WAAYYYY O/T schools which one did you pick?

thats cool. im finding like 2 positives for every 10 negatives haha. ive been asking the service managers of a few local diesel shops in the area to, its about 50/50

 

I went the school of hard knocks and learned alot ( not spelling) and trade school. Todays shops don't wont to teach thay don't have the time. If you go to one of the schools you will learn the pratical workings and get hands on. Like I sayed befor send for info and study it.

 

Cool, See ya, doesn't sound like we need ya around here anyway....

 

GO RILLAS!!! and we have a football team you can be proud of, too.

 

I am curious about starting wages straight out of school. We get calls occasionally from fresh "grads" looking for jobs. I get the impression that they think they deserve top wages fresh from school. Probably because thats what the school told them to get them to sign up.

Before I started my employer hired several fresh "grads" and doesn't seem to think they are qualified for anything but entry level. Which means you need to teach them everything.....

 

I went to Moore-Norman Vo Tech while in high school. Did a year, went back for my second and I had got a job at a bodyshop during the summer. My shop teacher found out and told me, " You will learn more at the bodyshop in a month than you will learn here all year, So go to work at the bodyshop everyday and I will sign you in at being in school. If the office calls for you, I will cover til the next day. Good luck." And as they say "The rest is history".

 

I didnt have a choice of schools to pick from on a free ride so i knew that i wanted to learn new stuff and stuff that was up and comming.A dealer was my choice,today the factorys dont pay the dealers for warrenty work unless the tech has had training in that area.It covers the factory and the dealers ass.They saw i was eager to lern so training i got.Most of the stuff now is done at the dealer on line.Warrentys on new vehicles is a min of 3/36 so for three years you will see stuff that outside shops dont see.Three year head start.With fewer young people getting into the industry they invest alot of time and money towards a education for there techs.Yea, its a tuff enviorment but moneys decent and there is alway a dealer looking for techs esp with factory training.Not a degree you can wrap fish in.

 

I've been a mechanic for 4 & 1/2 years now. Out of the six of my really good
friends that I went to highschool with. I'm the only one that didn't go to UTI and the only one still professionally working on cars.

 

283 Nova,
From reading your comments so far it sounds like you want to find the easy way to big money. It also sounds like you might be a little bit challenged in the area of ambition. If you really want to realize a dream, you have to believe in it, work for it and do whatever it takes to achieve it. If this poor attitude comes across on this forum, imagine how a potential employer feels when he interviews you. Go to an ACCREDITED college and loose some weight. If you really want to be a diesel mechanic you would do whatever it takes to be one. You have had some great advice on here but it sounds like you would rather have a pity party. JMHO

 

it just seems like every route i take is a bad one hahaha. i dont want nor need anyones pity. im just trying to find a good school i dont expect to be paid 35 dollars an hour right out of the hole. i just need to make a living this minimum wage shit dont cut it.. jobs are scarce here it sure as hell would seem liek with some education you might have a better shot at it thas all. i jsut dont see it happening this way, walk into a dealerhsip. hi i want to work here, good what do you know , nothing, NEXT. hahaha

 

Great advice!
If I can say the same thing in a little different way... Whichever school you choose, don't stop with what they teach you, even while your going to school there. You have to rely on yourself to learn as much as possible. Take the subjects they teach you as a springboard to deeper educate yourself. You'll fine that there is more than one point of view on a subject, and every subject has people who specialize in just that one topic. If you follow that advice you'll leave there with more than a surface knowledge in your field.

 

thats exactly what iw as planning on doing was concentrating deeply on what was being taught. and go after it. and then take the advanced courses as well. i just want enough to get my self in the door as a baseline mechanic, if need be they will always send you back for update classes. i mean i can work on older vehicles, but not diesels. and thats what i plane to take. thanks for the advice guys....

 

A dealer probably isn't going to hire you. A regular automotive repair shop may though. You can start sweeping, changing oil etc. You'll probably start out at minimum wage though. Knowing nothing isn't going to get you much pay right off the bat. Sounds to me like your most urgent action is to get out of Spokane. If that's the case then move somewhere else and do what ever, at least you'll be out of there and that seems to be your main goal anyway.

 

My younger brother graduated from Pitt State and now works for Haliburton.. He's doing pretty good.

My experience is you will only get out of school what you put into it, be a sponge, soak it all up and make the absolute most of it and you'll do fine.

 

If you really want to do something neat, look at what McPherson College in Central Kansas has to offer. McPherson College is the only accredited four-year college in the U.S. that offers a degree in Automotive Restoration Technology. Their Automotive Restoration Program is recognized internationally for the excellent preparation it provides students to pursue a career in automobile restoration.

This is not training to ‘fix’ cars or to be a mechanic or body man. This is to be a restoration expert. Besides the mechanics, body, interior work, and machining, they teach how to research and find the correct components and materials for restorations, or to make new components, how to run a restoration shop.<O
<O</O

The guys (and gals too) in this program get job offers before they even finish the program. Job offers from auto museums and high-end restoration shops.<O</O
<O</O

Jay Leno is on the Board of Directors for the school and donates his earnings from his Popular Mechanics column to the school.<O></O>
<O
Automotive Restoration Technology majors have five emphases to choose from: Historic Auto Technology, Auto Restoration Management, Auto Communications, Auto Restoration Design, and Auto Restoration Technology.
<O</O
<O</O
I stopped to see this school a couple of years ago – I’m retired and too old for school, but just wanted to see what it was. It is a fantastic place.
</O
Link: http://www.mcpherson.edu/technology/

 

Take a look at what this McPherson College graduate did - too cool to believe: http://www.mcpherson.edu/technology/alumni.asp

 

I won't give you advice on which to go school to go to. But I will tell you my own experience. I went to college from auto tech when I got out of high school in the early 80's.

At that time a lot of people thought I was nuts. Why? because my dad has a repair shop and salvage yard and everybody figured I could learn just as much from working there.(which it did do for 12 yrs after college) The advantage I found from going to college was that there was a lot of theory on how things work that I wouldn't have learned or would have took alot longer to learn if I had went straight to work for my dad. Remember it's alot easier to fix things if you have the knowledge of how something works.

And the biggest thing to remember is that once you are done with college and go in to the work field is that you are just really BEGINNING to learn. A lot of kids fresh out of school think they know it all when that is so far from the truth.

JMHO

 

You'll never make 35 dollars an hour unless you're over in Iraq doing for the gov't.

 

I've been taking auto collision a quarter at a time as i'm able for several years, (family obligations) I think i would have learned more from working with someone,great teacher,old school autobody guy, but there is simply no time to teach any students anything, it's kind of like come in whenever and do whatever, the stuff i wanted to learn, I didn't get the chance to. I was supposed to learn pulling last quarter,we didn't even have a car to do pulls on, we have a nice new computerized rack,but no one knows how to use it. so i was given an incomplete,even though i had no way to do the required work. I would have done better to have dragged a car out of the junkyard up there. So i'm kind of split on schools right now.

 

I'm considering that McPherson College starting next fall semester. The only thing holding me back, is if I will be able to make enough money to pay off my student loans.. I already have 8-9 years experience in a body shop... I would like to take it to the next level. This looks like a promising course. I just don't know if there job placement is as good as they say it is. Anyone??

 

tough field to be in. been a wrench for 20 years, working in 'new car' dealerships. spent the first 10 years learning hard lessons, and spending money on tools to do the job quicker. didn't go to school for it, just had a mechanical 'feel' at an early age, so i ran with it. i graduated high school on a sunday, and started working flat rate monday morning, BIG eye opener! time is money in a dealership, and if you can't turn time without comebacks, you're screwed.

i think i started with about $200 worth of tools, and a strong desire to get better at fixing cars, now 20 years later, countless hours of 'factory' training and 80k worth of tools, i still have moments of 'how'n the hell am i gonna fix this without losing my ass?'

if you're serious about this as a career, with or without school, it's gonna take a long time to be good at it, and earn a decent wage.

may want to check this out as well, http://www.morrisville.edu/Academics/Ag_NRC/engineering_technology/html/DieselTechProgram.htm

local to me, and they have a reputation for quality education, my son is going to that school for mechanical engineering, on our tour, we got a look at the diesel lab, looked pretty impressive to me.

 

Uti boston has mercedes on site recruting . Mercedes has a shop in the same bilding and offers free traning and placement.

 

I guess it depends on what you work on and where you live. I have some guys that work for me that make 35+ an hour in the states. It took them about 5 years with our company.

 

I agree with everyone else here until I read that your school was going to be free. Do your research and pick a school that best meets your needs.

Don't be disheartened when you get out and find that most shops will only give you a starting pay equilivelent to what you could begin earning now with no school. Thats just how it works in the automotive field.

I suggest going for a business degree first. Won't help a lot right now, but you will use the basic elements everyday for the rest of your life.

 

really the reason im going to school is to get a better understanding of diesels and how they work i figure if i know how something works better than it will be easier to fix it.

 

thought id resurrect the thread and say thanks to the guys who gave me advice, all thought and things considered i decided to join the army and am well on my way of de-tubby-fying myself. i figure by may ill be signed up and ready to roll.

 

Great for you! Way to go! I was gonna reply that "you gotta wantta", apparently you got that memo without my saying so.

I'm prior Air Force (Supply NCO, not a mech/tech but was always close to 'em in the Motor Pools), and I've been Army civilian for oh-2-many years now, got a lot of good contacts that are 62Bravos (Army speak for heavy equipment techs). When you get there send me a post, I know some crusty old WOs, some of 'em are best in the bizness since they graduated from the SHK - School of Hard Knocks, where there is no written diploma. Good luck on the weight reduction, I've been there, done that a long time ago. It's worth the effort. And you'll likely find a lot of HAMB-friendly GIs to share similar off-time hobbies with. Hoooah!

 

You won't lose wieght,,,,,you tried the local school, didn't like that,,,,,

Do yourself a "lifes lesson" son,,,,decide what you want and then do whatever the fuck it takes to do it. No whining, no quiting, just do it.

You will love the results...............trust me. Been there, done it, have the t-shirt

 

Sorry,,,,,didn't see your last post. Congrats and good luck. Remember,,,,being easy ain't easy. When you get done with the army, you will be a proud man indeed and a hell of a mechanic.

 

Congrats on joining the Army and thanks for serving. I posted the following before I read that post. I'm leaving the below as a reference.

BTW, good luck learning theory in the service, most guy's I've met who've turned wrenches there are parts replacers.

I interviewed with Lincoln Tech in Indy last summer for a Instructors posistion. From what they told me, Wyo TECh, Lincoln Tech, UTI, Tennesee tech, are all owned by the same parent company. They had a nice facility but after talking to some of their grads I wonder how good the staff is.

I went to what used to be NBC tech in Lima Oh. It's now Northwestern College of Technology or something along that line. It's still a privately owned school from what I understand. I thought they did a good job of teaching when I left there in 85 I walked into a local dealership and got a job. They have one of the top HiPo curriculums in the country now from what I understand.

I wouldn't go to a mass marketed institution if it were me. They run students thru like cows to slaughter.

Mike