Automotive Careers - wyotech blairsville pa?

im currently getting info to go to wyotech i was curious if anyone has been there and if so is it worth the money and if u can answer some questions?

1 do they allow u to work on your own car there if so how do u get money while u are attending there for parts and dorm?

2 does your loan payments start after u get out of school or during ?

3 how much extra is the engine performace and shop management classes?

4 should i bring a spare engine to build while im there

5 if i take the auto repair class does that have the welding training i couldnt weld tootpicks with chewing gum

6 does the school help with your ase cert

7 how likely is it you will have employeement after u leave? and with decent pay ?

8 is there a bowling alley around clubs and of course women in the school ? not that it matters but its always nice to have females around to get the mans show off skills.

oh i have more questions 9 do u bring your own tools or do they supply u with tools ? how does that work?

10 anyone have any recomendations extras i should take while im there?

im very interested in this school its only 3 hours away from me!

please help me with all info u can

i dont go their but i have 4 friends their right now and 3 others got back a few months ago.

1. All my friends got to work on their cars alittle, but not much. If you did it would probably be mostly your own time, unless its body work and your taking autobody.

2. This depends, but all my friends have their loans starting after school.

3. I know power and performance is expensive, i know that because my friends all bitched about it haha.

4. Yeah deffinatly if ya got the money, i can assure you all you have is time down their lol.

5. this i dont know, but i can find out.

6. I dont think they do, i have 2 buddys who are out working right now and niether of them have the ase's yet. But the school gives you practice tests and whatnot.

7. One of my friends who is back now is unemployed, and the other is changing oil and doing tune ups for $12 an hour. But either way, your going to be a mechanic, gotta start at the bottom!

8. Theirs a drag strip not to far, and a real small mall/theatre. I was down their a few weeks back and can tell you their are very few females, atleast attractive ones that is.

9. They supply you with tools for anything you do in school...and they offer KILLER deals on snapon when you get out.

i meet with the guy next week to set everything up in april where do u get money to pay for your dorm and car parts to get engine parts and can you use the garage on your own time?

any more thoughts?

I went to college in TX. San Jacinto College. Suppossed to be the best Automotive Technology school on the south east coast. All my instructors talked shit about Wyotech.

The 1st reason is because they don't really introduce you into the ASE's. In my school we studied for and took practice tests for ASE. Then the people in the class that wanted to go take their ASE's all went together and took them. Including the instructor.

The second reason is because you don't actually get a degree from Wyotech. Well not a state recognized one at least. I know that for sure. Might get a printed diploma saying you completely the program it's just not recognized. At a college you will get a degree that any job will look at. Even at a management position. It shows you have an assiciates degree from college.

The third is that they don't get you a job...In the school I went to they had you a job working in a dealership in your second year of school. You had to work at a delearship because it was your internship and part of your grade once you get into advanced classes.

The fourth is that you finish there and try to go to a dealership and they say go to college and get a degree and get your ASEs while your there. In my opinion you would be better off just doing the ASEs on your own, rather then going to Wyotech. Because a shop would rather see you have ASEs, then a paper from wyotech..seriouslly.

The fifth is the cost. It's way over priced. Try to find a college that offers automotive classes. Their T.V. commercials look nice but trust me it's a gimick. I know 3 people who went there and confirmed everything I heard from my instructors is true.

Also at the college I went to there was a shop with any tool you could ever need and you just need either a student ID or DL to rent a tool. The snapon guys offer you a %50 discount on any tools. That starts the day you start school. Not when you finish. When you finish the college GIVES you 2,500 in tools!

I only spent about 1,500 a semester for classes AND books. Then when I moved IN districted it cut my tuition in half so it was like $500 a semester for tuition and $500 for books. Trust me, you take SO many complex classes. Engine rebuilding is by no means the most complex. That was an easy class. The eletrical gets tricky. You do have to take your regular classes too like english, math, science, pe. Or you can go for the certificate which only takes 9 months, and still get your ASEs if your not looking to do a full 3 years of school. Now days it takes a full 3 years unless you do summers and mini-semesters. So much info to cram, always getting updated (hybrid just for starters) no longer just 2 years. A VERY hard course.

You will graduate thinking you know everything. Just to find out YOU DON'T KNOW SHIT!!! HAHA Spend 2 years, summers, Christmas breaks going to school just to have some old school mechanic give you a hard time and make you feel like shit and tell you to give it up and just change oil because everything takes you a long time and you break off a few bolts and screw a few things up. It's easy working on something you know, but it's hard when a different car rolls in and needs something done. The computer programs make it a little easier. You will just find it takes YEARS to really be a good mechanic.

I decided not to stick with it and went into Millwrights, which is a turbine mechanic, working for the union, then you can draw unemployment while your in between jobsites and do cash jobs (I build fence) and make a killing. Still getting full benifits. I could tell you more if you wanna know more I'll give you my e-mail. HAHA I know you Union bashers hate when someones making $30 an hour then drawing unemployment while their not working and still pulling in cash from cash jobs!

I'm not trying to tell you not to go, just want to inform you. If all you wanna do is learn then you will learn. Just wont be %100 ready to join a delearship or have a degree!

If you just start studying and take your ASEs and join a shop you will learn so much more just being in a shop if you listen to the old schools then going to school. I thought I knew so much on paper, then went into the shop and realized I had a lot to learn!

ill put it this way: at 19 I was offered a position as head of paint and theory at wyotech, not just teach, but head up the whole division. I turned it down because of two things:

Larime, Wyoming is miserable.
Wearing a wyotech shirt is considered to be "the best form of birth control money can buy" according to the students there.


Im sorry, but after that I lost all faith in automotive education.

Honestlly I don't it worth the money at all. I went ended up getting the same job as people who went to the community college and took automotive classes. I think its a huge rip off in my opinion. It was easy for me to get a job but it's not like my knowledge was so much greater then anyone that I worked with. Plus I found out I hate doing the work. If I could give any advice I would say see if your community college has any classes like such and then try to get on working somewhere to actually see if you like it or not. Just my 2 cents. GL

Wearing a wyotech shirt is considered to be "the best form of birth control money can buy" according to the students there.

this is funny lol what the hell so in wy theres no girls or they dont like the shirt?

There are hardly any girls at Tech and it's even a strech to call the girls some of them. And if you are from Tech you are hated by most the town and UW guys. Mostly cause we go after UW girls. First weekend I was in Laramie me and my roomate were already in a fight cause we showed up at a UW party and left with UW girls. Go times. But... still not worth it.

thats to crazy did u graduate?

Yep, then worked doing body work for about 6-7 months and hated it. Now i'm working on year 5 in the Marines and love it.

i went there back in 04 and graduated i have been working at a body shop for 3.5 yearsthe pay is not bad i make ok money i made 72,000 last year, but it true the locals hate u and uw guys but that makes it fun if u like dirt bikes or fourwheelers it fun lots of places to ride plus fort collins colorado is only 30min drive lots of bars and hot ladies ,on another note i dont think anybody from cali likes anybody from texas

well thats plenty of money 72000 in my area is like over moderate pay

I went, it was the worst year of my life and the biggest waste of time i can imagine... heres the answers to your ?s
1 do they allow u to work on your own car there if so how do u get money while u are attending there for parts and dorm?
you will get to work on your car in certain programs, though its not worth the hassle and paperwork, depending on your student loans

2 does your loan payments start after u get out of school or during ?
Most student loans make you pay after you finish schooling

3 how much extra is the engine performace and shop management classes?
you get one for free with your core program. ASM (shop management) is not worth it at all, they tell you you get an associates degree but some facts on that. No other college in this country will accept that as college credit and do not recognize it as a real degree... neither dose any employer

4 should i bring a spare engine to build while im there
Absolutly not. The facilitys are horrible to build an engine in. Yes they have the tools but they have been beaten on and most do not work properly

5 if i take the auto repair class does that have the welding training i couldnt weld tootpicks with chewing gum
You will learn to weld, i can say that about them, i picked up quite a bit... although i had experience going in

6 does the school help with your ase cert
No, they could give a rats ass if you get certified, your on your own. All they did was give us a list of testing facilitys

7 how likely is it you will have employeement after u leave? and with decent pay ?
Zilch.... heres some facts... dealerships dont want kids right out of school, there looking for trained and seasoned techs. Wyotech says they gaurentee placement. The only job offer i ever got from them was an entry level lube tech 3 states away after i requested and marked on the form i wanted something localy in my home area. If you want to do the automotive thing i seriously recomend you do an apprenticeship. Youll get alot farther for alot less money. I know 4 kids out of my graduating class of roughly 200 that are currently working automotive jobs and none of them are much more than an entry level tech. It really is a scam as much as i hate to say it. The cars that are there to train you on are all donated piles of shit. I remember specifically one car in the automotive program was missing a whole side of it because it had been t-boned. They didnt even try to clean it up. Everything theres been destroyed to the point it dosent run right. The training equiptment and tools included.

If your planing on doing something in the specialty automotive industry (i.e. performance/body work/custom stuff) i recomend you make contacts. You dont get those jobs unless you know people as much as it sucks to say.
As far as blairsville its an awful place to live. There are no females therefore you do not get the full college experience (dunno rather thats important to you but i seriously regret it). When i say no females though i seriously mean it. There were 4 hot chicks in the town (not the school). Theres nothing to do up there, you almost have to drive clear to pittsburg to find anything to get into that isnt illegal. The locals hate students and treat you like crap. Worst yet I.U.P (the univerity the next town over) hates Teckers (which is that youll be known as) and fuck with there cars them ect.

Im sorry for the rant but I like to try to save people the trouble of that school. I know they make it sound great but take it from someone who did it, it isnt. If you decide to do it, best of luck but if you want my personal advice, go to a 4 year college and get a degree in something. Youll be better off in the end. If you must go automotive (its not fun when your working on other peoples shit) i recomend apprenticeship. If theres anymore questions you have let me know. Ill be more than happy to fill ya in. I have pictures of the campus and everything.

i say avoid it. i have not been impressed with wyotech grads. albeit i am sure there are some great wrenches that graduate from there. i think you will learn more on your own than going ot school. i worked in a performance shop while i was in college. i learned a lot from my old boss. i took what i learned and started my own shop.

Don't do it. I graduated from there in March of this year.

1. You can only work on your car if what your doing has been covered in class and time allows for it. You don't really get enough in loans for lots of parts and enough to live on. Choose wisely. Parts were not allowed in the dorms. Alcohol is NOT allowed at all. They will evict you.

2.Loan payment starts after a grace period after you graduate or if you drop out.

3.One extension course is required in addition to your core class. If you take automotive then after your 6 month core (usually you take your core class before a extension unless there is a change in classes offered) you take at least one 3 month core. Some classes are geared more toward collision guys than the automotive tech guys. Like Hod Rod is class geared toward custom painting and some fab work.

4.They have a clean room for engine builds in Hi-performance class. (the 3 month extension I took) I watched a guy build a 383 for his nova back home. (Blairsville has one 98 ta for the hi-po class.) Some instructors were more helpful than others.

5.They do teach welding but the ICAR classes are something that is offered separate from school. Yet the ICAR classes are held on campus. The school donates the space and is not affiliated with Wyotech. Same for ASE's and other certifications.

6.There will be practice ASE's offered here and there. You most likely will not score better than a 50% at best with what you learn in school. Save your money and get more experience. Or do a apprenticeship.

7.Employment before graduating is rare. Most likely (especially in this economy) you will struggle to find employment in a auto field. Shops are downsizing and dealers are closing. The market is flooded with good Techs. Why hire a green rookie if you can snag a experienced tech?

8.Theres a bowling alley in Latrobe. About 30-45 mins away from Blairsville. Women are few and far between. The Wal-Mart is where many techers find local love. Hell my soon to be ex wife made out with one, and kissed another. Many of the cashiers are willing and able. Plus they are legal. Watch out for the under-aged girls in the area. Whores!

My experience both in and out of school was miserable. My wife separated from me. I moved from away from my friends and family. I ended up with a debt near $32000 and the price has gone up. There was nothing to do near Blairsville. Everything is like a hour away (Pittsburgh) I did get to go white water rafting and that might have been the coolest thing I did in PA. I work at a small shop. But I only make $12 a hour. I do more than oil changes too. In short don't do it.

Dont go its a waste of money and the auto industry as a tech is a dying and hard industry right now I graduated from Wyotech in 2004. I am currently not even turning wrench's anymore because it had gotten so slow and if theres no cars to fix you dont get paid and a lot of the younger techs get laid off they only keep the older techs that have been there a long time.

I went to the Blairsville campus and graduated around July 2008. I can't say it was a COMPLETE waste of time, but it definitely wasn't worth the money for the amount of knowledge I got out of it. Granted I learned new things, but I felt there should of been more. I started to dislike the place when I realized that corporate only cared about making money and gave two shits for updating equipment and test vehicles. Plus all the pansy ass kids creating drama like back in high school.

The High performance engine class was an absolute waste of money. I got to tune one car for one day out of the whole 3 months of class. The rest of the time I helped a kid build his LT1 so I wouldn't be sitting around all day. And I didn't need the school to help him with his car either. So that was a waste of $7K.

I did however really like the Chassis fab class (welding, metal working, etc.). My view on that class is completely different than any other class. I had awesome teachers and I got to actually make stuff there. I worked on my own car there. I built my intercooler and piping, built and welded in a 4 point roll cage in my friends camaro. TIG and MIG welding everyday was just real fun for me.

The school didn't help me get a job either. They give you a list of places who have contacted them in the past and you see who is in your area. It didn't help me at all. Oh yeh, the town is a shit hole.

8.Theres a bowling alley in Latrobe. About 30-45 mins away from Blairsville. Women are few and far between. The Wal-Mart is where many techers find local love. Hell my soon to be ex wife made out with one, and kissed another. Many of the cashiers are willing and able. Plus they are legal. Watch out for the under-aged girls in the area. Whores!



We called em prostit-tots in my day lol

Well I wasn't sure how the Wyotech guys were gonna feel about what I said because it's the truth. Sometimes people get but hurt when they spend that much money and can't find a good paying job. There seems to be money in paint an dbody coming from Wyotech but not turning wrenches.

The industry is looking for diagnostic techs not parts changers. The question is WHY. If you don't know WHY then your not gonna make much money. WHY did that part go bad?

Like I said, just pick up a book, study for your ASEs, join a shop. Make em pay you 1$ extra for every patch. You will learn more in a shop in two years then you will there in 10 years..

if you have to go to a school go to SAM that school is bad fucking ass and forget wyo tech they offerd me a full ride then when they cam to my house and seen my race car and asked what do you do with that and told them i street race it for money they got all bitchey and threw the guy out for being a ass in my house then i went in the marine corps 0321 all the way

i went for diesel

it pays better and there's more jobs and personally i think the course is more in depth than any of the other courses.

you can be epa certified in class which is a plus.

the higher part of the graduate's pay range is all in the diesel industry.

I'm still there and am going to take chassis fab to get my welding skills up to par.

and yes blairsville is completely miserable but here's what you do...
1. live off campus
2. go to the iup library and tell them you haven't gotten your id made yet because it's your first semester here and you live off campus.
3. go get an i-card which is the iup id it cost like 15 dollars i think
4. this will get you into a lot of iup frat parties and such
5. don't get caught or you'll get your ass kicked.

personally i think the auto program is worthless there. i heard r/c was a little bit better and i really do love diesel.

good luck

I went to Universal Technical Institute after I got out of the Air Force 11 years ago. I did the Auto and Diesel program. Good school, but very expensive then and even more so now that they are associated with Hot Rod, Nascar, etc. You can get just as good of an education at a community college. Luckily I got a 2 year degree, but not all campuses offer the degree. Just a diploma. One big plus from UTI is they are also associated with BMW, Mercedes, Detroit Diesel, Cummins, and many other big name companies. They also offer LIFETIME job placement services. I left the Auto industry in 2002 to work for John Deere doing experimental testing at their Product Engineering Center. Got out of the Auto industry just in time. Never would have got the job if I didn't have the 2 year degree. I currently supervise the drive train test lab and I can tell you we are struggling to find good candidates to hire as technicians in the test lab! We have taken most of the good ones from Implement deals and Auto dealers in the area. I think if I had it to do over I would have gone to a community college. If your looking at getting into the performance industry then it may be a plus to go to UTI or SAM. If not then I would go to a good community college.

Scott

Yep, then worked doing body work for about 6-7 months and hated it. Now i'm working on year 5 in the Marines and love it.

same here.

For S&G's, I contacted them as I'm getting tired of my current career and thought about getting back into auto. For the $26,450 tuition, you're better off going to a real university and getting a real degree. The blue collar auto industry is not so hot at them moment. Get yourself a mechanical engineering degree (I know, probably a huge stretch if you're looking at Wyotech in the first place) and then work for a manufacturer. Better yet, just get yourself a general business AS and find something that will really make you happy.

If you are insistent on automotive, you might want to check out Penn Tech. It's a branch of Penn State and I'm sure it'd be infinitely more useful if you needed to get a job outside of automotive. http://www.pct.edu/schools/TT/

SAM is the shit i wish i would have went there i went to UTI and im not affraid to say UTI sucks i didn't lean hardly anything new. when it came time for HOT ROD the street portion of the course all we did was remove intakes and dissconnect exhaust systems on little 4 cylinder shit bangers and take a nitrous bottle and spray right out of the bottle into the cars intake...lolol ohh yea they had a damn 96mustang with a 5.0 in it with like a 5 inch damn cowl hood and the thing wouldn't dyno over 90rwhp the cars there were JUNK they had a pro charged 2000 camaro with cam headers intake manifold and a buch of other shit and with 8psi. they couldn't make more than 400rwhp. HOT ROD is the biggest joke ever it's honestly a disgrace to the magazine every car in there damn shop was a pile of shit thats been sprayed withtin an inch of it's life.. they're the reason i have a 383. my so called teacher sprayed my firehawk with a 10lb. bottle of nitrous straight in to the intake from the bottle valve after i TOLD HIM SEVERAL TIMES I DIDN'T WANT TO DRY SHOT MY DAMN CAR. any way the car put down like 465rwhp and like 498rwtq i checked all my fluids and everything looked fine three days later the car had burt 2 quarts of oil and it spun a rod bearing... DON'T WASTE YOU TIME WITH UTI.

Yep, then worked doing body work for about 6-7 months and hated it. Now i'm working on year 5 in the Marines and love it.

well i was thinking about getting out of the Corps and going to an automotive school....answers that question. I'm working on year 7, re enlistment coming up soon (again!)

Everyone I have talked to that has been to Wyotech or UTI has said it sucked and not to go, well on person said Wyotech was cool but said she did not learn much if I remember right.

I have heard good things about sam on here but thats from mostly employees and they are a sponsor here so.... They also have alist of people who hire them and I talked to one of the shops in the list and they said they did not know much about the school or the other one I mentioned.


If you want to work on cars call the local dealerships and talk to the service managers and see what they recomend.

Most guys I have known wen to a community tech school and got their ASE and went to work for a dealership and the dealership put them threw the factory training. Some places will hire you off the street as a oil changer/helper and you go up from there and they will pay for your school but good luck in this economy.

o shit techer whores

the laramie campus is lame the local high school college kids will hate u if they see a wyotech parking sticker on your car its getting messed up

cody my instructor at VC TECH worked at wyotech and so did my upholstery teacher they both agreed wyotech is gay why do u think doug lerouy got the f outa dog went to VC Tech then the stupid board members decide to shut down the number 1 school in the nation and start his own school

Frankly, any good and hard working honestand decent citizen of America would hate a person like you to be taking advantage of the system like the way you do. First off, you say that you are drawing unemployments benefits? Why do you need unemployment if you are able to make $30 an hour? That's one of the major problems in this society, unemployment is supposed to be for those who don't have a paycheck and ar eunable to support themselves and their families. I am drawing unemployment right now but I'm trying to get off of it and I will as soon as I can start earning a living again. You ought to be sorely ashamed of yourself.

Second: The Wyo Tech campus in Blairsville, PA is also the ASE certification testing site. It takes a minnium of at least 2 years expierence in addition to successfully passing the exam in order to be ASE certified.
ANOTHER important point. Not every one who finishes at a school like WYO Tech might be able to find jobs per se but that's not nessarily due to the school. A lot of it has to do with the indiviuals being too lazy to get up and look and work hard enough. Wyo Tech provides resources and tools, if it was such a shit school then explain to me why a wyo tech graduate was able to upon graduaction, immediately get hired by BMW? For those of you really wanting to know something about wyo tech, do yourself a favor and don't rely on postings like the one below but get out there yourself and find out for sure exactly just what this school is all about. That advice needs to be taken for all things. You will be surprised at the number of students who enroll into wyo tech and end up doing nothing more than juswt plainly looking for a party and goofing off. Yes the school is expensive but it is there to get you an entry level postion. It isn't for every one, nothing is. Most of your local technical coleges are not going to have all that extra stuff and tools, due to the public school budget strains. Now that is a fact.
About getting degrees, you are wrong about that too. You can take a management course and get your associates degree graduating with some knowledge in being able to operate a shop. Get your facts straight. This posting below is from someone who has never been to wyo tech but makes statements based upon what he has heard from a very select few.

I went to college in TX. San Jacinto College. Suppossed to be the best Automotive Technology school on the south east coast. All my instructors talked shit about Wyotech.

The 1st reason is because they don't really introduce you into the ASE's. In my school we studied for and took practice tests for ASE. Then the people in the class that wanted to go take their ASE's all went together and took them. Including the instructor.

The second reason is because you don't actually get a degree from Wyotech. Well not a state recognized one at least. I know that for sure. Might get a printed diploma saying you completely the program it's just not recognized. At a college you will get a degree that any job will look at. Even at a management position. It shows you have an assiciates degree from college.

The third is that they don't get you a job...In the school I went to they had you a job working in a dealership in your second year of school. You had to work at a delearship because it was your internship and part of your grade once you get into advanced classes.

The fourth is that you finish there and try to go to a dealership and they say go to college and get a degree and get your ASEs while your there. In my opinion you would be better off just doing the ASEs on your own, rather then going to Wyotech. Because a shop would rather see you have ASEs, then a paper from wyotech..seriouslly.

The fifth is the cost. It's way over priced. Try to find a college that offers automotive classes. Their T.V. commercials look nice but trust me it's a gimick. I know 3 people who went there and confirmed everything I heard from my instructors is true.

Also at the college I went to there was a shop with any tool you could ever need and you just need either a student ID or DL to rent a tool. The snapon guys offer you a %50 discount on any tools. That starts the day you start school. Not when you finish. When you finish the college GIVES you 2,500 in tools!

I only spent about 1,500 a semester for classes AND books. Then when I moved IN districted it cut my tuition in half so it was like $500 a semester for tuition and $500 for books. Trust me, you take SO many complex classes. Engine rebuilding is by no means the most complex. That was an easy class. The eletrical gets tricky. You do have to take your regular classes too like english, math, science, pe. Or you can go for the certificate which only takes 9 months, and still get your ASEs if your not looking to do a full 3 years of school. Now days it takes a full 3 years unless you do summers and mini-semesters. So much info to cram, always getting updated (hybrid just for starters) no longer just 2 years. A VERY hard course.

You will graduate thinking you know everything. Just to find out YOU DON'T KNOW SHIT!!! HAHA Spend 2 years, summers, Christmas breaks going to school just to have some old school mechanic give you a hard time and make you feel like shit and tell you to give it up and just change oil because everything takes you a long time and you break off a few bolts and screw a few things up. It's easy working on something you know, but it's hard when a different car rolls in and needs something done. The computer programs make it a little easier. You will just find it takes YEARS to really be a good mechanic.

I decided not to stick with it and went into Millwrights, which is a turbine mechanic, working for the union, then you can draw unemployment while your in between jobsites and do cash jobs (I build fence) and make a killing. Still getting full benifits. I could tell you more if you wanna know more I'll give you my e-mail. HAHA I know you Union bashers hate when someones making $30 an hour then drawing unemployment while their not working and still pulling in cash from cash jobs!

I'm not trying to tell you not to go, just want to inform you. If all you wanna do is learn then you will learn. Just wont be %100 ready to join a delearship or have a degree!

If you just start studying and take your ASEs and join a shop you will learn so much more just being in a shop if you listen to the old schools then going to school. I thought I knew so much on paper, then went into the shop and realized I had a lot to learn!