my nephew who is 16 and takeing an auto class in H.S was thinking of going to UTI. he said that today they had a recruiter come in and talk to them about their program. i know that some shop owners will never hire form UTI or Wyo Tech again. i went to a trade school for 2yrs for body work. which was great but i learned much more once i got into a shop and got first hand knowledge of the way things work. they told him that he can make $30K right out the door and $100K after several yrs... which i told him sorry to burst your bubble but you won't make that straight out of school. to make $100K a yr you will have to spend more than 50% of your time at the shop plus you have to pay for your own crew of guys. the Co. doesn't pay for that. the auto repair industry is not a 8-5pm type of job, especially in production work. i would like to hear some input about the school(s).... good or bad i think i should charge him to come work for me and learn.... haha
My son is going there right now. He had gone to 2 years of college and although he was doing fine he felt it really wasn't the direction he wanted to go. He had very little experience with working on cars other than small projects on his own car. Sure it is a lot of money but what college isn't? The classes run 6 hrs a day/ 5 days a week with typical working holidays off. In a way it is like working at a job. He is learning tons of things and getting to work in the labs on the topics he is hearing about in the classroom. i supposed he could have gotten a job changing oil at the quick change with no mechanical experience, but it would not have gotten him experience working on auto transmissions or air conditioning for example. He also uses the latest test equipment and all of the schools tools. Recently he started working part time at a local auto/truck repair shop. If I would calculate his hourly wage to a full time basis he would be making 20K so I don't know if 30K is out of the question. It's a different world out there for kids these days. i would find it hard to imagine that a young kid could work on his own car or on his dad's cars and learn all the skills needed by the modern auto technician. He could possibly learn the skills needed to work on our 49 chevy by trial and error or observation but to work on the cars of 2005 takes skills that don't come from the shop. In addition to learning the skills of an auto tech, he is also learning to work in a team, problem solve, test ideas, and make decisions. The grade for a class is made up of 4 parts-classroom, lab, professionalism, and attendance...the same as working on the job. I feel he is getting the skills and the experience that will allow him to compete in the auto job market. PM me with your email or phone number if you wish to talk further about this.
I work at a Ford dealer west of Chicago(not far from UTI).We usually hire entry level from the local community college.Last month we hired a recent UTI grad.Smart kid,he'll go places.I'm impressed.I have to agree with usmile4,even at our union shop you don't start anywhere near $30k.Closer to half that plus benefits.
Heres what I tell my students after the UTI guy leaves. If your just going for the bacis Tech stuff, you can get the exact same education at about 1/3 the cost at your local Tech school. They have their Hot Rod U that they advertize on all their flyers, but it's really only 2 classes and you need to take all the other Tech classes first.The only time UTI has something to offer over the local Tech school is if you want to get into the specialty brand program(BMW, M-B, etc, i'm not exactly sure which UTI is in cahoots with)
A friend of mine's son was going to go there. It costs $32,000 for the basic auto tech course. That's more than I paid for my son for four years of college at a state school. Luckily they changed their mind once they toured the school. You can get the same thing from a local trade school or community college for way less money.
i went there for about 3 months and dropped out waste of time except i enjoyed the heavy truck classes theres definatly potential to learn alot, but the accelerated courses make it hard for the knowledge to stick ( at least for me ) and i realized i really didnt want to be a professional mechanic if thats your dream, i guess its a good enough school, i know kids that went there and got good jobs off the bat and i know some that ended up in jow schmos garage. long story short, in my opinion its not the best option theres a school atc here in exton pennsylvania that is supposed to be better
I personally believe you could hire a GEM of an employee from any of the schools out there. Whether it be UTI- WyoTech ,or any school for that matter..... I think it boils down to the kid himself.... If he is motivated and WANTS to do well he will.....then he is a "find" for some shop. If he wants to burst onto the scene and start at top wages and benefits ,he will not be such a good candidate. Its a lot more about attitude and a lot less about aptitude. I would also suggest that if a kid could get any job in the field at entry level-he should go that route instead of a tech school. A job for two years at minimum wage would not be your lifes embarassment - it would be like getting a "free ride" at a tech school,as you are in fact -EARNING- some money, rather than -SPENDING- that 26,000 or more in tution.....
2 friends who graduated with me from pitt are banking right now at nissan. my graphics degree didnt do me as well :broke:
If he's, or any of you are anywhere near El Camino College in Torrance, CA area look up their catalog and see if Ron Dohi is still teaching body shop there. He was the best body man I ever worked with in the shop I wrote service at back in the late 70's and he's been teaching at El Camino for a while. If you want to learn, and not go broke doing it, check him out. I think He's a member of the L.B. Sultans CC too.
Well said Choprods...I worked in Education for 34 years (yes retirement is great!) and kids that were driven to do well actually did well and those that could give a damn were the ones that had difficulty. It does really come down to what the kid is like and what his comfort level is. Does he need someone instructing him? Does he work well with others and can work in a team? Does he learn better with hands on following instruction? The pace my son is on is very quick, but he is handling it and thriving under it. Could he have gotten similar skills at our local community college?...maybe, but I know he would not have the every day extensive class and lab experience that he is getting at UTI. He comes home excited and leaves every day looking forward to his class. AT his part time job at a local auto shop, the owner has him starting slow but says he knows his stuff and will be moving on to more difficult tasks and he sees the transfer from class and lab to actually on the job. Will he be able to build a rod from scratch when he is finished...probably not. Will he be able to get a job in a shop and compete with others...very definately. Is it expensive...yes, but my daughter went to a 4 yr college and this is less expensive than that and he will be finished with his UTI program while his friends will still have 1 or 2 more years at their colleges. As I said earlier...I had a job for 34 years...did my college classes prepare me for what I got on the job...not entirely, but it gave me the skills that I needed to work through any situation and use my school learning to become a better educator. That's what I see good about whatever school a young kid would go to. Low Springs...have your son go visit for a day...set in on class and a lab...talk to some of the students not just the people at the school and then help him with his decision.
Low Springs, I'm the son usmile4 keeps talking about that goes to UTI. Like my dad has been saying, I went into UTI not knowing shit about cars outside of what I had read in magazines. Now I've been there for about 5 months and I've learned a great deal, can I build a car from scratch.. no that's not what UTI is. UTI educates you to go to work in a dealership, or an independent shop, not a custom shop. Can I use the knowledge I've gotten to branch out? Hell yes. Do I think that at the end of all my schooling I'll be able to make 30k a year straight out of school? Not in any way. UTI says it, but it's just marketing. When I was in high school I took a cisco networking class, the people who marketed the class to students told us you could come out of the 2 year long class and make 70k a year. Now did that get a few kids to take the class, yes, I was one of them. After realizing that I didn't really like networking, and there was no way that I'd make 70k a year straight out of high school I got outta the class. Another thing, could I get the same type of education on the job? Well that's a tough one. I'm pretty positive I could get all of the mechanical knowledge from working. But the electrical part of the schooling is huuuuuge. I'm in my 8th class right now and 4 of them have been solely electrical classes. I don't think I'd ever be able to get as in depth on the job as I would here at school in such a short time. Overall what I'm saying I guess is in the time that you're in school you'll learn a ton more than you'd learn in the same time on the job. Total I'll be in school a year, unless I decided to go onto further schooling (with Ford, Toyota, VW, Audi, Volvo, Porche, BMW, Mercedes, or International). But it's not for everyone. I mean I'm in school 6 hours a day 5 days a week except for business holidays. It's very accelerated, but that's the nature of a tech school. In terms of cost, yeah it's expensive, but like my dad said so is any 4 year institution without scholarships. For me to go to UTI it's about the same cost as the last two years of me going to ISU would have been. Anyways, I'd say go on a tour, talk to some of the teachers if possible, and some of the students. But beware a lot fo the students might tell you they hate school, that's just cuz they're almost out and sick of school lol. My first day I was told by a kid to not go there cuz it sucks, I'm having a great time so far.
i think it all comes down to the person and money. you can learn the basics at a good comm college/trade school (rop), get a job that keeps training you and work your way up. but you have to want to do it, you need to have the drive to keep learning, there is no stopping point and when you stop wanting to learn you fall behind. also if you don't specialize then there is a shitload of tools and equipment to buy (100k plus over your career). i don't think around here you can make 30k right outta school and if you want to make 100k then you need to either work at a high end dealer/shop (and work alot of overtime) or be dishonest. another thing is auto biz is going downhill (at least around here), they don't want to pay for good techs (maybe one to babysit the others) and there are way too many shops which breeds coupon wars. the shop labor rate goes up but tech pay goes down (or stays the same). more people in the area means more techs, the lowest wage bidding war begins, you have really good techs taking shitty wages to survive and no one wins with that except the shop owners. then the customers get screwed because the shop owners are cheap and don't send thier techs to classes to keep current (of course the tech is now less knowledgeable and less desireable to other shops), so make sure that you go to a shop that is going to have on going training and someone willing to take you under thier wing. sad thing is i was an ad in the paper for an auto tech needing 10 years exp, own tools, certs and the nice weekly pay was $600. of course you can always get a job with the city/state working on their vehicles. of course this is all in my opinion....................... help from others is important and knowing when it's time to move on is just as important. i've been doing it since 91 (14yrs) but i would say really only 10-11yrs, the others have been learning. i didn't go to a school (except rop in hs and a body class in jc) or had very much help , just pissed off a lot of people by asking a shitload of questions and reading/watching whenever i could at work (gas jockey). so i think i was a few years behind in learning, plus staying at a shop that wasn't helping me learn more were my mistakes. so i would say really look if it's worth the extra $$$$ vs a trade school because the recruiters always make it sound better then it is (sucsess rates that is). also if you do go to uti or such don't come out with a "i know everything" attitude.....sadly enough i've seen it and it's not pretty when the real world smacks them in the face. hmmmm, now i read this and it sounds more like a rant. ..........hope it helps as it did me..............
I have worked with a couple guy's from UTI. All of them came into the shop I work at with a "Know it all attitude", and didn't know shit. I dont know if there stroking these guys ego's there or what. I went to local J.C. tech school and sure didn't come out thinking I had learned all there was to learn. My .02 , send your nephew to the local junior collage if thay have an automotive program. It'll save a ton of money, and will teach him just as much. P.S. Most of the local shops I deal with won't hire any one from UTI or Lincoln tech (LTI) with no previous experiance. Both have a stigma to them.
. Most tech's in the field will tell you that in the first year on the job thay have learned more than all of tech school, But I would not advise skipping it. Sorry but the only automotive program ISU ( Illinois State University)has is for engineering,Like comparing apples to atom bombs.not very much in common. A better comparison (price and program wise)would be collage of DuPage, the local comunity collage. I would bet it is only about two thirds the price of UTI.If all else is equal, why pay more?
thanks so much for all the info... i will pass this on to my nephew to read. i will take a tour of the school with him and talk to several of the students and teachers and get a feel for it. maybe the safest bet would be to get him into a trade school first. if he likes it and wants to stick it out we can get him into a much more advanced school. i will try to make sure that he doesn't get screwed over once he's out in the field. i've been i the auto business long enough to know when someone's jerking your chain. thanks alot guys.... Willski.... thanks for your input. 1oldtimer.... my nephew lives out your way. he lives in Newport Cove not far from fashion island. i'll look you up when i go out that way.
I didn't mean in the fact that the programs would compare. I meant in the fact that for me, going to UTI and going to ISU would cost about the same when it came down to it. The main reason I left ISU is because there wasn't a program down there that interested me.
All I know is one guy came out of there and thought he knew his shit, but soon learned he did not. The dealer I worked for did pay him more because of the schooling. Now, after 20 years on the job, he is a master mechanic, tech, or whatever they are now. When I worked for BMW, they just started the UTI/ BMW deal. Those guys that come out are considered master techs, and will make good money. I believe that is all the dealers are allowed to hire now, are their own hand-raised mechanics. Nothing wrong with that, the master techs at my shop were pulling in 175-250K a year. Not bad for wrenching..
Ive got friends that go there and they are all stupid, every shop ive worked in with UTI trained kids they get the same metal additude from there that they know it all but dont know shit.. ask me i think UTI stands for Under Trained Idiots.. Ive heard good things about wyo tech tho.. met a kid from there once hes a pretty smart dude.. might want to look into that.
I have had several students graduate from my high school auto class and attend several of these schools. Most of my students have a job by the time they graduate. The students that have post secondary training start out making better wages. In a nut shell you get out of it what you put into it. Some students think that the school will inject this knowledge and they will not need to study and work hard to achive this goal, and the part about 100.000 year may take several years to achive and it will not be easy. I have very few student that think it was a wast of time and money. I wish I would of had a head start like these students will have.
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I went to UTI. they teach you a lot of theory. if your nephew id going to get helped with money,(meaning all he has to do is go to schoo and get good grades) he should be fine, i however had to work my way through it which is HELL. I got a good job after finishing school.(i work for BMW) but from what i learned at school i appy about 5% at work. i was already ,mechanicly inclined when i started school so i really didnt learn anything special. however employers usually are impressed because thr school has such a good reputaion. i guess what im trying to say is. i think the school is overpriced but somtimes its worth it because there reputation
Exactly. No experience with UTI, but I did go to Wyotech for a year. I learned a ton there and made good grades, but there were others in the same classes as me that never learned squat. They were basically there to work on their cars and that was it. One of these guys, after spending $21,000 on his failure at education, ended up getting a job at a Target warehouse. On the other hand, I became a mechanic at Carmax and aside from learning a few tricks that oldtimers know, there really wasn't a whole lot for me to learn. In fact, there were one or two guys that had been in the field for 10+ years where I knew more about some things than them. Now please, don't think I'm saying I know it all - far from it, I have my weaknesses and like everyone else, will always be learning new things until I die. I'm just trying to illustrate how good of an education Wyotech can give you if you want to learn. That said, they do have several BS policies and attendance is strict. We had to go 45 hours a week and only got one week off every 3 months. Always having to be there got pretty rough at times, but it and the cost were well worth it. After a year there, I knew how to run a small business as well as had an AS degree (not much, I know), could repair anything mechanical on a car as well as do about anything building a chassis, and became an i-car welder. We also had the opportunity to become ASE certified, but I decided to wait since I had to have a year of experience before it would count. All in all, I think it was worth the $28,000 tuition. All that said, it wouldn't be easy to make $30,000/year starting out, but I think if I had stayed at Carmax instead of going to college, I would have made about that much, give or take. Really, though, the worst part of the school is the student loans. Even with a $9000 grant and working where I was, it was nearly impossible to pay for my cost of living and repay the loans. That's part of why I decided to go back to school and major in mech. engineering. It really pisses me off, though, that people are giving these schools a bad reputation, because a lot of us worked our butts off to do our best so we could get a good job. Anyways, that's what I have to say on the subject. Again, I hope I didn't come across as a know it all, I'm just confident in the education I got there. Hope this post makes sense, too, as I've been up for 2 days and am heading to bed in a few minutes.
worked many years in motorcycle shop the mmi guys had to be retrained they would grab a voltohm meter to change a tire this was the same with 3 guys in different shops they thought they knew everything but you had to show them how to change tires and put in brake pads we were never impressed with a mmi grad
i went to uti and i learned a lot there but there is still a lot you cant learn from school and you will learn when your in the field yes there are tons of idiots that go there and graduate from there but idiots are everywhere idiots graduate from collage all of the time too (for every field not just auto) my friend is going to a community collage for auto tech and there are just as many stupid people there i went to school everyday payed attention in class got good grades and went and got a job in the field and last year (which was my first year) i made 29 thousand so i guess i scored a decent job because i came real close to their promise
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