UTI Schools
01-29-2008, 10:59 AM
#21
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Im A Asst. SM out here in Cali. Most of my UTI/Wyotech guys are usless. They're great for Quicklane/lube tech but thats it. They come out of school with such a "big head" thinkin they know everything but have no "hands-on" experience. Take forever for **** to get done even tho they have all the certs to do the job. Comebacks are commen. The guys who go throgh the comunity college manufacture sponsored corses are the best. Like Ford ASSET guys I have. Half classroom and half dealership experience. They come out of school master certified and I can trust their work. Dont waste you money to go to a UTI/Wyotech. Its like 30 grand? You come out like a heald college degree. Through a CC you can get at least a real degree with your schooling. Iv heard of cases of a UTI guy getting stuck as a lube tech got mad about it went throgh the ASSET program to get some real knoledge.
01-29-2008, 11:54 AM
#22
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Im A Asst. SM out here in Cali. Most of my UTI/Wyotech guys are usless. They're great for Quicklane/lube tech but thats it. They come out of school with such a "big head" thinkin they know everything but have no "hands-on" experience. Take forever for **** to get done even tho they have all the certs to do the job. Comebacks are commen. The guys who go throgh the comunity college manufacture sponsored corses are the best. Like Ford ASSET guys I have. Half classroom and half dealership experience. They come out of school master certified and I can trust their work. Dont waste you money to go to a UTI/Wyotech. Its like 30 grand? You come out like a heald college degree. Through a CC you can get at least a real degree with your schooling. Iv heard of cases of a UTI guy getting stuck as a lube tech got mad about it went throgh the ASSET program to get some real knoledge.
01-29-2008, 12:11 PM
#24
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I think the community college corse is like 2-4 semesters? Not shure but is long. Its so many weeks of classroom then they switch to hands on at the dealrship. The school places them at different dealrs in the area. We have them work with the Shop forman (master tech) and he assigns them work. If they dont work out we can fire them. Then they can try to get hired at a differnt dealer because they have to have the job to get credit. Oh yeah they get paid to work also. Ford has the ASSET program and Toyota has Toyota Tech school. Im shure all manufactures have their own but only two colleges in my area have these programs.
01-29-2008, 01:51 PM
#25
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I'm not going to beat the drum for UTI, but it definitely isn't as bad as everyone makes it out to be, and it definitely isn't as good as the reps will tell you it is. I think it's time somebody breaks it down into what it really is.
Most of the bad you hear about UTI is because of the students. Let me break it down for you. a good 75% of the kids there are total tools, absolute dip****s who think they know everything and are more then willing to write a novel on every car they profess to have owned from the 911 their parents bought them for a first car to the ferrari they have back home. 30% of the kids there will find out that they don't like what they're doing because they signed up only on the basis that they like cars, then they either drop out or stick around barely passing because they don't want to deal with their parent's ****. 25% of kids will go on what's called the "12 hour plan", which is where they spend the maximum amount of time out every phase before they fail attendance. Another 25% of kids go there simply because mommy and daddy are rich and wanted a quick excuse to get them out of the house for 2 years, these kids have no intention of working on cars, or doing anything with their life period.
Notice how I said "kids", not "students". That is why you are treated like a high schooler, because that's exactly what half the whiny little bastards that go to that school are...and of course the school has to keep them around to keep in business.
Probably about 10%-15% of the guys there actually try to learn something, and most of those guys have never even had a glimpse of what the field is like beyond oil changes and busting tires. There are people there who try to learn something, and those guys tend to stand out. Then there are guys who have worked in the field and know a bit about things, but are just trying to get a solid reinforcement on what we already know, and are trying to use the school to accelerate our career towards the upper level MSAT programs, us guys are outright rare around the school...but people know who we are, and as long as you don't act like king of the hill you'll get respect for it.
The MSAT programs you keep hearing about, Porsche, BMW, Audi, etc.... are nothing like normal UTI classes, I'm not in one but everyone I talk to says it's like going from a normal paced community college course to cramming 4 years of Harvard into 4 months. I've talked to the Audi and BMW teacher and they don't take any crap, they're not afraid to send people packing, and they treat every person like they were an actual tech from the classroom to the lab. However, getting into an MSAT basically means you've earned yourself a free ticket to a good career, all you have to do is keep at it and don't get your head get swollen.
Classwork is mostly power-point slides, the amount you'll learn will depend soley on your teacher. Most of them are great guys who will pass around examples of what the slides are talking about and let you screw with them, they'll draw pictures and prettymuch do anything they can to help you visualize what something is and how it works. If you get a good teacher, you'll learn a lot, laugh a lot, and have a great time. If you get a crappy teacher, you'll probably catch up on sleep then ask another teacher to explain what you were trying to learn...there aren't that many crappy teachers (at least not at the AZ campus) so it's not too bad.
Lab work, depending on what your doing, can either be a huge eye opener or a total joke. In any case, lab is easy...too easy, at least for me, but I've had some experience so you'll probably get a different opinion from someone who's never touched a wrench. My best advice for you is when you get into a lab where you work on your own cars, look at everyone's cars, take note on every last little thing you can see and how they all vary from one another. You'll have a lot of time to kill in lab, trust me, so make the most of it. When your not working on your own things, do as many of whatever your working on as you can, then help other people. I walked into the transmission lab never having seen the inside of a manual transmission, and by the time I finished the lab I could take a Saginaw 4 speed, tear it down, find gear ratios, put it back together and run it on the dyno in less then an hour. Sure, it's no T56, but auto and manual trans were the only things that ever really intimidated me about cars...now they're cake.
The one thing UTI seriously lacks, like said, is true in the field hands on experience. They give you TONS of good operation and diagnostic theory, but almost no application unless a student car is acting up, and then they get REAL strict on what you can do to it and when. This is where having a job comes in...in order to get the most out of school, you NEED to work in the field, it's critical that you have some way of applying what you are learning to what you are doing, or what you have done in the past, otherwise you won't get barely anything out of the curriculum.
In short, don't go if you don't want to work on cars. Don't go if you don't want to pursue some kind of MSAT program. Don't go if you don't want to or can't work in the field while attending school. Do go if you want to get a great head start on mechanical and electrical diagnosis and basic parts changing, but only if your willing to commit to learning. I can't stress it enough, you'll only get as much out of that school as you put in. Most teachers will tell you anything you want to know, all you've got to do is ask.
wow...that turned out a lot longer then I thought it would
Most of the bad you hear about UTI is because of the students. Let me break it down for you. a good 75% of the kids there are total tools, absolute dip****s who think they know everything and are more then willing to write a novel on every car they profess to have owned from the 911 their parents bought them for a first car to the ferrari they have back home. 30% of the kids there will find out that they don't like what they're doing because they signed up only on the basis that they like cars, then they either drop out or stick around barely passing because they don't want to deal with their parent's ****. 25% of kids will go on what's called the "12 hour plan", which is where they spend the maximum amount of time out every phase before they fail attendance. Another 25% of kids go there simply because mommy and daddy are rich and wanted a quick excuse to get them out of the house for 2 years, these kids have no intention of working on cars, or doing anything with their life period.
Notice how I said "kids", not "students". That is why you are treated like a high schooler, because that's exactly what half the whiny little bastards that go to that school are...and of course the school has to keep them around to keep in business.
Probably about 10%-15% of the guys there actually try to learn something, and most of those guys have never even had a glimpse of what the field is like beyond oil changes and busting tires. There are people there who try to learn something, and those guys tend to stand out. Then there are guys who have worked in the field and know a bit about things, but are just trying to get a solid reinforcement on what we already know, and are trying to use the school to accelerate our career towards the upper level MSAT programs, us guys are outright rare around the school...but people know who we are, and as long as you don't act like king of the hill you'll get respect for it.
The MSAT programs you keep hearing about, Porsche, BMW, Audi, etc.... are nothing like normal UTI classes, I'm not in one but everyone I talk to says it's like going from a normal paced community college course to cramming 4 years of Harvard into 4 months. I've talked to the Audi and BMW teacher and they don't take any crap, they're not afraid to send people packing, and they treat every person like they were an actual tech from the classroom to the lab. However, getting into an MSAT basically means you've earned yourself a free ticket to a good career, all you have to do is keep at it and don't get your head get swollen.
Classwork is mostly power-point slides, the amount you'll learn will depend soley on your teacher. Most of them are great guys who will pass around examples of what the slides are talking about and let you screw with them, they'll draw pictures and prettymuch do anything they can to help you visualize what something is and how it works. If you get a good teacher, you'll learn a lot, laugh a lot, and have a great time. If you get a crappy teacher, you'll probably catch up on sleep then ask another teacher to explain what you were trying to learn...there aren't that many crappy teachers (at least not at the AZ campus) so it's not too bad.
Lab work, depending on what your doing, can either be a huge eye opener or a total joke. In any case, lab is easy...too easy, at least for me, but I've had some experience so you'll probably get a different opinion from someone who's never touched a wrench. My best advice for you is when you get into a lab where you work on your own cars, look at everyone's cars, take note on every last little thing you can see and how they all vary from one another. You'll have a lot of time to kill in lab, trust me, so make the most of it. When your not working on your own things, do as many of whatever your working on as you can, then help other people. I walked into the transmission lab never having seen the inside of a manual transmission, and by the time I finished the lab I could take a Saginaw 4 speed, tear it down, find gear ratios, put it back together and run it on the dyno in less then an hour. Sure, it's no T56, but auto and manual trans were the only things that ever really intimidated me about cars...now they're cake.
The one thing UTI seriously lacks, like said, is true in the field hands on experience. They give you TONS of good operation and diagnostic theory, but almost no application unless a student car is acting up, and then they get REAL strict on what you can do to it and when. This is where having a job comes in...in order to get the most out of school, you NEED to work in the field, it's critical that you have some way of applying what you are learning to what you are doing, or what you have done in the past, otherwise you won't get barely anything out of the curriculum.
In short, don't go if you don't want to work on cars. Don't go if you don't want to pursue some kind of MSAT program. Don't go if you don't want to or can't work in the field while attending school. Do go if you want to get a great head start on mechanical and electrical diagnosis and basic parts changing, but only if your willing to commit to learning. I can't stress it enough, you'll only get as much out of that school as you put in. Most teachers will tell you anything you want to know, all you've got to do is ask.
wow...that turned out a lot longer then I thought it would
01-29-2008, 02:48 PM
#26
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I'm not going to beat the drum for UTI, but it definitely isn't as bad as everyone makes it out to be, and it definitely isn't as good as the reps will tell you it is. I think it's time somebody breaks it down into what it really is.
Most of the bad you hear about UTI is because of the students. Let me break it down for you. a good 75% of the kids there are total tools, absolute dip****s who think they know everything and are more then willing to write a novel on every car they profess to have owned from the 911 their parents bought them for a first car to the ferrari they have back home. 30% of the kids there will find out that they don't like what they're doing because they signed up only on the basis that they like cars, then they either drop out or stick around barely passing because they don't want to deal with their parent's ****. 25% of kids will go on what's called the "12 hour plan", which is where they spend the maximum amount of time out every phase before they fail attendance. Another 25% of kids go there simply because mommy and daddy are rich and wanted a quick excuse to get them out of the house for 2 years, these kids have no intention of working on cars, or doing anything with their life period.
Notice how I said "kids", not "students". That is why you are treated like a high schooler, because that's exactly what half the whiny little bastards that go to that school are...and of course the school has to keep them around to keep in business.
Probably about 10%-15% of the guys there actually try to learn something, and most of those guys have never even had a glimpse of what the field is like beyond oil changes and busting tires. There are people there who try to learn something, and those guys tend to stand out. Then there are guys who have worked in the field and know a bit about things, but are just trying to get a solid reinforcement on what we already know, and are trying to use the school to accelerate our career towards the upper level MSAT programs, us guys are outright rare around the school...but people know who we are, and as long as you don't act like king of the hill you'll get respect for it.
The MSAT programs you keep hearing about, Porsche, BMW, Audi, etc.... are nothing like normal UTI classes, I'm not in one but everyone I talk to says it's like going from a normal paced community college course to cramming 4 years of Harvard into 4 months. I've talked to the Audi and BMW teacher and they don't take any crap, they're not afraid to send people packing, and they treat every person like they were an actual tech from the classroom to the lab. However, getting into an MSAT basically means you've earned yourself a free ticket to a good career, all you have to do is keep at it and don't get your head get swollen.
Classwork is mostly power-point slides, the amount you'll learn will depend soley on your teacher. Most of them are great guys who will pass around examples of what the slides are talking about and let you screw with them, they'll draw pictures and prettymuch do anything they can to help you visualize what something is and how it works. If you get a good teacher, you'll learn a lot, laugh a lot, and have a great time. If you get a crappy teacher, you'll probably catch up on sleep then ask another teacher to explain what you were trying to learn...there aren't that many crappy teachers (at least not at the AZ campus) so it's not too bad.
Lab work, depending on what your doing, can either be a huge eye opener or a total joke. In any case, lab is easy...too easy, at least for me, but I've had some experience so you'll probably get a different opinion from someone who's never touched a wrench. My best advice for you is when you get into a lab where you work on your own cars, look at everyone's cars, take note on every last little thing you can see and how they all vary from one another. You'll have a lot of time to kill in lab, trust me, so make the most of it. When your not working on your own things, do as many of whatever your working on as you can, then help other people. I walked into the transmission lab never having seen the inside of a manual transmission, and by the time I finished the lab I could take a Saginaw 4 speed, tear it down, find gear ratios, put it back together and run it on the dyno in less then an hour. Sure, it's no T56, but auto and manual trans were the only things that ever really intimidated me about cars...now they're cake.
The one thing UTI seriously lacks, like said, is true in the field hands on experience. They give you TONS of good operation and diagnostic theory, but almost no application unless a student car is acting up, and then they get REAL strict on what you can do to it and when. This is where having a job comes in...in order to get the most out of school, you NEED to work in the field, it's critical that you have some way of applying what you are learning to what you are doing, or what you have done in the past, otherwise you won't get barely anything out of the curriculum.
In short, don't go if you don't want to work on cars. Don't go if you don't want to pursue some kind of MSAT program. Don't go if you don't want to or can't work in the field while attending school. Do go if you want to get a great head start on mechanical and electrical diagnosis and basic parts changing, but only if your willing to commit to learning. I can't stress it enough, you'll only get as much out of that school as you put in. Most teachers will tell you anything you want to know, all you've got to do is ask.
wow...that turned out a lot longer then I thought it would
Most of the bad you hear about UTI is because of the students. Let me break it down for you. a good 75% of the kids there are total tools, absolute dip****s who think they know everything and are more then willing to write a novel on every car they profess to have owned from the 911 their parents bought them for a first car to the ferrari they have back home. 30% of the kids there will find out that they don't like what they're doing because they signed up only on the basis that they like cars, then they either drop out or stick around barely passing because they don't want to deal with their parent's ****. 25% of kids will go on what's called the "12 hour plan", which is where they spend the maximum amount of time out every phase before they fail attendance. Another 25% of kids go there simply because mommy and daddy are rich and wanted a quick excuse to get them out of the house for 2 years, these kids have no intention of working on cars, or doing anything with their life period.
Notice how I said "kids", not "students". That is why you are treated like a high schooler, because that's exactly what half the whiny little bastards that go to that school are...and of course the school has to keep them around to keep in business.
Probably about 10%-15% of the guys there actually try to learn something, and most of those guys have never even had a glimpse of what the field is like beyond oil changes and busting tires. There are people there who try to learn something, and those guys tend to stand out. Then there are guys who have worked in the field and know a bit about things, but are just trying to get a solid reinforcement on what we already know, and are trying to use the school to accelerate our career towards the upper level MSAT programs, us guys are outright rare around the school...but people know who we are, and as long as you don't act like king of the hill you'll get respect for it.
The MSAT programs you keep hearing about, Porsche, BMW, Audi, etc.... are nothing like normal UTI classes, I'm not in one but everyone I talk to says it's like going from a normal paced community college course to cramming 4 years of Harvard into 4 months. I've talked to the Audi and BMW teacher and they don't take any crap, they're not afraid to send people packing, and they treat every person like they were an actual tech from the classroom to the lab. However, getting into an MSAT basically means you've earned yourself a free ticket to a good career, all you have to do is keep at it and don't get your head get swollen.
Classwork is mostly power-point slides, the amount you'll learn will depend soley on your teacher. Most of them are great guys who will pass around examples of what the slides are talking about and let you screw with them, they'll draw pictures and prettymuch do anything they can to help you visualize what something is and how it works. If you get a good teacher, you'll learn a lot, laugh a lot, and have a great time. If you get a crappy teacher, you'll probably catch up on sleep then ask another teacher to explain what you were trying to learn...there aren't that many crappy teachers (at least not at the AZ campus) so it's not too bad.
Lab work, depending on what your doing, can either be a huge eye opener or a total joke. In any case, lab is easy...too easy, at least for me, but I've had some experience so you'll probably get a different opinion from someone who's never touched a wrench. My best advice for you is when you get into a lab where you work on your own cars, look at everyone's cars, take note on every last little thing you can see and how they all vary from one another. You'll have a lot of time to kill in lab, trust me, so make the most of it. When your not working on your own things, do as many of whatever your working on as you can, then help other people. I walked into the transmission lab never having seen the inside of a manual transmission, and by the time I finished the lab I could take a Saginaw 4 speed, tear it down, find gear ratios, put it back together and run it on the dyno in less then an hour. Sure, it's no T56, but auto and manual trans were the only things that ever really intimidated me about cars...now they're cake.
The one thing UTI seriously lacks, like said, is true in the field hands on experience. They give you TONS of good operation and diagnostic theory, but almost no application unless a student car is acting up, and then they get REAL strict on what you can do to it and when. This is where having a job comes in...in order to get the most out of school, you NEED to work in the field, it's critical that you have some way of applying what you are learning to what you are doing, or what you have done in the past, otherwise you won't get barely anything out of the curriculum.
In short, don't go if you don't want to work on cars. Don't go if you don't want to pursue some kind of MSAT program. Don't go if you don't want to or can't work in the field while attending school. Do go if you want to get a great head start on mechanical and electrical diagnosis and basic parts changing, but only if your willing to commit to learning. I can't stress it enough, you'll only get as much out of that school as you put in. Most teachers will tell you anything you want to know, all you've got to do is ask.
wow...that turned out a lot longer then I thought it would
But like I said...the Community College programs are cheaper to go through. Isnt it like 20-30 grand going through UTI? For the same education; and to get a real degree; go with the Community College program.
01-29-2008, 02:53 PM
#27
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Woodlands,TX
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I'm not going to beat the drum for UTI, but it definitely isn't as bad as everyone makes it out to be, and it definitely isn't as good as the reps will tell you it is. I think it's time somebody breaks it down into what it really is.
Most of the bad you hear about UTI is because of the students. Let me break it down for you. a good 75% of the kids there are total tools, absolute dip****s who think they know everything and are more then willing to write a novel on every car they profess to have owned from the 911 their parents bought them for a first car to the ferrari they have back home. 30% of the kids there will find out that they don't like what they're doing because they signed up only on the basis that they like cars, then they either drop out or stick around barely passing because they don't want to deal with their parent's ****. 25% of kids will go on what's called the "12 hour plan", which is where they spend the maximum amount of time out every phase before they fail attendance. Another 25% of kids go there simply because mommy and daddy are rich and wanted a quick excuse to get them out of the house for 2 years, these kids have no intention of working on cars, or doing anything with their life period.
Notice how I said "kids", not "students". That is why you are treated like a high schooler, because that's exactly what half the whiny little bastards that go to that school are...and of course the school has to keep them around to keep in business.
Probably about 10%-15% of the guys there actually try to learn something, and most of those guys have never even had a glimpse of what the field is like beyond oil changes and busting tires. There are people there who try to learn something, and those guys tend to stand out. Then there are guys who have worked in the field and know a bit about things, but are just trying to get a solid reinforcement on what we already know, and are trying to use the school to accelerate our career towards the upper level MSAT programs, us guys are outright rare around the school...but people know who we are, and as long as you don't act like king of the hill you'll get respect for it.
The MSAT programs you keep hearing about, Porsche, BMW, Audi, etc.... are nothing like normal UTI classes, I'm not in one but everyone I talk to says it's like going from a normal paced community college course to cramming 4 years of Harvard into 4 months. I've talked to the Audi and BMW teacher and they don't take any crap, they're not afraid to send people packing, and they treat every person like they were an actual tech from the classroom to the lab. However, getting into an MSAT basically means you've earned yourself a free ticket to a good career, all you have to do is keep at it and don't get your head get swollen.
Classwork is mostly power-point slides, the amount you'll learn will depend soley on your teacher. Most of them are great guys who will pass around examples of what the slides are talking about and let you screw with them, they'll draw pictures and prettymuch do anything they can to help you visualize what something is and how it works. If you get a good teacher, you'll learn a lot, laugh a lot, and have a great time. If you get a crappy teacher, you'll probably catch up on sleep then ask another teacher to explain what you were trying to learn...there aren't that many crappy teachers (at least not at the AZ campus) so it's not too bad.
Lab work, depending on what your doing, can either be a huge eye opener or a total joke. In any case, lab is easy...too easy, at least for me, but I've had some experience so you'll probably get a different opinion from someone who's never touched a wrench. My best advice for you is when you get into a lab where you work on your own cars, look at everyone's cars, take note on every last little thing you can see and how they all vary from one another. You'll have a lot of time to kill in lab, trust me, so make the most of it. When your not working on your own things, do as many of whatever your working on as you can, then help other people. I walked into the transmission lab never having seen the inside of a manual transmission, and by the time I finished the lab I could take a Saginaw 4 speed, tear it down, find gear ratios, put it back together and run it on the dyno in less then an hour. Sure, it's no T56, but auto and manual trans were the only things that ever really intimidated me about cars...now they're cake.
The one thing UTI seriously lacks, like said, is true in the field hands on experience. They give you TONS of good operation and diagnostic theory, but almost no application unless a student car is acting up, and then they get REAL strict on what you can do to it and when. This is where having a job comes in...in order to get the most out of school, you NEED to work in the field, it's critical that you have some way of applying what you are learning to what you are doing, or what you have done in the past, otherwise you won't get barely anything out of the curriculum.
In short, don't go if you don't want to work on cars. Don't go if you don't want to pursue some kind of MSAT program. Don't go if you don't want to or can't work in the field while attending school. Do go if you want to get a great head start on mechanical and electrical diagnosis and basic parts changing, but only if your willing to commit to learning. I can't stress it enough, you'll only get as much out of that school as you put in. Most teachers will tell you anything you want to know, all you've got to do is ask.
wow...that turned out a lot longer then I thought it would
Most of the bad you hear about UTI is because of the students. Let me break it down for you. a good 75% of the kids there are total tools, absolute dip****s who think they know everything and are more then willing to write a novel on every car they profess to have owned from the 911 their parents bought them for a first car to the ferrari they have back home. 30% of the kids there will find out that they don't like what they're doing because they signed up only on the basis that they like cars, then they either drop out or stick around barely passing because they don't want to deal with their parent's ****. 25% of kids will go on what's called the "12 hour plan", which is where they spend the maximum amount of time out every phase before they fail attendance. Another 25% of kids go there simply because mommy and daddy are rich and wanted a quick excuse to get them out of the house for 2 years, these kids have no intention of working on cars, or doing anything with their life period.
Notice how I said "kids", not "students". That is why you are treated like a high schooler, because that's exactly what half the whiny little bastards that go to that school are...and of course the school has to keep them around to keep in business.
Probably about 10%-15% of the guys there actually try to learn something, and most of those guys have never even had a glimpse of what the field is like beyond oil changes and busting tires. There are people there who try to learn something, and those guys tend to stand out. Then there are guys who have worked in the field and know a bit about things, but are just trying to get a solid reinforcement on what we already know, and are trying to use the school to accelerate our career towards the upper level MSAT programs, us guys are outright rare around the school...but people know who we are, and as long as you don't act like king of the hill you'll get respect for it.
The MSAT programs you keep hearing about, Porsche, BMW, Audi, etc.... are nothing like normal UTI classes, I'm not in one but everyone I talk to says it's like going from a normal paced community college course to cramming 4 years of Harvard into 4 months. I've talked to the Audi and BMW teacher and they don't take any crap, they're not afraid to send people packing, and they treat every person like they were an actual tech from the classroom to the lab. However, getting into an MSAT basically means you've earned yourself a free ticket to a good career, all you have to do is keep at it and don't get your head get swollen.
Classwork is mostly power-point slides, the amount you'll learn will depend soley on your teacher. Most of them are great guys who will pass around examples of what the slides are talking about and let you screw with them, they'll draw pictures and prettymuch do anything they can to help you visualize what something is and how it works. If you get a good teacher, you'll learn a lot, laugh a lot, and have a great time. If you get a crappy teacher, you'll probably catch up on sleep then ask another teacher to explain what you were trying to learn...there aren't that many crappy teachers (at least not at the AZ campus) so it's not too bad.
Lab work, depending on what your doing, can either be a huge eye opener or a total joke. In any case, lab is easy...too easy, at least for me, but I've had some experience so you'll probably get a different opinion from someone who's never touched a wrench. My best advice for you is when you get into a lab where you work on your own cars, look at everyone's cars, take note on every last little thing you can see and how they all vary from one another. You'll have a lot of time to kill in lab, trust me, so make the most of it. When your not working on your own things, do as many of whatever your working on as you can, then help other people. I walked into the transmission lab never having seen the inside of a manual transmission, and by the time I finished the lab I could take a Saginaw 4 speed, tear it down, find gear ratios, put it back together and run it on the dyno in less then an hour. Sure, it's no T56, but auto and manual trans were the only things that ever really intimidated me about cars...now they're cake.
The one thing UTI seriously lacks, like said, is true in the field hands on experience. They give you TONS of good operation and diagnostic theory, but almost no application unless a student car is acting up, and then they get REAL strict on what you can do to it and when. This is where having a job comes in...in order to get the most out of school, you NEED to work in the field, it's critical that you have some way of applying what you are learning to what you are doing, or what you have done in the past, otherwise you won't get barely anything out of the curriculum.
In short, don't go if you don't want to work on cars. Don't go if you don't want to pursue some kind of MSAT program. Don't go if you don't want to or can't work in the field while attending school. Do go if you want to get a great head start on mechanical and electrical diagnosis and basic parts changing, but only if your willing to commit to learning. I can't stress it enough, you'll only get as much out of that school as you put in. Most teachers will tell you anything you want to know, all you've got to do is ask.
wow...that turned out a lot longer then I thought it would
01-29-2008, 03:56 PM
#28
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well right now Im in the Coast Guard and Im debating staying in and keeping my hobby or gettin out and makin my hobby work. just not exactly sure if I would lose my hobby because it feels like work. also I net 1850 every two weeks and i dont put in 60hrs a week unless im underway, then its a 24/7 deal...in the ocean...anyways what other good schools are there? and what do you guys normally make? I know it changes depending on the work schedule but i was wondering average.-Thanks mike
01-30-2008, 12:56 AM
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I can't argue too much about it, but that was the biggest selling point about UTI for me. I don't know what the community colleges have to offer as far as job placement or program specifics so I won't say which is better or worse.
However, students at the Avondale, AZ main campus do receive an actual degree instead of just a paper saying "good job". I'm not sure when they started doing that, or why it's only the main campus, but that's the way it is. I know we get a lot of guys transfer from the California campuses for the last few phases just so they can get that degree.
I would agreea with you pretty in total. i graduated from the Pace program the jaguar program they did have...i would say i learned more in that and ford F.A.C.T. than i did in all of UTI. But The core classes helped me to get to that point. I think anyone of the above could be great! it is what you make it!
01-30-2008, 06:51 AM
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i graduated from the UTI in pennsylvania a few years back...did the Ford FACT program and the Mercedes-Benz ELITE program in Orlando florida.
life as a tech isnt all that, the money is decent as stated in this thread though.
currently im a service advisor at a Honda dealership...money is a lot better and im not dead tired at the end of the day.
UTI is a school for very self motivated individuals in my opinion, its what you make of it
life as a tech isnt all that, the money is decent as stated in this thread though.
currently im a service advisor at a Honda dealership...money is a lot better and im not dead tired at the end of the day.
UTI is a school for very self motivated individuals in my opinion, its what you make of it
02-01-2008, 11:13 PM
#31
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Im A Asst. SM out here in Cali. Most of my UTI/Wyotech guys are usless. They're great for Quicklane/lube tech but thats it. They come out of school with such a "big head" thinkin they know everything but have no "hands-on" experience. Take forever for **** to get done even tho they have all the certs to do the job. Comebacks are commen. The guys who go throgh the comunity college manufacture sponsored corses are the best. Like Ford ASSET guys I have. Half classroom and half dealership experience. They come out of school master certified and I can trust their work. Dont waste you money to go to a UTI/Wyotech. Its like 30 grand? You come out like a heald college degree. Through a CC you can get at least a real degree with your schooling. Iv heard of cases of a UTI guy getting stuck as a lube tech got mad about it went throgh the ASSET program to get some real knoledge.
Listen to this guy.
02-02-2008, 11:42 AM
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i graduated from the UTI in pennsylvania a few years back...did the Ford FACT program and the Mercedes-Benz ELITE program in Orlando florida.
life as a tech isnt all that, the money is decent as stated in this thread though.
currently im a service advisor at a Honda dealership...money is a lot better and im not dead tired at the end of the day.
UTI is a school for very self motivated individuals in my opinion, its what you make of it
life as a tech isnt all that, the money is decent as stated in this thread though.
currently im a service advisor at a Honda dealership...money is a lot better and im not dead tired at the end of the day.
UTI is a school for very self motivated individuals in my opinion, its what you make of it
The car biz has it's ups and downs(literally). But i've also had a lot of fun and sometimes you get to work on cars that you'd only see at a show or in a magazine.
So how's life as a service advisor? i know our guys get crap from all different angles... techs...customers...managers...salesmen, etc. Is the only reward money?
02-08-2008, 12:44 PM
#33
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I was excepted and enrolled into the Houston school but backed out...and now I'm doing computer science
, which I kind of regret not going in a way. It was just so damn expensive when looking at the yearly earning ratio.
, which I kind of regret not going in a way. It was just so damn expensive when looking at the yearly earning ratio.
02-08-2008, 06:10 PM
#34
i went to UTI-Glendale Heights in IL. You get out of the school what you put in. Yeah, i messed around a lot, but i also learned a LOT. i think its a great school. MAKE SURE YOU GO THROUGH AN MSAT!!!!! I went through the ELITE service writer program.
I personally am not meant for a dealership. i am far too performance oriented. but the money is EXCELLENT in a dealer!
I personally am not meant for a dealership. i am far too performance oriented. but the money is EXCELLENT in a dealer!
02-08-2008, 08:06 PM
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We just had a young man who graduated from UTI work at our shop. He was supposed to shadow one of our senior techs to kind of see what he could and could not do.....
All I can say is now he is working in the PDI(new car) dept.
I got lucky and started out changing oil 8yrs ago, and just kind of watched and learned. On the job training I guess, but no student loans to repay!!!
All I can say is now he is working in the PDI(new car) dept.
I got lucky and started out changing oil 8yrs ago, and just kind of watched and learned. On the job training I guess, but no student loans to repay!!!
02-10-2008, 02:35 PM
#36
I went ot Uti back in 2000. Went to the Bmw Step program and now 6 years later I am knocking on the 6 figure mark. True some guys are worthless but not all guys that go through these programs are worthless. I am glad I applied myself and did it. I consider myself one of the best of the best with experience before I went to uti. I was into cars at age 11 and went to stat 2 times in High school auto tech. Josh
02-10-2008, 08:46 PM
#38
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I took a tour of UTI in Arizona and was far from impressed. I them if they do any welding and they looked at me like I was crazy so I backed out. You don't need to spend 30k to learn to bolt **** on to a car. Also, coming out of the school the pay is nothing like what they promise you ($20/ hour starting). I worked at a mercedes dealership for awhile and the pay is nothing that is going to justify the money you spent on tuition. Just get some experience and turn in some applications. You'll work your way up just as fast as and you'll save yourself a lot of money on tuition.
Warning: In case you haven't heard this already. For a lot of people, when your hobby turns intoa job it stops being a hobby. Most of the techs at the dealership i worked at wanted nothing to do with cars outside of work (maybe 2 of them had fun car to play with at home). I enjoy working on my car but after working on other peoples **** all day everyday working on your car ends up being the last thing you want to do
I took a tour a SAM's about a year ago and thought it was an awesome school. I was set and ready to go but was having problems getting some loans sorted out. While all that was going on I ended up getting a good job (non car related) and have been doing that for the time being. but when i'm done with this I'm definitally considering going to SAM's.
Warning: In case you haven't heard this already. For a lot of people, when your hobby turns intoa job it stops being a hobby. Most of the techs at the dealership i worked at wanted nothing to do with cars outside of work (maybe 2 of them had fun car to play with at home). I enjoy working on my car but after working on other peoples **** all day everyday working on your car ends up being the last thing you want to do
I took a tour a SAM's about a year ago and thought it was an awesome school. I was set and ready to go but was having problems getting some loans sorted out. While all that was going on I ended up getting a good job (non car related) and have been doing that for the time being. but when i'm done with this I'm definitally considering going to SAM's.
02-10-2008, 08:59 PM
#39
I took a tour of UTI in Arizona and was far from impressed. I them if they do any welding and they looked at me like I was crazy so I backed out. You don't need to spend 30k to learn to bolt **** on to a car. Also, coming out of the school the pay is nothing like what they promise you ($20/ hour starting). I worked at a mercedes dealership for awhile and the pay is nothing that is going to justify the money you spent on tuition. Just get some experience and turn in some applications. You'll work your way up just as fast as and you'll save yourself a lot of money on tuition.
02-10-2008, 10:53 PM
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You're right, what could I possibly use welding for in the automotive industry. And I was told $20/hour by a couple of different reps. You're right, 15-17 is the avergae that i saw for people coming out of school. Also, if you're worried about specialized training a lot of dealerships will pay to send you off for training on new products as long as you can prove you're not completely useless.
But, i suppose my opinion is a little different since when i think of what i want to with cars it's more performance/aftermarket industry related. If you really want to work at a dealership than the school can help, but you can also get in there with a little bit of experience and some drive while saving some money. But don't think that just cause you're coming out of a school that you're automatically going to start higher up on the food chain than guy they got from a local wheel works.
But, i suppose my opinion is a little different since when i think of what i want to with cars it's more performance/aftermarket industry related. If you really want to work at a dealership than the school can help, but you can also get in there with a little bit of experience and some drive while saving some money. But don't think that just cause you're coming out of a school that you're automatically going to start higher up on the food chain than guy they got from a local wheel works.