VicRed

I went to UTI right out of High School also back in '03. Unfortunatly I found that there are alot of people that go there that just dont give a ****. You get out of school what you put in to it. After I graduated from the auto/diesel program in Houston, I went to Orlando for the BMW Grad program from 7 months. I now work at a BMW Dealership here in Louisiana. I started at $17, after 3 months I went on the line and went up to $18, After a year (this sept) I will be at $20, then after 6 months I'll be at $21. If you bust your *** and dont lounge around at work you can easily make $60k+ a year if the work is there. I love what I do and dont regret any of my decisions.

VicRed

Exactly how much is Jack? Cause I know quite a few people fairly low on the totem pole here at the dealership that would disagree with you. Myself included. Granted we dont make as much as you might as an Engineer, but I know I could live a fairly comfortable lifestyle sitting on $60k-$70k a year.

Just my $.02 from in the field.

KB

iTrader: (4)

Wow, thanks a lot for the replies guys...definitely a mix of opinions, which is what I was hoping for. I consider myself a very hard worker, I always strive to make what I dream come true as cheesy as that sounds. So hearing things like "the potential is there you just have to work at it to make it happen" is appealing to me.

I started the thread however, mainly because of the reputation UTI has around here in Houston. To be frank, my friend who graduated a few years back said at his first interview at a dealership when the manager found out he was a UTI graduate he said "Well, I suppose we won't hold that against you considering our situation". The Houston UTI branch just does not seem to get much respect around here. So it was kind of a turn off going that route. But it seems many of you have been pretty successful, which is definitely encouraging.

redaddiction

iTrader: (12)

Have you looked at Wyotech ?

FLT

iTrader: (1)

Also Denver tech.

trever1t

iTrader: (14)

I know mechanic's who do VERY well and I know some who dont. It is up to you how sucessful you will be at any career.

slowec

iTrader: (9)

TRUE...
I Started at 25k, then 30,35,40,45,50,55,60,Thats what my salary increases looked like. I will admit. I have been lucky and seem to have a knack for it. If you are good at it. You will make good money. The trick is to figure out early if its your "bag" or not. I once convinced a new tech @ the dealer I was working @ to rent a toolbox from me instead of buying his own. Others thought I Tryin to scam him but I saved him alot of money cause he did not make it and he got to walk away from the box instead of paying for something he didn't need. Most top techs in my area make 50-65k . But remember. I am a master tech W/ 10 years under my belt. There are alot of techs making 20 or 30k . I hope this helps.

LilRick

Where you live effects how well you do as well. I took one year of Community college vo-tech (auto mechanics). Then I got hooked up with a well known, lets say, "seasoned" mechanic at a toyota dealership.(he's like 65) He said he didn't give a **** about a resume, he just wanted to see what I could do. So I busted my a$$ for about a year, got put on commision at 12/hr which sucked but was pretty good FOR ME at the time. I was trained on toyota's by a master tech who had been a tech for 14 years and making 23/hr. We're in a little city in Mississippi though. Good thing is if your good, you build up a clientel, and you keep good business, bad thing is if you work under someone that already has a clientel, like i did. YOU STARVE! Maybe not starve but you sure don't make the money he does. Keep in mind this is coming from a small town guy. Everyone kept tellin me to move to a bigger town. I stayed there for 3 years complaining about a raise until i got a job offering at a nissan dealership to be a parts guy. The toyota store offered me 18/hr to stay. So now I sit at this computer all day and get paid. I like working on cars but unless your gettin paid what you deserve, it sucks. I got screwed basically. Plus, sometimes you have to put up with some crazy *** customers, All in all, I'd definitely go back to turning wrenches for the right money.

litreddevil

iTrader: (4)

you can make good money at a dealer ship when i was @ the dealer their was 19 tech and and their was 6 made over 60k and 2 made over 90k a year.it all depends on how much work the dealer gets in for you to work on cause right now the same dealer has 10 tech and they r about 15k behind what they should be for this year.

1blueSS

iTrader: (1)

AMEN!