When I worked at a Buick dealership (15 years ago) I knew a tech and his buddy thet went to UTI. They said it was way overpriced and not what it was cracked up to be. Do some research on your local community college/ tech school. I am currently attending one (for a criminal justice degree) and some of the part time instructors also teach at the "big name,big price" schools in the area. The funny thing is one of my instructors was preaching the other day how the 3 credit class that costs me $312 for the semester is almost $1,000 at the other school he teaches at. He also said the lessons/tests are a "carbon copy" of what we get. Choose whatever kind of car you want to work on, go to the dealership and ask the service manager if they could help point you in the right direction. These are the people that should know who the better employees are and where they recieved training. GOOD LUCK!!
I attended UTI in Houston and as far as the theory and education you receive there is good you will learn a lot about electronics and the theory of all aspects of gasoline,diesel vehicles as far as being worth the money hell no. When i graduated i thought i would be pretty good at diagnosing and know a good bit they teach you (not intentionally) the hardest shit you are going to encounter is the norm and it is the exact opposite of that find yourself a good community college and be done with it. UTI is Extremely overpriced. I caught on very quickly and within a year of graduating i moved up pretty quickly from basic new guy to well respected Driveability Technician in the Ford dealership i worked at but if I could do it over I would have gone to a community college and started working under a good tech and learned from them. You can get the exact same jobs out of a community college that you can graduating UTI.
Im not saying i didnt learn alot, bc i did.. and damnit I made good friends with my teachers and they would always help me out.. such good friends infact that I can go and get my car tuned any time i want for free.. BUT- it is ALOT of money, and you will be in there with alot of fuck off's who arent paying for shit and dont really care about getting the education b/c they just had to have somewhere to go to school..
Jeff
Ditto on all that shit. I went to a school called ATI (its all the fuckin same) and learned alot, was in there with a bunch of fuck-ups, etc. I was already working as a tech though so it was really a waste of time. Damn near 30k worth of worthless scool. Like i said, I learned alot, but i could have learned the same shit at work eventually and while making 30k (or less) instead of paying 30k.
Needless to say i'm still at my same job albeit with higher pay than before and i work with (guess what) a bunch of Lincoln Tech (columbia, md) guys who had the same shit to say about their school as i did. We often swap stories in the lunch room.
went to UTI 3.8gpa and 98% attendance. when i got out i live in houston where the school is and honestly UTI has such a bad reputation in houston "if" you get hired they're gonna treat you like shit because of all the UTI fuck up before you. OHH yea if you walk into Corvettes of houston with a UTI shirt on, they will all but throw you out!!! i found out that they're was a kid from UTI working at Corvettes of houston and they asked him to take this 1967 427 4-speed stingray vette to get detailed cause someone had bought it and was coming to pick it up ( for anyone that doesn't know this is a t least a 100k car) well five later the UTI calls his boss to let him know that the vette was totalled, turns out the kid was making a u-turn under i-45 and decided to get on it coming out of the turn where he spun the car out and a semi on the feeder creamed it. And of course my favorite story two UTI students racing up the feeder in a pair of mustangs after school. both students loose control of their cars and end up wrecking theyre mustangs in the Corvettes of houston show room totalling their mustangs and two corvettes not to mention damaging like 3 others so yea UTI has a very bad reputation in houston. And FWIW i work on elevators and escalators now and i have to say im making alot more than when i was working on cars and now i just work on my cars for fun. i found out that i like to work on my toys, not everyone else's junk. DONT GO TO UTI.
__________________ 01 10th ann. Firehawk#98 M6- LME 383, LMR built, FAST 92mm, PTM 92mm TB, LS6 Livernois stage 3 heads, yella terra RR, Comp Cam custom LMR grind 24X/24X dur 61X/61X lift 112LSA, ARH 1-7/8 LT's ORY,ASP u/d pulley, Loudmouth,spec stage 3+, BMR Extreme suspension Moser 12-Bolt and a bunch of other shit that wont fit
70 Mach 1 Mustang
96 Comp T/A #103 (a.k.a The Garage Queen)
07 Chevy crew cab, 02 GMC1500, 97 f-150 a few too many trucks
Last edited by strokerblackhawk; 02-20-2009 at 11:44 AM..
i definately agree with all the bad rap that uti students get because of past assholes who somehow graduated without knowing shit. but honestly there is a lot to learn with extremely knowledgable instructors and state of the art equipment. if someone is really really really serious about a career WORKING ON CARS, and ALL of the bullshit that comes with it uti is the best place i went to uti and have no regrets i didnt have the driving record to get into an msat, so i work at firestone but i wouldnt wanna be at a dealer in this economy anyway. Bottom line if you think you might change your mind down the road, save your money and go to a j/c. But if you wanna jump into the field with the best advantage go to uti
went, graduated, waste of money, could have gotten the same education for a fraction of the cost. The teachers are a joke and don't know there head from their asses. The hot rod program is a waste and teaches you nothing. Basically the only thing that can be learned from the hot rod deal is how to tear apart a gen 1 SBC. I did that when i was 15 so it was kinda woopty do for me lol. Had a 3.9 gpa and a 98% attendance rate because i had to leave school early a couple days to get to the shop to get work done.
your best bet in all honesty if you are wanting to get into the business is, go to a junior college or a votech (whatever it is you call it) and work part time at a dealership and listen and learn to the techs. You will start on the bottom rung and you will earn you way up, it takes patience. Do not expect to jump into it and making a million dollars a year, lol. Basicaly hands on experience is the only way to learn this business, I always got a good kick out of the kids that did great on the tests and knew the theory behind everything, but when it came to their diagnostic skills and actually working, they were lost. UTI does not give you the hands on you need. The hands on you need is being inside a shop and learning from the people doing it. Anyone can read stuff from a text book. and thats how most of the teachers are at UTI at least in my experience there. I went to the houston campus, btw.
Currently go to UTI / NTI campus in NC. have a 99.6% attendence. working up the GPA. Its what you make of the school. The only way you learn is by working in the field. Did that when i was 16 learned alot in that 6 months. Now once i finish school ill have this knowledge and be able to just move up in the field. Theres alot more out there then most think of just not dealerships. Gov't jobs and such.
So far my exericence before i came to the school..
6 months at a tire shop
few months at an auto parts store helping in the machine shop
Voluntered for Joey McCarthy North busch series team
Now just going through school working as a supervisor 40 hours a week.
i went to uti....its not that bad of a school....you learn as much as you want to learn....the idiots that come out of that school are the ones who never payed attention in class and goofed off the whole time......i went to the avondale az. campus and i had a 3.0 gpa and now i own my own auto shop.....
UTI/FACT grad as of 2 weeks ago. 4.0, 100% att., top of class ten times, blah blah blah.
If money grows on trees for you, or you're coming out of the military and don't like the idea of real college, go for it. As for the rest of us, I guarantee you that you'll get more out of a community college or even a university (UTI's credit hour rate is about $350, comparable to most universities).
If you're young, you'll have a hell of a time getting plastered about every day of the week because you've got nothing better to do. You'll see that the random drug testing is anything but a deterrant to most (selling drugs seems to be a great way to make money at the school). Oh, and be prepared for more downtime then you know what to do with...and the best part is that you can't leave class even though there's nothing left to do in the day, you're stuck.
On the other hand, the diagnostic theory is good. Not so much on the mechanical end, but definitely on the electrical end, especially in the FACT program. In fact, it's what inspired me to further my education, and I'm now going for a bachelors in electrical engineering, possibly with an automotive specialization on the side.
My advice is don't do it if cars are your hobby...and don't do it if you want a respected job. The pay can be good, but you will work your ass off for it, and it depends largely on where you get the job.
__________________ 1987 Porsche 944 - Sold, blown to hell
I went to UTI, i graduated in 95... (and it was only 10 grand to attend then) I went to the IL school and it SUCKED !! the guy who represented the school lied to me about everything, i was living in some crappy apartments in a cracked out nieghborhood that the school supplied, i even remember the name of it "french quarters". Then i was busting my ass working full time (making 6.00 an hour) to pay rent, food, gas, ect....... and go to school.
The only thing i miss are the friends i made, and yes i stuck it out finished and came home to another crappy job, but things got better got a job with Verizon and was eventially making 23.00 an hour and then quit after 13 yrs to start my own business.
If i could change things i would have stayed away from working on cars for a living it sucks, underpaid for 95% of the jobs as a wrencher and people just dont realize all the money you spend on tools, and the days were you just wanna smash somethin cause your pissed off about the car that is being an a-hole to fix or figure out. Oh, and most importantly you never can stop learning, cars are getting so technical that schooling will never end.
And why is it that we do this crap??????????
I graduated from UTI in 2000 with a 3.8GPA and I dont remember the attendance % but I only missed 1 day the whole time I was there. I went to VW training after that it was called VASTT back then or some then like that (not sure what the heck it's called now) I graduated from a Vocational High School and I had a lot of friends that went all over for automotive tech schooling: Northwestern in Ohio, WyoTech, NADC,DADC,Lincoln Tech, and so many community colleges.
After I finished with VW I got hired on a VW Audi and other german cars dealership I worked there for about 3 yrs. Then I went to a Chevy/Chrysler/Dodge dealership. and worked there for a 2 1/2 more years. All my friends that went to community colleges were making just as much or more as me. I'm now in the Army and im stationed at FT. Carson CO. and I have been deployed twice to Iraq and im not a mechanic in the Army. I'm A Tanker....LOL....I got burned out of it. I think the Dealership atmosphere wore me out.
The funny thing is that most of my friends that went to Automotive Schools are know longer turning wrenches for a living. And the ones that all went to schools like UTI or Northwestern in Ohio will tell ya dont waste your money, go to a CC.
On a side note I had one good friend that went to SAMS and he loved it and thought it was worth it....He makes a lot of $$$ and is about to start his own machine shop in the next year or two But this school is expensive.
I agree with those who wish they hadn't gone. I was a marine mechanic for 2 years before going there, I hated boats so I wanted to work with cars. As stated their electrical classes are pretty good, the rest sucks. I graduated with a 4.0, Several SOC's Student of the course, and what did it get me? I was offered piss poor jobs at dealerships and never went to one. Went to a couple performance shops getting 10-15 bux an hour. I had been tig welding since I was 12 so I went into the welding field, which was good until recently So I do mobile welding 3-4 days out of the week, and drive a tow truck 3 days a week. Believe it or not, I make alot more operating a tow truck, then working as a tech. And tips Sometimes are great, just got a $30 and $40 dollar tip this morning actually... on two tows.
But as was stated earlier, yes the reps lie like crazy promise alot and do nothing! I also liked how we couldnt work on our own vehicles, unless we filled out forms, and then came in on a saturday between x time and x time. And the car had to be removed if not repaired in time, sometimes they wouldnt even let us do simple stuff just in case it got "out of hand"
__________________ 10.95 @ 125.61 1.46 60', best 60' 1.42 Granny shifting 2000 SS 6 speed Patriot Heads/ torquer II/ MONSTER Clutch (Stock pistons Not flycut, stock bearings, stock crank, stock rods, stock oil pump, stock main caps, ARP rodbolts!!!) 439 rwhp/ 394 trq Mustang Dyno Tuned By Brian @ Kaltechwww.kaltechtuning.com H/C combo for sale:http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/lsx-pa...sec-combo.html
Most of the guys on here are knocking down UTI. Honestly, the same concept can be applied to anything - not just automotive. Say a kid wants to go to school for business. The kid has three options: Go to a community college for pretty cheap and get a 2 year degree and move on from there, go to a state university and pay a bit more than a community college but at least they get a 4 year degree, or go to a private school and pay between $30,000-$45,000 to get that same business degree that they would get at a 4 year state school. The concept is still the same. UTI is not a gateway to the perfect life but rather opens opportunites for students. Just by graduating from their program does not automatically guarentee that one will make 6 figures a year or tons of money. Regardless of where someone goes to school or what field they get introduced in, the vast majority of them will not be making tons of money because it's just the beginning of their career.
Last edited by somekid55; 03-06-2009 at 11:30 AM..
Reason: Wrong word used
Went there, learned a lot, bunch of idiots go there, and instructors were hit or miss as far as personality and knowledge. Im not bashing UTI because i had a great experience there, but for the cost i would rather take a few classes elsewhere and get right into the field because UTI is wayyy tooo expensive for what you get out of it.
I attend the at the Houston campus right now. Im Taking the auto/diesel/industrial program. Everyones outlook is going to be way different on the school. Im only 9 courses in and i have 17 courses left. At about the 2-4 course you really start to hate the school and wonder why you wasted your time and money for it. But honestly you will learn quite a bit from the school, you just have to apply yourself and appreciate the fact that you are lucky enough to afford such a school. I have seen many good friends get really good jobs with Schlumberger, Schnieder, and now Cummins. Those are the main places that will pay you good money if you are willing to relocate. All the dealership job offers are all the same damn thing. I work at a nissan dealership down here in houston called Tom Peacock Nissan and just moved up to tech assistant so im learning from work and school and i have to say that i love it! Do what you feel is best, you are still going to start on lube rack wether you go to UTI or not, it blows!
I graduated from UTI exton on feb 13th... I start my job tomorrow as a tech for firestone... Like everything in life you got out of it what you put in. I have been around cars my whole life turning wrenches and i still learned a shit ton more then i knew,, the only complaint that i have is Service writing that was the biggest waste of three weeks in my life...lol but i would recommend it to anyone that wants to learn. Nothing beats experence but you have to start somewhere.
UTI gaduate of az. did the fact thing while i was there and was employed at a local ford dealership. (mccafferty) Stayed for about 5 years. when i first started i loved it ,turned flat rate tech 6mos. into it and made damn good money for 20 year old kid.(65K+) Bought a house, new car, and all the shit ur supposed to do. well after 3-4 years things were not what they once were and i was making half of what i use to. so i started looking into jobs that were not so driven by customer repair. i am now a supervisor for one of the biggest mass transit company's around, and doing better then i ever did as a wrench. but with out some paper behing you it is tough to get into a company that is 90% family referral and huge on qualifications. so in the end the school helped me acquire a job that the average guy would have had a tough time getting without knowing somebody. but if you want my opinion try to get a job in a real shop, a mom and pop shop so you can and get real experience not class room bull shit. i learned alot but i l really learned once i had to do it to pay bills. I got very good and very quick at it and you can to with a little work and effort, so make sure it is what you want to do.
__________________ Thanks,
Brandon
If you want it cheap and fast, it won't be good.
If you want it cheap and good, it won't be fast
If you want it good and fast, it won't be cheap.
Grad UTI/NTI Jan 09', got into Volvo msat with 3.95gpa, and 97% att. Also have 2 speeding tickets. I only went because I had GI bill, and i loved working on cars, but even then it doesnt cover everything. After I got into Volvo, the economy went to shit, and i made a decision to bail out of volvo and not go. you have to find a dealership that is involved in the msat program, they are not all cooperating with the program. there is only 1 volvo dealer in nc that follows the msat program<--haha fuck me. i dont have to the money to relocate to Az from Nc. Luckily i didnt have to pay that damn $1k seat cancellation, i had a recent graduate offer to take my seat. so now im trying to get back in with the government. but still working fulltime at an independent shop. i still love cars, they are my passion/hobby.. but ive always been told, dont do what you love for a day job... but i dont know.
positive note: everything i learned, mostly from the nascar classes i.e. fabrication and engine building, i used to do everything on my own build in my sig. cant forget that stuff.
__________________ 1986 Camaro IROC Z28: 325 ci|Ls2 intake|80mm TB w/spacer|Ls6 Z06 cam|K&N CAI|LS1 inj|Billet Rails|AERO FPR|EGR!|Rear o2's!|Cats!|Ceramic shorties|Custom Y into 3" Flowmaster 44|700r4|Stg.2 Trans go|Beefed internals|3000 Stall|ZR1 275/40/17 on all four, Nitto DR's on rear|(Tuned by Brian at PCMforless)
F'd up for life!!! 
Uti 
