UTI automotive school - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Oracle12345 · #1 02-17-2009, 11:45 AM

has anyone applied to the custom training group (http://www.isctg.com)?

I am currently applying to the mercedes program and Im on the last step talking to the program manager and man is the guy being a big PIA. Questioning whether the documents I sent actually sent were mine, being quite difficult to deal with. He wont even consider me if I dont give him attendance record if they dont have my name on it.

On second thought I think this guy is doing it on purpose and playing games with me to see If I can deal with the pressure of dealing with fussy mercedes customers and to see If i have a thick skin. The documents that were sent to him were all good.

What do you guys think?

aklim · #2 02-17-2009, 12:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oracle12345

On second thought I think this guy is doing it on purpose and playing games with me to see If I can deal with the pressure of dealing with fussy mercedes customers and to see If i have a thick skin.

What do you guys think?

I doubt it. I think he knows the economy is not good, you need the job he is waving in front of you and he now gets to exercise his power. You will respect his "authorata". Now he gets a woody and doesn't need the brown pill for the wife.

Maybe you need to have your school send him the documents directly

Oracle12345 · #3 02-17-2009, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aklim

I doubt it. I think he knows the economy is not good, you need the job he is waving in front of you and he now gets to exercise his power. You will respect his "authorata". Now he gets a woody and doesn't need the brown pill for the wife.

Maybe you need to have your school send him the documents directly

Think youre right. Whenever ive called him(twice) he sounds like just you described there. I can choose alternate programs so well see what happens(considering VW,AUDI, VOLVO). The guy seems too uptight and serious. Youve got to be discplined but at the same got to have fun and be somewhat loose while working on cars. It quites boring working on cars all day but its valuable skill to have. The present economy dont help much though.

I called my old tech school and they reviewed the documents they sent and they said my name was on all them and were correct.

aklim · #4 02-17-2009, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oracle12345

Think youre right. Whenever ive called him(twice) he sounds like just you described there. I can choose alternate programs so well see what happens(considering VW,AUDI, VOLVO).

The guy seems too uptight and serious. Youve got to be discplined but at the same got to have fun and be somewhat loose while working on cars. It quites boring working on cars all day but its valuable skill to have. The present economy dont help much though..

Well, I'd advise you to choose as many as you can. That way you can pick the least distasteful of the lot.

There is a difference between uptight and serious vs "I'm a jerk to you because I can be.".

tankdriver · #5 02-17-2009, 06:11 PM

I looked into attending UTI since I'm ready for a career change and like wrenching on cars.

IIRC, you have to attend UTI's regular school (at $30K for the year) before you can get into their manufacturer programs. Not as a requirement, but in a pay to play kind of way.
I did a lot of research on these schools (UTI & Wyotech mainly), including corresponding with former instructors. They are pretty shady places. You are likely getting harassed/annoyed into going away. The spots in those training programs are guarded for students of the regular tech school because it is an incentive to sign up to the outrageously priced regular school. Furthermore, the result after taking said school is you end up being an entry level lube guy and floor sweeper. If you've already gone to a tech school, you can get that job without the specialty classes. Dealerships will often send you to specialty classes anyway if you express interest and they are looking to train a new tech.I have a friend who was a service manager at a VW dealer who was interested in hiring me for an entry level job and told me I'd be doing at least 2 3day specialty classes by VW every year. Unfortunately, the job slipped from my fingers when the dealership went under after the owner comitted suicide.

Point is, try and get a job at a MB dealer at the level you would be at after UTI anyway. Show your ability and interest and you have a good chance of getting paid training instead of the other way around.

Nate · #6 02-17-2009, 07:23 PM

Guy I worked with graduated from UTI. Had a nice big snap on box full of really nice tools.

Total moron. Made 8 bux an hour changing oil, tires, and brakes. Same as me. I've never shown any credentials to my employer, but I have done basic auto, vocational auto, and any other tech class I could get my paws on...

He got fired. He now works at a parts store...

Well worth the 30k a year, I'm sure

~Nate

kmaysob · #7 02-17-2009, 10:22 PM

itsa rip off. like nate and tankdriver said, most end up changing oil anyways.i looked at going when i was 16. decided not to and instead got into heavy equipment repair. i worked with a guy at the previous equipment company that attended uti. he was offered a job at toyota as a tech starting at 8 dollars an hour. so in other words its not worth it.

Oracle12345 · #8 02-18-2009, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kmaysob

itsa rip off. like nate and tankdriver said, most end up changing oil anyways.i looked at going when i was 16. decided not to and instead got into heavy equipment repair. i worked with a guy at the previous equipment company that attended uti. he was offered a job at toyota as a tech starting at 8 dollars an hour. so in other words its not worth it.

The more I deal with these people the more get that feeling it just wont work out.

Mistress · #9 02-18-2009, 11:15 AM

Before you sign up talk to a Mercedes mechanic and find out where they received their training and go from there.

waybomb · #10 02-18-2009, 01:54 PM

I had a thread here a couple of years ago. My kid was convinced by the slick salespeople that he went to UTI or he would end up a homelss person living in a cardboard box.

I did my own research, going so far as to call dealers around the country. Seriously, UTI and WT are full of crap.

tankdriver · #11 02-18-2009, 05:59 PM

My first clue when I looked into it was that they didn't have tution posted, and when I e-mailed them, they wouldn't tell me. He just kept trying to get my phone number so he could call me. It went downhill fast from there.

aklim · #12 02-18-2009, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tankdriver

My first clue when I looked into it was that they didn't have tution posted, and when I e-mailed them, they wouldn't tell me. He just kept trying to get my phone number so he could call me. It went downhill fast from there.

Should have told him 1-900-dropded.

TheDon · #13 02-18-2009, 06:01 PM

I took looked at UTI and a few of my friends got sucked into going and they said we(myself and friends) already knew most if not all of the stuff they covered since we wrenched on just about every car each of us owned. One of my friends that went is a service tech for Honda and the other works for the power company working on their vehicles.

I wanted to go for mercedes but after finding out those hoops I said forget it

TylerH860 · #14 02-18-2009, 08:27 PM

I know someone from my graduating class that got into the BMW Tech training program. He started as a lot boy, parts delivery, and cleaner, hanging around the service area as much as he could, getting chummy with the techs, helping out when he could. After a few years of hard work, initiative, and his ambitions well known they moved him up.

TylerH860 · #15 02-18-2009, 08:36 PM

This is the only automotive school I know of that brings decent jobs

http://www.mcpherson.edu/technology/majors.asp

Right in my back yard, its the premier place to learn how to do concourse restorations. One of the head guys at the Mercedes classic center is a graduate from there, and I doubt he's even 30 years old.

If you're going to spend 30k, and want the best, this is the place to go. Jay Leno and Craig Jackson (of Barrett Jackson) give away Scholarships there, IIRC.

Take a look at the alumni, internships, and the program. I've toured it before; it really is world class.