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Diesel Mechanic

G

grolla42

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Aurora, CO
Ok, so I'm gonna go for my diesel mechanics degree cause the fiancees parents want me to go to "school" and they're paying my way(I want to too). So, I was thinking either Lincoln or UTI. Anyone have any suggestions?

I know I posted about law enforcement earlier this year but I'm actually going for this one.

Input is greatly appreciated, thanks!
 
Be sure you give this a lot of thought...... I thought I wanted to be an auto mechanic, went to trade school for three years and got ASE certified in 6 disciplines then worked for 4 years.

Tools are stupid expensive (DO NOT BUY FROM THE TOOL TRUCKS BUY CRAFTSMAN)

Dealer Service Writers are a mechanics worst enemy. Selling stuff not needed, promising unrealistic repair times....... Sales jerks for the most part.

Just be sure you you wanna do it...... I found I liked it as a hobby more than a career.

About the only way I'd do it again is for a company servicing a fleet.

My uncle is a master tech for Range Rover and they do seem to take care of their mechanics. Yearly expense paid trips, troubleshooting contests with other shops and incentives for completing training and tasks...... They gave him a Rolex a couple years ago...
 
A Master Diesel Inspector Certification is not to shabby; You'd be looking at rigs, dozers, and trains. I'm thinking $$$.
 
YELLAHEEP said:
Be sure you give this a lot of thought...... I thought I wanted to be an auto mechanic, went to trade school for three years and got ASE certified in 6 disciplines then worked for 4 years.

Tools are stupid expensive (DO NOT BUY FROM THE TOOL TRUCKS BUY CRAFTSMAN)

Dealer Service Writers are a mechanics worst enemy. Selling stuff not needed, promising unrealistic repair times....... Sales jerks for the most part.

Just be sure you you wanna do it...... I found I liked it as a hobby more than a career.

About the only way I'd do it again is for a company servicing a fleet.

My uncle is a master tech for Range Rover and they do seem to take care of their mechanics. Yearly expense paid trips, troubleshooting contests with other shops and incentives for completing training and tasks...... They gave him a Rolex a couple years ago...
Click to expand...

I've been a tech since 2003. Some days I love it some days I hate it. Diesel tech is ok but stay away from any thing light duty. Don't work for stealerships.
As far as crapsman tools go u get what u pay for. All my sockets and screw drivers are from sears but I wouldn't use a craftsman ratchet if it was the last one in my box.
Working on big trucks doesn't burn me out as much as cars did. I hated wrenching on my jeep after a full day at the shop but now I guess its ok.
As far as schooling goes I'd say forget it. We laugh at guys with degrees from places like that. I'd get cracking with a company like Penske. They will train you and pay u and such
 
As a diesel mechanic, I was leaning more towards the servicing of fleets and I know experience comes with age but getting the degree could offer you a broader range of where to apply your skills? Have thought about the companies who hire and train their mechanics like you were saying eflores
 
I went to Denver Automotive and Diesel College. And personally it wasnt worth my time. . . . . unless your going for both diesel and automotive and getting your Associates Degree through them. If not than its not worth your time or the money.
 
eflores said:
I've been a tech since 2003. Some days I love it some days I hate it. Diesel tech is ok but stay away from any thing light duty. Don't work for stealerships.
Click to expand...

Dealerships work for me... ? At a lot of dealers, the quick lane type light duty service is where all the money is. Not here.

I would avoid going to UTI or any other place, sorry. I have seen probably hundreds of kids come out of there thinking they know what's up, only to find it takes them 15 minutes to navigate a car into the shop and on a simple two post lift. We have a UTI top grad here that didn't know what a differential crush sleeve was, I saved him from destroying a rear end. He did eventually remember something about the instructor mentioning a 'collapsible spacer' (same thing) but couldn't remember why that mattered. Top grad! Money grubbing diploma mills that churn out retards by the hundreds, skip it! We don't hire UTI grads any more.

I could go on, but it's probably not necessary... :laugh3:
 
JJacobs said:
Money grubbing diploma mills that churn out retards by the hundreds, skip it! We don't hire UTI grads any more.

I could go on, but it's probably not necessary... :laugh3:
Click to expand...


So true. Same thing is happening with the Community Colleges doing so many of those P.O.S.T. Police Officer academies. The police officer market is flooded, very few jobs, and the schools don't have near the same standards for those folks to attend the academy as the agencies do to hire them. Lots of disillusioned cop wannabe's out there who wasted their time and money.
 
Be careful with where you work. Our quick lane has 20 techs!!!!! Hard to make money when those guys only have one lift and there are 19 other guys trying to get the same jobs. Always people applying too. So many people trying to get any work they can and shops are taking advantage of it i think by picking up less skilled people and paying em less. Its mostly brainless stuff anyway :dunno:
As an advisor in a quick lane ill tell ya there is a lot of cars rolling through and a lot of morons taking jobs that look confused looking at a wheel lock key lol.
 
Oh ya. Most went to intellitec or wyotec or something of the sort. Only one is currently in a school training program that was suggested by ford - and he is mostly an idiot too :dunno:

Some of the kids have never seen drum brakes, or a tire machine. Most don't know how to take out a TRE or adjust rear brakes when doing front brakes. :doh:
 
Same thing happened to academic degrees. The whole school sytem is a huge fiasco. The cost of a degree, for many, not for everyone, far exceeds the benefits it returns. The key is to have a goal, and go for it. Try to find out what you are willing to expend all of your effort on, and start doing it. You might start at home, you might start at a job, you might start in the military, or you might start at a school. I'm not saying don't go to school, I am saying, don't expect it to be a magic carpet ride to the life of your dreams.
 
Ok I gotchya. I guess I could say that I'm looking for something to do with my life. Been graduated for a couple years and havnt done much. This stuff seems to fit me better than anything I suppose.
 
Well I'm going to tell you a different storey. I went into the Navy and went to the electronics schools, after the Navy I went to DIT and got an associates degree in electronics. My first job was at a distributed of cadcam hardware and software. I was hired because I graduated top of my class, even though what I learned had very little to do with the job at hand. They understood that the fact that I was top of my class meant I learned quickly. That got my foot in the door and from there I now do what I love and get compensated well for it. The point here is do what you love and the money will come in time and you will not work a day in your life. If diesel mechanics is your Passion, go talk to some of the places you'd like to work and ask them about the various schools and what they think of them. Ask them what you need to do to get a job there. Once you know, go do it.
 
going in the navy or the af is a good way to get to a top notch tech school and you will have some hands on experience when you get out, army and marines not so great on the tech schools m but even them are better than the civilian ones jmho, it worked for me and they still send me money
 
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