Been doing this for 35 years. Was never really interested in this trade, to make a long story short this is where I ended up. My spare time is taken up with other hobbies not related to body and painting. Every job can be boring no matter what it is. I have been working where I am now for 15 years, primarily painting, it is an independant production collision shop about 10,000 sq ft, doing approx 3 million plus yearly, 95%insurance work. Small town in the oil patch in Alberta. It can be stressful at times to get stuff done right and on time, insurance companies and customers can be very demanding. I've done restoration, hot rods but prefer collision for the money and the variety of different jobs, it's never boring. I found restoration boring, working on the same car for months, while it was nice to see the finished product and you got a sense of accomplishment when it was done, the whole long and drawn out process bored me to tears. Working collision I work on newer clean rust free vehicles with new parts and get a sense of pride everytime I paint something which could be several times a day.
I work flat rate, get payed by the job not hourly. What I have found over the years is there are many and varied types of shops, some in the dark ages and some state of the art. If you find the right shop, they are few and far between, you can make a good living and work decent hours in a clean, dry and warm environment. Find the prosperous looking shop that has a clean office, nicely presented, tidy building, office management that is professional, modern equipment, etc. Talk to the employees, are they wearing proper safety equipment, are they happy and motivated, do they get along? If so it is possibly a good shop to work. Avoid the shops that are sloppy, cluttered with parts laying all over the place, garbage cans overflowing and trash all over the floor, employees not wearing proper safety gear, radios blaring, dirty paint booths etc, there are some real turds out there.
Your not likely to get rich but you can make as much or more than your average tradesman plumber, electrician, carpenter, mechanic, welder, machinist, etc. If you learn the ropes from someone that is good, if you are conscientious and willing to put the time in it's not a bad trade. I find the biggest enemy of the autobody industry is the autobody shops themselves. A well managed shop with talented employees will be nothing but successful. There is a great demand for good shops and good tradesmen..