Is anyone out there on this forum a mechanic, or their occupation involve cars at all? if so let me know, and let me know what compnay, field, job you actually do...Im intrested in maybe pursuing a career down the road in auto but not too sure what...fill me in

 

Where are you located? In my auto class, a recruiter from UTI usually comes. UTI is a school for mechanics, they pretty much teach you everything you will need to know to become an ASE certified mechanic. UTI also has a program with a bunch of auto makers. You goto the manufactures school after you graduate UTI and they will teach you everything about thier cars, pretty much for free. When you graduate you have a pretty good chance of getting a job at a dealer. There is a UTI campus outside of Chicago, but there are other campuses. UTI isn't the only school, there is also Wyotech and there maybe other schools i've never heard of.

 

im a uti grad and a technician. i build and repair vehicles from home. being a full time parent i have to work from home. anyways i learned some at uti although the time you spend in class per subject is very little time to learn very much imo. 3 weeks, 5 days a week, 6 hours a day per subject (ie....drivetrain, undercarriage....) all the info on a particular subject is jammed into your mind and for most people its hard to learn or retain most of that info. i did fine coming from an automotive background i grew up drag racing and such. i have heard wyotech is a better school to go to but i have no experience there. the grad courses at uti are nice though. if im not mistaken honda may be in the future for grad classes.

 

Im in NJ and im pretty sure there is a UTI in Penn. my only thing holding me back from persueing in mechanics is i feel that they do not make good money...im not putting you, or anyone on here who is a mechanic down at all in any way, and i may even be wrong about their income...But i do love the whole automotive world...that would be a great life for me, its just i need to be sure of the whole money issue there...i just have it in my head for some reason that mechanics dont make good money...but hey i could be wrong, and that is why i brought this post up...to maybe learn a little about this to make me make my decission on what i want to do...but im not going to ask you anything about how much u make cause im not a dick, but u do understand where im comming from right? but i dont know dude, i culd be wrong wiht the whole income deal, but that career is def a option for me

 

I have 2 friends who graduated from Wyotech here in Ca. They both thought it was a good school, however my uncle who owns an import shop says that he wouldnt want to hire someone from there. I dunno if that is just his personal preference, or an overall opinion about the school. Once you have an idea about wat you want to do, Id talk to a counselor at a college you are interested in, and they can set you up with a whole program. Good luck!

 

I am not really a mecanic and I never went to school to work on cars, I learned my trade from my dad. We do interiors in mostly old cars but with me working there now and bein into Hondas and newer stuff we are startin to do mor newer custome stuff. I am just gettin into custome fiberglass, Electronics and grafics. I can still do most drivetrain and chasis work to but I chose interior because it pays about the same or sometimes a little more depending on the car and I don't have to get dirty or greasy on a daily basis. don't get me wrong if there is a engine to be changed I'm on it like white on rice but dooin it day after day, I just get sick of smellin like a engine.

 

I am not really a mecanic and I never went to school to work on cars, I learned my trade from my dad. We do interiors in mostly old cars but with me working there now and bein into Hondas and newer stuff we are startin to do mor newer custome stuff. I am just gettin into custome fiberglass, Electronics and grafics. I can still do most drivetrain and chasis work to but I chose interior because it pays about the same or sometimes a little more depending on the car and I don't have to get dirty or greasy on a daily basis. don't get me wrong if there is a engine to be changed I'm on it like white on rice but dooin it day after day, I just get sick of smellin like a engine.

 

If $80,000 for an ASE Master Certafied mechanic is not that much, then yes mechanics don't make that much money. If you have a couple years experiance and are ASE certafied, you can earn like 80k.

 

I'm also a mechanic, taught by my dad, after which I blitzed the certification program in my free time. My dad has been the self-employed owner of a repair/tuning shop for close to 30 years. I recently turned 20, but on my 18th birthday, he transferred partial ownership of the business to me. I'm in school now though, but not for anything automotive, and after I finish my B.A., my brother and I plan to open a seperate tune/build/swap/what-have-you shop and help keep my dad's business more focused on repairs. Basically right now, we do anything but major body work. Any repairs, just about any swap (if the price is right), builds, rebuilds, installs, and we'll take a crack at most new ideas as long as you're comitted to going through with whatever it is you want done. His main business philosophy (and mine as well) is to keep things reasonable. Case in point: For general repairs, he charges income-flexible rates, with the median starting at $45/hour. Compare that to your local garage.

 

heh when i used to work for pep boys i brought home nearly 45k a year. i guess thats not enough for you then[8D] a diagnostic tech makes lots of money. the diag tech at pep boys was making 28 an hour flat rate flagging well over 100 hours a week. it really depends on the pay scale your on and the amount of work coming in. 6 an hour flat flagging over 70 hours will own a tech making 10 an hour hourly.