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I would like to hear your thoughts on UTI. I personally think it is a complete waste of time and suckers people in. I also think they prey off people who are not cut out for this industry, by making them think anything you learn in a school can make you a master technician.
I have been trying to convince someone away from this path and into a local school, but they don’t seem to believe me when I tell him the things I witness with UTI graduates,
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That’s a tough generalization to make honestly. Much of what you get out of a school you put in. If you’re expecting a school to give you everything it’s just not possible. For example the school that I went to there were people with a similar attitude but those were the guys that didn’t do the homework, didn’t study, and pretty much spent shop time outside smoking cigarettes. I’m not saying that’s what you did in school I’m just trying to make the point that school is only part of the equation, you have to be dedicated to doing well and work hard to succeed.
[quote=”EricTheCarGuy” post=32278]That’s a tough generalization to make honestly. Much of what you get out of a school you put in. If you’re expecting a school to give you everything it’s just not possible. For example the school that I went to there were people with a similar attitude but those were the guys that didn’t do the homework, didn’t study, and pretty much spent shop time outside smoking cigarettes. I’m not saying that’s what you did in school I’m just trying to make the point that school is only part of the equation, you have to be dedicated to doing well and work hard to succeed.[/quote]
That’s actually what I am trying to explain to him, that the money spent at UTI does not get you anything your local and probably regionally accredited school does not offer. That to be a good technician, it is about what you put into it, that determines what you get out of the education and that your real training starts on day one of your career and not your education.
Or, at Subaru school today, as one of the other techs was said about a recent UTI graduate they hired at their dealership, he said to tech “Advanced tools and cutting edge technology, right?” and the kid responded “Yep.” and the senior tech handed him a broom, “the cutting edge technology is the dust pan.”
The 35,000 school isn’t what makes or breaks you.
Yea I get where you’re coming from. You do get out what you put in. Some guys are just punching a clock, others care about what they do. There are some that fall in between but for the most part that’s what I’ve seen.
I went to UTI But I took more than just the core program I took Auto/Diesel and The Ford Fact Training. And I seen alot of people not caring and messing around. But seen people who did care and put everything they had to learn you get what you put into it. I was One of those people. I say if those who did not want to be there than go home.Alot of those who did not care was force by there parents to be there.
[quote=”jeep72″ post=32566]I went to UTI But I took more than just the core program I took Auto/Diesel and The Ford Fact Training. And I seen alot of people not caring and messing around. But seen people who did care and put everything they had to learn you get what you put into it. I was One of those people. I say if those who did not want to be there than go home.Alot of those who did not care was force by there parents to be there.[/quote]
Yes, but had you have gone to a local program, you would have learned the same things, and because you took it seriously, you would come out of there at the same level as you did at UTI.
My point isn’t about the people at UTI, because if you are good, you are good, it’s the way they make it seem to the non-serious people, that if you go to UTI you will become a top paid, top level technician with all the skills required to work on cars. So you have, let’s say, 30 guys in the course and 3 of them are mechanically inclined, and will do well, and 27 people who goof off, and will make new techs look bad.
I am trying to explain to him, that from the things I have herd from hiring service managers, they do not look at UTI in any higher regard to the local school and a few actively state they don’t even bother with UTI grads anymore. He can’t afford the debt he is about to take on, especially if he is going to have to deal with the growing negative perception by those who hire.
If I went to a local program I would not taking Ford Fact And I would Not Be Ford certified. But I get what you are saying.
[quote=”SpawnedX” post=32568][quote=”jeep72″ post=32566]I went to UTI But I took more than just the core program I took Auto/Diesel and The Ford Fact Training. And I seen alot of people not caring and messing around. But seen people who did care and put everything they had to learn you get what you put into it. I was One of those people. I say if those who did not want to be there than go home.Alot of those who did not care was force by there parents to be there.[/quote]
Yes, but had you have gone to a local program, you would have learned the same things, and because you took it seriously, you would come out of there at the same level as you did at UTI.
My point isn’t about the people at UTI, because if you are good, you are good, it’s the way they make it seem to the non-serious people, that if you go to UTI you will become a top paid, top level technician with all the skills required to work on cars. So you have, let’s say, 30 guys in the course and 3 of them are mechanically inclined, and will do well, and 27 people who goof off, and will make new techs look bad.
I am trying to explain to him, that from the things I have herd from hiring service managers, they do not look at UTI in any higher regard to the local school and a few actively state they don’t even bother with UTI grads anymore. He can’t afford the debt he is about to take on, especially if he is going to have to deal with the growing negative perception by those who hire.[/quote]
I get your point which seems to be directed at UTI and their advertising campaign. Put yourself in their shoes for a moment though. I believe they are a ‘for profit’ organization which means they have a board to answer to, people that have invested a great deal of money and some of their time as well I’m sure. Those people on that board are invested in the school to make money, they don’t know the students personally, they hire people to study them and their demographics so that they can come up with an advertising plan to get students into the school so that they can continue to get a return on their investment. At the end of the day they are looking to make a profit but I think they also believe that their programs turn out some pretty good technicians and as long as they continue to do that I don’t think things will be any different. It’s a numbers game in the end, I’m not sure what their placement rates or their drop out rates are but I’m sure they’re focused on the highest placement possible but because they cast such a wide net there are going to be some that fall through the cracks, this is normal in any business, it’s called ‘shrinkage’. Are they wrong for doing this? I don’t think so, it’s really just business and in the repair business we need places to train technicians and UTI is just one of those places. Just because their business model seems to be based on profit doesn’t mean that they don’t accomplish that goal and turn out a good technician now and then. Even a broken clock is right twice a day.
The problem I have with UTI is the perpetuation of the notion that anyone who ponies up the money and stays through the course will be a top notch mechanic. To be a good mechanic one has to have a certain amount of desire about turning nuts and bolts and there also has to be a certain mechanical knack for doing things. I do not believe this can be taught or drilled into someone.
The kicker for me with UTI is catching the last 10 minutes of a 30 minute infomercial one weekend and seeing a large bulletin board with job openings for future graduates. The reason this hit me was because there was a big poster board with a dealer’s name promising the moon and stars about great benefits, working conditions, and so on along with a 5 grand sign on bonus.
I worked for this dealer and to be honest, ain’t none of that gonna happen; ever. No one has or ever will get a 5 dollar sign on bonus much less a 5 grand bonus.
Great working conditions? If you consider rebuilding a transmission with a trouble light because 80% of the overheads are burnt out and they won’t fix them or refusal to fix a rack which dumped a car almost on top of the mechanic and service manager great conditions then that might be a valid point.
The mechanic who had complained about that rack for 6 months? He was fired 10 minutes after the car fell and hit the floor.A simple oil change that requires a 1 hour wait for NAPA to deliver 4 or 5 quarts of oil because the parts department won’t stock oil is something else that’s pretty much SOP and not a lot of fun for someone working on flat rate.
Everyone there quits or gets fired and that includes mechanics who are extremely knowledgeable.
Anyhoo, when UTI promotes utter BS like this I take a dim view of them.Perhaps you should consider becoming an instructor there, it sounds like the students could benefit from your knowledge and experience. (I’m not kidding)
To become a good mechanic you have to have the knack and be real good with your hands
I NEVER went to school I self taught my self working out in the field . Thats The only way to learn
That was back in 1962schools never pepair you for how things really are They tell you can make a 100,000 a year But We all Know that hardly ever happens I can not tell you just how many people I steer away form going to school and became a mechanic. For me if I had to live my life over again I would never do it again. working In a cold damp shop poor lighting more money spent on tools then you can afford and my pet peeve hard time getting Good quality parts. IN my younger days It used to be fun BUT todays cars are just a pain in the ass and to me poorly
built[quote=”stingray66″ post=36047]To become a good mechanic you have to have the knack and be real good with your hands
I NEVER went to school I self taught my self working out in the field . Thats The only way to learn
That was back in 1962schools never pepair you for how things really are They tell you can make a 100,000 a year But We all Know that hardly ever happens I can not tell you just how many people I steer away form going to school and became a mechanic. For me if I had to live my life over again I would never do it again. working In a cold damp shop poor lighting more money spent on tools then you can afford and my pet peeve hard time getting Good quality parts. IN my younger days It used to be fun BUT todays cars are just a pain in the ass and to me poorly
built[/quote]Tell us how you really feel. 🙂
It’s funny you bring this up because I just shot next week’s ETCG1 yesterday talking about this very thing. Look for that on Wednesday.
To go along with what stingray66 said. I think that today’s cars, the manufacturer are cutting down BIG TIME on maintenance. oil changes now every 5k or even longer than that, timing belts going away, trans fluids every 100k same as coolant, plugs every 120k and these are all mostly new toyotas. It seems like alot more warranty work and less cp. It sucks seeing all the good work go away.
Car makers have been stretching out maintenance recommendations for quite a while now but that doesn’t mean that it’s beneficial for the car. Those recommendations are for PR purposes by putting the thought in the car owner’s mind that the car needs very little care.
By the time problems crop up due to frozen spark plugs, transmission failure due to old fluid, and what have you the car is out of warranty and the mechanic is the one who has to put with the complaining and accusations.
back in the day you always had a car came in the fall for a tune up change the oil look the brakes over check the antifreeze for the winter Now there is no points spark plug we are told supports to last 100,000 miles air filters ? and today they dont even say any thing about fuel filters My grand cherokee the book says the fuel filter never need changing and antifreeze that last a lift time?????
Hell last mouth I changed mine at 30,000 mile and when I tested it it was blocked up
Trans service Hell there are GM cars out there that do not even have a trans dip stick any more GM says trans is a seal unit the fluid last a life time
Like I said cars seen to be built better in the dayIt’s hard to say if the cars of yesterday were ‘built better’ if you look at the big picture. Think about it, words like “planned obsolescence” where the topic of the day with those cars. Some would argue that the older vehicles were designed to fail shortly after they were paid off so that the customer would come back and get a new car. After all manufacturers don’t get paid for selling cars that last forever. The new maintenance schedules are a marketing ploy and in a way come from the same place as “planned obsolescence”. The flip side to that is it’s better design and manufacturing practices that have given us a ‘higher build quality’ that allows for these extended warranties, it really is better engineering at the end of the day. A customer buys a car and doesn’t’ have to do ANYTHING to it till the warranty is up, once that warranty is up however they just might have a pile of junk on their hands and be inspired to buy a new car rather than sinking a bunch of money into repairs for their old one. It’s true however that manufacturers seem to be cutting out the service sector of their operations, I think mainly because it’s what the public seems to want. Gone are the days of regular maintenance and now we live in a world of warranty write ups as a result. No one that buys a car these days wants to deal with unexpected repairs they have to pay for and most can’t afford it, the car payments alone can be killer. This leaves the service industry in a real bind in my opinion because on one hand they can’t do without us but on the other they seem to be squeezing every last bit out of us by giving us less to do and less pay to live on. How long will it go on before something breaks? TIme will tell I suppose.
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