So umm yea...I plan on attending the UTI campus in Orlando. I'm getting mixed reviews about the school. Some people (including my instructor) are saying its a GREAT school with great benefits, and others are saying it was the biggest waste of time and money they ever had to endure. So now I ask the Nico community about their views on the school and its benefits.

..I don't know but I would like to know too

I'm not sure about the cost of going there, but for lincoln techs ASE master certification program with the high perfomance junk, its 26K for 15 months, coming out making an average of about 17d/h (thats pretty high, too). It seems a little over the top for that education, but if its what you want to do then it would be worth it without a doubt. I made the choice to skip that choice and go back to a traditional college and pursue a mechanical engineering degree with focus on automotive. The dollars per hour of that averages to about 30, but thats after 4ish years of school as opposed to 15 months. The choice is yours and I think its more a matter of passion than anything else, but the payoff from technical schools will generally be less.

UTI = Urinary tract infection LOL j/k

actually it's a technical college http://www.uticorp.com. i think it's worthless; it's more like a corporate/business after your money. you are better off going to your Community/Junior college technical/vocational programs; you actually lean more and classes are looooooooooooot cheaper.

same goes for univeristy of pheonix; which is a company that not many real Universities will recognises it's course; if you plan to transfer. and their so call "advisor/counselor" are actually salepeople. they are pushy and try to get you enrolled fast. they have tried to get me enrolled, and verry aggressive.

Here I come to put in a good woooooooooord!

OK, if you plan on working at a dealership, UTi is definitely for you. If you have common sense and can pay attention in class, you will definitely learn. They give you massive amounts of information.

Why I say common sense is NECESSARY is because you won't always get a good facilitator, but the amount of information and knowledge shot at you is still the same. Also, the test questions are sometimes trick questions and if you don't pay attention and read properly, you will get bad grades and start to badmouth the school.

Now, these master techs that are there are facilitators, not teachers. Not there to hold your hand and guide you through the world of mechanics. They give you the information and some of the experience you need to succeed in the OEM world. (I say OEM cuz I haven't reached any performance classes yet.)

I will always say it's a good school because I have learned a **** load of information I didn't know, and also, some BAD automotive practices have been corrected....like whoever told me to remove the battery cable to see if an alternator works...(dont do it, it will fry your alt & computers!)

I can see a good amount of money headed my way working in a dealer for a few years before I open my own shop, so I think it's Great. I also plan on checking out Wyotech to see how their performance classes are. It might be costly, but for people who actually like cars, are motivated, and can actually USE their brain, UTi is great.

I seriously was thinking about going to UTI until i talked to a bunch of people who went. they said it wasn't worth it. they told me all the stuff they learned there i could have learned at a community college and it would be WAY cheaper.

i used to work at a dealership and more than half of he the people who went there dropped their classes. i guess it depends how much u know about cars. i mean theres a reason you spend 40k or however much it is eh?

BoostsFed wrote:
. i think it's worthless; it's more like a corporate/business after your money.

Lol thats exactly what a couple people I know said. Well i do plan on working for a dealership rather than a shop so I guess UTI is for me. Not to mention the $1000 in snap-on tools you receive upon graduation is a great deal. The only tools i have is a wrench, vice grip, pliers, and electric screwdriver .

PantherRacer wrote:
OK, if you plan on working at a dealership, UTi is definitely for you. If you have common sense and can pay attention in class, you will definitely learn. They give you massive amounts of information.

Why I say common sense is NECESSARY is because you won't always get a good facilitator, but the amount of information and knowledge shot at you is still the same. Also, the test questions are sometimes trick questions and if you don't pay attention and read properly, you will get bad grades and start to badmouth the school.

Now, these master techs that are there are facilitators, not teachers. Not there to hold your hand and guide you through the world of mechanics. They give you the information and some of the experience you need to succeed in the OEM world. (I say OEM cuz I haven't reached any performance classes yet.)

I will always say it's a good school because I have learned a **** load of information I didn't know, and also, some BAD automotive practices have been corrected....like whoever told me to remove the battery cable to see if an alternator works...(dont do it, it will fry your alt & computers!)

I know what you mean...I attended a vocational/Technical highschool and was in the automotive program. I learned a great deal of information, but the test were a b****. Some of the questions had 2 answers but ONE was the best answer...I hate those types of questions

AH240sx wrote:

I know what you mean...I attended a vocational/Technical highschool and was in the automotive program. I learned a great deal of information, but the test were a b****. Some of the questions had 2 answers but ONE was the best answer...I hate those types of questions

Your biggest, and really only, choice is whether or not the payoff is worth it. 20K+ for 12-18 months, comin out making $15/h with the obvious potential for more as you gain experience. Or 25K for a 4 year degree, comin out making 40K/year starting, but it may be in a less automotive related field. Up to you. And if you make the wrong choice you'll NEVER EVAR EVAR BE HAPPY.

its what you do after graduating that matters, one of by best friends graduated from there last summer and still lives with him mom and had no job. when i asked him why he cant get a job, he says he applied for head technitian at like subaru and all these other places, but no one will take him. that degree will help you get a job as a regular technitian if your lucky, but like every other degree, you still must work your way up. you will probably start off as like a mechanic at like a local shop before even setting foot into a dealership.