I go to school now and will be out in Dec and the whole thing with school here is shop shop and more shop there is very little lecture and very little book work they believe it should almost be all hands on thats the only way you learn. A book cant teach you what wrench to use on a nut or bolt on a motor and it has helped me alot in doing this cuz you get a broader range of things like truck motors tractors dozers etc. plus we have classes just for injection pumps and just for turbos

 

I am in a community college in Cheyenne Wyo for diesel mechanics now, I'm on my third semester of it and I like it alot better than if i would have chose Wyo tech in Laramie (just 50 miles apart) From what i have heard from my friends in Wyo tech is that there is alotof class time and not the equal amount of shop time needed to learn the skills to work on things. At my community college its way different we have to take a customer service class and learn about dress code but thats totally different from the diesel aspect of it. For the Diesel Mechanics we are in the shop wrenching and getting hands on expirence almost 95% of the time. We work on everything from small generator diesels to large heavy equipment to learn all aspects and i believe that it has really helped me learn how things are put together and how to fix things better than if i were to sit in a class and learn it. Hope that helps.

 

University of Northwestern Ohio.......Class of 2007......

I was a self-taught mechanic before that though.......

Dont let people tell you that you got to start at the bottom with crap pay.......you can make more than most people if your willing to travel........Oil Fields, Oil Rigs, Power Generation, Government Contractor..........its all there for the taking you just got to step out and do it........

 

The big difference between the Tech schools and Universities is the piece of paper you get at the end. The University gives you a degree that is recognized by any school or employer as a degree. A Tech school gives you a piece of paper that is no good any place except their school. They are not accredited colleges and no other school will except any of their classes if someday you decide to go back to school.

My kid just graduated from University of Northwestern Ohio and they're Automotive Diesel Program, so right now he learned to work on Diesels and High performance gas engines and has an Associates Degree in Business from an accredited University, the best of both worlds.

This isn't to say that the Tech schools don't teach you anything but they limit you on the future possibilities. Most companies want a degree in something before you move into management or administrative and Tech schools don't count. You won't want to be workin on these things as you get older and your body starts feelin the long days in the shops more and more.

 

Try lookin in to UTi. As of right now i am a student there. Good school. Cant say its better/worse than anyother school. I do have to say it has done me good going here. We do have the new stuff.(hate the new emissons stuff). We get tons of visits from all the diffrent BIG Companys. This is just my .2 cents. Doesnt say much but it is better than nutin

 

Actually if you go to Wyotech and take the ASM class as your 3 month elective and then use diesel(or automotive,autobody) you get an associates degree. However I don't know how transferable it would be.

Personally I went to Wyotech in Laramie. Even though there is a decent CC with a diesel program just an hour away I chose it more because it was faster. Most CC programs take two years or so while Wyotech is a 9 month course. Differences is most CC go half a day and tech is all day. Class time to shop time is about 50/50. Which is ok for some things but most of it was a drag. Most of the engine work though is simple valve adjustments and electrical diagnosis, which is important don't get me wrong. They have a couple engines on stands that you get to pull pistons out of and stuff like that.
Good thing is they have some pretty up to date engines like ISX's and C16's.

If your going into the diesel field the best course to take at Wyotech would be the Adv. diesel. They have a deal with a dealership and they bring trucks in and the students get to fix them under the instructors supervision. If your looking for real world experience thats as close as your going to get.
Another good thing about Wyotech is the job placement afterwards. Its a fairly well known school so there are a lot of companies that look for people here.

 

UTI is an accredited school; we get a bonafide Associate's Degree upon graduation.

So I understand, anyways. That's the school's excuse for being comminazi's regarding sign-in sheets and whatnot.

 

I went to UTI (universal tech instute) they would help you get a job while in school and as well as anytime when you got out. The instructors know the material well and would help you anytime great school and they have several sites to choose from i went to chicago Ill. Just a thought and a place to look at

 

Did you get a bonafide Associates upon completion?

 

I am a Master Tech for Deere and i have seen numerous techs that went to a school including wyo tech. These schools teach them the basics of alot of different things, the kids i have seen come to the dealerships and they really struggle because they don't know much.

Deere has their own Tech training school that specializes in the AG side, the closest one to me is in Walla Walla Washington. These kids come out of there really knowing quite a bit and it is because they specialize. The best head start i can think of for people starting out is to go find a program that specializes in the field you are wanting to enter.

That is my two cents..