Something I've been thinking about for a long time

[Jens69BB]

I've been wanting to go to Wyotech for years now but it seems like there are so many obstacles. I applied last year but then didn't do anything to make it happen.  The thought of going there just seems right and like it would be an amazing experience.  I mean, I love everything having to do with cars but I definitely feel like I lack the guidance to really get me where I want to be with them which is why it would be perfect.  But with such good feelings about it, I also have a lot of bad.  I would have to move out (but I still wouldn't be far if I went to the Sacramento campus), I have no idea how I would pay for it (my parents probably wouldn't help), I don't think I really have an interest in working on cars for a living (but I'm not sure), and I worry about what everyone would think (the worst reason, I know).  My sisters both have graduated from UC's and I get badgered non-stop about how long I've been taking in transfering from junior college.  Vocational school is like a dirty word in my family.  I have been going to school for Mechanical Engineering but it just hasn't quite felt right and I have been scared to really go any further with it because of my feelings of doubt.  I just don't know what to do with myself...

[west]

not knowing all the details in your life and what you want to do with it but i would reccomend getting a degree first.in anything.
ask around to all the mechanics you know and ask them if they would trade in thier job working on cars for a degree.
it's alot easier to learn about cars on the side than it is too go to school later in life.

[Jens69BB]

not knowing all the details in your life and what you want to do with it but i would reccomend getting a degree first.in anything.
ask around to all the mechanics you know and ask them if they would trade in thier job working on cars for a degree.
it's alot easier to learn about cars on the side than it is too go to school later in life.

Yeah, that's what I've been trying to do but it's just so hard for me to finish college when my heart isn't all there. I would probably definitely want to get a degree afterwards.

[golferjohn]

two words..."sugar daddy"

jk

[SRT440DUSTER]

I was/am in a simalar situation myself. I thought about going to wyotech, but just couldnt make the call to go do it. A diesel mech job was offered to me(i had never touched nor drove a tractor trailer). I took it because @ 21 years old the money was just ridiculous. A year and a half later my parents talked me into buying a house because of how many foreclosures were around. Though Im happy that I have just about anything a guy my age could want. All I can think about is leaving this place(the repitition of working on the same trucks with the same problems combined with never getting the weekends off) but now with the housing market the way it is, who knows when people will begin buying again. I regret never moving my ass toward something I was truely interested in. On the other hand alot of typical car mechanics have to bust their ass to make good money. You are within driving distance( I assume) of some of the most popular hot rod shops in the US. Our hobby takes a lot of time and money, both would be hard to come by if worked in the industry and tryed to make a good living off it. In my oppinion, if youve got the smarts to keep with it in mechanical engineering, I would keep at it. I've got 2 friends making 6 figures only a few years after college. You can learn anything you want about a car from a book or the internet.

[Mopartist]

One of my daughters friends went to Wyotech. He's now 22 and working for a hot rod shop (VWs and ricers mostly) Makes decent money; but from what he was telling me; there's no substitute for getting to do what you really want to do! I think the kids got his head pretty much together.
You really don't think your parents wouldn't help you out ? Just from a parents point of view; if my daughter really had a "passion" for something; (which she doesn't yet) ; and convinced me that THIS IS IT; there's nothing that would stop me from helping her to acheive it. Of coarse i don't know what kind of relationship you have with mom and dad.
I sincerely hope they will help you. Over the .....jeeeze... years now; you've convinced all of us that you have a passion for hot Mopars! You Go Jenny!   

[bugLady]

Do it Jenny!  I didn't, and I still regret it. I kept thinking after I do this, and then after I get that, etc.  Well, the years have flown by, the passion is still there, but now I can't go back and do it. To old, to many other obligations etc.  I love my cars and love working on them, but wish I knew more.  And nowadays women get respect in the feild. When I was trying to start, everyone laughed... but youre a woman! And I have forgotten a lot from not working it regularly.  Do it. You can always go back later and study something "sensible".   I'm behind you!!

[Jens69BB]

Do it Jenny!  I didn't, and I still regret it. I kept thinking after I do this, and then after I get that, etc.  Well, the years have flown by, the passion is still there, but now I can't go back and do it. To old, to many other obligations etc.  I love my cars and love working on them, but wish I knew more.  And nowadays women get respect in the feild. When I was trying to start, everyone laughed... but youre a woman! And I have forgotten a lot from not working it regularly.  Do it. You can always go back later and study something "sensible".   I'm behind you!!

Thank you! I regret not being more serious about this earlier and I know I will regret it in the future if I don't do it.  I feel like, if you have a passion for something and are willing to work hard for it, you can make anything happen.  I'm not the kind of person that can just settle.  I have to have a passion for something in order to be willing to dedicate my life to it.  I've just been scared because I know once I decide to commit to it, I will do whatever it takes to make it happen.  The only reason I picked Mechanical Engineering was because I saw it as an opportunity to still work with cars (I wanted to design parts) without having to destroy my body working under one everyday.  Even if I still wanted to do Mechanical Engineering, I think Wyotech will make it that much easier for me to get into the automotive field as an engineer. 

[abodyjoe]

if ya really feel right about it then do it. you will find a way to get the money.  but definatley get the degree also.

[fourspeed]

I don't think I really have an interest in working on cars for a living (but I'm not sure),

Not knowing what you want to do is pretty common. I don't get why you would go to Wyotech if you don't want to do that for a living. Well... I DO get it - It's fun. But if you wanted to be in the auto business, I have no doubt that you could.

My advice, for what it's worth (nothing): Get a degree first - in something. Then you're employable. Afterwards if you want further education, go for it.

Many, many people "take a break" from college and either get a job, or go in a different direction. Then they never go back. Some of my friends did that. Half a degree in Mechanical Design (AAS), part of a business degree, etc... Make sure it adds up to a BS in something. Some employers won't even look at you unless you have a college degree.

[Womanator]

I have 3 degree's because my interest have changed.So go ahead and go to school and if this turns into something you don't want to base your life on go back and do something else

[jamesdart]

if you started something, i would say finish it. there are a lot of companies out there willing to train, not every job from company to company is the same so they dont expect you to know everything but what they do want to see is a degree in something, showing that you completed your college education.  i refused to go to college when i got out of high school because i knew it would be a waste of money, i would have just partied my time away. i knew i had to do something. i went through an apprenticeship and make ok money. my job is ehhh. ok i guess. if i had the chance to make a little more than half what i do now for a clean non manual labor job, i would jump on it in a second. i look at some younger family members and see what they are doing with thier lives and i think, who in the hell would want ot hire them and pay them any kind of money. if they dont go to school they are fu#$%^.  if you arent going to use yourt wyotech education for a career then id say put it off till you finish college and start a career.

[318_Magnum]

I'm still in college, too, and I can totally put myself in your shoes...

Having no idea what I wanted to do as for a career, I started out after I finished high school wanting to go to UTI, but I knew deep down that I really didn't want to be a mechanic my whole life, and I couldn't afford the huge up-front cost of going there anyways. So, under heavy encouragement from my parents, I set off to ASU for a major in Business with minors in Business Law and Economics... It was awful... About a year and a half into it, I HATED my life, said f%*ck this, and went back to a Community College no further ahead than I was in the first place. With no goal in mind, I decided to just get my Associates in General Studies and use my freedom of classes to take a bunch of stuff that was "out there" against the will of my parents and "advisers" (I've found that the only advice college advisers give is how to spend the most money at that college... They don't give a SHIT about you, or what you want, or what's best for you, they just want to enroll you in the fastest, most generic classes possible and move on to the next person.)... So I started taking classes that didn't have anything to do with anything, they were just ones that I wanted to take because they sounded fun... The way I figured it, an elective credit is an elective credit, so I can't be hurting anything by taking a wide array of bizarre classes... I ended up falling in love with upper-level psychology courses, and started to look more in to specific fields in psychology. Oddly enough, I found a calling in sexual psychology, and I found a cheaper, faster, "different", and more flexible way to obtain a degree in it through ASU's School of Letters and Sciences.

Long story short, I'm now attending ASU for my "Baccalaureates in Interdisciplinary Studies of Psychology specializing in Sexual Psychology and Sustainability specializing in Environmental Management", and I absolutely love just about everything about it. Going to school is no longer just a stepping stone, something I "have to do", it's something I want to do... I enjoy most of my classes, like most of my professors, and I like the prospective career opportunities it opens up for me.

So, in essence, you've just gotta get yourself out there, be creative and open-minded, find out what YOU want to do, and do it, no matter what anyone else thinks. When I came back to my parents and told them I was going to be a Sexologist, they weren't exactly thrilled, but they got over it once they realized that I knew THAT was what I was going to do, and they weren't going to change my mind.

[WildCat]

I'll start taking about me then we will get to you.

Took Auto Mech at Vocational school as part of my JR & Senior year in High School. Didn't want to work on other peoples car every day so once I graduated I got a Job at Chrysler. Great pay and benefits. 3 years later i was laid off and played around for the next 2 years. Yeah i worked but no real goals. Then started working as Maintenance Supervisor at a nusring home that was owned by a family friend, my daughter came along so then it was family 1st and me second, so no more school for me at that time, a few years later the business was leased out and they cut my pay, so i moved to another place doing maintenance for a total of 11 years as Maintenance supervisor. I switched jobs and was maintenance supervisor at a Japanese manufacturing plant and for the next 7 years worked 50~60 hours a week and took many classes though work that were work related. I then had the chance to go to Ford, it was much closer to home, pay was better so off I went. Once at Ford i thought I need to get some kind of degree. My plan was to get into skilled trades and leave as a journyman after taking many classes that was as far as I got. Now the plant is schuduled to close, they are wanting everyone to take the early retirement which I do not have enough time to live off what the offer is.

I do not have a college degree, I do have a CDL class A with Hazmat and Tanker endorsement, I have 2 years auto mech, many classes, 18 years as Maintenance supervisor, yet when i go to apply for a job what i have done in the past looks good on a resume, but I don't have a degree and so I'm not able to get the job. Even though I have had my CDL for at least the past 20 years I cannot drive a semi and looks like cannot even drive a dump truck (have over 20 years experience in that too, just a single axle so it does not count. Was told that was like driving a Tonka Truck) I have not had the breaks to get me a better job now that I'm about out of a job and I'm 50 years old.

Guess i will have to practice "Welcome to Walmart, Would you like a cart"

I should have went to school while working at Chrysler. I should have went to school when I got laid off from Chrysler, I should have went to school when they wanted me to get administrators license, I guess I should have went to school when working at Fujitsu, I guess I should have went to school when I got to Ford and they would pay for it. Now that Ford is in the shape they are in and they have cut the edication benefit going to school will cost me a lot more and at my age will take me till time to retire to get a degree in something.

Now for YOU

Go to school and get your degree 1st, then get a job and go to school for Auto Mech and if you don't want to do it for a living go to a local community college or high school that has adult programs and take a few classes to see if you would like it. If you do you might be able to use your degree and vocational training to get a job working on design of new cars / parts. Stay away relationships until after school, make sure no kids pop up and hopefully have a life you truly enjoy that will provide you with the money needed for a good life

My daughter is 26, she wanted to go to vocational school I was Ok with that and when she graduated HS she also was able to get her lisence to work at beauty shop. So she could at some time be ready to own a shop we wanted her to take college and get business degree. She has an associates degree in business. Up to this point we paided for it. Then she decided she wanted to be a Medical assistant. i would no longer pay for it figuring she would studdy harder and appreciate what it took to get it if she had to pay for it. She worked for about a year as MA then went back to cutting hair at Great Clips, they give them 13~18 minutes to get the customer in and out, paid by the hour and in my opinion a dead end job. She cannot slow down and do more than quicky cuts, she went to where her step sister works who is doing quite well for herself but she just cound'nt satify the customers so she quit and back to great clips

I hope you make the right decision. No one should have to work all their life at a job they don't like, but you can have a degree in needle point (probably no such thing, I just use this as an example in how stupid a degree you could have) and get a job

If I werre your father I would suggest you getting a degree, even if you wanted to change your major, but get a degree while you do not have the time restraints of life. Life expectancy is 76~77 for male and 78~80 for female. Unless you are in your 60's GET A DEGREE 1ST

[mopowers]

How do you feel about UTI?  I know there is a campus right down the road from me in Sac.  Just a thought.

Either way, you might want to figure out if that's something you want to do for the rest of your life first.  Or else it's just an expensive experiment.  I also agree with west.  Having a bachelor's degree is almost mandatory these days.  You'll have waaaayyyy more oportunities available to you if you have one.

[Pedalkisses]

I've always said dream BIG and somehow things will work out if you go for it.  If it's your dream, stop dreaming and do it dammit!  The bigger the better with the dreams, my motto!

[Brad4406]

Jen,

Some might consider this to be a crazy idea, but what about the Air Force or possibly even the reserves?  When I didn't know what I wanted to do, it worked out great for me and many others I have worked with in the past.  Right now the Air Force has 100% tuition assistance for active duty members, I'm not sure of the benfits for those in the reserves.  They may even have an opening in automotive mechanics; however, most AF bases have started going to civilian contractors for their vehicle maintenance needs.  It's just another posibility to consider.  Good luck with whatever you decide.

[coors00]

Get the degree then go from there.
I started out as chevy mech, then decided to go to college, quit to raise a kid, got out of mech, and went into construction. I am a well paid super, but my hobby is still the cars. If I had it to do over, I would have stayed as a mech, as the money is the same, but without the superintendent pressure.
I have been there, the doubts- stick with it, you have too much time invested; change career later if you want.
You can, if you want, but you still have proof that you can do the long haul, if necessary.
from a 57 year old man.

[Jens69BB]

I will give all these different opinions serious thought for a few days.  As of tonight, I'm thinking if I can make it happen financially, I will go.  Assuming they let me in, of course. 

[Jim_Lusk]

Jenny, It's not a bad idea. Here's what I would caution you to do, look at all options including an Industrial Technology from a Cal State campus. It does carry more weight than a "tech school" diploma, which is what I have in electronics.

[pirate]

So.... I think I can relate to your stituation.  As a graduate of Wyo Tech, I can tell you that it was not much fun.  Educational, yes, but not fun.  I got an opportunity to work on some pretty amazing things, and fine tune some skills I already had.  It is hard work, and very strict.  I have up a philosophy degree in 2000 to go "work on hot rods".  I have regretted most of it since.  In fact, here I am eight years later and getting ready to go back to college to finish my degree.  This time though I have two mortgages, a truck payment, and of course all the bills that come with life.  I do use my eduaction for side work.  That has been a real plus.  I dont regret going as much as I do not getting my degree first.  Youre already part done with a degree.  In my humble opinion, I'd finish the degree, and then go to Wyo Tech.  I now work for and oil company, and one thing I have found to be true in the real world is that having a degree is more important that what the degree is in.  Like you said, you could apply a mechanical engineering degree to most any mechanical career.  Not only that, Getting in to Wyo Tech will be a cinch with a Mech. Eng. degree.  Also with a combination of the two degrees, you could get a job at any hotrod shop in the country.  Guaranteed!

All just my humble opinion tho
Good Luck
Jon

[68 HEMI GTS]

GET YOUR BS degree. I built racing engines for a living up till a few years ago, i loved it to death!! the sad reality of it is the money is not there unless you own your own buisness. 3 years ago i made the jump to a profitable occupation, i don't get to work with hotrods everyday, but my dart is out of the garage and together for a change because i have the money to play with it. if you still want to go to wyo tech after you finish college go for it, but once you take a break its hard to find time to finish, i didn't finish my BS degree because i was planning on being a rock star, well that didn't work out so now at 30 i gotta finish something i should have made time for in the first place.  Oh, and your never Guaranteed a job at a hot rod shop, most places are very picky and like to train you the way they do things, i'll always hired people with experiance over somebody with a piece of paper that says they can machine an engine.

[grudd440]

Ever since high school I wanted to work on cars, so why not do it as a living? I joined a 2 year automotive program at my local college, where they would train me for 2 years and then set me up with a job at a dealership. I graduated and right away I didnt like this career. #1, tools are expensive, I was stressed out. I worked at 2 dealerships and 2 independent shops before realizing that it didnt pay what they said it would, and most of the time the shop wasnt busy, so there was layoffs and not many hours if u are flat rate. The first thing everyone told me when I started was that they wished they had done something different. U know I have seen a lot of people that came from wyotec start out just changing oil and are still doing that. I now work for the school district driving bobcats and other equipment which pays way more than the shops. Im sorry to ramble on, but I was exited to join a program, but imho it was b.s.

[440WIP]

"Life is not a dress rehearshal".......... Don't be afraid to pick a path, and if it's wrong, don't hesitate to change. After my wife and I got married we were asked many times when we were going to have children, and we always said "when we can afford them"......... Well, the fact of the matter is, if you wait until you can afford them you will never have kids.......just ask any parent.....!!!!!
Same thing here, if you want to go to this school, do not let money be the deciding factor. There is always a way........it just comes down to choices. However, having said the above, a degree in Engineering would have a tendancy to open a few additional doors in the future.......good luck either way.
Daryl

[grudd440]

Im still taking classes at the college. Just in case a job comes up that I might want. How far from wyotec do u live? I Know u r close to me cause I saw u at the track.

[flyboy01]

I say do what you love, not what everyone else expects you to do. I spent 15 years of my life doing something I hated. I cant get that back now.

[71dusterjon]

what do you really want to do? I'm going to asu right now to try to become a mechanical engineer and always thought about going to tech school to get a degree. Since I want to work for ferrari, i decided i might as well learn engineering to get me an idea of what might my future be. Only way i can even get into ferrari is through the guy i work for since he has his own shop for ferraris and worked for them for 20 yrs. I've been with him for the past 2 yrs and everyday i wish i was just a little bit older so i could work on cars everyday instead of study. I guess it all comes down to what you want to do and who know you in the end.

[moparteacher]

Jen, Wyotech is a fine school with great teachers and a good program, but expensive. It's a "for profit school". This means it's a business with shareholders and a profit margin.

You must realize your parents, and neighbors, have already paid for most of your secondary education with the property taxes they have paid over the years. Much of that money goes back into the community via the community colleges and universities. Wyotech gets none of that money so you have to pay all of that over again when you attend a for profit school.

Wyotech is $18,500+. College of Southern Nevada AS degree is about $5200. And it's pay as you go with day and evening class, part-time or full time to fit your schedule. $5200 is about 1/4 of what it actually cost to put you through school; the rest has already been paid via taxes from homes owners and other taxes.

I don't know what it cost in California, but it's probably not much more. Lord knows the taxes are higher.

Wyotech, UTI, ATI, AAI, etc don't have a monopoly on automotive education. Many community colleges have as good or better programs with millions worth in cars, equipment, and facilities. In fact, most manufacturers donate cars and equipment to community colleges regularly. We have over 40 cars in our training fleet that arrived new from Ford, Chrysler, Jeep, GMC, Chevrolet, Jeep, Infiniti, Honda etc. All of them are less than 10 years old and most less than 5 years. We have over a million dollars worth of tools for student use. This includes about 30 scan tools for everything.

All of our Instructors are ASE master certified and most have an L1 or more. Two of them are GM World Class certified. We have a Ford internship program. A GM internship program, and an AC-Delco independent internship program along with an internship program with the State of Nevada for state vehicle maintenance and repair.

We are dual NATEF certified. National Automotive Technical Education Foundation. That's the part of the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) that certifies training programs.

Community colleges are federally accredited. Not all trade schools are. This means community colleges can receive grant and financial aid money. Most colleges offer classes that will transfer to a four year school for a BS degree. Most trade school degrees don't transfer to anything.

If you think you can't get into Wyotech, think again. At nearly 20k they'll bend over backwards to find you a bank loan to pay their tuition fees. You'll get in. Have you ever been turned away from shopping at the mall?

I'm not trying to sell you on attending CSN. The out-of-state tuition would be stiff. What I am recommending is that you look for community college in your area that has an automotive program. It'll save ya 15K and you don't have to commit to anything.

Try these websites for more info.
http://www.khake.com/page12.html
http://www.calautoteachers.com/