MikeNH

I loved shop class too. Working on people's neglected cars every day is something very different. When I first started, it was pretty good. I was started with a normal hourly wage as an entry level tech and went flat rate a year or so later. Has someone explained flat rate to you yet? If you work in a high volume shop with lots of customer pay and little warranty you can book serious hours in a normal work week after several years (to make good hours you need to get the major scheduled service jobs- the ones the new kid won't get). But after a year or so of that my dealer got bought out, the new owners pissed off lots of good, loyal customers and I had several weeks where I worked 60 hours to bring home 30 hours of pay. If you're doing decent in school I cannot recommend enough that you pursue an engineering degree instead. I wish I did. It's lots of hard work but in the end you still can do mechanical design work and bring home more money than most techs could dream about.

MPaterno

Awesome I did an 8 week program when I was 18 now I'm 21 but most companies know look for those 8 week schools instead of those 2 week fly by night schools, but I was thinking about going over to the local CC and doing the diesel tech program, but trucking is awesome over the road sucks local is were it's at.

cvz_finezt

DON'T DO EITHER ONE OF THOSE SCHOOLS!!! I went to UTI (UnTrainable Idiots) for about 5 months b4 i smartened up. Ur far better off going to a community collage then a tech school. cuz u cant transfer credits earned from a tech school to a 4 year collage. and if u get an AA in Applied Science such as automotive, u can use the credits from the CC to go on to a BA in engineering or anything else. and it's way cheaper to go to a CC then a tech school.

99 classic beauty

I've heard good thongs about wyo tech. I toured nadc an uti ten years ago and they weren't good

BolletuH

I have a lot of friends that go off to WyoTech, and they all say it's a pretty decent school. A lot of them decide to become diesel mechanics, but that's besides the point. It's ultimately up to you the education will ultimately be the same (think about it), but the overall cost and experience will differ greatly.

THEPRODJECT01

uti has more calaborations with way more manufacturors,


even nascar, monster jam, and nhra!!

that should say something there

xmustangloverx

I graduated from UTI back in 2008. I have my degree in automotive technology and at the time at (I believe) 7 Ford certifications. It's worth every penny if you're looking for a career in this crap. A lot of people go there because they were terrible students in high school and didn't care. There's a lot of clowns. It's 100% what you make of it too. If you go there to learn, you're going to do just that. Tour the school and see what you think. Don't base your decision on other people. Both schools pretty much teach the same thing.

Good old Bill

Posts by MikeNH and xmustangloverx, in my opinion tell it like it is. I too, was absolutely horrible in High School, probably last in class to graduate, but went on to be top of class in trade school. Spent 12 years as a FAA licensed Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic, absolute great Ego type job, then spent 14 years car dealerships and eventually FoMoCo. That paid for the College education of my three daughters, then on to the Golf industry for another 15 years, thats was where my solution to retirement came from.

Make sure credits are transferable toward a higher degree, being a mechanic is a life long passion, and a good one, but as was pointed out bad knees and back, well thats health. Health is the key to later life so a career change could be in order. I worked three industries, the later being the most lucrative and easiest on the body. Sharpening mowers is the money game, unless you want to be a "RAG IT AND FLAG IT" kuckle buster moving from job to job because your rechecks out weighed your profits

Which ever school you choose, give it your 100%. Get as much education as you can. Keep healthy, there will always be at least one car or truck in the drive to work on, even when you are closing in on 67.

texasedition

I go to Lincoln Tech, and it is awesome. They have really turned the school around. I toured UTI. There course is really, really long and very expensive. Their recruiters reminded me of military recruiters. The school is pretty cool. They just don't have the shop space Lincoln Tech did. If i had a Wyo Tech close I would of gone their. I am proud to be where I am at now though.

texasedition

and I am a Auto/Diesel Combo Student. Save $10,000 if you do them together.