Uti

[VolvoTD]

I figured i could post it here cause it has to do with machincs. But anyway, I am thinking of taking the Volvo Safe program at UTI and was wonderring if anyone here has takin it or heard good/bad things about it, just want some info to see if its worth my time/money. Thanks!

http://www.uticorp.com/go/schools/uti/manufacturer/

Thought i would add the URL just for those who dont know what UTI is.

[the underlørd]

Talk to brickster151 aka Pat..

[Brickster151]

Alright, first off are you already going to UTI? Cause you need to go thru UTI's automotive program before you can get into SAFE [you have to have good grades/attendence to be accepted], not 100% if you're aware of that from the sound of it. UTI is expensive these days [getting close to $30k] but if you don't screw around like half the jackoffs there you'll actually learn something and your education might goto use someday.

I went thru UTI's automotive program as well as a elective program called Ford FACT. I will say, both of those are good programs, especially Ford, if you plan on becoming a tech. I was accepeted into Volvo SAFE and I was really looking forward to it a few months before I graduated the main automotive program and Ford.

10 weeks into the Volvo program, I left. I worked at a Volvo dealership before, and all of the techs there told me not to go into the program. I should have listened because that 10 weeks in the Volvo program was a waste now that I look at it.

The teachers in SAFE [at least at the Phoenix campus, unsure of the Illinois campus] talked out of their arses alot. Going into the program with prior knowledge of these cars really showed me that, cause they would make ridiculous claims on stuff most anyone who has worked on these cars would know. It seemed to me like the teachers I worked with most of the time were experianced GM techs who had a year or two of actual Volvo experiance. They'd always refer to GM's when teaching us about Volvos and that ticked me off.

Another thing I did'nt like was the fact that we did'nt really get all that much hand's-on-teaching. They'd throw you out in the lab and expect you to be able to do everything correctly because they were showing it to you on a screen in the classroom the day before. They also seem to push students into learning how to do things faster than to do things correctly.

The thing about going thru SAFE is that you have to agree that you will work anywhere in the country where they want you to, and that dealership has to pay $8500 for your tuition [you do not have to pay a dime to Volvo SAFE, you just have to get accepted into it]. A good number of dealers do participate in the SAFE program, and many do not. Alot of students go on out of the program to do very well, and some end up becoming flat rate whores and screwing up jobs, costing the dealerships money and costing those guys a job. That said, SAFE has kind of got a reputation with alot of dealerships for being really hit or miss.

I think if you want to become a tech, the best way to do it would be to find community college that offers a good automotive program. Alot of them do, and I think that would have been the route I had gone if I had known about it at the time. If not, I'd say if you are willing to pony up big $$$ to goto an automotive school, try UTI or another of the larger schools - Just make something of it and don't be like most of the kids who go there and not care about it. Whichever one you choose, get some shop experiance while your at it. That is the most valuable key to helping you get a good job in the future.

I really hope that helps, and good luck!