Yeahdoug

I visited UTI, but ended up going through the high performance program at UNOH (It's like a hybrid of SAM and UTI). After 4.0 GPA, perfect attendance blah blah I was accepted in the STEP program. At the last second I got an offer to work at PAC Racing/Peterson Spring running the valvetrain dynamics lab. Looking back I believe it was the right decision for me. I have a way cool job and work with all kinds of race teams. I also have the freedom to do a lot of my own projects (new small .700" lift LSX dual for example). I don't think I would have been happy at a dealership. You can make good money in almost any field with hardwork.

I do wish I could go to SAM for the their block and cylinder head classes jsut for my own personal knowledge. UNOH's were only 3 months long. I'm still a decent machinist (even though I don't do any of that now), but I'm sure there's a ton of tricks I would love to learn.

bad cutt

iTrader: (5)

I graduated from uti in 2001. All I can really ay about the school is that you get out of it what you want to get out of it. If you pay attention and want to learn you will learn a ton of very useful stuff. I have worked for a lot of dealerships since then. Ford, mazda, hyundai, honda, nissan, dodge, jeep, chevy, and others. I finally got sick of dealership politics and went into the aftermarket. My worst year sinc 02 was 54k and that is only working 40-45hrs per week. oh and I live in wisconsin so 50 k is pretty good money.

SLawson86

iTrader: (8)

the biggest problem is within the automotive field, there are only two kind of techs... you have it, or you dont. i dont know how to explain it in much more detail, but make the choice yourself. you really need to sit back and think to yourself, do i just play around and enjoy swapping parts... or do i enjoy diagnosing and really fixing cars. to the guys knocking on UTI, what are you doing these days? UTI is a good school, but my only advice is if you are considering going, you are better off to not know anything at all, or go in completely open minded. personally i wrenched before i went, and it worked both to and against my advantage. What i found to be the BIGGEST problem with the school is people bitching that there isnt enough hands on, as i see it why in the hell would they let you wrench on and play around with cars and parts if you dont know how they function? UTI gives you a base to go from, it is a whole different ballgame once you graduate and go to work.

DMSZ28

iTrader: (3)

www.samracing.com click there if you want to learn to build race engines and work for some of the best teams and shops in the country after you graduate

slick1851

UTI is all in for the money, and its a scam


Go else were

sspdfreek

definitely not a scam!! I wouldn't be where i am today without UTI. I don't think they're the best school out there but i'm doing alright and i'm still in the field after almost 8 years.

DaSkinnyGuy

I'll introduce my self into this. I will be starting at Nascar technical Institute in Aug 2008. Yes I am a student, not just some kid. I am going to be one of those students who stands out and makes the best of the school. I know so many kids go to NTI thinking they are going to get onto a nascar team. That doesnt happen that easy. It's true like 4% of the graduates actually make it onto a nascar team. You have to know someone who works on a team to get on a team. Its sad to realize that so many of the previous kids that went to the UTI/NTI schools had to put such a bad rap on the school. And you can't say there arent those students that leave the school and become something great. I have left my options open for both looking into the dealership programs after NTI and also the fact that a good family friend of mine. Who use to be a crew chief for Joe McCarthy Racing in Nascar north busch series at least what it was called when he was in it. Has stated to me that if I do good enough at the school. he will help me get onto a team. I want to make the best for myself. I have already worked in a shop and also an auto parts store, so I do have the basics. But once again like everyone says it's what you make of it. I want to make sure that when i leave I can have all postive marks about the school. And why even thou its $29k for the program its all worth it. As long as you are a student and not a kid.

ENKI

iTrader: (2)

the core program sucks and the ford fact trainging is bad ***... honelty i bull shitted my whole way through the core program but ford was actually worth it... and to get in to benz and bmw and **** like that you are goin got have to be there everyday all day and have a 4.0 which isn't hard to obtain but staying in that hell whole all day sucks ***

nine-eight

iTrader: (7)

IMHO, i agree fully with the "keep your hobby as a hobby."

find something you can tolerate that pays the kind of money you need to live comfortably and be able to tool around in your hobby.

Automotive techs in a general sense do not have a very "fantastic" job. yes, some have it great and for some its a perfect job. But you gotta be realistic about the situation you have as a tech.

for example,
if you do poor quality/wrong diagnosis/ slow work, you either get fired or you stay on as the guy that gets the least amount of work scheduled. you compete with the other techs for work when things are slow, and that means a lot. if you are the best transmission guy in the shop, when things are slow it can be your meal ticket. the man that schedules the work is the same one that gets yelled at when you screw up and the car comes back to the dealership. he knows who excels at what and who the underperformer is. so, if you excel at nothing, the belt can get tight depending on the amount of work present.

if you were the kind of child that constantly took things apart and always asked "why" and "how," and you really, really have a genuine interest in all things mechanical and not just the aspect of "cool cars," then by all means go for it.

a majority of your work will be on everyday driver cars, like kia/honda/ford etc. etc. and that a sports car is a rare opportunity with 80% of the technicians out there. unless you land a rare job at the ferrari dealership, plan on working on everything from farmer joe's rusted out pile of **** with dirt constantly dropping into your eyes to grandma crack's horrid looking 1970-something junker car that seems to be worth five hundred dollars, not including the brick of dope in the trunk or the pistol in the door.

I think that almost any premium dealership like BMW or the like will want to see a minimum of three to five years experience in general tech work. that way you have a majority of your bonehead mistakes out of the way- like dropping a two-thousand dollar ferrari magnesium race rim on its front and putting cute little scratch-marks all over some bullheaded, irate mans prize car.

another thing to remember is that the tools required to do this job are horrendously expensive. it is not uncommon for a tech to have 40,000 dollars in tools. a decent snap-on toolbox sized for a tech will run a minimum of 3 grand alone. and that is the entry-level double bank toolbox. think closer to 8 and ten grand for a master series, which is designed for all day, every day use by a technician. A ten-piece set of standard sockets for the dinky 1/4" drive ratchet will run you a hundred bucks. and thats the shallow set. a universal clutch aligning tool is around 550. of course, the snap-on man will finance that for ya. right away.

I dont mean to sound like a ***** trying to take down your dreams, but my goal is to add some realism to the mix of happy, cheerful, everythings-rosy mindset you get when you think you are gonna graduate and start out making 70 grand a year at a BMW or Porsche dealership. you really gotta be a mechanical person that enjoys or at least tolerates the work whether its a beater truck, a new honda, or a porsche. if you have the drive and the dedication, and you do eventually work at a ferrari dealership, I think thats fantastic- and if you are set on it then go do it. otherwise you might kick yourself for the rest of your life for not at least trying.

kenSS

iTrader: (1)

i went to the Pa campuse. its alright. if want to be a tech, then go for it. if you want to be an engine builder/machinist then go to SAM. i was lucky enough to get in at Ray BArton RAcing Engines straight from UTI. i guess it helped me get in. i make decent pay and i 'm the shop leader already.

Vas@diablosport

<----I graduated from UTI orlando and I work here. Its all in what you make it.

markpetersonii

iTrader: (1)

I thought I would bring up an older thread since I was googling around trying to find some reviews about UTI and the Benz program. Funny that this was the first thing to come up on Google.

First: Cars are a hobby of mine, but I'm not one to always be tinkering with it. I'm not too worried about losing the "car hobby" as it's not totally my first hobby. I just like fast cars. Photography is number 1 in my heart. I would rather learn how to work on them and get paid to do so. If I need to do something with my cars, I'll be able to do it myself and save loads of time.

Second: I'm about to get out of the Marine Corps, in June, after 10 years of service. The GI Bill will be paying for my education, so I'm not too worried about "wasting my money" as people have mentioned. I have a good work ethic and if the classes are "death by powerpoint" I'll totally be fine, because that is what the Military lives off of.

Third: I've noticed that the people that posted the longer reviews and that actually attended are the ones that did very well and are in a good place currently. The ones that had three sentences to say about UTI, are the ones saying that it's not worth it. I have a feeling that the ones saying that it was terrible didn't do very well and aren't where they thought they would be.

I plan on going to the Rancho Cucamonga, CA campus since that's where I'll be moving to, once I get out. The Mercedes-Benz program (after the Core classes) is what I intend on making it to. I used to own a Benz (W211 E500) and when I owned it I learned a lot about the engines in those things. I would love to spend the rest of my life working on a Mercedes and getting paid to do it.

solo20

I went to UTI would I recommend it NO but what I would recommend is this go to a College that has a automotive program if for any reason you don't want to finish the automotive program you will have college credit. IF YOU GO TO UTI NONE OF IT WILL COUNT FOR COLLEGE CREDIT

I HAD NOBODY TO GUIDE ME I WISH I WOULD HAVE BEEN GIVEN THAT SAME ADIVCE I GAVE YOU IT WOULD HAVE SAVED ME LOTS OF MONEY

About UTI I went to the one in Houston back 15 years ago and is it as bad as some are saying NO but it does suck when you got about 18-25 guys in a class room . the question is did I learn anything YES
I graduated but I never became a tech most of the stuff I knew I pretty much forgot but going to try my luck this year in the automotive industry

Nsm92LS1

iTrader: (2)

I have the same opinion as solo20 on this. Hind site I would have gone to a school that gave you college credits. I graduated from the Glendale heights campus in 05 and went through the VW program. I did learn a good bit that would have taken me a few years to learn out in the field. When its all said and done, weather you go to a 4 year college, UTI, or just go jump into a shop somewhere. Your ability to succeed is based on your own motivation. No credits, certifications, or degree will make you good at what you do. Anybody can earn a piece of paper at some school but what you do with it when you graduate is what matters. I worked at a VW dealer, then Toyota, I'm currently at a diesel shop working on locomotives for Norfolk Southern. #1 piece of advice I was given is go where the money is. Your tool box has wheels for a reason. Don't go burning bridges, but don't be afraid to change.

1fastTransAm

iTrader: (6)

I went to the Orlando campus starting Feb 2014 and left after 2 courses. I had family emergency toward the end of 1 course and they made me repeat the whole damn course after missing only 18hrs of class time yet I had a 4.0. There are other schools out there that are just as good if you want to be a mech for a performance shop. Now if you want to be a dealership mech then go there. Orlando for CORE runs 32k a year then you have Ford or whatever else from there so tack on another 20K+ It isn't for everyone I was bored out of my mind cause I like to build go fast cars not sorry Mrs Jones we will fix your recall or what ever. To each is there own.