Attending a car school. [should i or shouldn't i]

[Trinity]

Hey im wondering if it'll be a bad idea to attend a car college w/o any car repair experience. Most of the people i know going to something like UTI took some kind of car class in highschool or are pretty handle already with cars. Currently, im in school for computer networking/technician. I would really like to work on cars since there growing on me now that i have my own car. Im 19and i think its pretty cool seeing alot of people tearing down there cars and fixing them back up on here. It seems like a heap of trouble if i did that to my car.

So what do you think? Do people attend places like UTI or something w/o much experience? I could take the engine class at my community college and that would be a start. Did anybody start on cars this late in life? It seems abunch of people on here been tearing apart cars since like 14 or something. What should i do to prepare? Buy a older car and pratice taking it apart with trail and error?



Please only serious replies ;]


Sorry for my grammar in advance.

 

[mustangkid05]

yea i am thinking about going to uti myself did anyone go there?

 

[03ghoststang]

i graduated from UTI but before going i was already mechanically knowledge so it was easy......But in reality if you do decide to attend asking questions and getting involved in all the work involved, you will be ok casue there are students that dont know anything and come out knowing alot about cars...

 

[Tally_4.6]

Yeah i'm in a technical school up here and its great. Don't worry about not knowing anything cause they base the class on teaching everyone, not just the kid who grew up learning about muscle cars fom his dad and knowing how to work on them. But it helps if you have some sort of mechanical knowledge, whether it be about cars or how to work on them.

 

[bigcat]

DONT DO IT!! stay away from the automotive field. ask anyone out there about their job. many say its less than satisfactory. some get lucky and land a sweet job, but usually not.

i am great at what i do, but cant find a job worth a crap. i am near the point of switching career fields and just using my suto knowledge as a hobby or side job.

do you want a poll attached to this thread?

 

[Trinity]

DONT DO IT!! stay away from the automotive field. ask anyone out there about their job. many say its less than satisfactory. some get lucky and land a sweet job, but usually not.

i am great at what i do, but cant find a job worth a crap. i am near the point of switching career fields and just using my suto knowledge as a hobby or side job.

do you want a poll attached to this thread?

To late for a poll now. Its great just to read the replies though.

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[bigcat]

To late for a poll now. Its great just to read the replies though.

Thanks for your thoughts.

one can still be added by a staff member if you wish.

 

[Trinity]

one can still be added by a staff member if you wish.

Sure, if you can add one that'll be wonderful.

Thanks.

 

[bigcat]

done

 

[5.0's 4 ever]

From my own personal experience of doing this for over 5 years now at a lincoln mercury dealership I wish I took my parents advice and went to college. I really do not like my job at all, I am so burned out. I'm tired of the daily bs and the damn tenths of labor ford wants to pay you for fixing their vehicles. I originally got in this field because I wanted to work at mustang shop, but now I don't even like working on cars not to mention it would be a pay cut to work at one of those places.
Just my 10 cents

 

[68torinogt]

im currently working in the computer field and we worry about people like you with schooling coming in ant takeing our jobs!! since most of the people i work with dont have the schooling. i worked on cars previous to this and loved it but i was raised in it, if you have the schooling the computer and network career will pay off big.

i dont care for the computer job due to the people i work with but i think in the right circumstances i would love the job and would go to school for it. i just dont know what to do in life right now so im just riding it out for a while.

dont be a me!!

 

[harrisonfiveo]

Dont do it...

Against my better judgemet and my parents, I went to UTI in Houston and graduated from it and the Ford F.A.C.T program...moved back to podunk Fort Walton, FL and ended up working for the local Toyota dealership ( they're the only ones who'd hire a tech with little on the job experience). Anyway's I gave it 5yrs...decided that working on my car was fun...but other people's P.O.S's to pay bills sucks. When your at the shop 60 hours a week and only flag 30...that gets old real quick. So now im taking classes at night at a real college. Plus UTI is too damn expensive....im still paying on my loan and it makes me sick. I'd say if your still interested in being a mechanic take some classes at your local vo-tech or comm. college and see if you like it...Your not going to graduate and instantly work at Saleen or Steeda...you'll spend $20k on a associates degree to change oil,tires, batteries and fix dash rattles & water leaks at a dealership... But maybe i'm the only one who thinks UTI is worthless

 

[03stanggt]

Yeah I went to UTi in Phoenix. I agree with the above two replies. I went down there and partied hard and went to school with work and running a strret pharmacy at night and it was hell. The classes are long and for half of them you sit and do noithing. I found myself leaving and doing all sorts of stuff. I graduated with auto tech(just the basics) and now I am at an independent as a service writer and parts manager. pretty decent for 21 years old but the question is what is in the future. The concern being how much money you can make without busting you *** all day. I know working on your own car is fun but others is crap. Go for the MONEY. Once you burn out and you will unless you do it for yourself then you are and that makes you all day

 

[BurningRubber]

I wanted to go to auto tech school myself. My brother did, graduated and got stuck at a Chevy dealer detailing and doing oil changes...

He left that dealer and landed a few decent jobs at other dealerships, but he eventually got tired of it... and now hes in an electronics feild (totally automotive unrelated) and doing great.

I love working on cars (to the extent that I do) and really want to learn how to build engines and whatnot, but the more I think about it its really not worth the risk of going, and possibly not getting a good job opportunity after graduating.

 

[bigcat]

anther example. my roommate worked at McDonalds for 3 years before going to WYOTECH. when he was finished with school, he could make more $$ at McDs, than for any auto related job in his city.

 

[BlackenedSVT]

I went to Lincoln Tech, and someone I work with went to UTI (then he also through BMW's STEP program). We both work for BMW.

 

[Dragstr05]

I went to UTI, and just graduated in september. In all honesty, one of the worst decisions i've ever made.

Rundown of the school: You are LOADED with theory and information, but they give you very little opportunity to actually use it hands on. I would suggest taking classes at a community college to get a good basic rundown of how a cars' systems work, take a couple electrical classes, find a job and the rest will come to you with experience.

I was previously working on Ford cars at a lincoln-mercury dealer and they are a complete PITA to work on. I'm now working on mitsubishi's. Easy as pie to work on, and alot of the work is maintenance so its easy to turn hours. I myself enjoy working on cars and I like the working evironment. I plan on doing this forever, but if you land a job in a busy shop, and you get alot of work with you having good problem solving ability and can work fast, its an easy way to make decent money quickly.

 

[mineralgraygt]

i graduated from uti this past april, and for the money it deff was not worth it i would have went to my local comunity college and taken ford asset instead. i did land a job and a ford dealer working on lincoln mercury. i like doing the work its not that bad but i really dont see doing it the rest of my life.

 

[BlackenedSVT]

i graduated from uti this past april, and for the money it deff was not worth it i would have went to my local comunity college and taken ford asset instead. i did land a job and a ford dealer working on lincoln mercury. i like doing the work its not that bad but i really dont see doing it the rest of my life.

Me neither. I work for BMW now, but I *KNOW* this isn't career work for me...just something to pay the bills and hold me over. I must say I at least dont hate this job. I enjoy comin in to work everyday at least

 

[Trinity]

Thanks for the replies. I may just stay in my current computer career. Also, im thinking of taking the engine classes @ my community college just so i can work on my car myself and not have to depend on other people to do simple things and rob me of my money. Before i got into computers (years ago) we had to take in our pc and bestbuy charged way to much money for a simple os reload. Same way car repair places do with all the labor fees. Hopefully, i can learn enough one day to post pictures of my cars engine bay empty and me pulling the engine like alot of you guys do.

Thanks for the replies once again.