Anyone here go to UTI? or planned on it?

[Farbin Kaiber]

^ You don't even understand. Come back to this thread in eighteen months.

[xwill112x]

well my enrollment is 14 months so...i guess ill comment then.

[Farbin Kaiber]

Perfect, eighteen months is time to finish the courseload, then spend four months shopping yourself to NASCAR Race teams.

[markseven]

I'm not disrespecting you, but why not do it the way the old guys have been getting into "Speed Shops" since the late 40's? I'm just saying, UTI ain't really the best way to automotive credibility.

Look at what I'm saying like getting belts in martial arts.

My neighbor attended UTI. Upon completion he was chosen by Mercedes to attend a three week course in Chicago. He could have been hired by a MB dealership but he instead wanted to get a job as an SA...

Techs at some of the best indy shops in OC are tech school alumni who were initially hired by various dealer service departments and eventually moved on to indy shops due to politics.

Personally, I think there is value in learning a trade in a classroom environment using industry best practices, but if you have natural talent and can already turn a wrench, then you can skip formal education and learn on the job as Farbin suggests.

[Farbin Kaiber]

Your first sentence really hammers it home, "If you are smart enough to be an automotive mechanic, you are TOO smart to be an automotive mechanic..." -DCColegrove & Others

And, for the record, a mainstream automotive dealership has more politics than HS ever did.

[markseven]

And, for the record, a mainstream automotive dealership has more politics than HS ever did.

I would expect it in the sales dept but not with the mechanics. I guess techs are whiny little girls, just like spy's ;)

[Farbin Kaiber]

Oh yeah, tech's cry like little girls when you give them warranty flag time work...

[der affe]

im not going to the regular uti, im attending the race specific nascar tech. i dont plan on takeing many race courses, im taking high performance engines, and chassis/roll cage fab class. i respect your points farbin, but how would they stay in buisness if it wasnt a good route? thats in all seriousness, legit question.

so what EXACTLY do you plan on doing with this education then?
are you banking everything on being on a NASCAR team?

i have a couple of friends who did indy cars for a while for BILLY BOAT. while it was fun and glamorious. never being home and always on the road wore on them (1 was married, 1 was single and a man whore). i'm just saying that you mY not want to do that for the rest of your life.

i have been doing cars since i was out of HS. I was, a shop helper and worked my way up, did parts for a few years, a cert Porsche tech, then a Plat. certified autobody tech (ICAR). along the way i learned how to do fab work, set up chassis, got welding certified, learned to do machine work on old style machines, not CNC, hand form sheetmetal with a shrinker/streacher, english wheel and plenishing hammer.

i have never taken any classes except to get my welding certs and ICAR certs.
at 38 i am pretty burnt out on it for a living and going for a career change with a future that is no longer there in the automotive field.

[xwill112x]

not wanting a nascar job at all, just want a job in a performance or import shop. Looking at possibly opening my own shop wayyyy down the road. i figured uti will give me a good solid base to start from, and set me ahead of some others.

[Adrian_Visser]

so what EXACTLY do you plan on doing with this education then?
are you banking everything on being on a NASCAR team?

i have a couple of friends who did indy cars for a while for BILLY BOAT. while it was fun and glamorious. never being home and always on the road wore on them (1 was married, 1 was single and a man whore). i'm just saying that you mY not want to do that for the rest of your life.

i have been doing cars since i was out of HS. I was, a shop helper and worked my way up, did parts for a few years, a cert Porsche tech, then a Plat. certified autobody tech (ICAR). along the way i learned how to do fab work, set up chassis, got welding certified, learned to do machine work on old style machines, not CNC, hand form sheetmetal with a shrinker/streacher, english wheel and plenishing hammer.

i have never taken any classes except to get my welding certs and ICAR certs.
at 38 i am pretty burnt out on it for a living and going for a career change with a future that is no longer there in the automotive field.

Props to you on the complete career change. That isn't easy to do.

In the end of all this I think that any employer in the hands on technical trades won't take your schooling all that seriously. I mean I busted my ass to be the top of my class in AME school (aircraft mechanic same as A&P mechanic in the states) and was quite disappointed by the lack of weight that carried after I was done school.

That said most of the stuff you learn in school is fairly useless anyways as far as I have seen.

[e30s52]

^ Thanks for not taking offense. I almost enrolled in ~99-00, but this was an issue even then, and at that time tuition was ~$21,000, and it was too much then. What is it now, somewhere north of $34,000 I assume.

No problem at all. For some one with no scholarships it is around 36,000. Thank god I am not paying that much.

[Killacortes]

DONT GO TO UTI!! I went there and it was a big waste of time and money. They teach you alot but if you get the book thats pretty much all you need to learn. If anything i would go to a 4 yr university and then go to UTI to take courses like hot rod and performance only. you can pay just for courses you want to learn about.

[der affe]

thanks, i am finally getting to the point where i want to work on my own stuff again, which is nice.

the bad thing about your idea of opening an import shop is that it is going to depend on how the economy is doing. import tuning is not essential, like say, food. automotive is pretty rough out there right now.

[imdashiz]

As harsh as it may be to say, but unless you get into one of the top Luxury manufacturer programs, and get done with that program with flying colors, (Porsche, BMW, MBZ, etc) you are the automotive equivalent of a chick that just finished the class load at a "Cosmetic University".

And you are gonna have to deal with a lot of "kids" who think they know it all, wasting your time that you will pay a pretty penny for asking questions about his "turbo EG", few teachers that know a lot beyond what their courses textbook states, a lot of debt, a chinsy "toolbox", and frustration three years into the field, when you figure out this wasn't what you were cut out for anyway.

Just get a job at a shop, learn from the old guys, and work your way up the ladder, while getting a paycheck, and the real world knowledge that will trump the diagnosis of a UTI grad.

(NO offense to any UTI guys in here)

great advice farb. truly appreciated. thanks for bumping this old thread will

[E30Nova]

As harsh as it may be to say, but unless you get into one of the top Luxury manufacturer programs, and get done with that program with flying colors, (Porsche, BMW, MBZ, etc) you are the automotive equivalent of a chick that just finished the class load at a "Cosmetic University".

And you are gonna have to deal with a lot of "kids" who think they know it all, wasting your time that you will pay a pretty penny for asking questions about his "turbo EG", few teachers that know a lot beyond what their courses textbook states, a lot of debt, a chinsy "toolbox", and frustration three years into the field, when you figure out this wasn't what you were cut out for anyway.

Just get a job at a shop, learn from the old guys, and work your way up the ladder, while getting a paycheck, and the real world knowledge that will trump the diagnosis of a UTI grad.

(NO offense to any UTI guys in here)

I did the full course and then did the BMW program and BMW still wouldn't hire me. I graduated with a 4.0 and have been working on cars since I was 14.

The first few courses were complete jokes. I already knew everything from working on my car and reading car forums.

There's no homework, so I don't see how people can say "you need to work hard at it". I did damn near nothing and still got a 4.0, and I still participated with all the "hands on" stuff.

Everything said in this thread is true, UTI is a waste and even with your "knowledge" you'll be making minimum wage when you graduate, if you can even get a job.

Matt