What's your opinion on the School of Automotive Machinists?

[EdwardK]

I'm thinking about going to SAM sometime after I get laid off from my current job. I cannot find anything bad on this school.

 

I've looked up UTI, UNOH, and several of the local colleges here with similar courses and I can pull up all kinds of dirt on them.

 

They brag about a ninety-something job placement rate for students and I've asked around and that IS into the motorsports industry, but it'll probably be something as small as a grassroots garage.

 

Anyway, any input you guys can get me is great. I have a backup plan in case this doesn't work out, I'd just rather not splice copper for the rest of my life.

 

-Edward K. A.

[cdub42]

i would encourage you to look into being an aircraft mechanic. its been a very lucrative profession for me

[Draker]

Go to aircraft or diesel mechanic school. Absolutely no money in being a automotive tech. I did it.. and quit it. There could be money in being a machinist though..

[HRH]

Find the area you want to work/live in, check the want ads for the next two weeks, see what jobs are out there.  That's a start.  I see more opportunities in diesel or aircraft.  Machining, not so much, but you're also in an area where that's probably more likely.  Out west there's not a whole lot of jobs for that.

[datzenmike]

What you want is a field where you like the work and there are not a lot of others doing the same. I know... all the good ones are taken, right?  The last thing you need is to be somewhere where you get part time and the boss hires two more workers and you have to hustle to get the hours. I see more and more of this.

[HRH]

^ Very true, everyone's out to make a buck.  We only hire part time drivers anymore in my corporate NAPA so they can get away with not offering company sponsored benefits.  I know there's something with Affordable Care in there, but I'm pretty sure the company pays much less for part time.  I probably should know the exact figures, but yeah, do something that will benefit you in the long run as well as the short run.

[cdub42]

if u go aircraft, it opens a lot of doors in other mechanic'n trades. aircraft mechs are seen as the pinnacle of the mech trades. u can go anywhere after that, not that you would want to. almost every airport big or small has at least one aircraft mech. its the nature of the game. only licensed mechs are allowed to lay a hand on an aircraft. you would be surprised how much mech time every aircraft gets a year to stay safe and keep its airworthy status. 

[EdwardK]

What you want is a field where you like the work and there are not a lot of others doing the same. I know... all the good ones are taken, right?  The last thing you need is to be somewhere where you get part time and the boss hires two more workers and you have to hustle to get the hours. I see more and more of this.

 

Yep, definitely don't want something like that to happen.

 

 

Find the area you want to work/live in, check the want ads for the next two weeks, see what jobs are out there.  That's a start.  I see more opportunities in diesel or aircraft.  Machining, not so much, but you're also in an area where that's probably more likely.  Out west there's not a whole lot of jobs for that.

 

Actually there are no automotive machinist jobs around here, mainly because there's only one real automotive machinist within a 120 mile radius, aand he's not the greatest... So as far as making money *here* I'd have to open my own shop. (which wouldn't be bad, but I lack the initial investment for such a thing.)

 

I'll go wherever the work is, just so long as the cost of living doesn't cancel out the wages yah know?

 

I'm seriously considering both of those options as well. Less sure about how to get into either of those fields though.

 

Go to aircraft or diesel mechanic school. Absolutely no money in being a automotive tech. I did it.. and quit it. There could be money in being a machinist though..

 

I wouldn't want to be a tech. What I want is to specialize in blueprinting engines for a Le Mans or F1 team or something of that ilk. Rather far-fetched no? But, no one has ever achieved a dream by not chasing it. I'd like to be sitting around 50+ years down the road and say I tried, rather than wondering what if.

 

As I said before though, aircraft and diesel mechanic are both good options, and I'm definitely including these in my possibilities.

[EdwardK]

if u go aircraft, it opens a lot of doors in other mechanic'n trades. aircraft mechs are seen as the pinnacle of the mech trades. u can go anywhere after that, not that you would want to. almost every airport big or small has at least one aircraft mech. its the nature of the game. only licensed mechs are allowed to lay a hand on an aircraft. you would be surprised how much mech time every aircraft gets a year to stay safe and keep its airworthy status. 

 

Actually it wouldn't surprise me at all. If an engine fails in an aircraft you kinda fall out of the sky. (Maybe you can glide depending upon the craft.) Versus an automobile you just coast over to the side of the road. lol

 

But yeah, considering that option as well.

[cdub42]

i went aircraft then specialized in experimental class composite aircraft. I've built some really cool and far fetched shit. prototype aircraft, race planes, show planes, and a spaceship... really. 

[cdub42]

there is a down side tho..after you have aerospace tolerance and zero room for error beaten into your head, and it becomes part of who you are... working on cars becomes frustrating. for me, its like torture to do things "good enough" instead of perfect, like one often has to do working on cars. 

[dr.feltersnatch]

There could be money in being a machinist though..

 

 i am an aerospace machinist and you would be suprised.the pay isnt as good as people think. sure i make enough to pay my bills but i certainly am not getting rich.

 

 

 

there is a down side tho..after you have aerospace tolerance and zero room for error beaten into your head, and it becomes part of who you are... working on cars becomes frustrating. for me, its like torture to do things "good enough" instead of perfect, like one often has to do working on cars.

agreed. most of my job is looking for problems and defects. if there is a problem i have to fix it and try to make the most perfect part possible. you really get set in that mind set and start looking for problems everywhere. and if you look for problems you will find them. its really hard for me to step back and see the forest not just trees. and with datsuns you really need to focus on the big picture, not this little dent and that little bit of rust etc. some of my parts we have to hold +-.0002 thats so tight the heat of your hand holding it can effect your part. after years of that when i see some of the shit work they did at the factory it is mindblowing.

[cdub42]

Lol. Exactly. I see my Z car as little rust spots, body panes that don't have a perfectly consistent gap, a radio shaped hole in the dash, a clutch that slips at 5k rpm when I punch it, and a Datsun logo on my shift knob that is slightly off parallel to the cars centerline. Everyone else sees a really clean and nice 240. Drives me crazy, but I still love it

[AlliedPerformance]

There is a steadily declining demand for engine machine work. Modern auto repair has become strictly remove and replace. If a motor spins a bearing, you throw it in the trash and get a new pre-assembled shortblock. Valves leak? Throw the heads in the scrap bin and install new factory built heads.  I'm sure most of their graduates are involved in motorsport because that is the only area where there is a demand for an automotive machinist. That's a relatively small market. How many companies actually hire automotive machinists? The only automotive machinists I know that are worth a damn are self-employed and the ones that stay busy are certainly perfectionists. Yes, they build 98% race engines. Automotive machine work requires great attention to detail, so does anything if you actually want to be good at it I think. If thats your dream, go for it and make it reality! Just don't be brainwashed by the tech schools telling you about "Highly lucrative" career opportunities like you're going to walk out their doors and into Roush-Yates making $70k a year. I've just seen way too many "Fabricators" from WyoTech and "Technicians" from UTI get a harsh wake up call when their dreams are crushed by the reality of the motorsport/auto industry. For better or worse, your skill and determination far outweigh your diploma.

[Z-train]

Auto wrenches are in debt to the Snap-on guy from day one(expect to have 30K + in your tool box.).And it never stops. Most wrenches my age are broken-both body and mind.

I see those adds for the tech schools with the Ford GT in the foreground and the first thing that comes to minds is BULLSHIT.

[EricJB]

there is a down side tho..after you have aerospace tolerance and zero room for error beaten into your head, and it becomes part of who you are... working on cars becomes frustrating. for me, its like torture to do things "good enough" instead of perfect, like one often has to do working on cars. 

 

You aint kidding. I cant even hang a picture up because it's always .020 crooked one way or the other. You get so picky, nothing gets done.

 

I have done automotive machining, (still do at home on my own shit) and never made the $$. Switched to production and make enough to breath easy and have fun.

Production machining is BOOOORRIING!!! though.  If I could make 60k doing cylinder heads, I might be lured back. And maybe that's doable these days. It wasn't when I was doing it.

[cdub42]

Lol! I use a digital protractor with a .xx resolution.

 

X2 on nothing getting done cause it has to be perfect. If it's not it keeps me up at night

[Guest Rick-rat]

Might be a good idea to get into aircraft machinist trade. It will come in pretty handy when Boeing moves to S C, where they can find people that want to work without the demands put on them here, by the unions

[Longtooth]

I see a lot of guys quit the profession after 5 years. I make the same amount of $$ now at 44 as when I did when I was 25.

 

From the techs that I have met from lets say major vs. a community college with a automotive program. Every tech from a major came into the field not really ready while the community college seemed to get them more ready.

[cdub42]

or get your A&P license and work wherever there are airplanes