School

Misanthropy

Misanthropy

Information Junkie
Was interested in going to school for Ford's, whether it be a career or a hobbie I would like to know how to lock down my experience. I would need to work full time and go to school most likely (I would never want to get into debt that much!)

My question is, what might be the right school? Any suggestions would be appreciated!

On that Note I know automotive is slow right now, but there is a lot of room for improvement (especially with all this go green crap coming out)
 
2 of my buddies went to wytoech for hot rod restoration, chassis fabrication and body work, one now works in home hvac and the other is turning wrenches at tire kingdom, both of them said wyotech was a waste of money. i cant personally say anything about the place, but what they spent, and where they work right now is pretty depressing.
 
You could call your local ford dealership and ask them what requirements they have for their mechanics. If you are looking to work for a dealer they will tell you what they want out of an employee. :)
 
jamies98lsc said:
2 of my buddies went to wytoech for hot rod restoration, chassis fabrication and body work, one now works in home hvac and the other is turning wrenches at tire kingdom, both of them said wyotech was a waste of money. i cant personally say anything about the place, but what they spent, and where they work right now is pretty depressing.
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I too have also know people who have gone this route and have not had good results. One of them is a friend who works at NAPA as a counter person. I suggest going a different route.
 
You need to get to a school (4+year type) that allows you to co-op and provides a bachelors degree. Being as how you are on the left coast I am sure there must be some state Universities there. Here is one school that has turned out alot of folks in the Industry in the past.

http://www.kettering.edu/
 
jamies98lsc said:
2 of my buddies went to wytoech for hot rod restoration, chassis fabrication and body work, one now works in home hvac and the other is turning wrenches at tire kingdom, both of them said wyotech was a waste of money. i cant personally say anything about the place, but what they spent, and where they work right now is pretty depressing.
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JERM said:
I too have also know people who have gone this route and have not had good results. One of them is a friend who works at NAPA as a counter person. I suggest going a different route.
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Yeah, and I know people who have degrees in a lot of things and yet were not successful. :p
 
I would do community college, at least at first. There are alot of schools that have the Ford ASSET program around here. Its kinda nice 8 weeks in the classroom, then 8 weeks in the dealership, that goes on for 2 years then you will have an Associates. Then if you wanted to persue further I would look into working at a dealership seeing as how they put you through more ford specific schooling.
 
I would stay away from any of those Tech schools, honestly. A lot of it has to do with the people, but 90% of the graduates that I've had expecience don't know JACK about cars when they get out. Its pretty much basic basic basic in there and you come out knowing stuff you're never gonna use and they don't teach you the basics of general automotive.

I guess it depends on where you want to do from here....Do you want to have a successful career as a mechanic, or do you want to learn the real way to work on cars to be able to master it for your own good?

If you want to be a mechanic when you grow up, so to speak, go to whatever tech school you want because shops like to hire people with degrees/certificates.

If you want to know your chit, so to speak, go to a shop, start from scratch and learn by experience.

I've been working on cars for 11 years or so and I don't have one degree/cert and I can out wrench the best of them, and that includes diagnosing.
 
Most any - if they need people...you get to change oil and be a go-fer for a awhile, then you graduate to bigger and better jobs.....when you start at the bottom, you start with the not so glamorus jobs - but you REALLY LEARN from the ground up. This teaches you all phases of the job. On-the-job training is the BEST!
 
budpytko said:
Most any - if they need people...you get to change oil and be a go-fer for a awhile, then you graduate to bigger and better jobs.....when you start at the bottom, you start with the not so glamorus jobs - but you REALLY LEARN from the ground up. This teaches you all phases of the job. On-the-job training is the BEST!
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Ya I am just used to oh you can't see whats being done on your car because our insurance doesn't cover that! :) hehe. Figured it would be the same way if I tried to apprentice.
 
There are alot of shops around here that are starting to require the guya to adleast be ASE certified, which is another way to help them sort out the BS from the guys who really can dig into it. I also know one Tuner that is also now demanding it from his wrenches also.

A friend's son is graduating June 09 with a 4 degree in Diesel PowerTrain Mechanics from a respectable local University. He also was required to co-op, which he did with Hertz Truck rental (repair site).

On the job training is only providing some of the basic and advanced mechanical skills, which is fine. I just also happen to believe in this day and age it is going to be tougher to have a high paying career without the sheepskin. Even Plumbers and electricians now need to have formal training, and pass exams to be certified.
 
You can start at ANY shop without starting as a mechanic. I was the "shop bitch" at a BMW shop and was the owners only employee. He worked on the cars, I cleaned up the shop and helped with the phones. After a few months, he helped me with a tune-up on my 77 Camaro and asked if I wanted to learn to work on cars. I said yes with hesitation because I thought is was going to be hard.

My very first "real" job was an oil pan gasket on a 65 Chevy Impala with hydralics (I know, at a BMW shop?!, it was a friends of the boss). That was a PITA and I hate doing oil pans with a passion now, haha.

Anyways....the point being, it will be harder to find a job as a mechanic without any skills or experience. If you bring it to the table that you want to learn how to work on cars and find the right place that will help you, you'll basically be getting paid to learn.

Another aspect of it is the way you work. Mechanics require COMMON SENSE, if you don't have any, NO amount of schooling or training will make you a good mechanic. Hense the reason Wyotech and schools like that are bogus. "Real" mechanics don't need to go to school to learn how to work on cars, they only need the knowledge on what to do with the specific cars. Understand?

Roadboss said:
On the job training is only providing some of the basic and advanced mechanical skills,
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Which is why I asked the question of "what do you want to do with your mechanical skills?" "Career or knowledge?"
 
WOW, that's exactly what I was discussing with my friend. If I was to learn the right procedures, take my time, and use common sense. Then I can do most of the work on my cars.
 
Damn straight! Common sense man, thats all it is! If you get stuck or are unsure, don't just start ripping and tearing like some people that THINK they know what they are doing, swallow your pride, look in a book, or ask someone!

Wyotech=teaching false common sense. LMAO!
 
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