either choose one or the other when it comes to your certificates because you can't you're doing too much. So then I did end up dropping one, completed the cert two in the heavy vehicle.
took back took the other certificate back up, completed that as well. And I got
Louise (06:31)
Mm-hmm.
Rachael (06:32)
like I got everything done. Like I was already over what I needed to be able to graduate. But I think it's because one of the head of departments said she said to me, she's like, if you do this you're never gonna graduate. She's
Louise (06:46)
Hmm.
Rachael (06:47)
like, you're not gonna make it
and that was enough to just say, well, I'm gonna do it all anyway. Like I'm just gonna get it all done anyway. And I did. So yeah, so then through the cert two, we had to do a work experience. And I got in with the place that I wanted to do work experience at.
Which was really cool, like a big eye opener of what the actual trade is like. And by the end of my work experience they offered me an apprenticeship to start the following year. And I said, Yep, I'll do it.
Louise (07:18)
Mm-hmm.
Rachael (07:18)
And
Yeah, so the next year came around, so graduate school next year came around and to get into that place I did have to push a little bit to get like to get the job. Even though that they said that they're happy to take me on, I still had to push and say, like, when do you want me to start? When do you want me to start? And they're just like, just not yet and then another week would roll by and
I'm happy to start right now and st then they eventually said, Okay, yep, time to come in, like so then I quit my other jobs and
Louise (07:50)
Yeah.
Rachael (07:52)
and started my apprenticeship. 'Cause I was like
Louise (07:53)
Yo.
Rachael (07:55)
always employed from like when I was sixteen, so
I've always I've always had a job and just made sure like once I was set on a start date with my apprenticeship then I resigned from the others and moved into it. So
Louise (08:10)
Yeah.
Rachael (08:11)
yeah.
Louise (08:10)
No, that's it. And I think
that's one of the things that can kind of get like adults and you know, even if you're after high school and it's not like straight after high school, it's like, are you doing in that in between while you're waiting? And like some companies like
Rachael (08:22)
Yeah.
Louise (08:23)
big dealerships often have like, okay, we start our kind of recruitment process in like June for people to start at the end of January. And that's like a formal process. It's like, what do do while you're waiting for that?
Rachael (08:37)
Yeah.
I don't I don't think they had like a formal process for that because the plu like the place I was working at wasn't it wasn't really a dealership kind of thing but
Louise (08:47)
Mm-hmm.
Rachael (08:48)
it was big enough that there was like enough work and stuff like that. So they'd they didn't really have like a recruitment thing. It was just because I did the work experience with them, they offered it to me and said like, look
if you want to start next year. But then I was just like, I'm ready to s when it was the next year, I was like, I'm ready to start. I'm ready to go. Yeah, so that was a yeah. Yeah, bit of a Death straight
Louise (09:06)
I'm waiting. Let me know when I can come That's it. So you had that transition Yeah that transition from There you go
Rachael (09:20)
from school and then sh pretty much like
You're so used to finishing school and then obviously have your school holidays. but then from there straight into full time work in the I think I did start in the January so of that year. I think it was
Louise (09:33)
Yeah.
Rachael (09:34)
it was twenty eighteen. January twenty eighteen
Louise (09:36)
Yeah.
Rachael (09:37)
is when I started in the trade, so
Louise (09:39)
Yeah, nice. No,
it's good. It's like sometimes you're moving so quick. It's just like those finer details of like when you started and all that kind of thing. They become like distant history. Like you're so in the now that it's like, yeah, that's it. But.
Rachael (09:51)
Yeah, it's so blurry. Yeah. It's really hard to remember
back but they're definitely
Louise (09:58)
Mm.
Rachael (09:59)
like there's definitely a couple things that I do remember. Like most of the cr most of the team there was really good. and especially their other apprentices that they had at the time. They were always like happy to teach me as well and
never put me down and stuff but there was one form in that we had and that was a bit challenging.
Louise (10:19)
Yeah.
Rachael (10:22)
Cause all I remember just one day I was just cleaning 'cause I spent like the first six months just cleaning. Didn't touch any tools,
Louise (10:29)
Thank you.
Rachael (10:30)
didn't really get onto anything. I was on the broom every day organizing things, cleaning things and there was a mechanic that just needed some help and he's just like, can you just help me
Put this tail shaft in, I'll hold up you put the bolts on. So he was
Louise (10:44)
Mm-hmm.
Rachael (10:44)
holding it up there while p putting the bolts on and this forming comes past and then he's like, Rachel, get off the effing he's like, get back on the effing broom where you belong. And I was just like, I kind of just went like a bit
Louise (11:00)
Like a bit in shock. Yeah.
Rachael (11:00)
Maybe like a little bit shock, yeah.
And then just kinda like remove myself from the workshop so I could go have a cry.
Louise (11:11)
Yeah. Yeah.
I've been in that series of events before, yes.
Rachael (11:17)
Yeah, just like I was like I was cleaning and not really doing anything productive. Someone needed help to like just get the job done. And it was nothing big or anything. And then I just get yelled at for that. Because I was helping. I was there for like thirty seconds and he didn't just come scream at me. But then one of the other tests counted came and found me and then he
He just made sure I was okay and he said like what he said to you was not on like there's absolutely no need for that. Like you
Louise (11:47)
Yeah.
Rachael (11:48)
don't need to be like that to people. So yeah, and I think after I had my cry I picked myself back up and kept going on with the day.
Louise (11:56)
Yeah,
that's it. When did it start to transition to more on the tools rather than on the broom for you?
Rachael (12:06)
I think
Probably around that six month mark. so I think it was like a six month probation and then around the six month mark that same foreman came up to me and he's
Louise (12:19)
Mm-hmm.
Rachael (12:19)
like, So you think you wanna be a diesel mechanic? I was like, Yes. I'm still here. I'm still
Louise (12:24)
Yeah, I've been here for six months.
Rachael (12:27)
here.
And then he's like, Well, today you're gonna jump in the truck and move it.
Okay, I'll do it. And since then, like I was on with other techs and stuff like that. So I was with other techs for maybe a couple months after that. And then I got given my first job by myself, which was just a water pump on a little workmate Hilux. Just to do that, give
Louise (12:52)
Mm-hmm, yep.
Rachael (12:54)
it a go. And I got that done.
And then my next kind of like big job majority by myself after that was a it was a defense heavy wreck like a defence heavy tow truck.
that one of the winches on it wasn't working, so you had to pull the whole toolbox off the side, which was undo all the hydraulic lines for like the controls for it. Then we had an overhead crate, so we slung put that on slings and took the whole toolbox off. But I did all the work of undoing absolutely everything. Then
Obviously grabbed some other people to help when it came to using the crane so someone could be on either side making sure it's not gonna hit anything and
The winch got changed over, the toolbox got put back on the side and put everything back together. So like all the hydraulic lines back on where they need to go and stuff like that. And they tested it and everything was perfectly fine. So that was like my first real big win in the trade. As a first year.
Louise (13:57)
Yeah, that's as a first year. Yeah,
because everything like I think it's really good to kind of reflect in just like in calibration with where you're at. Like now looking
Rachael (14:08)
Yeah.
Louise (14:09)
at it, if you did something like that, you'd be like, cool, like another day. But like when you were a first year, like, holy shit, like, look at it. It's working after I pulled it apart and put it back together. And you're like, look what I did.
Rachael (14:21)
Yeah,
there was like that many hydraulic lines going to these hand controls because it was o like it was old school setup as well, so there's just a lot of a lot of hydraulic lines and wires and things like that. So yeah, that was pretty cool and then it
Then they got they tested the winch and all that stuff which worked perfectly fine and made sure it pulled properly and yeah, so and
Louise (14:47)
Yeah, no, that's awesome.
Rachael (14:48)
yeah, and then started doing a lot of we did a lot of trailer work as well. So
These trailers would come in from the auctions, we'd completely strip them down. There may have been like two of us on it. Just so we could either work on s on either side and then just work our way down and rip all the wheels off, rip all the hubs, all the brakes and do all the bushings in it and things like that. So yeah, that was really good to just get in and like
Louise (15:14)
Yeah.
Get it done. Yeah. And getting familiar
Rachael (15:14)
Smash it out kind of thing. Yeah.
Louise (15:18)
with stuff like that, like, I think when you're doing like repetitive work, I think a lot of people like discredit how important becoming familiar with something is. once
Rachael (15:27)
Yeah.
Louise (15:28)
you know exactly how it's supposed to look like and like its second nature pulling it apart and putting it back together, it helps so much later on with the actual diagnostics. It's like, you really, really know what's going on.
Rachael (15:37)
Yeah. Yeah.
But it definitely does feel like your first year is to where I'm now, looking back, your first year is such a blur. Like it's like I can't really remember much else that I did in my first year. Like so it
Louise (15:53)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, that's it. I like to say that it's
like being dunked by a wave in the beach. Like you just got so much stuff coming at you and you're like, okay, where do I look? Where do I put my feet? What do do?
Rachael (16:03)
Yeah. I think
a lot of it's information overload, so you're not taking in a lot. You forget a lot because you're so overloaded.
Louise (16:12)
Yeah.
Yeah, that's it. And like once you started getting hands on and getting more like more independent, more skills, how was that for men? Like did he like come around and become a decent human?
Rachael (16:26)
he ended up leaving not long. Like he wasn't there for long, kinda thing.
Louise (16:30)
Yeah. I wonder why.
Rachael (16:32)
So
Yeah, so then it like there was another one that came in that was a little bit like that, but I just kind of s like put my head down and worked on the jobs that I was given. You know, it just keeps me keeps me busy and they don't have to bother you as much. Unless
Louise (16:50)
Yeah.
Rachael (16:51)
if there was something I would go and ask someone.
Louise (16:53)
you
Rachael (16:54)
But other than that I just s because he was a little bit like the other one, I'd just try and stay out of his line of sight kind of thing. You know, fly under the radar.
Louise (17:01)
Yeah, was like out of sight. Yeah, that's
it. especially like if there's other texts that you can ask questions to that are kind of like safe
Rachael (17:09)
Yeah.
Louise (17:10)
to ask questions to, you'd gravitate towards
Rachael (17:11)
Yeah.
Louise (17:12)
them anyway.
Rachael (17:14)
Yeah.
That was kind of like what I did. Go
Louise (17:16)
Yeah.
Rachael (17:17)
usually go to those other techs first. and they were always able
Louise (17:19)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, didn't see that. Get that support there.
Rachael (17:23)
to they were always able to help sort come up with a solution so it wouldn't really ever need to go higher which
Louise (17:31)
Yeah.
Rachael (17:31)
made it all right.
Louise (17:33)
Yeah, that's it.
Rachael (17:34)
Yeah.
Louise (17:35)
And I think it's like, it's good to see that you kind of didn't let that supervisor kind of dictate your experience where you're like, cool, like if I don't have to talk to him, then I won't, I have other ways to get the information. Whereas some people are just like, I need to impress my supervisor. I need to be on his good side. I need to be there. But sometimes you just don't, sometimes you just need to get the job done.
Rachael (17:58)
Yeah.
And I've always looked at it like as long as my managers and the boss is happy, that's all that matters. Like there's no need to if you know someone doesn't really like you so much, there's no need to try and impress them so much and bow down to them. As long as your managers and your boss is happy, mainly that the boss is happy,
Louise (18:17)
Yeah.
Rachael (18:18)
then you're doing a good job.
Louise (18:20)
Yeah, that's
it. Everyone else is just like, whatever, and this is the one important person. Yeah.
Rachael (18:27)
Yeah. But
like if you like you still respect though like that form and stuff. Like you respect their position. You may not respect them as a person because that's the kind of experience that you've had. But I've always
Louise (18:40)
Mm-hmm.
Rachael (18:41)
been like I respect their position. So if I do need to do something to go up the chain, I will go to them first.
And then you know, it's always strictly work business. It's nothing, you know, no personal,
Louise (18:52)
yet.
Rachael (18:53)
no it's just about the job. That's it. That's the only thing I'll talk to them about.
Louise (18:56)
Yeah, it's just like kind of more... Yeah, it's more like logistics
and practical and we don't stray from that. Yeah,
Rachael (19:03)
Yeah, exactly.
Louise (19:04)
that's it. yeah, you managed like you did your apprenticeship, head down. Were you at the same workplace your whole apprenticeship?
Rachael (19:13)
No,
so started in Brisbane. and I just did my first year in Brisbane. So I just did the work experience in the first year in Brisbane and then I ended up coming down to Canberra and that's when I continued my apprenticeship as well. working on a new brand. like at a dealership. So
Yeah, the f first stay there was a little bit daunting as well. 'Cause I come in and everyone's just staring at you.
Louise (19:38)
Yes. Were
you the first girl at that workplace? Yeah.
Rachael (19:42)
Yeah, I think. Yeah.
so yeah, everyone's just staring at you because they're like I don't know what it is. The guy's just going to, my god, it's a girl.
Louise (19:52)
my god. It's like we're kind of
like aliens sometimes and it's just like, what is this foreign creature? It's like I have two arms two legs just like you're here to do a job. I don't understand.
Rachael (19:57)
Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
and then their senior tech, like old fella senior tech, seen me on the first day and said to everyone, let's see how long she lasts. But he came around and became like became
Louise (20:17)
That's good.
Rachael (20:20)
like one of my best friends. So
Louise (20:22)
Yeah, that's cool.
Rachael (20:25)
He'd he's still says to this day, he's like, You proved me wrong and you made me see like another side that I shouldn't have judged you straight away and he's like and now like we've become so close. So And especially for
Louise (20:42)
Yeah, that's really cool.
Rachael (20:45)
like an older person who's been in the trades f like
where the mentality was that very sexist and females should never never be in this industry and stuff like that. And to be able to change someone's perspective on that is pretty cool. Like,
Louise (21:02)
yet.
Rachael (21:03)
you know, you're p you're part of changing them as a person for the better kind of thing.
Louise (21:08)
Yeah, that's it. You're giving them that... Ideally, like he said, he acknowledged with himself that he probably shouldn't have judged so
Rachael (21:14)
Yeah.
Louise (21:15)
hard as well, but being part of that process is pretty cool. It's pretty special. Yeah.
Rachael (21:20)
Yeah. sometimes
like when we can we still catch up for dinner and things like that. 'Cause I don't work there anymore, but still kind of like keeping contact and things, so yeah.
Louise (21:32)
Yeah, no,
that's it. That's cool. And so how long were you at that workplace and then what did the transition look like to your next workplace?
Rachael (21:41)
So the place in Canberra, I was there for five years, I think. So that's where I ended up finishing my apprenticeship. And started getting thrown into like a lot of different things kind of thing. Because it's a dealership you get you get a lot of experience.
to all sorts of different problems and you're able to have the workshop manuals there at your disposal kind of thing. So you're able to find information and how to test things and stuff like that. So the first couple of years, I was kind of just on like the servicing work and
Just like little things here and there. And even then doing my apprenticeship there it was a little bit challenging as well because there were other some of the guys in the workshop were a bit a bit like, no, you can't do this or I'd go to do something and they're like, No, no, no, don't do that, that's too heavy kind of thing and they'd just grab it and then do it for me.
Louise (22:36)
Mm.
Rachael (22:37)
Which was hard because like I didn't want anyone to do it for me. And if I
Louise (22:40)
Yeah.
Rachael (22:41)
did need help I would say that I need help
Louise (22:44)
Mm-hmm.
Rachael (22:45)
as well. So that one definitely feels like I did miss a lot of things as well
Louise (22:50)
Yeah.
Rachael (22:50)
when it comes to learning. like when I look back on it now I feel like I missed out on a lot.
Just because of
Louise (22:57)
yet.
Rachael (22:57)
the jobs that I'd get and things like that. And then coming from my third and fourth year into it, I kinda got thrown more into the electrical diagnostic side of things.
Louise (23:08)
you
Rachael (23:10)
so I didn't really get to do like a lot of heavy heavy repairs and things like that. Like yeah, I'd do a couple of gear like gearboxes and did my first engine rebuild there and
things like that but not a lot of say suspension work and stuff like that. I just kinda got thrown more into the dyag and wiring and things like that. So but I think it was also because there wasn't as many people in the wiring and dye so that
same old fella kinda just grabbed me to take me under his wing to train me up to help him out kind of thing. So everything wasn't just left on him. He was training
Louise (23:47)
Yeah.
Rachael (23:48)
me up to be someone that can help take the weight off his workload. So that's
Louise (23:53)
yet.
Rachael (23:53)
why I kinda got kicked down that way. But it's not a bad
Louise (23:56)
Yeah, that's it.
Rachael (23:57)
thing. It's like it's not a bad thing.
Louise (24:00)
Mm-hmm.
Rachael (24:01)
Because what he's taught me is a lot.
Louise (24:04)
Yeah.
Rachael (24:05)
and it did teach me like did help me out with like the gearbox rebuilds and engine rebuilds and stuff like that. so there there was a couple couple things that weren't just wiring or things like that. So
Louise (24:18)
Yeah, that's it. I have the conversation with like a lot of people where like just the fact that a lot of the stuff in the heavy vehicle space you end up specializing whether it's on purpose or not on purpose
Rachael (24:31)
Yeah.
Louise (24:32)
just because there is so much to know and if you wanted to be good at everything or like not like good like but if you wanted to know everything it's an endless it's an endless journey.
Rachael (24:45)
Yeah,
like you never stop learning. And I think if
Louise (24:48)
Yeah.
Rachael (24:48)
you were if you wanted to know how to do say everything, you'd probably have to go to a different couple workplaces to get that experience kind of thing.
Louise (24:59)
Yeah,
definitely.
Rachael (25:01)
But then that's why I went like p I pushed so hard to get into the breakdown side of the work. Just to give me like get me out of the shed, give me something else to do. Like I was ready for that next challenge kind of thing. I was like, I need a challenge. I need something. Yeah. Yeah.
Louise (25:20)
Yes, I need the next thing. I've definitely felt that before. It's like, okay, this is is
cool, but what's next?
Rachael (25:27)
Yeah. I'm like
I need to move on to something else that's out of my comfort zone and just start. So yeah, so that took that took a little bit to push to get into that breakdown work because it did end up coming down to gender because I am a female.
because I would be going out by myself in the middle of the night because most truck drivers are male they like they didn't want me to go out there. But I said like
Louise (25:52)
Yeah.
Rachael (25:53)
I wanna do it. I wanna get out there. I wanna do I just wanna do it.
Louise (25:58)
Yeah,
that's it. You're not unaware of the challenges that, you know, being a female in these spaces. Like, if
Rachael (26:05)
Yeah.
Louise (26:06)
you weren't born yesterday, you know how to manage that side.
Rachael (26:11)
Yeah. Like I get I get that if anything were to happen to me, they would feel absolutely horrible and be like, we could have prevented this by not letting her go out. But I was also like, you know, I'm h I'm doing a trade like everyone else. And the other guys that are in the trade
have been given the opportunity to do the breakdown work when they asked that they wanted to do it. But then I say I wanna do it and they're like, no, because you're a female. But
Louise (26:39)
Yeah.
Rachael (26:40)
anyway, I got my way.
Louise (26:42)
That's
it. How long do you reckon you were kind of like pushing for?
Rachael (26:50)
Probably a couple months or maybe a bit longer.
Louise (26:54)
Yeah.
Rachael (26:55)
to like say like I wanna do it or can I do it? Can I do it and then
I think or they f I don't know, someone I can't remember who, but someone finally gave in and said or it might have been a a new like general manager that we got and
Louise (27:11)
you
Rachael (27:12)
he's like he kinda helped me get into it. Like he was the one that kind of said like as long as you're comfortable doing it, it's okay.
Louise (27:22)
Yeah, that's it.
Rachael (27:22)
So then
since then I I started doing it, started going on like a little bit of a roster. But then they kinda made the roster a little bit unfair. They were like, Okay, this person will be on for three weeks and then you will be on for one week. And then I was just Yeah, I was like, Mm,
Louise (27:35)
That's a bit of a rip-off.
Rachael (27:38)
why not fifty fifty?
Louise (27:40)
Yeah.
Rachael (27:41)
but then that other breakdown tech ended up leaving.
And then it was just me for like a whole year. It was just me on call. And I just said, like, look, I'm happy to be on call every single night, but when I put in annual leave, you have to give me those days off. You know? I was like, that's pretty fair because
Louise (27:59)
Yeah.
Rachael (28:02)
I'm doing every every weekend, public holidays, things like that, Christmas time.
Louise (28:06)
isn't it?
Rachael (28:07)
And if I want time off
you gotta organise someone else like you gotta help organise someone else to fill that time just so I can have the time off. So it was pretty alright. Like th they give me the annual leave whenever I put in the annual leave. Which wasn't very often, but just for, you know, some things and stuff. But yeah, stepping Yeah, yeah.
Louise (28:25)
Yeah, having some type of life, yeah.
Rachael (28:28)
s stepping stepping into the breakdown side of things.
It felt very much, my god, I don't know anything. Yeah,
Louise (28:37)
It's a whole new world.
Rachael (28:39)
it was. It definitely was. I was like, I don't really know anything. So
I was getting all the phone calls from, say, call centres or drivers or things like that and learning to diagnose over the phone and learning to ask what kind of questions and taking payments or making sure that they are that they have accounts and things like that and organise what parts that I need. So I was all doing it all by myself. I mean I just like
just got qualified kind of thing and and started getting out there.
Louise (29:12)
Yeah.
Rachael (29:13)
but yeah, definitely a shock like doing it all myself and just trial and error kind of thing as well. Like figuring things out.
So I had to figure out a lot by myself in the middle of the night when there's nobody to nobody to call and ask for help. You just had to make it happen.
Louise (29:28)
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, yes, yeah.
Try this, try that, try everything in your mind. Maybe Google some online forums to see if anyone had any other ideas, but in the heavy vehicle world, there's not too much. Like in the light vehicle world, I feel like there's a lot of forums that people are like, I've got this fault, whatever. But it's not like
Rachael (29:46)
Yeah. Yeah.
Louise (29:49)
too common to have that like online and available for the heavy vehicle space.
Rachael (29:54)
Yeah, there's not a lot really. You just gotta try and really channel your taf days and remember you know channel it and just be like okay, so we had this system and this is how we tested it or you know, you c you really have to remember about everything that you've ever learnt.
Like you may not have done something before in a breakdown, but you gotta try and use something else to make a resemblance in it to
Louise (30:20)
Mm-hmm.
Rachael (30:20)
then apply those processes to whatever you're trying to fix and do. So I feel like
Louise (30:26)
Yeah, whatever you're trying to find.
Rachael (30:28)
the first six months of doing on call work
was a massive just shake up. But it's what I needed. Like I needed that.
Louise (30:35)
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, you're at that
time when you needed that. Were you... So how old were you at this point? Were you about 24, 25? Or younger?
Rachael (30:50)
Probably younger, I think.
Maybe about twenty two. Twenty two, twenty three, around that. Yeah.
Louise (31:04)
Yeah.
Yeah, that shake up stage. No, that's
Rachael (31:12)
Yeah.
Louise (31:13)
good. Yeah, so you're in there, you're on call, so... And you've been on call in that role since?
Rachael (31:20)
Yeah, so I was I think I did about two years at the last place and then changed jobs and when I came over, I said, Look, I wanna do breakdown work. I'm happy
Louise (31:30)
Mm-hmm.
Rachael (31:31)
to do it. So then still doing breakdown work but just for a whole different brand.
But yeah, still doing it and still doing it to this day. So that's what that's like four years of been doing breakdown work. And I haven't got
Louise (31:44)
Yeah, that's it.
Rachael (31:46)
tired of it yet. Like I'm not sick of it.
Louise (31:48)
Yeah, you kind of found your groove. It's got enough variety in the one roll to keep that kind of part of you tickled and it's just... yeah, you found your groove.
Rachael (31:56)
Yeah. Yeah.
Like some people how they they're really passionate about just transmissions or just engines or things like that. I guess I'm just passionate about broken down trucks. Yeah, like you just get a
Louise (32:10)
Yes, why not? Somebody has to be, right? Yeah, no, that is awesome. And you go like...
Rachael (32:20)
you just it just gives you a buzz like
I call it the breakdown buzz. You just get that.
Louise (32:24)
Yeah.
Rachael (32:26)
Like you're heading out, you're thinking what is it? You get out there, you diagnose, you test, you fix the problem. Sometimes it can be like something big or it can be something small. But at the end of the day, like at the end of it your main goal is to make sure that that truck drives away and it doesn't get towed.
Louise (32:42)
Yep. Yep.
We try and avoid towing. Yes.
Rachael (32:47)
Yeah well I
always have a like a running joke with my partner because he's he's a heavy record driver, so he is the tow truck in our area. And
Louise (32:58)
Yeah.
Rachael (32:59)
I'll come back and then I'll just feel like I didn't need to get that one towed. Didn't didn't need you Yeah. Or he'd be like
Louise (33:04)
I'm doing you out of a job. No.
Rachael (33:08)
He'd be like, can you stop fixing anymore? 'Cause he's like, When are you gonna let us have a toe?
Louise (33:14)
god, that's so good. And you and your partner
Rachael (33:17)
Yeah.
Louise (33:18)
go to a lot of industry events, don't you?
Rachael (33:21)
Yeah, we try to get to a lot of truck shows and truck events that we can get to. Because we just find like you meet a lot of people or especially him being out on the road, he
meets a lot of people through kind of like social media and then these truck events are where you can meet these people in person and
Louise (33:41)
Mm-hmm.
Rachael (33:42)
you know, you just you just catch up with people or
You see people that that you haven't seen at a long time and you meet again and it and you just catch up from where you last left off as well. And it's always such
Louise (33:53)
Yeah, no, I really love them too.
Rachael (33:55)
a yeah, it's such a positive environment as well. And everyone's there
Louise (33:59)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Rachael (34:01)
for the same passion and everyone just loves trucks kind of thing.
Louise (34:05)
Yeah, that's it.
Rachael (34:07)
Yeah, so we do that and then also
go to like the Golden Convoy for kids as well. Like we always make sure that we get out to that one too. And you know, you you represent the your business as well. Like you're out there you're representing your business. It's for a good cause. It all goes f to charity and
It's always really good to put a smile on people's faces, especially the kids when you drive past and things like that. You know? Ta you
Louise (34:37)
Yeah, that's it.
Rachael (34:39)
you you're not working but you're still in your work vehicles kind of thing.
Louise (34:45)
Yep,
it's like the fun part of your job. Or like, you find most
Rachael (34:48)
Yeah.
Louise (34:49)
of your job fun anyway. So, an extra bit of fun. Yeah, that's it. How did-
Rachael (34:51)
Yeah. Yeah. I mean s some of the
I was gonna say some of the managers at work call me crazy because they just say like you come to work, you deal with trucks all day and then in your spare time you're still dealing with trucks for fun. So
Louise (35:06)
Yes.
Rachael (35:10)
we're just always around Yeah.
Louise (35:12)
Yeah, that's it.
How did you go like going to your first like few events? Because I talked to some girls and they're like how like how do I go to an event if I don't know anyone or I've never been before? Like how did you get into going to events?
Rachael (35:29)
do you just mean like truck show kinda things?
Louise (35:31)
truck shows or networking
events that kind of stuff.
Rachael (35:37)
I think with the truck shows well I was a little bit I was a little bit the same like I'm not sure kind of thing and then my partner who is also very very passionate about trucks when I met him he he knew a lot of people around obviously because he
is constantly he goes to pretty much every heavy vehicle workshop. He knows everyone there. He knows a lot of people. And then so I just go with him kind of thing. And we go together and then he introduces me to people and then like I start then you start kind of branching off yourself and then you meet
other people and then introduce them to him and and things like that. So it kinda just starts as a little thing like that. I think it was it's probably like a little push kind of thing.
Louise (36:23)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Rachael (36:25)
to do it. But I feel like if you were to go by yourself or if maybe you wanted to like
create like a little group or something and say like who wants to come with me or things like that.
Louise (36:36)
Yeah.
Rachael (36:36)
You can do it because everyone is like you get there and everyone is so friendly and it's so easy to talk to anyone and you
Louise (36:43)
Yeah.
Rachael (36:43)
just you just chat about trucks and you have a c it's and it's an easy conversation.
Louise (36:48)
Yeah, it's an easy conversation. There is a
conversation starter there already prepped, ready to go. Everyone's got a common ground already from being in that spot. Yeah.
Rachael (36:54)
Yeah. Yeah. Like you could just
walk up to anyone and just say I just walked up to anyone say, What's the payload on this? and then you'll be there for an hour chatting so
Louise (37:07)
Yeah, get a few questions
out and then yep, anyone would be happy to talk to especially like a guy standing next to a lady could be sitting next to the truck but like if they're wearing like the company gear standing next to the company truck they are wanting an excuse to talk about that truck. Yeah. That's it. no.
Rachael (37:23)
yeah, everyone wants to talk about their truck. Everyone wants to talk. Everyone's happy
to chat. You know you're just asking questions. sorry. That's all good.
Louise (37:32)
That's it, it's so good. Well thank you. Yeah. No, that's all again. Just asking questions.
Everyone wants to talk about their truck. It's just, yeah, it's amazing to see. Well
Rachael (37:40)
Yeah. Yeah.
Louise (37:42)
thank you for coming on. Is there anything else you would like to share with the audience before we wrap up?
Rachael (37:50)
I'm not sure. I'm not sure. Like There probably there probably
Louise (37:52)
That's alright, well you should.
Rachael (37:56)
is, but I can't think of anything right now.
Louise (37:59)
Yeah,
no, that's all good. Well, thank you for coming on. Thank you for sharing your journey with us
Rachael (38:03)
That's all right. Thanks for having me.
Louise (38:05)
and your passion for diagnostics and even just that kind of that transition period where you were kind of you threw yourself in the deep end and you embraced
Rachael (38:14)
Yeah.
Louise (38:14)
it and you went for it like that that challenge of learning something new and doing it independently can scare a lot of people but it is possible to get through that
Rachael (38:22)
Yeah. I was definitely scared. Like I was so scared
and just and and I did have the self a lot of self doubt around it. Like, am I good enough for this? kind of thing. But I just
Louise (38:34)
Yeah.
Rachael (38:34)
kept pushing through. Like you just gotta keep pushing through. If you're really passionate about your career and what you wanna do, you gotta get out of those ruts to be able to
Louise (38:42)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, to make it through. Yeah,
Rachael (38:44)
Black for it to be smoky styling, yeah. Yeah.
Louise (38:47)
that's it. And even like, yeah, some of the hard times, like the harder times in your apprenticeship, like once you make it through them, they're kind of like a blip on the radar. They might be, you know, three months in a 30-year career, kind of like looking to the future. And it's just like this tiny little moment that, you know, at the time felt like it was the whole world. But once you make it through it, it's like, yeah, that's cool.
Rachael (39:08)
Yeah.
It builds builds you as a person, like it just adds kind of thing and keeps shaping you to the way that you are. So I don't know, any little hiccup or any little problem, don't really look at it so negatively. Just take it as a learning curve and build on it and use it as experience, I guess. So yeah.
Louise (39:28)
Yeah, no, that's it.
No, all good. Well, yes. Thank you again for coming along and
Rachael (39:33)
Thank you.
Louise (39:33)
Yeah, and anyone in the audience remember if you don't believe in yourself right now, please borrow my belief in you I know you can do anything you put your mind to you might need to have a nap or a snack first But I know you can do it and we will see you next week
