Technical Schools and Community College

    Anyone who has gone through our public school system knows you need to go to college if you want to be successful. That's funny coming from a bunch of teachers who have the worst paying jobs a college degree can offer. When you hooligans shy away from that Sociology degree and all the depression that poor life choice brought you, you could instead regret being an automotive technician. The only difference is the information you learned while at a technical school will still be useful long after graduation. As one of my instructors put it; "When you understand the principles of suck, squeeze, bang, blow, you can fix anything." Knowing what I know now that statement is more accurate for marriage counseling.

    Community college or technical school, which is better? Hell, I don't know everyone's situation is different. If you want to stay close to home then you'll likely find a community college that will suit your needs.  When I was in high school, I had the privilege of attending Sheridan Technical College while finishing my final two years of high school. Unfortunately, I was an ass and got kicked out. However the time there was useful. There are plenty of community colleges that have great programs and offer manufacture specific training such as Honda PACT, Toyota T-TEN, General Motors ASEP, etc. If you're interested in a particular automotive manufacture and a community college is offering that manufacturers specialized training, I would definitely be interested in attending there. I would stay away from any community college that doesn't have at least one manufacturer-specific training program. The reason being is that the manufacturer has reviewed the primary curriculum and training criteria to meet their standards. Getting your foot in the door at a dealership for that particular manufacturer shouldn't be a problem. So just to clarify and this holds true as well for technical schools; you complete the automotive program first in which you earn your certificate or diploma. After you graduate the automotive program, you can then either head out and seek employment or continue your education with a manufactures program. Whatever you do don't stay home and play Skyrim all day hoping your school's employment services will land you that NASCAR gig you keep telling your mom about. Community colleges, in general, will be the least expensive and fastest way to becoming an automotive technician.

  This blog and website are not affiliated with Universal Technical Institue.

    The top three technical schools in the United States are Universal Technical Institue, WyoTech, and LincolnTech. I chose UTI because my high school shop teacher and my instructor at Sheridan Technical College recommended UTI, I probably would have gone to whatever was closest to me at the time had I not had their recommendation. I personally don't have any complaints about UTI. In my personal experience, I've meet technicians from WyoTech and LincolnTech.  For the most part, they know what they're talking about. I knew one student at UTI who was dissatisfied with WyoTech and transferred to UTI. He was an idiot, probably still is, a school and their instructors can only do so much. Bad example, let's move on. Anyone of these technical schools will offer plenty of manufacture programs to choose from, and if you decide you want to work for an independent shop, the fundamentals these schools teach are solid. Expect to pay a pretty penny for those fundamentals. You're looking at around $30k-$45k to complete the program. Comparing that to a community college program $5k-$10k. Usually, when you attend a community college, they will require that prerequisite courses be taken as well to complete their program in which a degree is earned.  Yeah, the $30K I spent on my education was worth not having to retake another English class. Right now everyone speaks and writes in emojis anyways. I don't even know if there's anyone out there who can read this ancient text.
  
    Whichever route you take absorb as much information as you can while there. Something I recommend to every annoying newbie to do is once they've completed a course, register for that relevant ASE examine as soon as possible while that information is still fresh in that fornicating brain of yours. So, after you completed the brakes course, sign up for the brakes ASE but, only after you've taken electrical. Every ASE you choose will have electrical questions and will have electrical diagrams to read. While getting your ASE may not be required if you went through a manufactures program, just remember there's a reason why your toolbox has wheels, and you may find yourself seeking employment elsewhere for one reason or another. Not only that but, more and more manufacturers are recognizing ASE certifications. There was an extended period of time when manufactures dismissed ASE's, now it's making a comeback. ASE's used to be required, then they weren't, and soon it might be again. Who knows, just take the damn thing.

    While you receive your education, it's a good idea to seek employment with a shop or dealership. I started off as a lot attendant only because my roommate was taking time off from UTI and was going back home for a bit and asked if I was interested working there while he was gone. It wasn't the most ideal job or was it. Being a lot attendant allowed me to familiarize myself with different technologies that the various manufacturers had to offer. It also gave me an understanding of daily operations of a dealership. There was a lot learned from that position.  Working within a shop or dealership will get you familiar with the vehicles and things like job replacement happen fast and depending on the size of the place you're working at, often as well.  

    After you received your education just remember everything that you've learned has been the theory of operation. You may have the fundamental knowledge of how things operate, now you have to figure out how to repair it, get to it, replace it, diagnosis it, and how to beat flat rate times. In other words, you're a highly educated idiot. This may be a harsh statement, but every technician has started out one of two ways, either an uneducated idiot or an educated idiot. The only thing that separates you from everyone else in the shop is experience, and I like to call us experienced idiots. You will never know it all, and there will be times an experienced idiot will come to you and ask for your diagnosis. They may do this to test your demeanor and rationality, or they're stuck and maybe... just maybe, you'll have an answer to the problem or generate an idea that relates to nothing you told them, but this allowed them to take a break long enough to reset. The great thing about being an educated idiot is you possess the fundamentals that more seasoned technicians may glance over. The great thing about being an uneducated idiot is your great comic relief for the rest of the shop.

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