well after being an electrician for 5 years i decided to do something else with my life. i'm 23 and haven't gonne to school since i graduated from HS. i have been toying with the idea of going to ITT tech but i don't have any artistic skills to do the cool stuff. then i came upon the school of automotive machinists. i would have to sell most of my major organs to attend courses 1 and 2, but would like some input anyway from someone who is there or has taken their courses.
thanks

http://www.samracing.com/index2.htm

 

Whatcha wanna know? I've been a student at SAM for a year now, and I'll be graduating from the head course in April.

 

hey thanks for the reply. how many classes do you have to take per week? how many hours per day? how hard is that entrance exam? is there a big demand for automotive machinists here in town? how do you like it there? and when you graduate.......can you port my heads for cheap? j/k .
thanks

 

I think its 5 days/wk 6 hours a day. and the entrance exam is easy if you have common knowledge and know a little math.

and people come from all over to go there. You shouldnt have a problem finding "A" job but it depends on how much you pay attention and how well you can do things how much your gonna get paid and how much you like it.

BTW I'd pay you $100 to give me a crash course in head porting I was gonna take that course No friggin money at the time lol.

I liked the shop. Its smaller than I thought it would be but every square inch is used lol. Nice staff, cool cars, big motors....lots of good stuff to talk about.
Plus you can get parts for cheap. Go take a tour, they'll be more than happy to give you the 1 hour tour...they did when I first went there

 

there are currently 3 courses; Erik's orientation class in the mornings from 8-12:30 that lasts about 3 weeks, Judson's Block course in the morning from 8 til about 12:30 that is about 8 months and Casey's head course from 1:30~3:30 that is 9 months. The orientation is required for all new students. You can go into the head class straight from there, but it is highly recommended to take the block class. Yes, it is expensive, but the information and contacts you get are well worth it.

The Bennett entrance exam was a snap for me. When you tour the School you can take it then. Give Josh a call @ 713-683-3817. If you want, go ahead and tell him that Cheston was telling you about it on this forum.

There are several automotive shops in the Houston area. Many were even started by SAM graduates.

I have enjoyed the School. I started the block class last Feb, then the head class in July, and I will graduate this April. I am currently looking for a job in the DFW area (if anybody from there reads this and knows of any openings, let me know!)

 

oh yeah, yes, the School is kinda small, but they have been working on that. The head shop is in the process of expanding and they will soon be moving one side of the building 30ft or so out to make more room. When you finish an engine you can put it on the engine dyno. And they recently purchased a chassis dyno, but do not have a place to set it up yet, but that, and the CNC course they are working on, is one of the reasons they are expanding.

 

Sweet! Wonder where they're gonna put it? In the back where they used to store the orange SS?

I've been wanting to go but havent had the cash or the time. I could make the time for the head class but not the other. 2 or 3 hours is my max otherwise I'd be too darn busy.