Automotive Careers - Thinking of attending UTI

Hey guys.

I am getting close to graduating highschool. I have been thinking of attending UTI this fall.

I would like to take their diesel/automotive class. Hopefully I can do well and get accepted into one of the manufacturer classes.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

desiel is a great choice, higher paying. You just have to go to the PA campus for diesel.

they also have diesel in Arizona.

Diesel is a lot more stable when it comes to jobs.


I would do a search and search UTI before you sign up.......

Also might call around to the places that you would want to work and talk to the service managers and see what they require and what schools the recomend....... the answers may suprise you. Just because a schools says so and so companies hire our students mean jack....... for some of them they DO hire them....... to be oil changers.

i went to a UTI school and it was a pretty good experience for me. there is no question that i learned about how a car works. a lot of other students weren't happy with the school because they had unreal expectations of how much hands-on learning that they would get... lets face it, they don't have time to show you how to bolt by bolt rebuild a car, but they do give you the knowledge of how everything works so that you can learn to be a good mechanic yourself (and not just a parts changer).

one other thing is that the recruiters at the school are only useful for the tours of the school, they will tell you anything to get you to go there. they don't have to see you after you get accepted so they don't care what they tell you.

i didn't do any of the manufacturer specific training, but if you have any questions about it PM me.

i went to NTI, got into Volvo. But I gave up my seat to someone else. Its a rough economy and I didnt need anymore debt trying to relocate to arizona from NC. Wouldve been nice , but Im trying other career paths. Cars are still my number 1 passion. That and poontang.


As a matter of fact, alot of the stuff I learned, i.e. Fabrication classes and engine classes..i interpreted with my current build.

Check this thread ---> http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/automotive-careers/1055621-uti-school.html lots of responses in there.

I just went on a tour and met with a school administrator on Wednesday.
IT IS EXPENSIVE!!! But, the name UTI and expertise you have walking out of there is pretty good. It a 51 week long course for the automotive repair classes, MON-FRI, 6 hours a day.
This school was immaculate and everyone has their own engine/car pretty much to work on. You should call/email them for some literature.
GOOD LUCK!!!

If I was in your shoes/age/situation..I would...very good idea...:D

I just went on a tour and met with a school administrator on Wednesday.
IT IS EXPENSIVE!!! But, the name UTI and expertise you have walking out of there is pretty good. It a 51 week long course for the automotive repair classes, MON-FRI, 6 hours a day.
This school was immaculate and everyone has their own engine/car pretty much to work on. You should call/email them for some literature.
GOOD LUCK!!!


Take it from a graduate... the name UTI usually makes the places you go to to get hired cringe.... Lots of dum dums come out. And they do shine the place up real well for the tours... believe me... And the recruiters lie out of their asses. Electrical knowledge there is pretty good, as is how to diagnose problems, but if you think you will come out and earn $80,000 a year as they like to say to some recruits well, no you wont. Probably start changing oil, And still have to work your way up, as if you never went to school. But you will learn, if you care to. For me it was a waste, I had several years working on boats under my belt, I only learned a limited amount.

they give you a damn good education, but the ones that get the jobs are the top of the class. my coworkers have a lot of experience with family who were number 2 in the class and didnt get picked up. so do not go there expecting to get picked up right after you finish

There is an aviation maintenance school here that tells people the will make $25 or something crazy an hour starting out.......... hahaha.... thats contractor pay with like 5 years experience hahaha and the students are not that bright and the ones I worked with were made seat pullers quick.

Like I said call around to the dealerships and the shops and company that these schools advertise and see what they say.

I went to UTI Orlando campus graduated top in my class, the school will put you about 5 years ahead of your peers but will not teach you evrything. You will definatley have a headstart in the areas that matter thses days electrical and diagnostics....The school is worth it as long as you apply yourself and leave the highschool shit in highschool. I was 30 yo when I went fresh out of the Army and I felt like I was in a daycare center for 6 hours a day 5 days a week. You need to make sure that this ia what you want to do froa living before you drop 22gran on this school cause ypou will have to pay it back. You will probably come out making about 13-16 bucks an hour on flat. Ay the moment the auto industry isnt doing real good dealer wise so when you grad you will probably want to look at a more private/corporate setting to work dealers are going down left and right. As far as the education that you will get you get what you put in out, if you put shit in you will get shit out. I f you apply yourself and study and pick the instructors brains apart it will be worth it, if you come to play highschool games you may as well spend that 22gran on underwater basket weaving classes

are you wanting to be working for a specific company as far as gm or for or mazda? i went through the gm asep program. i loved it, spent very little money, and also came out with ase's, gm certs, and an associates degree. now uti ive worked with a few people from there and here i am making good money and here they are stuck hourly at around 10 bucks. you spend a lot of money and come out with just certs and no guarantee on having a job. i was going to attend uti and then stepped back and looked at it all and went with the asep program.

are you wanting to be working for a specific company as far as gm or for or mazda? i went through the gm asep program. i loved it, spent very little money, and also came out with ase's, gm certs, and an associates degree. now uti ive worked with a few people from there and here i am making good money and here they are stuck hourly at around 10 bucks. you spend a lot of money and come out with just certs and no guarantee on having a job. i was going to attend uti and then stepped back and looked at it all and went with the asep program.

GM ASEP Grad here too! I thought it was awsome and I would do it again! I had 4 friends goto UTI while I went to ASEP. They finished before me, But in the long run I make the most out of all of them, and I already had my job while I was in school! Plus having a degree is a nice. GM Dealers would hire an ASEP kid anyday over a UTI Grad.

GM ASEP all the way

I have never met anyone that graduated from UTI that actually knew what the fuck they were doing. I would never waste my money at that school.

FWIW, I've tried hiring two UTI grads as part timers to help me when times were busy, and they caused more problems for me to fix than actually getting anything done.

I have six friends that have gone to UTI, all different in knowledge coming into the school and all different knowledge coming out. UTI is just like any other good automotive school in that you get what you put into it. The school does not make you smarter, your effort is what matters most. I live 40 minutes from the PA campus but I decided to go 40 minutes the other way to Northampton Community College. I put a lot of effort into my learning and was very happy with what I learned, not to mention that it was incredibly cheaper. But Northampton has a very good program... I live in Montgomery county and their program is junk (at least it was 5 years ago) and you will not learn the same stuff at a bad program. Also consider that UTI is not the only school with manufacturer's programs, Northampton had GM ASEP and Chrysler CAPS (Did ASEP myself). I guess my point is you only get out of it what you put into it and there are other good programs out there that make UTI look overpriced. Good luck!

I have never met anyone that graduated from UTI that actually knew what the fuck they were doing. I would never waste my money at that school.

FWIW, I've tried hiring two UTI grads as part timers to help me when times were busy, and they caused more problems for me to fix than actually getting anything done.

I know a guy that went to UTI and is very knowledgeable, I know another guy that didn't know a coolant system was pressureized and is now a pretty good wrench.

I also know a couple putz's that didn't know shit after going there, but they did not put the effort in while they were there.

i graduated from huston campus in auto diesel industrial program 6 years ago then went on to the vw program. i have been a vw tech every since. made over 85k the last 2 years and relocated/work in kc.
the school is what you make of it. i went to school with a ton of retards and it was like being in high school shop class most days.

if you decide to go make sure you keep your eye on the prize and don't be a fuck up or you will paying 20 some thousand dollars back for nothing

Sheesh what an eye openning thread. Better to find out now than later.
If you work on heavy trucks your pay is per hour if you work on cars majority is flat rape.
Lots of stealing and tower operator pay offs to make some money. Im pretty sure bike and boats are per hour also. Aviation is another creature. Way under paided for the responsibility and your no good without type endorsment course either to the company which usualy wont send you anyway. Crazy thing is I enjoyed that the most.

My advice is sit down long and hard before you decide what you "think" you might like.

There is an aviation maintenance school here that tells people the will make $25 or something crazy an hour starting out.......... hahaha.... thats contractor pay with like 5 years experience hahaha and the students are not that bright and the ones I worked with were made seat pullers quick.

Like I said call around to the dealerships and the shops and company that these schools advertise and see what they say.


Thats a good idea here but can back fire on you like it did me just recently.
Thought Id try something new until the recession wave passed and backfired. If you call dont ask them " If I go to such and such school" tell them you graduated from it as if you were actualy applying.
I found employers will tell you exactly what you want to hear, which is very misleading. It would be better for employers to tell you straight without concideration of feelings toward such and such schools.

good luck

www.UNOH.edu
This is where I went. It was worth. Alot of my other buddies attended other schools and wished they went to UNOH. I got a associates degree in Auto/Diesel/Highperformance Motorsports Technology. They have a tubed S10, Dragster,Dirt track cars and a ARCA car. They also own a ractrack.

I attended uti in orlando about 2 years ago and it was the biggest waiste of money i ever spent. They will give you a bunch of bs stories on how everyone gets approved jobs anywhere you wanna live and bla bla bla. well the reality is they will assure you a job where they are avalable and not where you live and that can be anywhere in the us. I spent over 22k and didnt learn much more than when i went in and i was one of the top in my class. it would be great for someone that is totally dumb to cars and has never turned a wrench but for someone trying to learn the non common mechanic knowladge, its a waiste. but thats just my experiance with UTI

SAMRacing.com

I grad from NADC (Nashville Auto Diesel College) and it was an ok choice. I didnt want to go to UTI because it was too close to home lol. The school is more focus towards diesel than automotive. I didnt know this when i went there and i didnt know anything about semis and heavy equipment. I learned a lot of good knowledge about diesels and automotive. I have no intention of workin on semis. It has come in handy when my freiends with 12v & 24V cummins break lol. All in all i spent 22K on a piece of paper sayin i know my shit! Seriously its what you put into your learning that determines what you get out of ANY school. Dont rely on what they tell you about makin $XXX amount a year. If you go to work at a dealer you better get ready for flat rate haha.

I am telling you if you want to learn all links of Advanced Skills and knowledge go to UNOH. They are top notch and dont need to do all kinds of Advertising because they are flooded with people who want to go there. I go to work on and dyno a Blown alcohol billet Hemi. 2000+ hp. My instuctors motor. :drool: If your serious go there.
I graduated with a 3.92 GPA and had an interview set up by this instructor with Don Schumacher racing but due to my situation at that time I couldnt do it.

I graduated from the OLD UTI campus in Phoenix in 1999, before they bought out MMI. Auto/Diesel 2 year degree. I agree with alot of what everyone is saying; You will get out of it what you put in it. I had just spent 6 years in the Air Force as an Airframe mechanic. I have and always will love anything with an engine in it! Anyways, I graduated #1 in my class and moved to Iowa with my wife. Started working for the local Chevy dealer. $10.00 an hour:cry: That was rough. A little less than the $60K they said when I signed up. Anyway, I worked my up quick because of one thing; Electrical and Driveability diagnosis. That is what I wanted to do from the start. But even after 4 years there, I still was only making $16.50/hr. I finally left and went to work for John Deere at their Engineering center doing testing. WOW!!! What a difference!! Most dealerships will not promote a technician up the ranks. They are too hard to replace. After 2 years at JD I got a supervisors job. I now supervise the Drive train test lab. I have been at JD for 6.5 years. Sorry to run on and I hope you do not think I am hijacking your thread. I also do hiring for JD. Where you got your degree from does not matter. What matters is what you know, your attitude, and how you present yourself. BOTTOM LINE Depending on your ambition, you can do just as well by going to the local community college. They teach just as much and are MUCH cheaper. I paid $18,500 for my education at UTI. At the time the local community college was about $7,000. If you want to go to work for one of the companies that endorse UTI, then goto UTI. If not go to a community college. I will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have about UTI. Just PM me. Overall, UTI was a good experience.

Scott