so here i am. senior in high school and want to go to UTI in Phoenix. Hearing lots of good things and lots of bad thing about the place and i need some DSMer opinions. My uncle, whos been a mechanic for 20+ years says its crap but i think hes full of BS. And the 31000 dollar price tag is a factor too. so i gotta know...IS IT WORTH IT.

Hey you going next year because I am going. I would say it is because it teaches you the new technology and if your going to be a machanic then the employer will look at you and say this guy already know what he's doing so he can jump in and start working without being trained so he(the employer) won't loose money by having someone take the time to train you and thus you will start out at a higher pay too

I remember my friend said he would go into it when we were seniors. Funny cause like two days ago I went to his house to have the metal sleeve in my motor mount removed and I asked him. He said it wasn't worth it for a profession that doesn't pay that much. FYI he's just going to be a regular mechanic. He's going to Middlesex County in NJ instead which really isn't a county college if you ever get the chance to walk on there. They have such awesome programs.

If I was spending $31,000 on school, I'd pick a profession that pays more then $31k a year.

My son went to UTI in Exton PA, he started 2 months after getting out of High scool, I can only tell you about our experience, basicaly it is what you make of it, if you stay focused and work hard, have good attendence and decent scores and keep a clean driving record (Dealers don't want guys with a history of driving violations or criminal records), you can benifit greatly!
Yes it will cost you and your parents or cosigner plus or minus $34000., UTI will get you into the system and give you basic knowledge and contacts with manufactures and their programs, but as said before STAY FOCUSED, don't make waves or get caught up in politics.
UTI is a generic program and there will be things you don't agree with and at times you will be pissed off, but STAY FOCUSED.
You will be in UTI with boys and men, some as young as 18 and some as old as 45, some with very little experience and some with years of hands on experience, you will be competing with them for reconition and student of class awards, the awards are good reconition tools but grades and the things I mentioned earlier are just as important.
My son did not get any student of class awards, but when he graduated he was 1 of 2 students chosen to attend the Mercedes Elite tranining program (4 months) so now approx 18 mounths after H.S. graduation he is working for Mercedes and pulling a really nice paycheck for a 19 year old kid.
So, for us it was worth it, he loves what he is doing, hard work is almost always rewarded, one of the big reasons he stood out was his work ethic, he double phased UTI classes for 6 months to get out early, this means he was taking two 6 hour classes a day and pulling high grade scores.
My son had friends and roomates that got into Dealer programs and are doing well, he also had a few of those un focused friends who didn't act as they should have and are now finished with school and are no better off than they were 18 months ago,
How well you do in any venture is up to you and the choices you make, anything worth doing or getting will cost you, wheather it is time or money, so make your choices and follow your heart and follow through on every commitment and you will be on top of the world, GOOD LUCK!!!!!!

It's worth it if you want to make it worth it.
Sometimes it's not about how much you make,regardless of how much your schooling costs.
I'm going to Wyotech in March and honestly I don't care how much I make when I graduate. I will be doing something that I love. Anyone can make sacrifices, if I have to live off of a 30K salary so what.
I think only you can answer the question if it's worth it or not. How much do like wrenching?
You're questioning if you should go or not, then it's probably not worth it.

Not worth it. I went there. Biggest waste of money ever. I previously went to a Community College that was a 2 year Automotive Technology course. Cost me $7,700 for 2 years. I then got sucked into the UTI bandwagon and thought I needed to go there. I graduated in the top 1% in the nation out of the 5 or 6 schools, got all my honors and didn't learn a damn thing. Everything they taught I learned at the community college and that is why I did so good. You can't teach shit in 3 week courses, I'm sorry but it doesn't work that way. My community college courses were about 3 months each. I recommend AAI if you want to come to AZ. You get about 0 hands on experience there and all the cars you work on, you are already told whats wrong and how to find it out. Half the time my teachers just told stories about shit they used to do when working at dealerships. Now when I graduated, having UTI on my resume did probably help me and I made almost $60,000 this year and I'm 22. I would invest in a good Community College and get your ASE's as fast as you can.

I went to UTI and the only way I would say it isn't worth it is if you don't plan on focusing strictly on school the time you are there. If you plan on keeping your grades up and doing what you are supposed to do then I would say go for it. A month after I finished UTI I got a good paying job doing mechanic work for a government contractor so I can honestly say it has paid off for me.

All the people I know who went there say it isnt worth it..........And when I was touring the school some guys came out of the class room to tell me to find a different school, it wasnt what they expected it to be

AW4G63 said:

If I was spending $31,000 on school, I'd pick a profession that pays more then $31k a year.

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And thats the problem with UTI........

Reinforcing what a few of the others have said, it is what you make of it. I work in parts at a Ford dealership and speaking on behalf of two of our techs (one of which has been my best friend since 2nd grade, the other being valedictorian of his UTI class and one of our top techs) I can say that they both loved it. They took advantage of the opportunity to learn as much as possible and network their way through the industry. There is money to be made in this business but only if you want to work for it. Good luck with your decision and don't let others sway you from doing what you want.

I think cranberry juice is supposed to help with that.

thanx for the replys and alcohol usually works better than cranberrie juice.

For the price of the school the knowledge is VERY basic. You can still get the same or better info from a smaller college. But when you go apply for a job, having the name UTI on your resume is what gets you paid more because it is such a "big name" school and that is why it is a toss up as to whether or not it's worth the money to go.

I went there for auto body, learned a lot, got certified by ICAR and am working in the field now but I'm hardly making 10 an hour to be honest. I could have gotten hired for the same amount not knowing anything. But I live in a small town so when I move to a bigger city I will be garenteed a job even if I didn't know shit because of my certifications. I have more ICAR gold points then most techs do that have been working in the field for years and now times are changing and "quality" shops have to have so many points. Overall I didn't like the school, they care about getting their money, not you. You have classes at weird hours (6 am to 1 and 2 till 8) which make it hard to have a job, go to school, sleep and be able to unwind enough to stay focused. If your parents are loaded and can cover your expenses while your in school, go for it. If you have to work through it, it's pretty damn hard.

Ok here I go, I will say I don't think it is only worth as much as you make it is what everyone else has said. Don't go there for the auto body program since I have had several friends who did that and aren't making crap. I used to be an assistant manager at AAP and I can say some of those kids don't know jack about cars. So it is definitely about how much effort you put into it.

And be prepped bend over and grab your ankles because you don't make nearly the money they tell you to when you get out. I would say what you want to do is get awesome grades and get into the BMW or Mercedes or Mini school. But acceptance rate is lower so you need a good grade and the BMW or Mercedes pays you to go to that program.

And it also preps you to get you ASEs. So there you go. I will say if you don't get into Mercedes or BMW or Mini its much harder to get a decent job. AND FYI they pay about 15-18/HR dollars for the next 2 years after you get out. And you sign a 3 year deal that they move you to any dealership they want because that dealership paid for your schooling.

But pretty much after that 5 years of working at your contract they will prob offer you good money to stay or someone will offer you good money to leave.

So you can get a decent job if you finish all their programs, but if you do the bare min you will prob have a hard time getting a job

95blackGsTurbo said:

I graduated in the top 1% in the nation out of the 5 or 6 schools, got all my honors and didn't learn a damn thing. . . . . Now when I graduated, having UTI on my resume did probably help me and I made almost $60,000 this year and I'm 22. I would invest in a good Community College. . . . .

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I think thats really it right there. You have to graduate top of your class. If you dont there was no point in going. Chances are very high you will not end up with a good paying job if your not one of the top dogs. All it does is look good on your resume. Its a hard decision becasue that is a looot of money, but if you do make the decision you have to be dedicated. I toured the UTI campus in Ontario CA which is a HUUUGE facility. I ended up deciding im just going to start at the comunity college because of the money factor. But its true so many people come out of there just as dumb as they went in. But in the automotive industry UTI graduate is definetly a good name to have.

2geclipse565 said:

I think thats really it right there. You have to graduate top of your class. If you dont there was no point in going. Chances are very high you will not end up with a good paying job if your not one of the top dogs. All it does is look good on your resume. Its a hard decision becasue that is a looot of money, but if you do make the decision you have to be dedicated. I toured the UTI campus in Ontario CA which is a HUUUGE facility. I ended up deciding im just going to start at the comunity college because of the money factor. But its true so many people come out of there just as dumb as they went in. But in the automotive industry UTI graduate is definetly a good name to have.

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I was just saying that the only reason I was that high was because of all the knowledge I got from my Community College experience. I learned not one thing there, trust me I kept track. I tested out of 5 classes without ever looking at the curriculum for that course. My employer was not informed of how well I did until after I got a job and had been working there for a while. They just saw I went to UTI and hired me, no transcript or anything. Then again there are shops in town that REFUSE to hire UTI graduates because they know that some of the kids are just there to waste time, think they can actually work on cars, or are just spending their parents money.

Yea from the title of your thread I thought you were getting some back door loving and got a urinary tract infection. My mind is in the gutter (most of the time) I have been reading the posts on offtopic.com

offtopic.com huh... i couldn't tell

DON'T GO!
It's a waste of money, if you want to go to college for an automotive degree, look at junior colleges that offer it. UTI is not accreddited everywhere (although they say differently). If you go to a junior college at least you will get an assciates degree and you can build on that in the future, if you every plan on moving into higher levels of management when you get older.

95blackGsTurbo said:

Not worth it. I went there. Biggest waste of money ever. I previously went to a Community College that was a 2 year Automotive Technology course. Cost me $7,700 for 2 years. I then got sucked into the UTI bandwagon and thought I needed to go there. I graduated in the top 1% in the nation out of the 5 or 6 schools, got all my honors and didn't learn a damn thing. Everything they taught I learned at the community college and that is why I did so good. You can't teach shit in 3 week courses, I'm sorry but it doesn't work that way. My community college courses were about 3 months each. I recommend AAI if you want to come to AZ. You get about 0 hands on experience there and all the cars you work on, you are already told whats wrong and how to find it out. Half the time my teachers just told stories about shit they used to do when working at dealerships. Now when I graduated, having UTI on my resume did probably help me and I made almost $60,000 this year and I'm 22. I would invest in a good Community College and get your ASE's as fast as you can.

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I dont know if you remember me Adam, but i was in phase 1 with you a LONG time ago . Anyways, I agree with adam here. BIG WASTE OF MONEY. They are concerned about how you look, your attendance more then working on cars. I went back to a CC where i paid 1,000 bux a semester and learned more, because I wasnt getting bitched at about how my hair looked.

Please this guy is looking for real help, do not be a nutswinger just because you went there and your being baised....( THIS IS A GENERAL COMMENT NOT DIREACT TOWARDS ANYONG)


Ive had personal friends go there, and it was a big waist of there money and alot of lies


Think about this, why is there so much gimmicky marketing involed with the school? And most of the better schools do not have this nor need it

Its all about pushing people in and out and getting money

well im currently attending NTI which is there nascar school in NC..... not a big nascar fan buts the best and most strict of all the UTI's... i like the school the electronics programs are damn good along with the manual trans/auto trans classes..

and to the guy who said he was the top 1% why the hell did you not go to an msat like porsche?? im calling bs..
Msat for thoes who don't know are the manufacture classes offerd by the dealer and paid for by the dealer for the top students.. if you get accepted you sign a contract starting at around 40k a year.. depending on what you choose...

also who says mech's only make 30k a year ever heard of flat rate?..

my .02

J

To add a little more to this, I had a couple friends go threw the Mercedes program and one didn't get a job till 5 months after schooling... He had over 10 SOC's and did all the shit you were suppose to. He finally got hired for something like 12 an hour at a dealership after they dicked him around for a couple months.