Hi I am a junior(senior in 6.5 days) and I am pretty set on becoming a mechanic. I haven't quite figured out for sure what I wanna work on yet. If I could have it my way I would like to work on pickups all day, but I don't think there's a whole lot of those places out there. I am really starting to get into diesels after getting my first diesel truck. I dont reallly wanna work on semis or real big equiptment bc of the wear on your body day to day. Farm equipment would be ok wit me since I live on a farm.
So far the only school I have went to visit is UNOH. I thought it looked lyk a pretty decent school with a lot of stuff to choose from and you can get an associates degree. I'd lyk to hear from you guys about your schooling experience and where you've worked and if you lyked of disliked anything. One big thing that worries me the most is pay. Lets hear it.

 

Get a bachelor's.

I dropped out of a real school to go to UTI.






Get a bachelor's.

Now, if you're like me and have mental problems that prevent you from getting a bachelor's... It sucks and your life is probably going to suck like mine.

 

I didnt attend UNOH myself, but I do many guys who have. I live about 25 miles south of there and have always heard good reports of the Institution.

 

i went to uti in chicago was very happy but now out of the shop working for fire departmant but i tinkeron the side still. go give them a look all the instructors were very knoledgeable

 

i went to PCT. got a associate degree for semis. the only thing I did't like is the book work.

 

You sound like my grandmother..."get a bachelor's, need a bachelor's, won't make it without a bachelor's...

I have all the tools to get a bachelor's degree...but @ the moment I'm making $40,000 more per year than my well compensated attorney so I consider my choice of vo-tech a valid one.

Just because you have a bachelor's doesn't mean you're successful, and just because you went to vo-tech doesn't mean you're not.

There are plenty of power lineman, mechanics, plumbers, ironworkers, etc that make well into the six figures and have a job they enjoy. There are also plenty of Master's degree holders working at jobs below the poverty level.

Life is short...do what makes you happy....just don't stereotype and pigeonhole.

 

Motivated people make money. Motivated people with degrees make more money than motivated people without degrees.

The odd fact that skews it, is that motivated people are more likely to not get a degree, while a lot of lazy people do end up getting degrees. That just reflects the society of non-motivation and un-inspiration that infests our school systems. Lazy people usually realize that they can stay in school for five or six years and live an easier life than getting a job.

 

here's how I look at it. I currently go to vo-tech. I will have a job doing what I like (diesel Mechanic) my senior year getting paid DURING SCHOOL TIME. With any luck, that will turn into a full time job when I graduate. Now, people going to my local High school, what will they be doing there senior year? Probably in school all day and then they will spend the next for years after there graduation in College. Not for me. They may make twice as much as me in 10 years , but maybe not. I plan on probably going to post secondary, like UTI or something of the sort. I'd rater work my butt off than spend 100k in schooling and spend the next 4 years in school after I just got done with 12yrs of school. I always say, If you like what you do, you won't work a day in your life. That being said, I've heard a lot of good stuff about UNOH. They came to my school and talked to us. Sounds like a preatty good program.

 

agreed

I don't know where you went but my roommate is in UTI down here in PHX. He's 8 months in and can't change his own brakes or his clutch.
Huge waste of money IMO. $36k? You can get a BS for about $40k in state and have a real education. I mean you could even pay ~6k a semester in state and get an AS for under 25k.

 

I will debate the definition of "real education" any day.

Begle hit it pretty close about motivated and lazy people. Why work hard all day when you can sit behind a desk in an air-conditioned cubicle from 8-5?

Unfortunately, with the public school system being government owned, and the majority of post secondary educational institutions being government owned, there is a bias towards sending kids through the "university" channels to end up with a degree of some sort....it's called revenue stream. Hard to swallow but there is definitive truth in it...

I have tried very hard to understand the logic behind steering 90% of pupils towards a university when the service, crafts, and skilled trade industries contain the vast majority of the jobs in this country and most other countries of the world. Dealing with this almost daily in not only my chosen career field but also with my seat in the Vocational Advisory Council for our local educational services district; it is disheartening to say the least.

I'll stop now before a novel starts up.