I'm not saying its fake. I'm saying it's overrated. You have to be perceptive. Compare a UTI commercial to a "As seen on TV" commercial. They'll show a race car with a kid putting a wrench to it. Now what is every teenager going to think about that when they see it? They're going to say, "Ooh I put a cold air intake on my car, I can do that too! I want to work for a local speed shop like inlinepro and build race cars." UTI does a great job at selling they're product to people like us on these forums.

Um, they're showing you what they believe you will like about the school. If somone thinks they will be wrenching on sports cars all the time then they have the wrong impression of UTI, certainly not the case here. First you have to learn how to wrench on them...I dunno if you got hyped up by watching the commercial or not, but all you have to look at is the course sheet they give you and it will tell you what you will be learning. That stuff does appeal to me, and makes me look forward to going to the school...I don't see what you mean by overrated. They're not saying YO COME TO THIS SCHOOL AND DO MAD TYTE SHIT ON HAWNDUHZ. Obviously anyone with common sense would know that working on sports cars first requires you to learn HOW to work on them which is part of the course...

Seriously though, I'm not saying you're not going to learn anything from UTI or such. It just you're getting trained off the real field in a different environment. And when you really do hit the shops/dealerships it's completely different. Does UTI teach you how to upsell work, or how to be fast and efficient so that you can bring home a sufficient paycheck? It's the real world that matters. What happens in a shop can change who you are. I don't think UTI will prepare well enough for becoming a real line tech.


I understand what you mean, they won't teach you the specifics parts of the job. Applying at a local dealership is definitely a choice, although a LONG way to work up if you're starting out as a washer...you can hope and dream that some day you will become a tech, or just get lucky like you did. I'd rather fill the requirements rather than use my hopes and dreams to get me where I want.

Doing swaps in your moms garage or doing swaps in a performance shop with the right equipment. Working hard on the cars you've always wanted to own and modify, and getting to drive them the way you want after you are done working hard. Getting experience with different platforms, and getting paid a good amount to do it. I still don't know what you mean, I'll understand if you give up

 

99% of the people on this forum love cars and love working on them. 99% of the people on here aren't suited to become mechanics.

I really don't consider myself lucky as a tech. It's about hard work, dedication, and "ambition." If anyone has these traits they can do it too. If I were lucky, there would be a huge sign with my name followed by Honda or Nissan or whatever. And I would calling the shots. Therefore, I'm just a hardworker.

 

Wow! You must have done some serious researching do come up with those numbers! lol.

Just to clear up any confusion, the 'real life' things though not taught by UTI, are things that you will learn naturally after working at the same job for a while.

 

I understand dude, you can have all that, but there is no effective way to show a company like BMW that. They will look at you and judge you, they could think you're a faliure that just wants to make some good money at their dealership, or they could judge you the right way and believe that this is your passion. I guess you could try to present yourself in the way that will make them judge you as someone that will be suitable to work at their dealership...but then again, you will just hope that they do. Worth a try though I guess.

And no you don't need to have all that stuff to be lucky...you just have to meet the right person at the right time, which is luck.

 

it sounds like you are the type of person that is dedicated to your work and work hard at whatever field you get into. if thats the case honestly, and with anyone else, if you are honestly dedicated and work hard at it you can go to UTI or Lincoln Tech and still do okay. i went to neither and i just started work as a helper and have been brought up that way.

honestly though in my opinion, i think UTI is a hell of a lot better school, hands down. 3 of my friends go to UTI, California, Texas, and PA. If you work hard and accel in school, you will be offered good jobs from dealerships from around the area. but don't go in expecting to be making good ass money just because you heard of other people in the automotive industry doing so. honestly it can be really hard at times to find work, but going to school and working your ass off and showing them that you can do well ..you'll find a good job dealership/ or performance shop easily.

just to let you know, lot of people dont think about the tools that they're going to need to buy when you land a job. but yea, prepare to spend an ASS LOAD of money on tools for a good majority of your automotive career. mechanics/ body techs spend an easy 10-20k just on tools, its just fucking ridiculous.

but i mean it sounds like you got a good thing going with the pharmacy, i mean i'm in the automotive industry myself as a body tech. and i mean if you really want to get into it, more power to you. but id seriously think about it a lot before jumping into a new field, it isn't all shits and giggles like on tv. its hard fucking work, and if you're going to school for it, then you need to work your ass off to get a good job. either way, i wish the best for you and with whatever you decide to do, good luck!

-J

 

If you're interested in the automotive field all i have to say is its better hands on which most of the auto tech schools dont offer. go apply at a dealership as an apprentice.



On a side note most people that have come out of a tech school and have gone to a dealership w/o lots of hands on go there and make no money. theres a co worker that is going to school and is also working at the dealership part time which i think if you want to be book smart is the way to do it. other than that go to a honda/acura dealership they're always looking for apprentices and once you get moved up as a line tech they'll even pay for school. I didnt go to tech school straight up backyard tech here before i started working at a dealership. I've met alot of people that have gone to school have that on their resume and im stuck helping them b/c they're just book smart.Everything that 240dreams is stated is usually true about not being ready to upsell work and turn hours to make some money to pay your loan for school. The only thing that i see tech school helping you out with is real big discount on tools.

 

damn, the shit is getting deep in this thread.

ok cliffs notes:

1. unless you suck alot of cock, you wont make 40k/yr fresh out of school, no matter what your advisor from the college says.

2. you will not be ASE certified when you graduate, unless you already have one year of actual work experience beforehand, or work full time while in school. ASE qualifications require you to have at least two years of experience, one of which may be college level training or completion of a vocational class.

3. you will start out doing shit work, i dont give a fuck where you go. you can go to porsche, BMW, MB or what have you, you being the new guy=getting shitwork (waranty work, LOF's, etc.) is this a problem? everyone has to start somewhere.

4. i have seen two people personally that graduated from the "performance classes" offered at various schools not do a damn thing with that part of their degree, they wound up being a tech somewhere cause it was damn near impossible to get a job in that line of work and have DEPENDABLE pay. how many performance shops can you name that have been in business for more than 10 years? thanks for playing.

5. i have mixed feelings about tech schools. i graduated from NADC in 2000, i think if i recall i was #8 of a class of 160 people graduating. i busted my ass ever since then and am a Master automotive, L1, and Master truck tech now. if i were to go work for a shop instead of myself, around here i would be looking at about 80k/year, and that is with 9 years experience and basically the highest level of certs you can get. which equates to about 110k in NOVA. and i am now currently an old man due to a bad back, bad hip, and constant pain from carpal tunnel. but i love my job, i wake up every morning and can honestly say that.

6. if you think that 20k is all you are gonna have to shell out for tools and training, you are VASTLY mistaken. yes, you get a BASIC set of hand tools when you graduate, pretty much a set of sockets and wrenches. you want to know how much i have invested in tools over the last five years? i will give you a hint....i could have purchased a brand new M5 and a used Z3 for how much i have spent. granted, about 20k of that has been equipment lately, such as tranny jacks, smoke machine, new scanners and a five gas, but you get the idea. you are NEVER done buying tools. unless you never work on anything new.

7. fuck a dealership.

8. go to an independent if you want to use your brain and talent, unless all you want to do is be a parts changer with minimal diagnostic skills in the real world. then go to work at a dealership. (this is gonna PISS some people off, but most know its true. being able to diagnose one particular make's problems is one thing...but being able to do it on 26 different manufacturers over a time frame of 75 years is another)

9. UTI is nice, NADC is nice, WyoTech is overpriced. from what i recall, UTI dont teach diesels in the main curriculum though, i may be wrong. i hated learning about them at NADC, but what i learned is priceless now since i do a lot of truck work (which means simply-the bigger they are, the bigger the bill, the bigger the paycheck)

any questions?

 

and for pointers, www.iatn.net is one of the best bunch of us out there, i highly rec. joining and becoming a sponsoring member for the biggest resource of information available.

 

Ditto, but on a side note most shops have most of the tools as far as trans jacks,etc. but from there your on your own as far as tools go

 

He specifically mentioned in the text that you quoted that about $20k of his expenses came from equipment that a shop provides to its mechanics and that a typical mechanic will not be purchasing such equipment.

To the thread starter: There is a BOATLOAD of information in this thread to make your decision. I will offer one piece of advance of advice as I close this thread (closing it b/c I think fc735 has pretty much said the last bit of useful information that can come out of this thread being open for further discussion):

I have attended seminars where the guest speakers were highly successful Presidents and CEOs of various corporations that specialize in different industries, both blue and white collar. One thing THEY HAVE ALL SAID on how they became so successful is this, and ALL of them made it very clear that they wanted the audience to walk away with this piece of advice if they walked away with nothing else:

Lead a career in an industry whose subject matter you love working with. All successful Presidents, CEOs, business owners, and other high level executives have one thing in common: They are passionate about the material and subject matter they work with. There may be some rough days, but they honestly love coming to work to do what they do.

I will close this thread but leave it in the forum for you to look through and make your decision on how to go about your career and educational path. Good luck, and let us know how everything turns out.