I am currently looking for a school to go to. I would like to be an automotive tech/expert. I have recently looked into Universal Technical Institute and I was wondering if anyone had any opinions on whether or not this is a good school, and if anyone has attended I would like to know what it is like.
Thanks in advance for any input and info.

hey man, no offense, but i just think you should know..
when i got out of high school, i decided to go to a trade school just like uti, recieved my associated in automotivce technologies, and got a job working in a Ford dealership. If you want to, or think you need to go to school, that is fine, and more power to you. But when i send out my resume, and when i was hired at the place i'm at now, i was told the same thing. my degree means nothing, they don't really care. all they want is ASE's, Company training(i.e., i am "blue oval certified") and last but not least, experience.

i don't want you to think i am trying to talk you out of school, just look at it this way. try and get into a shop now, if you feel like you need professional training after you've been there a while, go for it, but don't spend all you're money on it right out if the gate.


One more thing. my experience with trade school was this. I feel it refined the skills i already had, and got rid of some of my bad habits, but the real learning you will do is hands on, life experience. No matter how hard they try to make the school like real life training, it's not. i learned more in the first 6 months working in the field than i did the 2 years i was in the "classroom."



in search of a new 2g....

I officially hate UTI's NAAAZZZ Car tech skoooool and most of the people who go there.

Most of them are idiots who have tried to ruin my home town and complain about how bad the town sucks.

Sorry to rant your thread.

Just a friendly reminder. Automobile technicians are expected to retain much more information than your average doctor, and only be paid a fraction of what the doctor would make. Needless to say, the expense it becomes to be an auto tech (tools). Just something to think about.

Originally posted by BDTalon
Automobile technicians are expected to retain much more information than your average doctor

bwahahahaha. Let me show you what I had to cover for the boards, before you make up your mind about that

i have a friend that went to uti in housten . he said it was great. even better than licoln tech . he was in auto body though . as long as your doing it for experience i guess tho because you can really learn just as much on the web . then you have money to buy tools and you can get a entry level job to build experience for the ase

i have a friend that went to uti in housten . he said it was great. even better than licoln tech . he was in auto body though . as long as your doing it for experience i guess tho because you can really learn just as much on the web . then you have money to buy tools and you can get a entry level job to build experience for the ase

I attended UTI in Houston, TX as well for Autobody Collision and finished up in December of 06. Overall, I thought it was a great experience. I went in not knowing anything basically and that's how they teach you (as if you didn't know anything). So I feel as I learned a lot from the school while maybe others who had experience doing it didn't learn so much (just honed in their personal skills).

The teachers there helped you out pretty well explaining things and showing things and I feel like I have a good handle on it now. You WILL learn more with on-the-job training compared to school, they tell you this straight up. You aren't going to leave there being the best technician possible, that only comes with working on the job.

One other thing that is good about the school is they give you (pertains to collision) many ICAR points (24 I think, can't remember) with the option of buying all of the rest of them for like $700, which is a great deal because to get all of them on your own would cost A LOT more money and A LOT more time.

The job placement part is also kind of nice, they can give you updates on places in your area that are hiring and can fax out your resumes to many places.

I appreciate the input. Im not fresh out of high school or anything. And I am not doing it for the associates either. I want to get my ASE certification and the schooling counts as 1 of the 2 years experience needed to be able to test. I havent worked for any shops but I do automotive work on the side right now. Most of the shops around my way say they want at least a year of experience.(the sad thing is I probably know twice as much as some of these dudes working in the shops around my way) I want to open my own shop and I figured schooling would be the starting point of all that. I am aware that the schooling is nothing like the real world. That is the case with most things.
And the fact that I want to get away from the place Im at right now is a big factor in me wanting to go to school. I guess you could say Im using the school more for relocation help and job placement more than anything. I dont know. I still have some thinking to do.
And for ScreaminE, no worries. I have no interest in building a car that can do nothing but left hand turns over and over and over and over... you get the point. So I wont be trying to ruin NC for you.

Anyhow, Thanks for the input again.

I went to WyoTech and watched the daughter of the founder of UTI drink a gallon of JD with a straw, lmao

it was a good experience, and they taught me to weld...but other than that, 99% of what you'll know know is going to be in what you do with your hands. A mechanic is really nothing without technology and sources.

"Automobile technicians are expected to retain much more information than your average doctor, and only be paid a fraction of what the doctor would make."

HEAR HEAR!!!! you must have a VERY wide range of knowledge from my experience. Keeps you on your toes though, which is good.

I work at HPfreaks now though, and do my mechanic thing for my own cars and my girlfriends. OEM sucks.

UTI is t3h shiznit y0...seriously though, it is the best school out there, and you most definitely get what you pay for. They teach you so much shit it's unbelieveable. You can't listen to anyones opinion who hasn't actually taken the Auto Tech course themself and knows first hand. XMasta19 and I are attending right now at the Orlando campus, and it's awesome. If you think that when you get out, your "degree" or what not saying you graduated from UTI itself and not some other no-name school that doesn't work directly with half the automotive manufacturers out there isn't good for anything, you're wrong. You'll basically have a job lined up at a dealership before you even graduate if that's what you're looking to do. The school is not definitely for anyone, there are gonna be those who make it through and graduate but don't necessarily grasp the concepts and will not make it as a professional technician...on the other hand, there are those of us who love all the info we're given, and will end up out in the field as the best of the best. blah blah blah, etc etc...I'm just speaking from first person in the whole sitation, /rant.


EDIT: ^ X drunk on Joel's computer ^

Originally posted by WickedESi
UTI is t3h shiznit y0...seriously though, it is the best school out there, and you most definitely get what you pay for. They teach you so much shit it's unbelieveable. You can't listen to anyones opinion who hasn't actually taken the Auto Tech course themself and knows first hand. XMasta19 and I are attending right now at the Orlando campus, and it's awesome. If you think that when you get out, your "degree" or what not saying you graduated from UTI itself and not some other no-name school that doesn't work directly with half the automotive manufacturers out there isn't good for anything, you're wrong. You'll basically have a job lined up at a dealership before you even graduate if that's what you're looking to do. The school is not definitely for anyone, there are gonna be those who make it through and graduate but don't necessarily grasp the concepts and will not make it as a professional technician...on the other hand, there are those of us who love all the info we're given, and will end up out in the field as the best of the best. blah blah blah, etc etc...I'm just speaking from first person in the whole sitation, /rant. EDIT: ^ X drunk on Joel's computer ^

ooops, that was me

UTI's suck ass. hurts like a mutha-fucker when you piss.

Originally posted by MCubed45
UTI's suck ass. hurts like a mutha-fucker when you piss.

So are you saying you have first-hand experience with them? :P haha

FarOutKucki went to UTI here in Phoenix and got into their Audi program. I'm not sure how much stock he puts into the value of his time at UTI, but he finished up and moved to Colorado, where he's been doing pretty good at a bigger Audi dealership outside of Denver.

He seemed to like it, although he's looking to get back into college again to get a traditional degree. Kinda hard to go to school when you work mechanic's hours at a dealership, though. He might be taking some time off work...

Just a thought...

That's intresting...

I was thinking about Audi. I wonder what he doesn't love about it...

Originally posted by WickedESi
That's intresting... I was thinking about Audi. I wonder what he doesn't love about it...

Is that so friend...what happened to Porsche :shrug

Originally posted by DR1665
FarOutKucki went to UTI here in Phoenix and got into their Audi program. I'm not sure how much stock he puts into the value of his time at UTI, but he finished up and moved to Colorado, where he's been doing pretty good at a bigger Audi dealership outside of Denver. He seemed to like it, although he's looking to get back into college again to get a traditional degree. Kinda hard to go to school when you work mechanic's hours at a dealership, though. He might be taking some time off work... Just a thought...

Driggs, I plan on doing the UTI program after I get out of Cal State Chico. If you are still in Phoenix in 3 years then I'll be taking Joe's place as the Norcal elitist prick.

...I'm even planning on buying a Jeep Grand Cherokee as my next car.

Originally posted by MCubed45
UTI's suck ass. hurts like a mutha-fucker when you piss.

:D LOL!!! There is always one isnt there.