1995-1996....back when it was Wyoming Technical Institute. We didn't have the cool diesel building like they do now...


It was what it was. I went in with a 'head start' so-to-speak. The programs have morphed a lot since I was there.

 

(in my best grandpa voice) back in 1942 when i was in diesel school all we had was a hammer and a pair of pliers and no books....and we fixed everything that way and still do....

 

in the snow, with no gloves, while the engine's running.

 

I went to UTI and enjoyed school very much. unfortunatly in 86 when i gradated, the laws that protect workers were not in place or inforced like today. i was busting my back 16+ a day making good money then one day i got my check it was thousands short. i was told to put that check in my pocket and return to work and that i was put on flat rate. old OD Mays screwed me good. i told him thats why they put wheels on tool boxes so they can roll out as easy as they rolled in. i was in the field most of the day and worked in the shop only a few hrs. basicly his way of F-ing me. cat or cummins wasnt hiring. so i found a job with the city and so it goes. at 42 i retired from the city but i still have to work. nothing is as good as it sounds trust me. now i still turn wrenches on my stuff and have raced different things for years everything from jetboats to mud boggers. I wouldnt change being able to fix things and build things for the world only wish they would have had the fab schools they have now would have gone right after UTI. I love to build things it completes me that said. if you do what you love its not like work.(dont find out 20 yrs later like i did) and I hated working for the city everyday but felt stuck. and lost confidence after a few years to return to a shop. never know how its gunna turn out just follow your heart what you absolutly love so you dont live with regrets. being a good wrench is always helpfull even if you end up doin somethng else.

 

Dude, the things that can be accomplished with a 4 pound drilling hammer and a pair of Knipex "miracle pliers" would amaze......

 

are you talking about the knipex cobra? my favorite pliers in the world. they have a newly designed handle, too; I have a large and small old style and a medium new style.

 

I went to Denver Auto and Diesel, I was there while they were flirting with bankruptcy, so some of the shop equipment was a little older and so on, but actually, it wasn't as bad as it sounds, since very few shops are going to have nothing but new top line stuff anyhow.

Yeah, there was alot of classroom time, and maybe 25% or more was stuff I'll NEVER care about unless I become an instructor somewhere. At least I found it interesting.

The biggest things I realized early on, they have to teach at the level of the student who knows the least, and as an example, in the engine class, we had 2.3L pinto engines on the stands, GEE, we all wanted to build 350's...But the theory was, it doesn't matter what's on the stand, we were being taught how to read and understand ANY manual, for ANY engine. What would happen if they taught us to build only a 350, then a customer brings in a 318 dodge?

And, technology is always changing. You aren't learning how to fix what is already out there, you are learning how to read and understand how to fix the stuff that doesn't exist yet, so you can work 10 or 20 years from now. Plus, do you really want to still be on the shop floor at 60 years old, or do you want to be the foreman or manager, that supervises and teaches all the new guys? Or a trainer for a manufacturer?

Go to a few dealerships, a couple heavy equipment or construction companies, talk to the foreman, ask him what he thinks of the guys he's hired from different schools. After all, that's where it really matters.

The only other piece of advice, see if you can get an entry level job in the field, give it 4 or 6 months, make sure it's what you want before you spend a chunk of $$$ to find out it's not what you want to do. I had a cousin who went to Ohio diesel, a couple years later he realized he hated wrenching and had to start over, decided to be an electrician, and still had student loans to pay.

 

what ever you decide to do make sure its something you will be happy doing.

 

i was gonna go there but decided against it. the place i work at we have had 4 techers on my shift all started before me, all had more expericence (worked at other places before me) and i have out lasted them, they didnt really have street smarts. most of them didnt know how to use a torque mulitplyer if you can believe that.

now im not saying dont go to the school im just saying check around your colleges close to you and see (community colleges) if they have any kinda automotive/diesel courses

 

or you could just give up on anything productive in life, no school, no job, become morbidly obese and Hope to get featured in one of Hussein's 'Town Hall' meetings, give him your sob story and ask for a handout...

okay but really, a tech school would be great. your instructors, even the best ones ever, are not going to be able to teach you much of how to do things, more just how to approach a machine/problem taking the book into consideration and figuring out the rest on your own. then you can get into the work force and actually learn how to work on it.