Degree vs Certificate

[Camel Joe]

So im attending the local community college taking auto electric. My question is how much more beneficial would it be to earn an A.A Degree as opposed to just getting certified? Also I have talked to a couple of shop owners and they say they mostly look for people with experience rather than just schooling, so idk what to do!!

Topic

[Chris cagno]

The more knowledge you have the better technician you will become as long as you know how something works you can fix it especially with electrics before you can get any expire experience you have to know the basics

[Camel Joe]

ok but what advantages does getting an A.A degree get me as opposed to certification through my school or an ASE cert?

[Chris cagno]

To be honest there is no advantage in my opinion I went to an automotive school that was certificate based took my ase’s got accepted to bmw step program after my school and am now a master certified bmw tech

[Francisco]

That depends on what you want out of your career and where you intend to work at. The more education you can get the better. If you intend on working for a dealership you’ll have to learn all the new advanced technology that the bring out every year. The more education you have the easier it will be for you to understand. Your not going to learn everything through a two year program, of course hands on experience plays a large part but the education is the foundation to put what you learn hands on. Go for the two year!

[Erik]

I went to tech school my self and that alone got my foot in the door as far as getting into a dealership but ill tell you one thing just like these guys are saying there is no better teacher than experience. 2 year programs are great to get your foot in the door but the real teacher is experience. So i have both tech school and dodge jeep chrysler certs as well as hyundai certs tech school doesnt hurt.

[Joshua Thompson]

I am about to graduate with my AA(Associates of Applied Science) with Auto Tech…They try to teach for an hour or so and then we spend the next 7 hours in the shop actually working on vehicles and doing the work. We have a parts department for replacing parts…

And its going to get me placed into a shop or garage that is highering. The school gets job offers from pretty much all over the state and surrounding states..

Now the first thing I am going to do if I get a job at a dealership…is going to training classes and get certified on their vehicles.

After a year of working at a dealership, I can get my ASE certification(seeing as two years of approved tech schooling is worth 1 year of expereience).

Any idiot can replace parts, but unless you know how it works, you wont be able to fix it right the first time, every time.

[Matt]

When I was a service manager and needed a oil change and tire bitch I hired the guy who showed he was the most motivated to land the job and actually wanted to be there . I dont care how many ase certs you have or what school you went to. Show me you can change oil and tires without me holding your hand and your in at minimum wage no overtime and bare minimum benefits. This is reality. Welcome to entry level.

So to answer your question certs and education may help. But experience is what gets people hired.

And I call bs on anyone can change parts. Lube techs arent changing head gaskets. There is alot of cars out there that even the seasoned techs dont want to change parts on or dont have the skills to do it…example im not touching a ferrari clutch…I mean all it is changing parts right?

I cant wait until you recent grads start wrenching and get that huge reality check I bet 80 percent of you change careers once you realize that tech school told you a bunch of bs to get you to drop 25k on their 9 month program. Their scam artists and dont set you up for the real auto repair world.

[Joshua Thompson]

I also come from a school that was ranked 2nd in the nation two years ago. Last year it was in top 4 by the Aspen institute(and these are all tech schools). They have individuals that come to the schools and do candid interviews with students, staff, and alumni. They spend weeks at schools making the decisions. So its not a “scam school”. And its not a 9 month program. I am spending 27 months going to school. And its not 25,000 dollars. Its about 3,200 a semester…and all of the teachers has years of experience in their field. One even owns his own independant shop that he runs in addition to teaching.

I work part time at a tire lube place after school every day. During the summers between I work as a general tech at an independant. I know im not going to start making bank….but I know what im getting into. We dont spend the day in a class room pushing pencils. We spend days in the shop turning wrenches.

Give a tech alldata or mitchell and you should be able to figure it out a headgasket…not that they can do it in book time or not…and of course you can pull in extremes like saying ferrari or maserati. But im talking about a car that wont start and they replace a starter or changing an alternator because the belt is worn or a ground cable is bad.

And I know for sure that the first place im NOT going to work is one where the service manager calls lube techs, oil and tire bitch. I guarantee that if you find a motivated tech that works under that title and is treated that way, he wont be motivated long….So you dont have to worry about me working for you banana:

[chad]

I went through a 2 year Associates degree program. I worked right next to guys that had certificates and no degrees at all. The only time the degree really helped me at all was when I was looking for a job outside the shop. My point is you never know what you may end up doing in your career. So the A degree is not a bad thing to have under your belt. One bit of advice I would give to any guy in trade school is get a part time job working nights and weekends being the “Lube and tire B-t-h” So when you are ready to start off in the field full time you can start one step ahead. Maybe even as a line tech!

[Ed Curry]

either or neither. get experience as apprentice, helper or etc. My first auto job was at walmart doing oil changes and tires. That experience gave me opportunity to break into better jobs and more experience. if you can go to school and work at the same time that’s the best bet in my opinion.

[Jerry Jones]

[quote=”PsychoticMechanic” post=84907]When I was a service manager and needed a oil change and tire bitch I hired the guy who showed he was the most motivated to land the job and actually wanted to be there . I dont care how many ase certs you have or what school you went to. Show me you can change oil and tires without me holding your hand and your in at minimum wage no overtime and bare minimum benefits. This is reality. Welcome to entry level.

So to answer your question certs and education may help. But experience is what gets people hired.

And I call bs on anyone can change parts. Lube techs arent changing head gaskets. There is alot of cars out there that even the seasoned techs dont want to change parts on or dont have the skills to do it…example im not touching a ferrari clutch…I mean all it is changing parts right?

I cant wait until you recent grads start wrenching and get that huge reality check I bet 80 percent of you change careers once you realize that tech school told you a bunch of bs to get you to drop 25k on their 9 month program. Their scam artists and dont set you up for the real auto repair world.[/quote]

WOW MAN !!!!! I own a shop and I hire guys and girls straight out of school all the time and I have never had a problem with any of them being willing to do anything that was needed. Also If I ever heard of my service manager referring to or calling any tech new or old a tire and lube bitch I would fire his ass so fast his head would spin. It really sounds like you my need to take some time and check you attitude cause what you wrote was pretty shitty. In my personal opinion when a shop owner hires someone straight out of school, He or she should understand that the new tech don’t know everything….” no one does know everything” and be willing to be able to take the time to get the person they hired up to speed.

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