School Experience

The best thing I could have done was go to Vo-tech in high school. They taught me so much not just about cars, but also about how to handle the real world.  One thing they do that I think is really awesome, is they start with the very basics.  The first thing I did when I started tech was learn how to wash a car!  It sounds so simple like almost pointless that they would be wasting their time, but it proved to be worth it.  Another thing that they do is when you are on different tasks throughout school they call them "competencies", and you have a core task list that you have to complete before you can start on more in-depth things like engine rebuilding and Viper certification.  So lets say I am working on competency 7-1 which is something like identifying the different parts of an engine.  They give you 20 hours to complete this task so when you get to tech in the morning you would get changed and then get out your packet for 7-1 and on the front page you actually punch a clock in on that task.  Then at the end of the day you would punch off of that job and you would have 2 and a half hours on that job.  Now if you get that task done in 10 hours you still get 20 hours credit, but if you take 30 hours to get it done you only get credit for 20.  So it is just like if you would work at a flat rate repair shop or dealership, you get 4 hours to do a remove and replace a transmission and you get it done in 1 hour you just got paid for 4, but if you took 6 hours you only got paid for 4.  I really liked that they incorporate the way it works in the real world to you education.  And if we had to clean the shop or something we would punch on our time documentation sheet and have the teacher sign it so we would get credit.  If you are in junior high or highschool and they offer automotive technology at a votech near you I would jump on it.  These schools like UTI and ATC are a joke you learn more at a votech while your still in school and its free than you do at these places and they charge you like 35,000 dollars! RIP OFF! If you have any other questions about my schooling or anything else feel free to comment. I will also be posting pictures of my 89 Camaro soon. I'll post about that later :)