Hey guys, my name is Tyler, I'm a junior in high school right now and i know i want to persuit a career in the automotive business. I'll try to make this as short as possible. I live near Champaing, IL and there are no REAL tech schools around here and its kinda small. I was hoping to start out at one of our community colleges that has a pretty good car program(Parkland Community College) but then after 2 years i want to transfer to a good tech college, one that can get me lots more money, lol. But see the whole catch to my thread is that i want a school that can teach me everything there is to know about the automotive industry. So what i am trying to say is that i want to run my own business that does everything and i mean EVERYTHING for example: Paint/repair shop, mechanical-engine repair/diagnostics, dynotuning, exhaust, wheels/tires, basically i want to own the badest customizing shop im my area. I wanted a larger area to live but one thats not THAT far away from the rest of the family so im determined to live hopefully somewhere near indianapolis, indiana where i took notice that there are lots of nice colleges in that are. let me know what you guys think.

 

Lincoln Tech, hands down one of the best automotive schools in the country, in Indianapolis.

 

I have heard good and bad things from students and former students from Lincoln Tech . Just as much good as bad.

My advice, call around to the dealers and big shops and see what the service manager recomends.

I know guys making GOOD money that startes out at a dealer changing oil and the dealer sent them to school and PAID for it, that happens all the time.

If you do go to the school, keep everything locked up and out of view or it will get stolen LOL.... Im serious.

Don't take our word for it, call around, send e-mails, ect ect.

 

I'm not sure how far you want to be away from home or commute, but another tech school that gets alot of nationwide recogntion is UTI and it is located in the Chicago suburbs. I work/live about five minutes away from the facility.

 

LOL, that will open a HUGE can of worms....

 

Yeah, I know. I am in not advertising on the schools behalf, just throwing another idea out there. I took alot of my automotive classes from my local community college and I can tell you first hand that the curriculum I was exposed to was much more thorough then what my friends at UTI were receiving. Another idea that comes to mind is the Joliet Community College and Triton Community College (Melrose Park,IL), both of which also have very good auto programs.

 

Also at UTI you DO NOT get a degree or anything from what I have been told.

I have known people with friends that have gone and they say its a joke when you get there and just has a ton of hype from advertising.

 

Yes, you are correct. They don't offer a general studies curriculum since they are a trade school, hence no degree. You basically get a certificiate.

 

by far... its not in Indiana tho, University of Northwestern Ohio is the way to go, I start there this summer.... you can either go for the 2 years or go farther by persuing a business degree as well which would make it 4 years( what im doing) also, jobs see that you graduated from a university... not a tech school
just the heads up

 

I think thats were my buddy went for two years. His company paid for him to go. I think he was working for CAT at the time.

 

Personally I'm wary of any tech school other than SAM or a few others, but I've seen a lot of guys come out of Lincoln tech and honestly, they have no business turning a wrench. Unfortunately, most of these tech schools have become very popular and the schools are just rushing people through the program. I think they're a great way to get a good base of knowledge, but don't expect to learn everything you need to know.

If you're serious about wanting to work as a tech, ask around at some local shops and see about working part time (after school/weekends). I garuntee you will learn 10X more than you will at a tech school. I started working part time at a garage when I was 16. Mostly I just cleaned up around the shop and got to do the occasional oil change or replace an alternator, but the it was crazy the amount of things I learned just from watching the other guys work and I learned a lot of little tips and tricks that make things go a lot faster. I've been working on and off with that garage for 4 years and no formal education for auto repair and I've been told many times, I know a lot more than alot of the guys coming out of these tech schools.

Doing some part time work also lets you get a feel for what it's really like working as a tech. when I was 16, I was dead set on wanting to do auto repair, but after working for a year, I discovered that I really like working on cars as a hobby, but it wasn't really something I wanted to do for a living. I was lucky that I discovered this before I went through all the schooling for the job, just find out I didn't like it.

 

^yeah i can see that happening... ill see how things go

 

A buddy of mine had a local machine shop replace the oil pump on his Supra engine (it was a mistake from the shop in CHicago that built it and this shop owed them a favor).

A Lincoln tech grad was the one that pulled it apart and lets just say it broke after we got it back and when we pulled the oil pan off bolts were hand tight....

SAM is a good school but the cost!!!!!! SHEESH!

 

yep, I've tossed around the idea of going to SAM, but I don't have the money to both move to Houston and go to school. maybe someday, right now I like having a CADD degree with no debt.

 

One of the guys I know that goes to Lincoln Teck had his car (well its his sisters that he is using untill he gets his engine swap done) broken into at school today LOL


Lesson for today: Drive your beater with no CD player or anything to that school lol.