Go to Linemans climbing school and earn 200k a year (a bad year) and buy the hot rods you want or the parts and build them in your spare time.... I was never sorry and graduated from a local college with a degree in industrial arts which included welding, auto tech, and some body experience. My grandson starts next month and that make 3 generations of lineman..good luck.
I can't speak to the other schools you listed but Im very familier with WyoTech. Ive worked in both the autobody and automotive repair sides of the industry and as much as it pains me to say it, especially since the school was founded in my hometown, WyoTech would be a huge waste of your time and money. I would feel comfortable saying 90% of the grads from there Ive worked with were useless. The students seem to come out with an attitude that they know everything there is to know about the subject and wont listen to futher instruction or advice from people with decades of experience in the field, then when it comes time to do the work they get the "deer in the headlights" look and cant perform.
Jeezus dude, way to rub our nose in it! I don't want to be too harsh here but FUCK WYOTECH. I see I'm not alone in that thought either. All they come out with is what the tools are called, and that's the "good" students. When it comes to "our" type of stuff it takes an MS from "HKU", or Hard Knock University. Usually leaves a scar or ten, bad bones, etc. That said I'd rather win the lottery than anything but I do cars in the meantime, and have been for over 40 years. Don't fret, some days I have a more positive message than today's. Good luck and thank you for your service.
I have heard that Wyotech was part of a huge class action lawsuit where the company that ran the school filed bankruptcy, so I doubt I will be going there. I also read that Hot Rod Institute was under review from the VA and might lose it use of the GI Bill so they are out. It seems like the government is cracking down on for profit schools more and more so I think I will stay away from them. I am seriously looking at Mcpherson, Penn Tech and UNOH now. If anyone else has another great school I should look into let me know. I have until April, then I retire and I am on my way. Guy I appreciate all the help and advice.
Have you considered a local community or Technical College? There a great value. Shoreline Community College near Seattle has a great automotive program that is sponsored by the OEM's. When I visited there several years ago, the had a Dodge Viper donated from Chrysler Corporation. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
I have considered a local community college and I am looking at Technical schools also. I did read about shoreline today and will look more into it. With the GI Bill I get 36 months to go to school no matter where I go. If I go to a community college or a full on university I still get the same amount and the same amount of time. In my mind I would want the best program for the money. I don't mind moving to go to school. Hell I have been in 60 countries now and have full time lived in 4 so moving is a way of life for me.
Is there any military internal learning center when you can learn all the basics on the large trucks and other vehicles? Where does the military get those guys that repair the HumVee's and tanks learn at? Once you get the basics down, engine, electrical, chassis, brakes. The rest is learning as you go. Sometimes jobs are posted here, call those people up and see who they hired and why? What experience did the new hires bring to the table. Also note there a many threads here about having and working at Hotrod shops and how hard it is to keep it going. I'm not saying impossible, it just not the glamorous vision people see from TV. They don't show minions that F'up a project and get let go the same day, all the background noise. Also if you think you will be working on your own projects on the job, forgettabout. Ain't no time for that. Even the guys that have all their ducks in a row have a hard time and it takes hard work to make it look easy. If you have already built a few cars, this may be a way of getting in with shops. even that is hard to do though. That said, I come to learn that for some parts of building it best just to have a good career and make the dough to pay for the services needed. Even then, I try to do a lot of the work myself. See what your strength is, "career-wise" and what has gotten you this far in life and make that the thing to do.
X10 on Penn College in Williamsport, PA. They are part of Penn State and have an excellent program, the automotive restoration technology program has restored some cool rides, some of which are AACA Hershey museum cars.
For a basic foundation skills your local community college is the way to go. They are cheap enough that you could pay out of pocket then use your GI bill later for one of the more advanced programs already mentioned. I did the comunity college thing back in the early 70s while working part time as a mechanic and upon completion of the courses went straight into a good paying job at a local dealership. Later moved on into the nuclear power generation arena as a maintenance tech and ended up training techs for the nuclear industry. The big thing you need to decide is if you want want to train for a job that will make you good money so you can afford to build hot rods on the side or train for a job that will let you work on cars, without consideration of how much you will make as a mechanic, because you enjoy working on cars.
I doubt you could go to a school and learn how to build HOT RODs and custom cars. you have to be born with it. you need imagination, back yard engineering, you need the ability to look at something and figure it out in your head. they don't teach any of that shit in school. you can learn how to weld. go to some bodywork class. take whatever class you want but if your brain is not in the right place none of that will do you any good
Lucky guy! Your'e on the way. Past training/certificates, GI Bill, and DEBT FREE! (debt free - now that's real freedom!) Sounds like a happy life.................. Learn some basics like welding, electrical, body work and etc. if you haven't already. Start yourself a project to see how ya like doing it. Just my 2 cents.................
I was asking only because I was thinking about going there myself Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Mechanics is a trade, as is body work, welding, and so on and so on. One can learn the basics from a book, but the ability to do any of it is totally reliant on natural talent. Pretty near any trade school will take you in and try and teach you the basics, but how you fair is not dependent on how well you pay attention or if you are able to perform the given tasks. You either have the talent or you do not.
Spend your money on good tools and a bunch of DVDs from Kent White, Ron Covell, Fay Butler etc for body work. There must be other DVDs for other trades. Watch them carefully over and over, and practice, practice, practice, what they show. Buy old engineering related text books from last century. Use YouTube etc. Join forums specific to what you want to learn. This is the INFORMATION AGE, dammit!! The rules have changed. Screw the schools. And read this recent thread and see what the right attitude and bit of determination can accomplish: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/my-29-roadster-redo-from-rat-to-track.1021825/
I might suggest something like the Motorsport Technology degree available from Lanier Tech, a state school which is part of the technical college system in Georgia: http://www.laniertech.edu/AcademicPrograms/Current Program Flyers/MotorsportsDegree.pdf
McPherson College is the one you want. They offer a Bachelor' Degree in Restoration Technology, the only one available anywhere. I know some of the instructors there, and they know their stuff. They lean more toward restoration than Hot Rods, but it's knowledge you can use in any aspect of building nifty cars. You'll get a good base of all aspects of working on old cars there. If you PM me, I can put you in contact with one of the instructors there to help you decide.
Man I wish it worked that way. I wish I could just go to any of the Mil schools and learn that stuff. If it did I would learn concrete, construction, electrician, mechanical etc...I would stay in school. But they don't teach that at the base I am at and I can't go to where they do. Believe me man I have no delusions that it would be anything like those scripted for reality tv shows. I know it will be hard work, long hours and lows between jobs. I know I won't be able to work on my own stuff in the mean time. But I also know I will not be in a cubical 10 hours a day plugging away at a computer hating my life. I have the chance to have the bill paid to go learn what I love and take a shot at enjoying the next 20+ years of work. IF not hell, I learned to work on my own rides, I go back to the cubical, I make $90 a year plus my $30K in retirement and I work on my own cars on the side. I get all the philosophy advice I have been reading, what I want to know is where is the best program to lay my foundation. As far as projects go. I have been building VW Bugs since I was 15 and have restored and modded more than 12 of them. They were my poor mans hot rods. Now I want to work on bigger projects.
Coming from a lifetime in the restoration field, the McPherson suggestion is solid. No matter how good you are you need a client that can afford genuine talent. Where you aim those talents should be where the most able paying base can be found. The cars I restore take 3000 hrs and up to complete. Folks that can swing that are serious. They think in terms that some of us don't get (I do), their demands are simple. They want the best, they want honesty, they want integrity, they want to know that their PERSONAL PROPERTY is in good hands. I can't afford to do what I've done all my life for myself. I guess in some ways I can but the reality is that no time soon will I be raising a hand at an auction for 6 figures and then dropping another 6 in it. THEY DO. You can build the best hot rod on the planet...once. If the stars align, the one person sees it and wants you and it could roll into a great life. I'll say it on these pages again, ANYONE CAN RESTORE BACK TO ORIGINAL. Bold statement? Maybe, but there's genuine objective information out there to bring anything from a 64 Pontiac GTO to a 36 Alfa Romeo 8C back to it's original condition. Those who shine the brightest in their field of choice (upholstery, mechanical, body and fabrication, machinist, finisher, wood craftsman) have the discipline to stay the course and remain as faithful as possible to the final outcome. EVERY CRAFT IN RESTORATION APPLIES TO "OUR" CARS. While the money should be there along with it (it's not always) I've dedicated my talents toward depression-era Classics, mainly Packard. That's a car with a loyal following and I'm proud to declare how many times I've been consulted about them from coast to coast and beyond. Through your service you've earned the ability to get a recognized formal education in the field which should lead you to a rewarding and prosperous life. I did it the hard way because there was no such thing in my early days. The market has matured, it's become a recognized form of liquid asset, the collections are serious and important to our past. Want a bitchin hot rod like the stuff we see here? Get a restoration background and enjoy how much it applies to your choices. And yes, even to VWs. Good luck...
Around here, it's all done by contractors....and some of them, are guys that gave up working for themselves in town fixing cars, and now work on post, getting a steady paycheck. .... Whatever you do, it'll be an adventure. I tried my hand at making a living at it years ago, and didn't get too far. Now that it's a hobby again, I'm having a lot of fun. That retirement check could be a big help. I wonder how much you will want to specialize? and how you'll decide what types of work you really enjoy? If you spend your education opportunity learning everything, then decide one particular skill is what you want to master, will you wish you'd figured that out ahead of time, and spent more effort perfecting that skill? I don't have any answers, just a few questions. Good luck!
Listen to Highlander. Like him, I have been in this business a long time. McPherson sounds like it would work for you, but remember one vital thing. Attitude is everything. With your Service background, I would hope that you would be early to work, not spend the working day on your phone, stay late to learn and complete tasks, and not be lined up with your lunch box at 4.57 to leave. Those are things that will always get you a start, and in most businesses, the doors will open... My Son is career Military also. He has, finally, these attributes. Couldn`t be prouder of him, and feel much the same about you, considering your posts thus far. Thanks for your Service, and keep us all in the loop as to what you do and your experiences as you go.....
Sorry I haven't been on here awhile. With regards to Hot Rod Institute I would do some reading up on them. Last I read they were under investigation and might lose their ability to take the GIBill. If the VA will not except them as a acceptable school then they might not be on the up and up.
Update: To anyone who was following this post I have decided to take my GIBILL and go to UNOH in Lima Ohio. I started last week and I am enrolled in the Automotive Technology/High Performance Motorsports course. In the end I will have a Associates degree in both.
Do your research. visit the schools you think will best benefit you . the instructors should know local businesses that you can intern at. I am an army vet and have a step son with 2 years left to retirement. His field is aviation. Thank you for not kneeling during the national anthem , but standing up for our country. You could intern at my shop and I wouldn't hardly charge you anything to work for me. Just kidding. Best wishes in your next career.
I will have a different prospective on this than most. I am a CPA with the 4 year degree and have been working been working in this field almost 30 years. When I started my "real job" in accounting - I took auto body class at night at a local community college. My parents were educators and both taught in public high school. My Dad's love of vehicles in general and 1939 - 1940 Fords rubbed off on me. When I was young the only way I could afford a 1940 Ford Hot Rod was to learn how to build it myself. Honestly - the 1 year of community college tech school classes were the best value for the information learned of all my "high education" I am now a Chief Financial Officer of a dealership group, and have made a good living for me and my family. Our dealership coop with area - local community colleges for techs and have hired some from the private - for profit NASCAR type colleges. The guys from the public community college have a step up with better entry level training at and affordable price. My son is 17 and is really considering the community school route - with my blessing and support. The private 18 month "RACE SCHOOL" at about $40,000 is really a waste of money - big waste. The last young tech we hired for RACE SCHOOL - did not last a year - quit and went to work at a small farm tractor and power equipment store. His Dad (personal friend and local body shop owner) spent over $44,000 on this private education. With the community college - if our change careers - you will have a 2 year degree out the deal. We are in the middle of race country and they every thing from private engine, race body to pit team schools. Buyer be ware.
Good for you, never too old to go back to school, ask this soon to be 56 YO, what he's doing right now
Good for you! I think the position you are in is the position a lot of people want to be in, no debt, money coming in, being able to do what you really want instead of what you need or have to do. That's great. I hope it goes well!! Thanks for your service, and enjoy doing what you really want to do!!
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