# Careers > Roles by department, the trades that transfer in, how cross training works, and how to apply by email. Source: https://ocrv.info/about/careers OCRV Center hires into six departments: estimating, structural, refinish, systems, interior, and delivery. Applicants come from collision, marine, aviation, cabinetry, and heavy truck backgrounds. Tools and equipment are provided, cross training between departments is expected, and applications go to info@ocrvcenter.com with a description of hands on experience. Work here does not look like a production collision shop. There is no line of sedans and no cycle time measured in hours. A job may sit for three weeks because a molded cap is on a truck from the factory, and the same technician may spend a full day fitting a single panel so the reveal matches the one beside it. People who like variety do well. People who need repetition and a predictable clock usually do not, and it is better to know that before the first week. The trades that transfer in are broader than most applicants expect. Marine technicians already understand gel coat, laminate, and water intrusion. Aviation sheet metal people bring fastener discipline and a habit of documenting what they touched. Finish carpenters and cabinetmakers move into the interior shop with almost no ramp. Heavy truck mechanics understand chassis, air systems, and working on something that does not fit on a lift. General collision technicians bring measuring, pulling, and refinish fundamentals that apply directly to a large body. Openings are not always posted, and the shop keeps applications on file because departments expand at different times. What is consistent is the hiring standard: demonstrated hands on ability, willingness to write down what was done, and the patience to work on a vehicle that somebody lives in. Applications go to info@ocrvcenter.com. Include the departments of interest, the trades already worked, and a plain description of a job that went badly and what was learned from it. That last part gets read closely. ## What each department actually does all day Estimating spends the day between the intake lane and a keyboard. The role means walking damage with an owner, mapping what is visible, predicting what is not, writing line by line labor and parts, and then defending those lines to an adjuster in writing. It requires enough floor knowledge to know that a scuffed skin often means a separated bond line underneath. Estimators also own the communication schedule, which means telling an owner about a delay before the owner has to ask about it. Structural is teardown, measuring, pulling, framing, and fiberglass. A day might start with removing a front cap, move to anchoring a chassis and setting up a pull, and finish laminating a sidewall section in the controlled room. It is the most physical department and the one where mistakes are least visible later, which is why measurements get logged rather than remembered. Refinish covers preparation, priming, blocking, masking, spray, and color matching, including matching a faded gel coat that no formula in the system will reproduce exactly. Systems is the department most applicants underestimate. It covers twelve volt distribution, one hundred twenty volt shore and generator power, inverters and transfer equipment, slide mechanisms both hydraulic and electric, awnings, water systems, and propane appliance controls. The work is diagnostic before it is mechanical. Interior handles cabinetry, flooring, wall panels, upholstery, and countertops, and it demands finish carpentry standards in a structure that flexes down a highway. Delivery performs the independent final inspection, the water test, the road test, and the file assembly. - Estimator: damage mapping, line by line estimates, supplement writing, owner and adjuster communication - Structural technician: teardown, measuring, pulling, framing, composite lamination - Refinish technician: preparation, priming, blocking, masking, base and clear application - Refinish prep: sanding, masking, and booth staging on the prep deck - Systems technician: twelve volt and one hundred twenty volt diagnosis, slides, awnings, plumbing, generator controls - Interior technician: cabinetry, flooring, wall panels, upholstery, countertop fabrication - Delivery inspector: independent final inspection, water and road testing, file assembly - Parts and materials: sourcing, lead time tracking, receiving, staging to the bays ## Skills that transfer in from other trades Nobody arrives already knowing RV repair, because almost nowhere trains for it. Hiring therefore looks at the underlying skill rather than the resume heading. A marine technician who has repaired a hull has already done laminate schedule work, gel coat blending, and moisture chasing, and the transition is mostly about learning how a sidewall differs from a hull. An aviation sheet metal worker brings torque discipline, fastener knowledge, and documentation habits that translate directly to structural work on a chassis and body. Cabinetmakers and finish carpenters usually need the least adjustment, aside from learning that a cabinet in a coach has to survive vibration, torsion, and a hundred degree interior in July. Heavy truck technicians already work on vehicles too large for a conventional lift and understand air, hydraulic, and chassis systems. Residential electricians adapt to one hundred twenty volt work quickly but have to learn twelve volt distribution, which behaves differently and punishes undersized wire. General collision technicians bring measuring and refinish fundamentals and mainly need composite training. - Marine: laminate schedules, gel coat repair and blending, moisture tracing - Aviation: fastener discipline, sheet metal forming, written documentation habits - Cabinetry and finish carpentry: joinery, profile matching, template work - Heavy truck: chassis, air and hydraulic systems, working around large vehicles - General collision: measuring, pulling, filler work, refinish preparation and spray - Residential and commercial electrical: one hundred twenty volt circuits, load calculation, code habits ## Apprenticeship, cross training, and tooling Entry without a trade background happens through apprenticeship, and it starts in prep and teardown. That is not filler work. A person removing trim learns fastener types, hidden clip locations, how a sidewall is layered, and where water goes, which is the foundation for everything above it. Apprentices are assigned to a department lead and rotate through supporting tasks in each area during the first stretch, so nobody chooses a specialty before understanding what the other five departments deal with daily. Cross training continues after specialization. A refinish technician who can pull a slide topper, or a systems technician who can lay a small laminate patch, keeps a job moving when one department is loaded and another is not. It also reduces the number of handoffs on small work. Nobody is expected to master six trades, but everyone is expected to be useful in at least two. Progression happens by demonstrated capability on the floor rather than by a schedule, and department leads come up through the departments they run. Shop tooling is provided rather than expected from a new hire. That includes the measuring system, pulling equipment, spray guns and booth systems, lamination vacuum and clamping setups, meters and testers at the systems bench, and the woodworking equipment in the interior shop. Technicians typically bring personal hand tools, as in any trade, and specialty items specific to the shop stay with the shop. Personal protective equipment, respirators with fit checking, and the training that goes with them are supplied. ## Pay structure, hours, and how to apply Pay is structured by role rather than by a single model. Production positions in body, refinish, and structural are typically flat rate against posted labor times, which rewards efficiency on work the technician controls. Systems, diagnostics, interior, and delivery roles are typically hourly, because diagnostic time does not fit a flat rate table and rushing it produces repeat visits. The posted labor rates on this site are billing rates charged to customers, not wages, and the two are different numbers for obvious reasons. Shop hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and Saturday, 9:30 AM to 3:00 PM, with the shop closed Sunday. Saturday coverage rotates rather than falling on the same people every week. Overtime happens around fleet deadlines and heavy insurance seasons, and it is scheduled in advance rather than announced at four in the afternoon. All work is performed at the La Palma Avenue building; there are no field assignments, no route work, and no travel to customer locations. To apply, email info@ocrvcenter.com. A resume is useful but not the deciding factor. What gets attention is a specific account of work performed: the vehicle or structure, the problem, the method chosen, and how it held up. Name the departments of interest, and list any formal training completed. Candidates who reach the interview stage should expect a practical evaluation on the floor, because talking about a laminate repair and executing one are different skills and only one of them matters here. ## Frequently asked questions ### Do I need RV experience to be hired? Not necessarily. Very few applicants arrive with RV specific experience because almost no program teaches it. What matters more is demonstrated ability in a related trade: laminate and gel coat work from marine, sheet metal and fastener discipline from aviation, joinery from cabinetry, chassis and air systems from heavy truck, or measuring and refinish from general collision. Apprentice positions exist for people without a trade background, starting in prep and teardown, where the layered construction of a coach becomes obvious quickly. ### Is pay flat rate or hourly? Both, depending on the role. Body, refinish, and structural production work is typically flat rate against posted labor times, so output drives earnings on tasks the technician controls directly. Systems, diagnostic, interior, and delivery roles are typically hourly, since chasing an intermittent fault or performing a final inspection cannot be compressed without creating rework. Specific compensation is discussed during the interview. The hourly figures published on this site are customer billing rates for shop time and should not be read as wages. ### What tools am I expected to bring? Personal hand tools, as in any trade. Everything specific to this work stays with the building: the measuring system, pulling equipment, booth and spray systems, lamination vacuum and clamping setups, bench instruments for twelve volt and one hundred twenty volt testing, and the woodworking equipment in the interior shop. Protective equipment and respirators with fit checking are supplied along with the training. A new hire is not expected to finance a specialty tool inventory to start. ### How do I apply and what happens next? Send an email to info@ocrvcenter.com naming the departments of interest and describing hands on work already performed. Useful detail includes the vehicle or structure, the failure, the method, and the outcome. Applications stay on file because departments open at different times rather than all at once. Candidates who move forward are invited to the building during posted hours for a conversation and a practical evaluation on the floor, which is a better predictor of fit than any interview question. --- OCRV Center. 23281 La Palma Ave, Yorba Linda, CA 92887. (949) 799-3387. info@ocrvcenter.com. Serving Eastvale, California in Riverside County, about 20 miles from the shop. All work is performed in shop at the Yorba Linda facility. No mobile, roadside or on-site service is offered. Scope is body, paint, structural, fiberglass, interior and vehicle systems work. Engine rebuilds, transmission rebuilds, drivetrain work, DOT inspections and emission testing are not performed.