Auto Mechanic??

I’m going into eighth grade this year, and I have wanted to be an auto mechanic for about 4 years. I already know how to hotwire a car if I need to see it running ( Helped my local auto mechanic when he needed to see if he fixed it. It’s not cutting the red wire and hooking it up to the white wire. You do that, you just screwed up the car.) So I was wondering what would be some good ways to go about learning on stuff like this and getting a bit of a head start on it. Any books or videos recommended would be appreciated. Also, if anyone has read Auto Body Repair Technology, Fifth Edition, does it really help. Because it’s sort of expensive, and I don’t want to buy it i it won’t get me on my way to getting the ASE. If you don’t know, that’s okay. Just need to know a little about what I want to get into. P.S. Is the pay decent for an auto mechanic. That can be just a yea or no question if you want. Thanks. Ten points to best answer.
I mean yes, not yea. Sorry. ; )

I have been a mechanic for about 20 years. It is inspiring to see a young person with such a passion so early in life. I was about your age when I was given an old lawnmower that wouldn’t run. I got some tools together, took the whole thing apart, cleaned every piece, and put it back together. I have seen a lot of kids come and go. I have found that the reason they go is because they haven’t used their hands. Having a feel for tools and the nuts and bolts in my experience is far more important than certification. So to finally answer your question, get a small engine, an old car, your bicycle, anything that requires tools and a little motivation, AND GET DIRTY!
Figuring out how something works by using your hands will put you way ahead of someone who has learned it from a book.

By the way, the lawn mower didn’t work at first. but with a little help from an experienced mechanic, it took off.

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