Im a UTI student and am enrolled in the Ford FACT program with a 4.0 g.p.a and 100% attendence, my plans are to go work for a Ford dealership but I have no idea where I should go. I'm currently living in Arizona and graduate in December but am willing to move anywhere. (Preferably no snow or California lol). But I have no idea what would be a good dealership to look into. Or where a good place to live would be. I have a rather large student debt to pay off so cost of living and job security is an issue so I'm looking for any input from anyone currently in the field. Thank you
i know youre probably not the norm, but my dealer refuses to hire UTI grads. we have had a few and they had absolutely no common sense diag ability whatsoever.
Yea, I don't like to sugar coat it. Sorry OP. The thing is... we just witnessed THOUSANDS of dealership employees lose their jobs. Some of these are techs with years of experience and they are all gunning for the position you want. Sure, you got good grades and (attendance? lol), but most employers have figured out that 95% of what those school produce are not hire-able. So you are competing against thousands of hungry and experienced techs who have a track record (unlike yourself). Not to mention, there is very little money in it for the most part. Some may argue this statement... as there are exceptions to the rule, but as a WHOLE there is no money it it. My Father is a mechanic and has been for 35+ years now. It took me just a year to surpass his yearly salary (and I haven't even graduated college yet). There is an old saying: If your parents aren't rich, don't do what they did.
I graduated from the FACT program in Spring of 02', and could not get a job at any of my surrounding Ford dealers. Of course I moved back home (panhandle of FL). Even back then the economy was still good but they just didnt have any openings, not even at our Lincoln Dealer. I ended up working at Toyota until 2006. At that point I was fed up with all the dealership politics and fixing other peoples P.O.S.'s to make ends meet. Since then I have been going back to college at nights and am about a year from graduating with my Bachelors in Business. Had you made a post with a poll option of whether or not you should attend UTI, I would have voted No. You would have been better off starting at a dealership as a lube tech, and then let the dealer send you to the manufactures training on THEIR dime. I am still making my payments to UTI and probly will do so for the next two years. Not trying to totally discourage you, but just giving you an honest outlook. If I had it to do over again, I would have stayed in Houston and found a job at the local Ford dealer there. They were more inviting of UTI graduates.
Techs are not having a hard time finding work around here, The people that I feel bad for is the support staff ( writers, parts counter people..) the gravy days where I could go into a place and name my price is over but I can still get a job if needed.. BUT with that said I don't think i would go into this buisness if I could go back in time I probably would have done something else. On the bright side I am working and many white collar college grads I know can not find a job.. One of my friends has been out of work for 3 years. it's just a bad market out there for everybody right now.
