Im considering going back to school
 

well I want to go to a tech school (namely UTI) I want to take up classes in high peformance automotive..POWER AND PERFORMACE is the name of the class...I figure its time to take a step in the right direction by persuing one of my loved pastimes as a carreer or just for the general knowledge and enginuity. that way I could better trouble-shoot if needed after.:bigtu:

good luck

the automotive industry is a tough place sometimes

UTI makes it hurt when you pee.

Im not going to jump into a carreer of it, I believe it be best for the knowledge, keep my job and do somthing on the side..maybe work in a tuner shop or somthing of the sort....But I really dont want to give Up a job that pays 12 dollers an hour with full coverage health insurance, incentive bonusus and whatever...I get a raise soon so I'll be a lil closer to 13 bucks an hour lol...I want to learn man...Its depressing not being as handy AS im capable of without proper knowledge and do-how

You are thinking of a urinary tract infection.....lmfao ...no no no Im talking about university techinical insitute of central fl...lol thanks for the laugh I needed it.

:gtfo:

man the BEST way to learn is just start taking things apart and reading how to fix them.

Seriously, its also pretty much FREE as opposed to paying the big $$$ for a college/tech school.

just my 2cents

Believe me I would , if It was'nt for me only having one car and hand tools...I would have at it:o

Your miata is a prime piece of equipment to work on. If you mess something up it isn't too much money to fix it. If you take the money that you would spend on a technical school and put it into the miata you would have more than common handtools in your toolbox(s) and you would definitely have one impressive car. Most tech schools don't teach enough to justify the cost. You can learn alot from a haines manual and your friends. Hell go to the library and get the same text that UTI would give you, read that and you will have much of the same knowledge as one of their graduates.

there is nothing more great than having a 2nd car / beater.

believe me, its awesome what a 2nd car can help you accomplish

this is all the truth.


buy some tools and start tinkering when you have time to kill and buy some books,i know most of my friends who went to uti are idiots.

start off small with lawn mowers and bicycles and small shit.

ok helll lmfao ....that makes alot more sense...one thing though, they said you get $1000 worth of snap-0n tools when you graduate lol , is there truth to that?

Could I maybe volenteer as a parts puller At a local junk yard

You'll spend way more than a $1000 on the school. So spend a grand on tools you want/need. Then buy stuff you might want like a welder/chopsaw/grinder/air compressor and whatever else you think you need to fabricate your own stuff if you feel so inclined.

I would atleast look into that, good idea.

I had a brother that did that for a few months. He said he learned a lot from doing it even though you never have to put anything back together.

$1000 of Snap-On tools is like a socket set and 4 wrenches, no kidding.

you have slapped alot of sense into me lol , I've always been a hands-on-person, You are most right about the school teachings, It be better to jump on it with a wrench lol, Im going to look into a volunteer thing ..hopefully They could use the help,

Junkyards want everything for free, shouldn't have to much trouble.

LoL Are you serious...No way:gtfo:

you get the 5 piece tool kit if you spend 35 gs

Dang, you beat me to it. :p

I have more tools than i know what to do with. I collect tools. lol. Hell, i even have a set of strut spring compressors..........somewhere.

I just watch the sale papers and pick stuff up from Sears when they have a tool sale, which is like ALWAYS. If you're not going to do this stuff professionally every day, there is zero use in spending god-awful amounts of money on this stuff. Just steer clear of the tool aisle at Big Lots and you'll be fine.

:gay:

-Trent

Oh, and yeah, i know what UTI is. :p i watch the Power Block on SpikeTV, too. lol.

For me being a mechanic it isn't hard to spend 20-30 k on tools a year....

"hello....my name is nick and I'm addicted to buying tools :("

One benefit might be access to plenty of tools in the time you aren't in class/training. And a heated shop with a lift.

That said, $1000 of Snapon tools is like 3 Harbor Freight stores. I'm addicted to Harbor Freight. Having one local is nice too.

Frank

I've never been to harbor freight......how is the tool quality?

crappy, but when it breaks you just get a new one.

it's like lifetime warranty alternators at Autozone.

Way back when...We used to get 55% off Snap on tools @ tech school, IIRC we each ponied up $1200.00, THIS also included the 9 drawer Snap on tool box.
Pretty much the original tools we got, were all we needed, unless of course it had GM stamped on it (lucky for me I was Volvo/Porsche/Honda guy back then).

Cheap tools have there place, I never feel guilty welding/grinding/bending a cheap tool to make it into a 'special tool.' But sometimes the china-on stuff is to pourous to even get a good weld...

whoa - 55% off! Fortunately a lot of cheap chinese tools give the average Joe an opportunity to own some stuff he couldn't normally get. Even if it does break after five uses, it may never see that day. I had one of those $20 HF impact guns last me 7 years... when it died I bought another for $20.

No RICAN --
He's saying that UTI is Like VD and AIDS mixed together. You'll be sorry that you ever signed any paper with them. Check out UTI on the internet. They have "SHAFTED" many people over the years. Don't listen to just what UTI wants you to hear......:nono:

I have to agree with a number of people here. If you really (honestly) want to get ahead of the game you need to go get a real no-shit engineering degree from a respected 4 year college. There is plenty of sociological data to back me up on this, a 4 year degree is expensive but it is also the best investment you can make in yourself (trust someone who knows better and did well without a 4 year degree but will do much better with one.)

Get student loans if you must, apply for every scholarship that exists, and accept nothing less than an A in any class you take. Finally, join the Formula SAE team at a college (make sure the college you go to has one!!!) and learn how to really approach this correctly.

Mark

Move to SLO, California, get into Cal Poly, do the FSAE there and it'll help you chill out. they don't call it SLO for nothing.