Ok i think this is tech enough. if not then at least don't delete it so i can atleast have people email me with their reponses..


This is my last year of highschool. and i need to start looking for a college to goto. I think i want to either be an automotive tech, or an engineer in some field. not sure which though... but i am amazed about how much u guys know.. Like Vader and RB83L69 just to name a few. there are many many of u guys so don't feel bad cause i didn't mention you .. but i would love to be as smart as some of the people on this board.. i love being able to help people.. and just know things.. like when Vader bust out with his super long post that just blow everyone out of the water.. Where did u learn all this vader??!?!

but i guess what i am trying to get at is. Where did everyone goto school and where did all u guys learn what u know. i mean i know i could learn alot of this from just trial and error and experience. but there is alot of physics behinds this stuff that i know i have to have good training etc... but where do i begin??!?! i don't know what classes i need to take, and where i should be aiming for getting a job at..
i thought about maybe getting a job at a dealership or something.. but i don't know if i will enjoy working there. or if ill get the education\knowledge that i want.. and if i'll get paid good $$ or not.. where have all u guys worked at in the past?

i know this isn't really tech at all. but i really need to start planning my future.. and i want to be able to know i have a secure future and enjoy myself...

any clues\help\advice??
thanks alot guys!!!

 

You haven't applied anywhere yet?

 

I'm going to tell you the truth. Tech school isnt going to cover much, most of the things they "teach" you are basics or total crap you wont use in the real world. On the job training and taking classes specialzing in a certain areas are how you lean.
Any school you can apply to do so as quickly as possible, at most auto tech schools half the people drop out in the first semester but they fill up quickly.

 

I hear Wyotech is good, course, that is just from the commercials, anyone have experience there???

 

It's a little bit "tech", at least, so I'm not closing it yet.

BTW - You've got mail.

 

well i have. just not to like any realy special tech schools or anythign like that.. im sure ill transfer after a year or two though..



thanks vader!!!

 

 

I go to Kettering University in Flint, MI. It's in the top 5 in the country for Mechanical Engineering, which is what I'm majoring in. The school used to be owned by GM but even after it spun off it has retained A LOT of its automotive background. We have the world's largest student SAE chapter even though our school is tiny (something like 3000 students total). SAE includes Formula which is a small indy style racecar powered by a motorcylce engine, Mini Baja, which is the team I'm on, basically it's a big off road go kart that we race at motocross tracks, then there's another team that modifies snowmobiles to be powerful yet extremely clean. The Formula and Mini Baja cars are designed and built by students. We all compete nationally and just recently Formula went to England. There's an off roading club and the Firebirds club which goes autocrossing, drag racing and road rallying. Very dense gearhead population. We spend two three-month terms per year co-oping in the field, I work at Honeywell right now in the sparkplug division (Autolite, Motorcraft and a couple other brands) in the engineering department. They pay decent and provide me a free apartment. It's moderatly hard to get in here but not nearly as bad as some other schools of this caliber.

Bad things about here are that there aren't many chicks because most of the school is engineering so the guy/girl ratio is about 80/20 but that should improve since they just hired a lady to recruit girls lol. School's in Flint which is really crappy. After GM closed most of their plants here the city lost a substantial amount of revenue and is consequently $30mil in debt and in general bad shape.

www.kettering.edu
email me if you want any more info

 

dude, GM ASEP, hands down

they teach in you school, then for the 2nd half of the semester, you go to work at a dealer and work with a mechanic

its 2 years, mostly community colleges offer it, and you even get a associates degree when you graduate

if you want more info let me know

 

I can tell you I go to TSTC and the guys/teachers here are pretty helpful. They teach you alot of information. But you do get alot of help in individual/specialty courses. I think I might transfer to UTI though. Anywyas, good luck.

http://waco.tstc.edu/

http://www.techniciantrainingprograms.com/index.jsp

 

you have a PM

 

Definitely aim for engineering if you can do it, it's a whole lot better of a way to make a living than turning wrenches, by all accounts. If car things interest you, then mechanical engineering is an obvious way to go; or, electrical/electronic has lots of automotive applications too.

I have no training or actual "job" experience whatsoever in the automotive field, or any kind of engineering, although I did teach astronomy and what we called "baby physics" for the engineering and pre-med students (scientific lightweights incapable of handling real physics) as an undergraduate assistant. In fact, I don't even have a degree in anything, although I did struggle (financially) through 2½ years as a math and physics major, specializinng toward subatomic physics. It's basically impossible to get a job in any of those fields with less than a PhD. So, lacking marketable skills of any sort, and not having enough intelligence to apply myself to anything worthwhile, I drifted into broadcasting, a field where such things don't seem to matter. Some day, when I grow up, I'm going to see if I can learn to do something useful and productive.

 

Yeppers! Don't settle for turning wrenches. There is nothing wrong with it, don't misunderstand me. I did it for 4 years. Probably still would be if it weren't for a couple of serious injuries.

Reasons for my opinion:

1. Like RB said, there's better money out there.

2. Once you turn your avocation into your vocation (hobby into work) your hobby becomes a job. If you are a <insert job title here> do you think you're gonna want to do that in your free time?

3. Any physically demanding job can be devestating on your body.

 

Definitely go for an engineering degree if you can. Lehigh university is a premier school for auto technology. GM has on campus recruiters as well as the other companies. Iacocca Plaza, Packard Hall just a few of the influential auto related names. I agree, turning a wrench for fun is great but after a while it's just a job especially the way the dealers treat the technicians. My backround is in electronics but I went to auto tech school back when I was racing. It gives you the basic theory, but there is nothing like the hands on. My daughter attends Lehigh and plans on designing the next generation Vette. Who knows, maybe I'll get a courtesy one-that was the deal for getting fleeced. Get the degree now, if you wait you may never do it. Just my HO. Good luck, Dan

 

Breathment: I'm 42. For the future you needs consider a job compatible with a family, wife, children , house, cars, school, vacations (holidays), foods, toys, bycicles, scooters, etc., etc., etc. This is my hobby now and you'll need $$$$$$$$$$ and $$$$$$$$$$ & $$$$$$$$$ + $$$$$$$$$$.

(Course, I'm engineer and I works like a finance manager. For this I can pay my hobby).

Between 17 to 42 your hobby could change too.


Good luck

 

Several of my fellow racers are techs at dealers. They get crapped on all the time. As stated above, making your hobby your career isn't always a good idea.

Up through high school, I always wanted to be a mechanic. I signed up for the Army, best I could swing was generator mechanic. At induction, my test scores were relatively high, they talked me into switching to intelligence (yes, that oxymoron - military intelligence). After 3 years of that with no marketable civilian skills, I re-up'd for automotive mechanics (more options once you're in).

I graduated from that training with a 99.98% grade for the course. Missed two questions on one quiz (that I argued 'til I was blue in the face that they were poorly worded, and my answers were better than the "correct" answers - I lost, of course, even though I was right). I basically learned the specifics of Army vehicles, the theory parts were things I had already picked up on the farm and from reading.

It was in the next 6 years that I learned what they guys above are saying - don't believe the stuff about finding something you enjoy doing, then find someone to pay you to do it. Work is for making a living, hobbies are for having fun. I still enjoy working on my own cars, where I can enjoy the fruits of my labor, but working on something that someone else owns just isn't the same (at least for me).

I'll second the engineering suggestion, although I'd recommend getting into the electronics/computer side of things. Control is where it's at, and the awesome performance we're seeing out of today's cars is due in large part to closed-loop, computer control - like it or not.

Or, you can do the engineering thing (electronics/computer science still a good idea) in another field, and leave the car stuff as a hobby. Right now, I'm at Cape Canaveral, and will be going out to the launch pad in about an hour to look over the rocket we're readying to launch a communications satelite in about 10 days. Bunch of car nuts in this business.

 

I would personally go with something in computers (programming, not repair). Working with cars is a love/hate relationship and not something you want to do for a living AND as a hobby.

 

Yeah, dealing with Micro$oft daily is just soooooo much better. I used to be big into computers... ever since I started making a living with them, I can't be bothered to do much more with my home PC besides play games.

Never make a hobby your job, or you'll lose a hobby and hate your job.

 

used to be heavy into amatuer radio, had repeaters on 140mhz, 220 and 440 all interlinked with talking computers the whole 9 yards. When I had the new house built I was lucky enough to move into a neighborhood surrounded by motorheads. They through the seduction of many southern comforts made me see the error of my ways. I kept my motorcycle license over the years, got me a sportbike and a camaro and never looked back. Don't even know where the dual band handheld is anymore. Hell, I kept ICOM in business. Never looked back, blood pressure down what can I say. Moral: don't have a hobby that is related to what you do for a living lest ye go NUTS.

 

Amateur ham radio now that is a hobby that is dying out.
My father does it and I got my operators license a few years back but I don't do that anymore.
I'll be going to NJIT for mechanical engineering but I don't plan on working on cars for a living just as a hobby even though I'm good at it.
I might go into the Navy but I'm not sure.
I got accepted to RIT but I don't want to do automotive engineering anymore.
Good luck in whatever you choose to do.

 

RIT is a good school, I'd go and then if you still feel like you want to go military I'd go to Officer Training School in the A.F. or Navy. At least then you'd be getting paid better than minimum wage.