Looking into UTI... any opinions welcome...

My friend went to UTI for a few months before he saw the writing on the wall, being that the salesman for the school are good at talking the place up and the chances of working at some high end dealership, or the manufacturers are slim.
He even said the instructors were honest about things and that most students would end up at some chain shop. Plus, he spent a lot of money on tools which he still has so that was the OK thing about UTI. Instead he dropped out and is finishing up his mechanical engineering degree.

Check the local vocational schools to see if one of them has a Ford ASSET program. ASSET is a Ford-sponsored technician training program that pairs a student with a local dealership. You get one quarter of classroom instruction, then a quarter of work in the dealership, then back to class and so on. By the time you graduate in 2 years, you are most of the way towards a Ford technician certification and you have a guaranteed job waiting for you. Here's a link to our local program. I've been in the car business for a couple of decades and I concur with Mob. I've never seen a graduate of UTI or Wyotech working in a dealership. Everywhere I've been, the technicians are all from junior college tech programs that are dealer supported or voc-techs.

i got into uti in orlando i was gona go but the 40,000 dollars for 66 days and a peace of paper sawing u went wasnt worth it in my mind i went to a vo tech school in the area and i paid 1500 for 4 classes and my inspection test and i love it

I know most guys want to skip the basics and just jump into a tech spot but that isn't going to happen. Every other guy I know thinks he's a tech just because he worked on his car a few times, not the case. Trust me, it is much different.

My advice is this. There are many levels in a dealership. Go start out at the bottom, changing oil and tires. If you think you are too good for that then you have already lost and have no hope for ever becomming anything until you get an attitude change. Always show interest that you want to advance and learn more. See if you can assist the techs. Eventually you will become an apprentice or helper. Most dealers will want you to learn their way so they will send you to school and the rest you will learn from hands on experience from those who really, really know. This may take a long time.

Oh, and doing it for a living is not nearly the same as as a hobby. You'll be suprised just how far just showing up on time, not complaining, staying busy, doing what you are told, and not calling in sick all the time will do for you. We get a lot of sorry asses. Guys that think because they swapped the motor in their car and installed a tranny then they are too good to put on tires and such, but when it comes down to it these guys can hardly rack a car on the lift. How often I have to come behind people to fix leaks in tires and balance the assemblies properly.

The automotive repair field is not a good field right now. I'm ASE master certified and I am working as a general service mechanic right now, but it's 500 a week compared to what a lot of guys are getting right now.

Lots of good advice in this thread.

UTI/Wyotech are overrated in my opinion. The dealership option has been explained and I ended up going to a local technical college to head in the racing career direction. Learned a lot, and realized now that I don't want to travel NEARLY as much as the serious NASCAR/NHRA teams do so that and to them being married is almost a deal-breaker. Now I am in for CNC machining and work at a small machine shop in the area.

IMO, there isn't any type of training they give you that is worth 40k. I even met guys in the NASCAR program who said it didn't help them get a job . . . the only things that mattered to most of the major teams are a CDL and work experience in your field.

Sorry I couldn't give you a dealership-centered answer but you got a couple of really good ones in this thread already

I when to and graduated from UTI in Glenndale Heights IL, I went through the basic auto and then through Ford FACT. I now work at a Ford Dealer. I have been working there for year and a half now, and yes I started at the bottom changing oil and tires, but you have to start somewhere, you cant just go straight to the top. Which is what most of the guys thought at school, I went to school so Im not going to change oil! I do pretty much everything now. My Ford certifications help me alot at work, especially the way the economy is, to do most Ford Warranty work you have to be certified in that area, and warranty work is better than no work at all.

The school is good if you pay attention and you want to be there, the instructors want to teach you and know what they are talking about. Alot of the people at school where there and didnt care about anything they were just there and thought they already knew everything and had to complain about the rules and the way things were done and cause trouble.

In my opinion I got more out of the Ford Program than I did out of the basic auto program. I was in a class with 5 other guys and the instructor. It was easier to learn and understand more things in a smaller group. The only thing that sucked about the ford program is all of the web based training programs you have to do, but you have to do them to get certified.

If you have any questions for me feel free to ask.

Todd

you sure you wanna work on cars? working on cars for a living sucks ass

i went to New England Tech (same thing as UTI) and in my opinion it was a total waste of money. I didn't learn much more than I already knew, and it didnt really help me get into my dealership job. I got an associates in science and im not sure what Im ever gonna use it for. Maybe Bill Nye the science guy needs an apprentice?

My advice if you want to get into the automotive field, start at a quick lube place, then after 6 months or so, start hunting for a dealership job. Youll learn more from a dealer job then you will at school.

Like said above, the auto field is crap right now anyway. It was fun at first working on cars all day, now its not so fun. I do like my job and everything, and its probably the best job I've had, but its turns into work and not play real quick.

With an Automotive Technology degree/diploma/certificate you may advance a little faster, will help you get a job a little easier, but will it justify the time and money you spent with the school? That is the question to ponder.

I went and graduated from NTI in Mooresville NC. The tuition is much more than it was when I went. You will get out of it what you put into it. I cant speak for the Phoenix Campus but I enjoyed the program. You can get a job at a dealer but will have to start from the bottom. The best thing you can do is get a job while you are in school at a dealer and start with the routine maint. department that way when you graduate you can move up. i thought it was a great program. I just didnt like working on cars at a dealer for a living so I got out of it. I now work for Toyota as an Internet Sales Manager.

I would start turning wrenches again if I got a job at a speed shop building fast street cars or race cars.

wythors said:

Check the local vocational schools to see if one of them has a Ford ASSET program. ASSET is a Ford-sponsored technician training program that pairs a student with a local dealership. You get one quarter of classroom instruction, then a quarter of work in the dealership, then back to class and so on. By the time you graduate in 2 years, you are most of the way towards a Ford technician certification and you have a guaranteed job waiting for you. Here's a link to our local program. I've been in the car business for a couple of decades and I concur with Mob. I've never seen a graduate of UTI or Wyotech working in a dealership. Everywhere I've been, the technicians are all from junior college tech programs that are dealer supported or voc-techs.

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This is what I'm starting in September. Everyone I know that has been through it had alot of good things to say.

Didnt think there would be so much negative talk towards UTI...

I have a very close friend who just graduated from UTI and has three job offers on the table. Granted, he decided to specialize in Diesel, however one of his offers is from Cummins themselves. He doesn't have the best work history prior to UTI and is also a member of this board, but rarely comes in to chat.

Some classes were worthless according to him, but also many were worth while. He will also be talking with the local Ford lot whom expressed interest. I am not comparing this school to Ford specific tech, but I can tell you its a great program if you choose wisely and get good grades.

I think it all depends on what you want to do. I can understand going to school for diesel, but if you just want to wrench at a dealer, I wouldn't waste my time. If I could do it all again, I probably would have gone to a school called MTTI. I think it may be local to MA. Its $8000, they send you through an 8 month auto program and give you a certificate when you graduate for $2000 in snap on tools.