UTI (Universal Technical Institute)

[lalo167]

So I'm 17 and its really time for me to start planning for my future. I recently visited UTI. I have heard good and bad reviews about it. Does anyone have personal experience with UTI? I know if I go I'm will learn A LOT of stuff but will it be worth the amount of money you pay to go there? Also after graduating what are the chances of actually finding a well payed job? By well payed i don't mean $15 an hour. Any info will be appreciated! Thanks!

[HyperTek]

just do it dude, don't ponder on the negative comments or you will never go. What is it like 2 years then your working.. Im mid 20s and wish i concentrated on something at your age instead of pondering on the what ifs..

[az_240]

Don't do it dude.... UTI is waaay overpriced and does not guarantee you will actually get a job.
I had friends that went this route and wish they hadn't.

You can get the same education at a community college at a MUCH better price if you do some research.
I went this route and although I did not stick with being a mechanic I did learn a lot and felt it was well worth the small amount of money I put into it... as opposed to being out thousands of dollars.

Don't think just because the school is way more money you get better education. Toyota actually sent some of their mechanics to some of the courses I was taking to brush up for their ASE exams and I know a lot of the kids that graduated and got their ASE certs got jobs not long after.

BTW $15 an hour is about the average wage you can expect starting out at almost any dealership. You don't get paid unless there is work though so keep that in mind. (at least around here)

[yokotas13]

Originally Posted by lalo167

So I'm 17 and its really time for me to start planning for my future. I recently visited UTI. I have heard good and bad reviews about it. Does anyone have personal experience with UTI? I know if I go I'm will learn A LOT of stuff but will it be worth the amount of money you pay to go there? Also after graduating what are the chances of actually finding a well payed job? By well payed i don't mean $15 an hour. Any info will be appreciated! Thanks!

not high. here, most mechanics make 8-10 an hour plus a portion of commision for labor hours worked
plus its hard to find a mechanics job fresh out of whatever.
USAF is the way to go. but judging from your responses to the "trobule in school" thread, i doubt you are military material.

[LoneStarSilvia]

Originally Posted by yokotas13

not high. here, most mechanics make 8-10 an hour plus a portion of commision for labor hours worked
plus its hard to find a mechanics job fresh out of whatever.
USAF is the way to go. but judging from your responses to the "trobule in school" thread, i doubt you are military material.

Truth.

Take it from me, I went to UTI for only 3 months back in '07 before I said to hell with it. I'm still paying on that Sallie Mae loan. I'm not sayin join the military, but I'm now living in Japan owning an Evo 3 and '99 RX7 and I've learned far more from working on my own cars and helping others. I felt like I wasnt learning anything more than what I already knew at UTI.

I'm sure more will chime in hear about being a mechanic not all that UTI cracks it up to be. It didn't take me long to find out my love for workin on cars only related to my own, or close friends. Not everyone else's.

[WRXCTION]

Originally Posted by LoneStarSilvia

Truth.

Take it from me, I went to UTI for only 3 months back in '07 before I said to hell with it. I'm still paying on that Sallie Mae loan. I'm not sayin join the military, but I'm now living in Japan owning an Evo 3 and '99 RX7 and I've learned far more from working on my own cars and helping others. I felt like I wasnt learning anything more than what I already knew at UTI.

I'm sure more will chime in hear about being a mechanic not all that UTI cracks it up to be. It didn't take me long to find out my love for workin on cars only related to my own, or close friends. Not everyone else's.

^Truth UTI is a joke I moved from my home in Tennessee all the way to houston texas when i was 17 to go to that school, It was the biggest waste ever. If you have any basic automotive knowledge you wont be learning anything thing new... And i averaged it out while i was down there and it's around $100 a day. The reason I quit was one day after i had opened my eyes to the scam it was, They had A snap on tool guy come in and talk about how great snapon tools were for litteraly the whole class... So i had just paid $100 to listen to someone advertise there product..? I signed the leave papers that night. And now after just general hard work I work on semi trailers, sure it's not a race car but $20 an hour and only room to go up. I'm not complaining. If you want to be in the automotive field dont be tricked into going to school they dont much look at that, it's all about your charecter and knowing the right people. So be friendly and honest and you'll make it easy on yourself. Sorry for the rant but i try to save everyone I can from wasting 10's of thousands on these stupid money hungry schools.

[TheWolf]

Yes. DO NOT GOTO UTI. Goto your local community college. They have auto programs and are more likely to get you out working.

Their scheme is to sell you into a program, get you student loaned through uncle sam, then don't care if you bomb out along the way because they still get paid.

[yokotas13]

that is how schools work.

college is a fucking sham for 70% of people. Look at the occupy monvement. a bunch of people that went to school for the wrong subjects, couldnt get a job, and blame the people that are successful.

Or, got a great degree, and thought shit would be handed to them, and didnt work to get where they want to be, so reference last part of above for result

[exitspeed]

Originally Posted by yokotas13

that is how schools work.

college is a fucking sham for 70% of people. Look at the occupy monvement. a bunch of people that went to school for the wrong subjects, couldnt get a job, and blame the people that are successful.

Or, got a great degree, and thought shit would be handed to them, and didnt work to get where they want to be, so reference last part of above for result

Werd. I went to IIT Tech and I hear people bitch about how much of a waste it was. Yes, it was probably more expensive then it should but, but I got out of it what I put into it. I remember when I was there dudes in my class constantly talked shit about what they weren't learning and I'm willing to bet they aren't doing what they went to school to do.

[vas570sx]

I went when I was 18. I'm 24 now and work for Diablosport (DiabloSport :: Gas and Diesel Tuning Systems) as a technical support representative. You need to know quite a bit about engine/trans/abs management to work in this department. I sit on Zilvia in the a/c all day while talking to custom tuners on the phone. It's a good gig, I make pretty good money for my age and I have plenty of benefits such as 401k, health and dental insurance. Plus I'm in the process of building a Race car for next years drifting season.

But just like with anything, you get what you put in.. I know classmates of mine that graduated with me that are still working at jiffy lube.

[turbobrick]

Go to community college. You will get the same education as going to uti but for a lot less.

[Silverbullet]

I would always encourage HS students to look into going to college. Start from a community college and transfer to a University. Its the easiest way to get in, and most economical.

If you really dont want to get a college degree, automotive tech programs at community colleges are a much better deal than going to UTI or any other commercialized automotive school.

[flip3d]

Don't fuck with cars. Learn about computers.

[pacotaco345]

Originally Posted by flip3d

Don't fuck with cars. Learn about computers.

lol this... I'm on an ROTC scholarship for the Air Force, I'm going to TCU (30k tuition a year n its going up) and the military is paying for pretty much everything + a 400 dollar a month steepen. My major is comp sci, it was gonna be mechanical engineering but comp sci is the only one compatible with my scholarship so whatever. Oh and I graduate and become a 2nd LT in the AF, hopefully I'll get my pilot slot.

[shiftdrift]

i went to wyotech and although finding the first job took a couple months, i have now been at 2 high end shops and my current job is fabricating at a nascar/hotrod shop. not saying it's paid off yet, but it will and the experience i wouldn't have learned without it.

[markstheman365]

Your 17?
go to good year or firestone, anywhere really.
Ask if you can intern.
My freind was an unpaid intern at firestone for about 6 months, they trained him to pass the ASE exam, and he passed.
So in 6 months he got his certification, and a job. And didnt pay for anything(maybe a few bucks to take the exam)

[ShakotanGazelle]

wow! there's some good info in this thread lets keep it going!

on a more related thought,
I want to learn more about this internship type deal. As much as i want to attend college for something.... normal i guess you would call it(originally wanted to be a math major), I just cant find the motivation.

I figure I'd rather be working for free and learning, than sitting on my ass on fucking Nissan forums
Anyone else who's done any sort of internship?

[jesse_s13]

Originally Posted by ShakotanGazelle

wow! there's some good info in this thread lets keep it going!

on a more related thought,
I want to learn more about this internship type deal. As much as i want to attend college for something.... normal i guess you would call it(originally wanted to be a math major), I just cant find the motivation.

I figure I'd rather be working for free and learning, than sitting on my ass on fucking Nissan forums
Anyone else who's done any sort of internship?

Dont ruin your life. Go to school.

[ShakotanGazelle]

Originally Posted by jesse_s13

Dont ruin your life. Go to school.

I know, I still want to go to college for auto tech or diesel or something.
but I want to know more about the internship thing since I figure that if I can get a job that way while in college and not have to mooch off the gov't/my parents, then why not?

[bataangpinoy]

Originally Posted by jesse_s13

Dont ruin your life. Go to school.

a wise friend told me the same thing once. best drunk advice ive ever recieved.

and he's posted in here too.

[deolio]

like a lot of people have said, you get out what you put in. i know a few guys that have gone through their entire program and have come out with tons of job offers and opportunities because they were making relationships with future employees while they were in school. i know another guy who just kinda floated through the program and expected to get tons of job offers without any effort so he never got any and ended up at a gas station.

but yeah, you can basically get the same education at a good community college for way less money.

[word sux]

fuck that!

uti is a waste of money...

go get an apprenticeship in a shop! get paid and learn...


i learned more in the first month working in the field then i did at uti. its a fucking sham and i was a 4.0 student btw and so was my friend and he is still a lube tech and dosn't know anything about cars

[BoostSlideWayz]

Ive not been at UTI before, but i know that if you can get a fafsa grant (witch can be time consuming and tough) youll have everything paid for... For me, just for 2 classes at community college i got 1500 bucks witch helped me pay for gas, books, and an SLR camera for photography class. If you can get them to support you, UTI funds wise will not be an issue.

[word sux]

Originally Posted by BoostSlideWayz

Ive not been at UTI before, but i know that if you can get a fafsa grant (witch can be time consuming and tough) youll have everything paid for... For me, just for 2 classes at community college i got 1500 bucks witch helped me pay for gas, books, and an SLR camera for photography class. If you can get them to support you, UTI funds wise will not be an issue.

bahahahha


so what? 1500? i think uti costs over 25k now..

[BoostSlideWayz]

Originally Posted by word sux

bahahahha


so what? 1500? i think uti costs over 25k now..

I was saying just for 2 classes.... for a whole school that has alot more credits compared to my small 8 credits between 2 classes you would get a much larger check... what i was trying to do was give an example of if you get 1500 bucks just for 8 credits youll get ALOT more compared to if you were at this school.

[90240sx07]

to all the guys that have mentioned interns how would you go about that
i dont have a job at the moment and rather be interning than just sitting at home wasting time and im sure the op might be interested also

[future]

Don't fucking do it

[lalo167]

I had an appointment with them for Monday but I went ahead and cancelled it since more than 80% of the research I've done has been negative. I love working on cars, reason I'm always on here. My brother was right, when i went to the field trip they just painted a pretty picture for me and got me hyped, especially by putting a Mach 1 on the dyno! I'm gonna look into different community colleges around my area and try to transfer to a University after. Thanks for all your input, really appreciate it!

PS- If anyone has a coupe shell for sale or just laying around let me know. I'm anxious to start a project!

[nismolvr]

I went to UTI and graduated many years ago , before many of you were born . Tuition back then was only 12grand. Arizona campus was the only Campus then . Everyone seems to complain about how they got screwed and could have learned same thing at a JR college. I guess tuition has gone up sience I attended. I guess I could of learned same stuff at a JR college.I had hands on and one on one instruction. I learned electrical, Metal fab,driveability diagnosis, computer , suspensions , automatic transmissions, diesel , refrigeration.....so on ..

The skills I learned , I use everyday at work. When everyone else was partying it up , I was studying . Other students didnt apply themselves and those were the ones flunking out.You get what you put in .I only wish they would of had the Porsche, Mercedes,Nissan programs back when I went.Ive worked for car dealerships liked it but got tired of piece work and rushing now, I work @ a building structural metal Fabrication shop , Im in charge of all gas and diesel vehicles , including welding equipment and building maintenance.My crew and I do everything. I even drive . Im on salary and I negotiate it every year. I make real good money. Im content.UTI worked for me thats all. What ever you choose just add diciplined work ethic and hard work and it will pay off in the end.


College tuition is a rip off I agree, its designed to keep students in debt.Weigh the cost and decide wether you will gain more by attending. Whatever you do , do it whith all your might.

[hOngsterr]

waste of money, non of my friends that went, are employed, plus they tell you its no guarantee you get a job lol