Automotive News, Media & Press - Wyotech?

i was woundering if any of you guy's had any advice for someone who wants to work in a high performance or speed shop? im enrolled in Wyotech and im supposed to start school in April. I would love to work at a place like GMMG but wouldnt we all. if anyone has any advice it would be greatly appreciated.

Thank's Luke

I was enrolled at wyotech to start this october but i transfered to NASCAR Technical Institute in NC. Im into the racing and prerformance part of it and as soon as I found out they had a school backed by nascar i was in and plus I was goin to go the Laramie, WY campus and thats not a good idea with a Trans Am cause it snows and blows like crazy out there. But i have had many friends that went to wyotech and its a very good school. They have the Chassis Fab and Hiperf Engines which is a sweet course. Have you looked into UTI. They are the ones that put on the nascar school. But anyways ill stop there. Hope i helped ya out some and if you have any more questions let me know. Ben

Yea i was enrolled in the Orlando campus of UTI and i went and took a tour in July and wasnt to impressed and i've been wanting to go to Wyotech so i figured i'd try that i've heard alot of good things about Wyotech.

WyoTech puts out some of the best fabricators and engine builders. I believe that Chip Foose and Boyd Coddington both have a few on their teams. I have a friend who just graduated from high school who is going there this winter. He is real ramped up about it. You can't beat the scenery either!

WyoTech puts out some of the best fabricators and engine builders. I believe that Chip Foose and Boyd Coddington both have a few on their teams. I have a friend who just graduated from high school who is going there this winter. He is real ramped up about it. You can't beat the scenery either!

"Jesse" from the television show "Extreme 4X4" is a Wyotech grad. She was a student there when they filmed an episode of "Overhaulin'". The episode was for the '56 4-door that they converted into a 2-door roadster.

I think they are both good schools. But the thing that convinced me to go to a UTI Backed school is there is a MSAP or something like that that is a group of high end manufacturers like Porsche, Audi, Jaguar, Mercedes Benz and a few more but anwyays them companies hire students from schools like Wyotech and UTI and last year there were like 1500 students hired by these companies and 23 of them were from Wyotech and 1400 were from UTI. That right there told me where to go. Where the jobs are at. When i get out of school i want a good job..thats why i'm paying 30k for it so i want to go somewhere where my chances of a good job when i graduate. I have toured both schools and to me the the NASCAR school was by far a lot more impressive. But hearing a 800hp nextel cup car on the dyno aslo helped my decision. But ya thats my opinion but i think both schools are good.

I am just curious but have any of you guys looked in the School of Automotive Machinists? They have produced some of the baddest dudes in the country and directly send people to Evernham, DEI, Yates, Rousch, Warren Johnson, Allen Johnson, John Force, Ed Pink, Tony Schumacher, Penske, etc. They are also a sponsor here on Ls1tech AND people like Katech, lingenfelter, etc. have graduates. Charles Anders, owner and president of Horsepower Engineering here on ls1tech as well as Pecos, owner and operator of LME (also sponsor) are graduates of SAM! Did you guys know about this place?


Just curious.

I've heard of SAM, but never knew they were so big with top names in the industry. As far as Wyotech, my good friend just started there a few weeks ago and absolutely loves it. It is expensive, but they will help you with finding jobs and they have other campuses besides the Wyoming one. I would definitely recommend it since I went with him to the open house of the shop and such...plus all Wyotech students get a 50% discount on Snap-On tools. :)

I just graduated from the Wyotech West Sacramento class in Chassis Fab and High Performance Engines and I must say that this campus should be shut down. I would say that most of the instructor are inexperianced and the most don't last longer then 3-6 months at a time before quiting or getting fired. Most of the material is out dated and not with the times. The class I was in was the first class at this campus and I must say that I really wish that I had never attended. Most of the graduates from this campus are not able to get really good jobs. Lets put it this way, this campus is so desparate for instructors that they have hired kids to work for them. I personally would say that if you are planning on attending Wyotech don't go to this campus go to Wyoming or UTI. If could go back in time I would have attended SAM's racing.

One other thing....what do you call a school that promotes ASE but is no longer certified.....Wyotech.

I thought the Sacramento Campus was one of the newer ones. If you want a current modern school im not sure youd want to go to the Laramie campus either. Its a tin building out in the country. After touring NTI in NC Wyotech doesnt even begin to compare...to me. And at NTI where i am going you get a 55% discount on Snap-On Tools. So if i were you make sure and look around and just dont make your decision by looking at one school. Look at a few schools before you decide on one for sure. I know im glad i did otherwise id be going to Wyotech right now.

I've heard a lot of good things about SAM and plan to attend. I just need to see the 2006 enrollment schedule or whatever.

It is one of there newer campuses....they should have waited at least a year so that they could employee new instructors and to update the material.

I've heard a lot of good things about SAM and plan to attend. I just need to see the 2006 enrollment schedule or whatever.


January 5th is when the next enrollment of the school starts. Give us a call at 713-683-3817 and we can talk over everything you need to do and know about the school. Just shoot me any questions you can think of. I can also give you the rest of the beginning of the 2006 schedule as well :D. let me know how I can be of service to ya.


Gray

I'll have to say guys, if you are really into cars and more into doing testing rather than building, look into Minnesota State University, Mankato. Their 4 year Automotive Engineering Technology program is just what you want. There you will get all the hands on you want to learn plus you get to learn how everything else works.
They have an SF-901 engine dyno, SF-600 and 1080 flowbenches, Mustang chassis dyno, superflow emmisions dyno, superflow bike dyno and some of the greatest proffesors anywhere.

I graduated from there 2.5 years ago and it started me into a career that is excellent. If you are interested, give them a call and ask to see Dr. Bruce Jones http://cset.mnsu.edu/aet/ . He will be more than happy to give you a tour of the facilities.

I thought the Sacramento Campus was one of the newer ones. If you want a current modern school im not sure youd want to go to the Laramie campus either. Its a tin building out in the country. After touring NTI in NC Wyotech doesnt even begin to compare...to me. And at NTI where i am going you get a 55% discount on Snap-On Tools. So if i were you make sure and look around and just dont make your decision by looking at one school. Look at a few schools before you decide on one for sure. I know im glad i did otherwise id be going to Wyotech right now.

I have three friends that went to the Laramie campus and they didn't really like it that much.

I currently go to Nascar Tech. and am not that pleased with the school. To be quite honest it should not be called NASCAR Tech, because nascar really does not want much to do with the school. The school defenitly caters to the guy that wants to work in a regular old dealership. They certainly do not aim to put out grads for the high performance industry. Thats not to say that you will not be able to find a job with a speed shop or race team because it is certainly posible just don't let the name of the school or all the hype get to you. READ BETWEEN THE LINES. If you have any questions about the school just PM me.

January 5th is when the next enrollment of the school starts. Give us a call at 713-683-3817 and we can talk over everything you need to do and know about the school. Just shoot me any questions you can think of. I can also give you the rest of the beginning of the 2006 schedule as well :D. let me know how I can be of service to ya.


Gray
One thing that concerns my parents about me attending SAM is the surrounding area. I have a cousin that lives in the woodlands and she says that the area around the school is real bad. So most likely I will be living by myself while I attend, where would you recommend finding a place. Nothing too expensive or far.

ill be attending SAM nov 8.....badass school :D, the area dont seem to bad but then again i live 10 hrs away...

69chevy I found a decent place off of 290 pretty close to the school called vintage apartments i suppose its safe has gates n everything but my lease is just 6 months so after the lease is up ill move elsewhere once i get to know my way around houston.

Gray You do the same thing as josh dont u? dunno if ive speaked to u yet?

ill be attending SAM nov 8.....badass school :D, the area dont seem to bad but then again i live 10 hrs away...

69chevy I found a decent place off of 290 pretty close to the school called vintage apartments i suppose its safe has gates n everything but my lease is just 6 months so after the lease is up ill move elsewhere once i get to know my way around houston.

Gray You do the same thing as josh dont u? dunno if ive speaked to u yet?
Is it expensive there at those apartments or not? Just curious because the schools already expensive enough, let alone the living costs and everything else.

Yeh I feel ya about the cost of the school but it'll be well worth it :). The apartment I got is a "studio" its the only one they had and its $450 a month plus bills which shouldnt be much at all but hey its somewhere to stay till I get situated. The school has a deal with castlewood apartments like almost right across the street I think but ive heard to steer away from them...... but then again the majority of the students live there.

About the living costs, I got financial aid and a stafford loan and a student loan from sallie mae for 30 grand and whats left I live on which should be about 6 grand for living expenses. Might have to get a job eventually tho.

O yeh Im takin both courses at the same time so Ill be done with em in 10 months.

Although we prefer you go to Castlewood as was mentioned here. You have the option to live wherever you choose. Castlewood is a nice place and 99% of the other students live there too, so you are surrounded by people who are just like you. It really is a chance to get close with the other guys and make good friends for life. Not to mention, it is only a mile from the school so it allows you to sleep in more, compared to you living further from us. We also have a place called Fox Hall that we can suggest you too as well. Just let me know, and Josh or Myself can help you out.

Feel free to call us. 713-683-3817 is our number. Have a good one!


Gray

I would never go to UTI. Urinary tract infection...

O yeh Im takin both courses at the same time so Ill be done with em in 10 months.
That's not that bad a price for those apartments. Anyways, you can take two classes at once? Are you taking one in the morning and then one at night? If you can let me know how that's done, that'd be awesome.

BigBronco - how much do those Castlewood apartments go for? Also, my mom was checking out the SAM website yesterday and requested a information package so we're good as far as that. I would just like more info on where the best/closest place to live is and is a pretty good price. Those "studios" sound good but like you said, Castlewood also has a lot of SAM students living there so that would help out.

TIA

the fox hall apartments are very nice

I believe its one class in the morning and other after noon somethin like that just give gray a call.

My parents chose these apartments because of the safety...I guess its because I come from a small town (13,000 population) to ....Houston :D

I dont think I should have a problem wakin up im use to wakin up at 5 in the morning to go to work :|

Bigbronco have I speaked to you at teh school in person....tryin to put a face somewhere in there :S

I believe its one class in the morning and other after noon somethin like that just give gray a call.

My parents chose these apartments because of the safety...I guess its because I come from a small town (13,000 population) to ....Houston :D

I dont think I should have a problem wakin up im use to wakin up at 5 in the morning to go to work :|

Bigbronco have I speaked to you at teh school in person....tryin to put a face somewhere in there :S


I believe I have spoken with you a few times, but Josh has handled most of your information. Definately is going to be cool to get a face and a name to match up :D

Honestly there is nothing wrong with Castlewood, people there have drag cars, ls1's from camaros to vettes and everything else. Fox Hall is also nice.


69Chevy. I will defiantely get you a packet tomorrow. I will go through my emails now and make sure I got your info. If you wouldn't mind. Maybe you can send me a PM with it again to make sure I have it correct! I can also send you a packet for castlewood and you can look at there plans and prices. We can also help you out with getting a roommate with a student to split the prices as well :thumb:


Let me know what I can do for you. This is why I am here!


Gray

hey gray, can you send me that castlewood packet out to me also... thanks man

I'm in Laramie right now at Wyotech. I guess as far as the quality of the school, you get what you want to out of it and you get what you put into it. I've learned the rest of the shit that I didn't already know, I've already cammed cars and various other things before coming here so I've had a generalized idea about a lot of it. A couple instructors really knwo their shit and have been here over 5 years. As for a tin building in the middle of nowwhere, there's about 15 buildings around the town and a few of them arent even 5 years old. The campus isnt bad. the town sucks dick and the weather is 10X worse. As far as teh school like i said, its what you want to make of it. I dont know if i'd attend if i knew how it ran now. Anyone can shoot me a message about it though. If you're coming out here between now and the end of march shoot me a message and ill show ya everything or whatever.

Castlewood sucks , dont do it .... it may be close .... but defintely not worth it.
I'm confused then....if you could give me some pros and cons it'd be awesome cuz a lot of people say that's it alright, then you come in and say no....any other advice on where to live for a decent price and all? Castlewood seems to be a choice right now. I'll still check it out and everything but just would like to look at other options i guess.

I'll be staying like 20-30 mins away in Katy.. i found a DAMN nice apt for 550 a month. 1 bedroom, looks FANTASTIC. A little drive, but i'll be away from the city and closer to ppl i know and be in a nice place for little $$ compared to others. Want the link, PM or something so i'm not steppin on toes of who they have 'contracts' with as far as apts.

i went to wyotech...but to be a diesel mechanic. loved the school...hated wyoming. love my job as a diesel mechanic at a ship yard now.

Oh yeah, whoever said Wyotech isnt ASE certified is wrong btw....

WyoTech is a good school to go to, you won't have any trouble finding a job outta there it seems like. Of the time I spent in laramie I got to be friends with 4 or 5 guys who went or were going there, and all of them had good things to say about it.

I've spent plenty of timein Laramie WY .... I'm originally from Casper, WY ...

For all you Texas guys, lemme put it to you this way: After having been in Laramie for a few years, Lubbock seems like a thriving metroplois. That should give you an idea ;)

The town of laramie is a frothing shithole....I don't know how else to describe it. There's some good fishing and hunting to be done around there, but the actual town of Laramie....I don't think I could pick a crappier place to live.

Gray has given me a ton of info on SAM, and am planning to attend as soon as I get out of here with my BA.
I'm bringing a buddy with me, so Gray just brought in 2 students. I hope they pay you commission!

I'm excited about going, I'm going to try and get down there to talk face to face to Gray and some of the others around Springtime.

Gray has given me a ton of info on SAM, and am planning to attend as soon as I get out of here with my BA.
I'm bringing a buddy with me, so Gray just brought in 2 students. I hope they pay you commission!

I'm excited about going, I'm going to try and get down there to talk face to face to Gray and some of the others around Springtime.


Glad I could help you out! Just let me know if there is anything else Josh or Myself can help you with. Just give us a call or shoot us an Email.

Have a good one guys

Gray

I guess if you would ask me if I would send someone to Wyotech, I'd have to say no. A lot of the times they are to concerend with taking points from your grade for various reasons. The instructors will tell you different answers for the same question and basically, how the tests are worded, they are made to make you fuck up. We took a test today, and it was over planetary gears. There was a question on that test that asked. What are the three compenents to the planetary gear set...
The entire class - Being 100% honest here. all put the same answer and we all missed it. We all said it was the Ring gear, Sun Gear, And Pinion carrier.

After we all missed it we asked how that was wrong? the instructor told us that it was pinion gears not pinion carrier. Well, the gears are inside of a carrier and some of them are not removable. He said not all planetary gears have to have a carrier. and we asked well waht doesnt? and he proceeded to tell us this:
"When I was in Nashville in a Museum, there was a planetary gear without a carrier for the pinion gears, the planetary gear was designed for a pump in some time of farm equiptment." so basically he said that it had nothing to do with an automatic transmission because we were taught that all of them are supposed to have a carrier.

I don't really see how that is a fair question if its based off of something we don't study or have any reason to in an automotive school.

The school should be about learning not if you have a button missing, or if you're completely shaven for taht day etc. They take it to far. I think today, there was 300 points taking from the class. each person has about 2000 points each class. so 10 points every now and then adds up fast.

I have never understood why people go to UTI/wyotech etc when you can get the same thing from a local community college.

I live in NC and when I first moved here I thought the NASCAR technical institute would be awesome...so many students talked me out of it and I was so glad I didn't go. I have to laugh at some of the people I meet who are all gung-ho about working for nascar/race teams...you have such a small chance of actually getting to work for one that it is ridiculous.

Apparently @ the nascar tech if you graduate as #1 in your class they give you a job on a race team. I work next to a guy who was #1 five years ago...he got a great job that he loved for six months, and then they kicked him to the curb. Now he works with me as a line tech @ a dodge dealership, $25,000 in debt from school years ago. I've worked alongside a few NTI graduates and I didn't feel like they knew anything more than I did...one of them was so bad that they actually demoted him to work in the express lube section of the dealership because he fucked things up so badly.

I also lived with a guy who was going to NTI, he was the one who mainly talked me out of it. He just said it was way too much $$ for what it was...Also they do not help you find jobs always, you're pretty much on your own. I believe wyotech/uti/nti tries to lure students in with high hopes of working for NASCAR and high-class dealerships, but the reality is much shittier...

I went to the local community college for a 2 year program for Chrysler's CAP program. I think it cost $2000 total for the whole time I was there...I learned so much stuff. Working at a local dealership was part of the grade too, so you had no choice but to get plenty of hands-on experience. They try SO hard to find you a job...I had several offers without even stepping in the door of a dealership one time...

Now I don't intend to be a line technician the rest of my life because it really does suck sometimes, but I know that the experience is invaluable...from here, I could do just about anything. I'm just so glad I didn't waste my time or money at NTI.

You might want to see if you can get a job with someone you have in mind and just go in there and kick ass.Go to school at night and see if you really like the industry. I got a job at a major exhaust manufacturing company back in 1991. I worked every bit of overtime and on weekends to learn as much as i could about every part of that company as well as getting paid for doing it. I did not know how to weld so i worked after hours to train myself to weld their product. After awhile they moved me into R&D department where i made special parts for the mufflers and for unique applications. about 4 years into they bought a whole dyno shop that did testing for GM in LA CA. As soon as found out that was happening i told them i wanted to work over in the Dyno. I helped build the cell and worked over there after i was done with my work in the R&D department. After that I was taught by one of the greatest people in the industry how to build engines. We built engines for GM press cars, developed the LT4 hot cam and carburated intake for LT4. Some of the cars even went on the road with John Mosses cars. We did Hot Rod Power Tours and got to travel with GM all over the country. This industry is very demanding. You can have the best education but if you don't kick ass and work, you will be left behind.

It all comes down to what you really want to do...specialize in one thing do it well and you'll always have a job.. If you want to build motors check out S.A.M I have a friend who attended and work in our engine shop for a few years before moving on to his own deal.....If you would like to build street rods maybe wyotech ....If you want to work on passenger cars maybe UTI...but if you want to go racing your best bet is a local short track and get hands on training from the ground up... thats what I did and racing is the only "real" job i've ever had..

I can speak from the point of view of a UTI/NTI Grad. I went there after having grown up around racecars, street rods muscle cars etc. When I went I was way ahead of my class. At that point I was 20 and had done fabrication, tuning, engine and chassis building , supercchargers, turbos nitrous,etc and wanted to work on a NASCAR team. They didn't do shit to help me get a NASCAR job and actually told us NOT TO TRY TO GET A NASCAR JOB OURSELVES that we would just be bugging them. TOTAL BS. I pissed off teachers that I had because they could not answer any questions only tell me they would check into it. MOST not all of the teachers were dumbasses. The rules are bullshit. I was kicked out of class for having long hair and the wrong shoes. The dean or whatever the fuck the head of the school was called told me "not all of our rules have to be in a book we can change them whenever we want". The whole town of Mooresville hates the students. Out of over a dozen people I went there with that I still talk to 1 works for a hooter pro cup team but had nothing to do with NTI. The rest work at dealerships rangeing from Jaguar and Porsche, to Ford. DO NOT go there if you want to work in racing because they don't encourage it. I decided to just say fuck it and open my own shop. Basicly all I got from going to NTI/UTI is a lot of debt. DO NOT GO THERE. If there is any questions from anyone about this feel free to PM me. Also any current students does Dehart or Ramey still work there? Sorry for the long rant.

I just graduated from the Wyotech West Sacramento class in Chassis Fab and High Performance Engines and I must say that this campus should be shut down. I would say that most of the instructor are inexperianced and the most don't last longer then 3-6 months at a time before quiting or getting fired. Most of the material is out dated and not with the times. The class I was in was the first class at this campus and I must say that I really wish that I had never attended. Most of the graduates from this campus are not able to get really good jobs. Lets put it this way, this campus is so desparate for instructors that they have hired kids to work for them. I personally would say that if you are planning on attending Wyotech don't go to this campus go to Wyoming or UTI. If could go back in time I would have attended SAM's racing.

Don't listen to this guy, he's just bitter because he bought into what they were selling him. ALL of these schools are more or less the same, they're out there to take your money from you. You can get what you want out of them. I watched kids sleep for 9 months and still graduate. They're the ones that go out, get a job, know nothing and get fired. I too just graduated from WyoTech with an AA in Service Management. I already have a kickass job because of this school. If you paid attention when you were there you would have noticed that the curriculum is exactly the same as the Wyoming campus, hell most of the books still had information on things specific to Wyoming. What did you expect? Really?

Don't listen to this guy, he's just bitter because he bought into what they were selling him. ALL of these schools are more or less the same, they're out there to take your money from you. You can get what you want out of them. I watched kids sleep for 9 months and still graduate. They're the ones that go out, get a job, know nothing and get fired. I too just graduated from WyoTech with an AA in Service Management. I already have a kickass job because of this school. If you paid attention when you were there you would have noticed that the curriculum is exactly the same as the Wyoming campus, hell most of the books still had information on things specific to Wyoming. What did you expect? Really?


You are exactly right. I am going to NTI right now and its what you make it. You can be a slacker or w/e and not get a damn thing out of it or you can pay attention and learn. I am only in my second phase and there is a lot of information to be learned from the teachers. All you have to do is ask questions and want to get something out of it and screw off and you will get a decent job and learn a lot. They make the dress code very clear in orientation. And if you dont meet it or follow it you will get sent home. Its not rocket science . Kids from my class had got sent home too already but i follow it and havent had a single problem. And i can see how people would be kind of upset about having 2,000 kids just come into my town and from all over the country. But we ruined that for ourselves by screwing off and racing around town. You can ask any of the teachers, the reason why the town doesnt like us is because we have made a bad impression from day one. Mooresville is a small town that nearly doubled in population in the last 10 years. I am sure people that have lived here for all their lives wouldnt be too happy about it. I know i would be. But i am just here to get my education and move on with my life. School it whatever you want to make it. Im sure i wont be happy with everthing but thats everywhere you go.

Flame suit on...........

Has anybody considered taking automotive courses at a community college? I went though college of dupage automotive program, cost roughly $2000 a year and was paid in full by my employer. So I have no debt, cert. ASE master tech, and am now a journeymen at a dealership. I'm not a super tech, theirs guys that are better then me, i'm 23 and their 35+ y/o, I give them respect.

The school of choice isn't going to make you worlds best tech overnight, we have guys fresh out of UTI changing oil.....

UTI, Wyotech, Lincoln tech are all in the same business, make money. So remember that. You're community colleges not only do you pay for in property tax, so why not use it? I also completed an associate degree going though community college, I could have just done automotive classes and stayed with my automotive certificate.

What nobody ever talks about in any automotive school discussion is the 4 year colleges that have automotive engineering technology programs (BS degree), Southern Illinois U- Carbondale, Ferris State, Kettering University(formerly GMI), U of colorado. Ferris state offers engine machine shop elective courses, and engine performance electives.

The only vocational (non-college) school I would consider spending a dime at is SAM.