Looking for a school. Any Advice?

i think this has to do more with the insurance the company has on thier employees. if you told you insurance that you hired a newbie with no papers over a 2year degree with no experience, they will prolly raise your rate. so they cut cost on thier insurance by hiring the paper.

personally i went to HRI and got a certificate, but im still not going to get hired by most shops because im not ASE or ACE or whatever it is. it helps me alot with the fact that i can work on my own car in the garage with confidence. but dont ask me to work on your 2000 elelctro car.

now a fellow graduate from my class did get a job at Ford dealership and they started him off at 12.50 an hour. i dont know if the 6 grand a semester is worth a job that only pays 12.50 when i can go to a construction site with no experience and get that much.

several people have stated it before. know exactly what you want to do in the future. going to an expensive school and acguire a debt is not a smart idea in my opinion. my brother in law joined the air force as a vehicle maintenance guy. he works on everything from little pickups to the diesel powered war machines. while he is in he will earn an associate in vehicle maintenance, and after four years you can use the gi bill and up the education to whatever you want.

 

Consider learning to be a certified welder. I took a 14-week night course (6 hours a week) at my local Vo-Tech just to learn it as a hobby. When I graduated, the instructor was practically begging me to take a full time job at a local tank fabricator, they needed people that badly. You can always work on cars in your own shop in your spare time, just hang out a shingle once you are trained.
Oh yeah, that welding course cost me $240. Compare that to the cost of going to college.

 

I have a friend whose son bummed around several years after high school trying to decide what he wanted to do. He finally went to the NASCAR Technical Institute and was recuited by and currently works for BMW in Florida...

 

I graduated from UNOH and worked at a Ford dealership for 7 years. There were 2 fellow employees that came out of UTI and I was "teaching" them some practical stuff. The manufacture specific programs aren't too bad though.

 

Some very good advice here. I spent decades administrating an apprenticeship program and technical training in general as well as personnel work. There are some basics that you need to know. Beware of private schools that charge big up front tuition and offer you help in getting a government loan.The only thing you know for sure is you owe the money. Will you finish? Maybe. Will you get a decent job? Maybe. Will you owe the money? What do you think? Apprenticeship is a term that is often abused. What you are looking for is a formal United States Department of Labor recognized Apprenticeship, such as noted by Porknbeaner. If you are fortunate to get accepted, it is a fantastic opportunity. A real apprenticeship is a formal agreement between you, the apprentice, the company that is training you, a union if it is a union shop, and the U.S.Dept of Labor. Calling a trainee an apprentice when they are not formally in an approved apprenticeship program is a disservice to the individual. The end result of an apprenticeship is a documented U.S. Department of Labor Certificate of Completion of Apprenticeship in (for example) Machine Repair. Pipefitting, Die Maker etc. The certificate will have your unique registration number. You will receive a Journeyman card also documenting your status. So know what you are getting into if you get hired. Are you in a formal apprenticeship, or are you a trainee? It sounds like you have family in the trades. They can give you real, first hand advice about the life you would be living if you choose a particular trade. Ask them all. Talk to employers, would they hire you if you have a certificate or diploma from this or that school? Never mind what the "counselors" from the private schools tell you, they are salesmen first and foremost. You are making decisions now that will affect you for the rest of your life. If you go to college, get a "real" degree from an accredited college or university if you want a "real" job. There are no easy routes to take. Struggle now and prepare yourself or struggle the rest of your life. Switching from my work related observations to personal observations: You need to find an occupation you can do for decades that hopefully has avenues that you can take as you age. Firefighters can become inspectors or trainers when they get older or hurt for example. What you think is important in a job changes dramatically at different stages in you life. Having a fun exciting job is very important when you are young. When you have a wife and kids, paying the mortgage, putting food on the table, having health insurance and being able to provide a decent life for your family changes the definition of" job satisfaction" from what you do at work to how you live at home. Don't mean to preach or pontificate, but you have a lot to think about. Serious stuff. Good luck with whatever you choose.

 

NADC is a great school for the Collision. I graduated there in dec. 2008 just before xmas. But you have to make sure you go to class... DONT GET DRUNK ALL THE TIME... and i would say the schools not worth going to without the High performance/Fab classes.
Great school, but it is to easy to graduate and you have to want to learn!
After I graduated i had a ASE master tech, and ICAR platinium cert which i could walk in to nearly any body shop and get a job with.

Also almost went on to Ferrari training but couldnt speak 2 Languages, They didnt think english, american, and southern were considered different languages...

If you want any more details feel free to PM me also

 

be cool stay in school

comm college or university

working on cars is fun

but what do you do if your back goes out and you cant lift anymore?

or like me carpel tunnel syndrome shut down the use of my hands

Im suprised no one on here recomended the armed forces

the army trains all kinds of mechanics so does the navy and airforce

the marines just kill people ( only the few the proud )

a good friend of mine went the navy way learned helicopter repair and is not hurting for cash

and works on cars as a hobby

my nephew went to some aircraft school spent 25 grand and cant get a job
why ??/ no experience vets have experience and get the job before anyone else

 

I graduated both Wyo Tech and UTI (specailty Benz training) before the original tech sold out. I busted my ass and after being in the automotive world 5 years I wise I would have attended college. The auto industry is not what it was for previous generations. One is expected to lie for a living. As a line tech pay checks were never consistent. Then trying to get out is extremely difficult at best.
If I could go back and do it again I would graduate with a reputable degree in engineering.
If you are still set on tech school, Wyo Tech was by far superior. Seeing both "hot rod" programs (Wyo Tech & UTI) after getting over Laramie I would still choose Wyo tech.
I wish you the best!

 

Go to work for the government. Figure out what you can do, get whatever training is required and get a government job, any kind of government job. Guaranteed steady paycheck, top pay, and minimum work with a guaranteed pension at the end.

This may seem stupid now but the older you get the smarter it will sound.

Is that what I did? Hell no but life would have been a lot easier and more pleasant if I had.

 

Better make that "federal" govt. Some states are renegging on pensions.

 

Not sure if it is still offered,but when I graduated in the early 80's G.M. piloted a progarm called A.S.E.P. that stands for Automotive Service Education Program.
It is a manufacturer backed program that provides "Real World" experience.

The candidate has to qualify for this positiion which also involves being sponsored by a GM dealership. It is a work-study program,meaning that you go to school for 9wks and work at the dealership for 9wks and end up with a A.A. at the end of 2 yrs.
All of your time is accounted for and one learns just how the real world of Automotive Technology is.

This means getting to work and school in a timely manner, being ready to work and in uniform, able to turn in assignments on time which include showing flagged hours and being able to do work in a timely manner. Mind you, I said that twice as it is very important not to miss promiss times of when a vehicle repair is completed.

Some have discouraged you against a community college, well this would be up to you. Cerritos College and Citrus College in So-Cal both offer these style of programs.
Cerritos has a very nice body and fender program as well as metal fabrication.
These are not included in the above mentioned program.

FoMoCo also sponsors a program @ Cerritos, It is refered to as ASSET. It's taught by none other than Tony Baron, son of Legendary Frank Baron of Tatersfield-Baron Speed Equipment fame. He's a very talented speed equipment mfg, who teaches young guns as a way to continue keeping the flame lit.

I did the same thing there in their Advanced Automotive Alternative Fuels Program with my former HS auto instructor who headed that program as director. There is many options in your future career path, choose wisely as it does set the pace of your life.

 

The community college idea is always a good one,...And the instructors usually have a lot of local connections, when it's time to go job hunting.

4TTRUK

 

There's a lot of good advice in this thread already, but here's my $.02. Know what you want to do, get as much education as you can afford and then borrow some more money to get more education. Don't get side-tracked, (booze, drugs, women, marriage, kids, debt) you'll have a lifetime of regret.

 

School of "Hard knocks".... it worked for me.

Good luck

 

my advice coming from a younger guy--if you plan on doing anything in the automotive field nothing beats on the job training. I was going to go to wyotech right out of high school but decided not to. Spent two years learning the trade as a helper and have been doing it on my own for four. I was able to learn and make money at the same time. We have a guy at the shop now that went to wyotech, hes 20, has a shit load of loans and still has another 2-3 years as an apprentice. An automotive degree is worthless and certifications dont mean shit. Anybody can take a test or an ICAR class and say they are certified. I know some guys that went to wyotech and each one of them says its not real world circumstances...now onto the college end...my wife has a four year degree and she has said some things she'd do differently. For the first two years go to a community college. The first two years are general education classes and you can save a lot of money. Best thing in my opinion if you want to be in the automotive trade is to find a good shop and good tech to teach you. In the bodywork field theres usually 10 hacks to 1 good bodyman.

 

I would join the chorus of those who say stay away from "for profit" schools. I went to State college, Univ of New York at Morrisville. They have a good two year auto tech program including high performance. That way you get a good two year academic degree because you never know what life will offer you. I graduated in '64, was 1A for the draft, couldn't find a job and ended up in Navy on nuc submarines. After that I spent my whole working career in civilian power plants, got my four year degree while working, was middle level management after a while and was a whole lot better off in the long run with that career. I could never have imagined that as a career when I went off to college after high school so hedge your bets and be prepared. My generation generally had one or two jobs during their working life but young people today can expect to have multiple employers over theirs.

 

Best advice here, and it bears repeating... STAY CLOSE TO HOME!!!

Reason #1 You don't have to move.

Reason #2 If you go for 2 weeks and it's not your deal, drop out. Who cares? You're close to home.

Reason #3 Get a local job and learn there while you go to school.

I've worked in shops for going on 18 years, 14 in dealerships. I went to a 2 year, graduated an ASE Master. At this point in time I want to move away from the tool box into a less physically stressful position. Most of the jobs I'm looking at require hands on, technical experience and A 4 YEAR BACHELOR'S DEGREE.....

Bummer, right? Wrong. My 2 year now offers an additional 2 year course for a 4 Year Bachelors Degree in Applied Management. And I can still ride my bike to class if I want to. My employer offers tuition reimbursement, so hopes are the majority of my costs will be covered by them.

 

Hard part about this is its getting harder and harder to find a person that will teach you this stuff. Ya theres this website but its completely different... Talk to old people, listen to them... How i learned lead work (which i dont think any school teaches anymore)... But seriously... NADC... and its good to move away from home, you get to travel see new things and figure out if where you are now is where you wanna be or not, make new connections and not be isolated locally... my penny on the subject...