Education in the Automotive Industry

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dusterman440

dusterman440

Racing Enthusiast
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I’m currently in high school and I’m determined to work in the automotive industry, preferably high performance. My predicament is that I have no clue on what/where I should begin this career path, I've been working on cars since I was 5, and started automotive classes my freshman year. In my autos class we have had recruiters for schools such as Wyotech, uti, Lincoln Tech, Ohio Technical College, but its always the same bs about “We are the best choice for anything automotive”. I’m hoping to get some idea from shop owners or former students, to find out which schools/programs actually hold any weight in the real world
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Thanks, Dusterman440
 
Good luck, it's a tough job.

Get insurance, and have well prepared paperwork.
People will be your buddies but as soon as something goes wrong they will blame you at the drop of a hat ruthlessly. Related to the job you just did or not.
It's thankless work.
One oh s*it cancels a thousand adda'-boys.

You won't want to work on your own stuff after doing it all day.

I enjoy working on cars, just not other peoples cars, too much of liability.

Been there done that, got the t-shirt.
 
Where in illinois are you. The local 701 is accepting apprenticeship applications. Google mechanicslocal701. See what pops up.
 
Ed, (805MoparKid) might can give you some good advice. I think he went to one of those schools. He's a real sharp young man. Maybe he'll chime in.
 
i think it is great you want to be in this industry. i am also from illinois and went to a community college for an associates degree in automotive, i went to Southern Illinois University for a bachelor degree in automotive and I worked for UTI for 10 years before being hired in my current job. I would strongly encourage you to check out SIU. i was a automotive conferance with many of the OE's and SIU grads were at every manufacture. If you want to focus on custom work, i would go to wyo. UTI hot rod program is not very good. many of the students i had complained. community college is also a great options. I now work for firestone and we are hiring more and more techs that have degrees and i would suggest anyone who is getting into this industry to think about getting one. PM me if you would like to talk more. i can give many different pov's.
 
Thanks everyone for your advice. Unlike most careers I haven't been able to find one specific way to begin, since the ways range from tech schools, apprenticeships, college, and company programs
 
I'm a parts manager in a dealership. I've been in dealerships since 1993 with the exception of my stint in the Post Office.
I can tell you this, you can make damn good money as a tech in a dealership.
You become more valuable if you can do transmission work. Your value increases even more if you can work on diesels.
I've got guys that have been to one school or the next. They all seem to be equal. All of them showed up with a box full of tools that Snap-On gave then a deal on.
Service managers don't really care where you went to school, as much as what you learned and what you can do.
They all went to school from here too. The company sends everyone several times a year. The techs seem like they go at least every other month. Most manufactures are going to require you to continue going to school. The good news is that will be free and paid.
When you go in to a place, look around, is the shop full? Is there a lot full of cars? Are there guys hanging around shooting the ****?
What ever you do, stick with it. The money is good and the work isn't bad.
 
Let me throw a hat in for Baker College ADI(Auto/Diesel Institute) Im an instructor there right now and I will be spear heading the CAP Program. This is a Chrysler Sponsored program to train techs to be Level 2 Certified when they graduate. What does that mean? It means right out of College you can go to a dealer with more Chrysler specific knowledge and do warranty work straight away. You get schooling and then work at a dealer as an apprentice then go back to school until you are certified. If you go thru a standard program and get hired into a Chrysler dealer, you have to go thru more schooling from Chrysler to get your Level 2 Cert.

With the CAP Program, you get to the money faster and have a huge advantage over anyone who has not been thru the program.

I have worked at Chrysler dealers and at the Chrysler Proving Grounds from 1991-2009. I know my Chrysler stuff. Plus I love my Mopars.

So give them a look. http://www.baker.edu/ http://www.moparcap.com/

 
Mike Rowe is offering scholarships to UTI for diesel mechanics:

The Naked Truth

Question: If I were to form “The American Idol Scholarship Fund” and announce $15,000 of professional training for anyone who wished to become a pop star, how long do you think it would take to give away a million dollars?

A day? An hour? A minute?

What if I offered the same money to anyone who wanted to learn how to maintain and repair diesel engines? How fast would the million dollars go then?

Currently, this question has no official answer. But I can tell you this - for the last month, mikeroweWORKS has been offering FULL-RIDE scholarships to one of the best trade schools in the country. And as of now - a big chunk of that million dollars is still up for grabs. Why? Because mikeroweWORKS scholarships do not reward fame or celebrity. They reward work ethic, and the willingness to learn a necessary skill. In other words, they are designed to train people for jobs that actually exist.

Last month, I shot a few commercials to announce my latest partnership with Universal Technical Institute https://www.uti.edu/mrw As you may know, UTI trains the technicians that keep America’s trucks on the road. Not as sexy perhaps as the next American Idol, but a great place to find a few American Icons. Truth is, our Trade Schools play an important role in maintaining this thing we call “civilization,” and given the preponderance of Help Wanted signs currently papering our transportation industry, I wanted to help draw some attention to another specific career that too many people simply overlook.

Anyway, this particular commercial didn’t make it past Standards and Practices, for obvious reasons. But since I’m the only censor in these parts, I’ve made it available here, for the refined taste and sophisticated worldview of my 835,000 closest friends. http://profoundlydisconnected.com/naked-mike-unauthorized-video/ (Warning - Partial Nudity and Poor Judgment abound.)

Mike

PS. As long as you’re loafing around on the interweb, do me a favor. If you or someone you know are willing to explore a career in the transportation industry, I’d seriously like to help. The opportunities are real, and the details about this particular program - along with a more tasteful version of the above message - can be found here. https://www.facebook.com/UTI

PPS. By traditional standards, this scholarship program is working just fine. I’m just personally appalled that the money didn’t vanish in the first twenty minutes. (I’ll work on my expectations.)

PPPS I know. The diet starts tomorrow.
 
has anybody had any dealings with The Hot Rod Institute in South Dakota? I really want to go there for custom work, ive even been accepted and everything just need to get the money together.

sorry i dont mean to hijack the thread or anything, just want to know if anyone can give me more info than what ive gotten from the school
 
My take on it from having several friends who twist wrenches is to take a hard look at going into big diesels.

Without years in the field, a credential or degree is the only way you'll be taken seriously.

Know that anything racing will be long hours, days to months away from home living out of a hotel/motel room, and eating hot dogs for breakfast. If you go this route make sure that you ALWAYS have a credit card with you. This so that when you're tired of this ol carp you have a way to get home. Heard a rumor of a prominent Top Fuel racer who stopped the truck in the middle of nowhere and fired a crew guy right there. Always, always have that credit card with you.
If you insist on going into racing angle for a shop job that doesn't travel much.
Any education that you get is good for racing. For instance knowing how to program and run a CNC machine can be huge to getting a job with a racing operation.
 
dusterman440 said:
I’m currently in high school and I’m determined to work in the automotive industry, preferably high performance. My predicament is that I have no clue on what/where I should begin this career path, I've been working on cars since I was 5, and started automotive classes my freshman year. In my autos class we have had recruiters for schools such as Wyotech, uti, Lincoln Tech, Ohio Technical College, but its always the same bs about “We are the best choice for anything automotive”. I’m hoping to get some idea from shop owners or former students, to find out which schools/programs actually hold any weight in the real world
Thanks, Dusterman440
Click to expand...



I am in the same boat as you I am a senior in HS graduating the 22 of this month. I have been taking automotive class in school not really to learn more as the class's are for beginners and I had the knowledge already really for a easy A. We have had UTI NADC ect come and try to get us to join them and I really don't like any of them. I have a job at the dodge dealer as a express lube guy but and doing brakes trans services and radiator services and flashes as well. I don't plan to stay here but its a job. I will most likely go into diesel mechanics manly field stuff but I am also looking in SAM (school of automotive machinist) but not sure if there is any work outside of racing. The UTI guy really pissed me off when I was talking to him one on one.
 
Well bringing the thread back from the dead, but figured I'd give an update in case someone else falls in the same predicament. So here's a summary of between graduating highschool and becoming an Intern with Fiat-Chrysler!

My path:
I ended up going to SIU(Southern Illinois University) for our Automotive Technology major. I put in some major work on the Formula SAE team with the engineering college, and quickly became Shop Manager. I volunteered at a performance/engine shop out of Indy on my breaks, and then worked there again for around 1 1/2 months last summer. I've been doing a self-made racing photography media outlet since highschool as well. Between the four things, I was able to have a very solid resume. I have only been in college for 1 1/2 years and scored a 8-month paid(well) internship with Fiat-Chrysler.

The focus of SIU's program is definitely focused on creating individuals for corporate jobs within major OEM's, which I didn't like at first. However, as time progressed I realized the money difference is quite significant, and you don't ruin your hobby as so many friend's have said about being a tech. Working for Chrysler was a dream since I could count, and this was achievable in just 1 1/2 years of the program, don't get me wrong the program alone isn't enough, you'll need to put in serious work in the school's auto clubs or Formula SAE, and might need to work for free at some shop... but if you do those and get the degree, you are basically guaranteed a 55+ salary coming out of school.

*Quick Note*I'm not some recruiter paid to tell you the program is good, and honestly it's still school... so at times it sucks, but if you put in the work, it will produce results.
 
dusterman440 said:
Well bringing the thread back from the dead, but figured I'd give an update in case someone else falls in the same predicament. So here's a summary of between graduating highschool and becoming an Intern with Fiat-Chrysler!

My path:
I ended up going to SIU(Southern Illinois University) for our Automotive Technology major. I put in some major work on the Formula SAE team with the engineering college, and quickly became Shop Manager. I volunteered at a performance/engine shop out of Indy on my breaks, and then worked there again for around 1 1/2 months last summer. I've been doing a self-made racing photography media outlet since highschool as well. Between the four things, I was able to have a very solid resume. I have only been in college for 1 1/2 years and scored a 8-month paid(well) internship with Fiat-Chrysler.

The focus of SIU's program is definitely focused on creating individuals for corporate jobs within major OEM's, which I didn't like at first. However, as time progressed I realized the money difference is quite significant, and you don't ruin your hobby as so many friend's have said about being a tech. Working for Chrysler was a dream since I could count, and this was achievable in just 1 1/2 years of the program, don't get me wrong the program alone isn't enough, you'll need to put in serious work in the school's auto clubs or Formula SAE, and might need to work for free at some shop... but if you do those and get the degree, you are basically guaranteed a 55+ salary coming out of school.

*Quick Note*I'm not some recruiter paid to tell you the program is good, and honestly it's still school... so at times it sucks, but if you put in the work, it will produce results.
Click to expand...


Congratulations on the success so far..Keep it up.
 
Thanks, wasn't meant as a bragging post, kinda unsure if it came across that way... I just know I was pretty lost on what to do when I created this thread, and I thought I was making the wrong decision when I first choose SIU, but over time I have come to realize that it really is a good path for me! My hope is that if someone is confused like I was, they can get some perspective on the option, as it's really hard to find relevant first hand experience of getting into the automotive field, as it has changed immensely over the years
 
I know a ford diesel tech and a transmission tech. They could piss on the bosses desk and he wouldnt say a word.
The skills required today are indepth and require rigorous training.
I have a degree from the u of bloody knuckles,worked in automotive most of my life,after 9,000 hours logged on paper i qualified to challenge for my red seal certificate.
Big deal.
For those that want to get into the high tech end, my hat’s off to you.
For the rest, someone still needs to be around to fix the junk rolling up and down the highways. That’s where guys like me come in.

I inspired a young man to get into the industry,he’s in pursuit of his heavy duty certification,as i told him the garage biz is a hard gig and its tough to make the good money. Unless you develop a special skillset.
Now, i work for myself,have my select clientele and work to pay the bills. Im never going to get rich, i dont care. But i’m not running myself ragged to make bonus either.
I have a yard full of cars waiting,all of them happy to have me work on their stuff.

Get the education under your belt,develop good work ethics and the rest will fall into place.
Good luck to you all!
 
I agree with Woods 74 (the second post) but, I cannot dissuade a young person who wants to give it a go. i will say this, everyone starts out wanting to work on performance cars, old cars, street performance and race cars. in the business, you may get to work on a few cool street performance cars, maybe a few old cars, but mostly you will fix whatever is on the road in your area. trucks, SUV's, Minivans, and beat up hoopdies. it is true if you are a skilled tech you will make a living, stay away from flat rate, or work flat rate with a guarantee. The dealerships i worked in (Ford) screwed the guy that knew diesel and transmissions because it was all warranty work. Keep in mind that in 1968, the mechanics back then bitched and moaned about cars that I think are easy and fun to work on. the cars today are more high tech, and they aren't easy to fix when broke. yes, maintenance is easy, but i am talking troubleshooting and fixing hard failures, which in all reality don't happen that often. today's cars run longer without failure and maintenance than older vehicles. Also, keep in mind that people don't want to pay for auto repair and maintenance, so your boss is going to be involved in "competitive pricing" which means you will have to turn out alot of work to make a "just getting by" paycheck. P.S. dont listen to the parts guy, they don't know anything about what line techs go through or how much money they make. Its easy to watch Gas Monkey and think, "wow those guys are great, I wanna do that" the average peon for Richard Rawlings is just that, a peon, Rawlings is making the money, he doesnt have Aaron kaufman's talent, and Kaufman left for his own piece of the pie. If you want to do it, do it, but focus on guys like kaufman, not the other chooches on Gas Monkey. The ultimate deal is, you devote your life to it, end up with your own garage and people working for you.
 
After twenty five years of doing collision and mechanical... Gotta say that when it came time for my nephew to turn a wrench I encouraged him to go the local vocational school for diesel. He graduated in high honors. The world runs on diesel, from farms to mines, to construction to ships. Pick one and you're in.

Follow a passion. Take your dreams and run with them. "I can't" is an excuse.

Glad for the update. Thanks for letting us know.

That being said for those of you who might be looking in a similar career path, take a look at regional colleges. Here, SUNY Alfred is about one of the best tech schools I've seen for graduates. Kids who know their **** and are ready to hire. Places like community colleges seem to churn out wannabe's who think since they have a toolbox qualifies them to use the tools in it. I wouldn't hire from the local CC at all. As a matter of fact I made a mint in my last shop fixing the crap that the local CC "fixed."
 
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