Collision repair schools

[3XBrownCutty]

So i didn't do too good in my freshman year of college, and have seriously reconsidered what i want to do with my life/ future. I was in plastics engineering technology, but was never really motivated to finish that degree. I'm not sure if college is the thing for me.

I considered doing a 2 year business degree and then going into a technical school. I talked to the head of business at penn state (where i went) and he said he didn't really know what i would do with that degree after I was done with the tech school.

So i"m pretty set on going to a tech, school now. I 'm not sure if i wanna be wrenchin on peoples daily's for the rest o my life, and I realized I've always wanted to learn to paint and weld and sh*t, So i think hopefully collision repair will be my "major" if you will.

Is anyone here in that field for a living? Is there any schools you can reccomend in the pa, oh, ny area? I really appreciate any input. I have looked into wyotech and atc, any other good ones out there?

 

[anakputa]

The military has great schooling. I went to the Air Force for auto mechanics. Learned alot and got to see the world and get paid. Otherwise talk to several good body shops and sign on as an apprentice and go to college at night. Those other schools pump you up full of BS, teach you a little, then you have to find a job starting out as an apprentice and 12 Grand in the hole...

Do your research before you jump into any school..

 

[3XBrownCutty]

I would be in the navy if i werent a type 1 diabetic... life sucks sometimes.

So i can just kind of shadow until learn everything and then actually get employed by that certain company or another?

 

[Blake442]

Don't even consider WyoTech.

I went to school for auto body repair at my local community/technical college for about $1500/semester.
Compare that to the cost of WyoTech...

It was nice getting out of school after only two years with no debt, unlike my friends who had another 2+ years ahead of them and $25K+ in debt....

 

[IhaveNoPantsOn]

I agree. Just find a shop to work at, and learn while getting paid. I went to school for auto mechanics, and $26K and a year later, and I learned more in 3 months on the job after I 'graduated'. It was a complete waste of money. Some of the bigger schools might be better, but I pretty much paid to sit around in a garage, with minimal instruction, twiddling my thumbs while occasionally doing some basic work on my own vehicle, if I wanted to bring it in. You will be much better off just jumping right into the field.

 

[pappa_wolf]

to be a mechanic, you pretty much have to be a datafreak, in order to fix anything, on todays modern cars.

but. the steel, in wich they build these computercontrolled cars, are the same, they used 20 years ago,
and there will allways be idiots, who don`t know how to drive!!

so go for it, there will always be work for you, and you wil learn some great skills, in metalwork.

schools i don`t know anything about, but the guys in here, know, so listen to them

 

[Peter]

i am 18 and work at a gmc dealer so i think i could probably relate to you, it really is not worth working at a dealership. nobody there is happy to say it the only way i can. I am not sure how collision repair would be so i can't really give you too much insight on that.

 

[carmangary]

Sorry to hear about the diabetes keeping you out of the Navy. I was in your situation after goofing around in college a year. I joined the Navy, but had a hard time getting in due to some urine problems. It turned out to be a good decision.

As for you, maybe it's time to take stock of your situation. Why didn't you do good your first year? Was it too hard? Or did you party too much? Maybe take a year or two off, save a little spending money, and try it again. Don't go down a career path that you aren't happy with. You're too young to be going down the wrong path.

Diesel mechanics make real good money but it's tough work. I'd do that before working on cars.

 

[3XBrownCutty]

thanks for the tip on schools i was kinda leery about wyotech in the first place.

Theres a local shop that has a hotrod shop off to the side, I would hope to eventually do something like that after learning all the basics on daily drivens that were in accidents.

I did party quite a bit , but I don't really think college is my cup of tea. Right before graduating highschool i always talked to the parents about wrenching for a living (now i've reconsidered and decided on collision repair), and they didn't really like that idea at all and kinda pushed the college idea. I didn't really have my heart set on engineering, so i wasn't really motivated, which is probablly the biggest reason i didn't succeed. I love working with my hands, and obviously love working on cars, and i think if i play my cards right i could end up in a little hotrod shop painting or welding (doing what i like) instead of just wrenching at the local dealership. If anything i would be more happy working on cars than sitting behind a desk.

 

[DRIVEN]

Your story sounds similar to mine. I did a year and a half towards a mechanical engineering degree only to find out that that career was nothing like I had hoped. I went back for half a year to start on a business degree, mainly because I didn't know what else to do. I ended up transferring to a community college and completing an automotive program. I was working at my uncle's shop at the time and probably learned more from him but the structure and the degree were important to me. When I got out of school I continued working for him until my wife graduated. I moved and doubled my income but found that the new boss structured his business in such a way that it was nearly impossible to make more than 40K a year. We all want to work on hotrods and muscle cars for a living - but there's really no money in it. My brother did a two year auto body program at the same school. He worked as a detailer for 6 months, then 2 years as a helper, then a mid-tech, and finally was considered a journeyman after 4 years. He makes 70-90K. Painters make a bit more. If I were to do it all over - that's what I'd do.