Arizona Automotive Institute (Phoenix, Glendale, Tempe: apartment, rental, how much)

[Toolguyb]

My son will be going to this school in the fall. Does anyone have any feedback on the quality and also are there any automotive mechanics out there who like or dislike what they do. Would you recommend getting into the automotive repair business and making a long term career out of it??

[rambrush]

Originally Posted by Toolguyb

My son will be going to this school in the fall. Does anyone have any feedback on the quality and also are there any automotive mechanics out there who like or dislike what they do. Would you recommend getting into the automotive repair business and making a long term career out of it??

I was recruited by them way back in 75 at a vo tech school. I signed up and moved from Washington to Arizona having no idea what I was getting into.
I lived in a apartment several miles from the facility and the managers had it set up so most who went there lived in there complex.
It was pretty good training and we did get to do a lot of hands on. We also had drag racing competitions between other schools in the Phoenix area.
I had a clause in my contract so I could return at any time for updates and refresher training.
Being fresh out of high school it was hard for most of us to stay focused and be a dedicated student.
I ended up floating around from garage to garage working weird hours while attending.
I ended up eventually with a ASE master certification though.
So yes its good but sometimes it may be better to get into a dealership apprenticship program where they pay you to attend there dedicated training schools. Then you can work flat rate and make pretty good money.
My take though was I wanted a steady income and knew how much was coming in weekly.
After several years I decided I was burned out and switched to facility maintenance and repair. still working the brain and hands but doing everything from plumbing to electric to painting and drywalling. jack of all trades master of none kinda thing.

In regards to AAI make sure you have the tools listed on the tool list they provide you as if they get a snap on or matco kinda of truck in then you have to pay premium for the tools.
Think Craftsman
Also those trucks get very addicting and before you know it you are in way over your head in debt.

[enigmadsm]

Personally I would not spend the money on it. I attended UTI (universal technical institute) Basically the same school.

In my personal opinion it was a waste of time as well as a large chunk of change. Believe it or not, but community college auto programs are just as educational with 1/10 of the cost. I would never recommend AAI or UTI to anyone interested in the automotive field.

Also, being that there are 2 large automotive schools in Arizona the wages at dealerships are not the greatest. Other states offer much more competitive pay.

[rambrush]

I should have added that to my post as well.
I did mention the dealership route but failed to discuss the community college route.
Stay close to home explore avenues there

[Toolguyb]

Can you recommend a good community with an automotive program. My family will be living in Gilbert. Thanks.

[rambrush]

Originally Posted by Toolguyb

Can you recommend a good community with an automotive program. My family will be living in Gilbert. Thanks.

I can not endorse this program as I don't know anything about except what it says on the website.
I have attended many hours through through the MCC system at several colleges through the valley and they treat you well.

http://www.mc.maricopa.edu/dept/d58/aut/program.html

[Toolguyb]

Thanks- that website will be a big help. I am assuming you are in the automotive industry. Can you share with me the good, bad and the ugly of it. Hopefully, when you respond back I will show my son your posting and let him make up his own mind about an automotive career.

[enigmadsm]

The good is if you are friends or brown noser for the service writers you can get all the easy jobs that you can make money off of.

Basically, the service writer asigns a job to a tech nd does what they can do give you enough work for the day.
Some jobs are easier than others, some will charge a customer for X hours, but take half of that...Some take the full amount of time.
This can be very beneficial for the paycheck.

The negative, long hours, 6 days a week is standard. Also, work is not steady.

The ugly...In my opinion, being a Heavy Line tech...Its grusome on your body, very messy and no fun.
If he becomes a diagnostic tech its not bad at all...
I would suggest staying out of AZ for the auto industry however.

I'm sure I will think of more. I'll keep you posted.

[Gretchen B]

Originally Posted by Toolguyb

Thanks- that website will be a big help. I am assuming you are in the automotive industry. Can you share with me the good, bad and the ugly of it. Hopefully, when you respond back I will show my son your posting and let him make up his own mind about an automotive career.

My son was looking at going into the automotive thing a few years back. He had looked into UTI, decided it was too expensive, so we started looking into the community colleges. He talked to one of the instructors about their ASE program, etc. I was surprised how intense the class is, and the hours that the kids put in, especially once they start their apprenticeship. One thing the instructor said that changed my son's mind about going into the automotive industry was, "Don't get into this because you love to work on vehicles. That's not what this is about . . . especially if you work for one of the big dealerships you'll be doing the same thing day after day. If you love working on vehicles, just get yourself a project vehicle." Well, that did it for my son. His high school teachers were pushing him to go into the engineering field, but he didn't want a "desk" job, so he got into construction. He's got his specialty. He loves it and makes pretty good money at it, too - better than he probably would have being an auto tech.

[rambrush]

Well where to start, I have covered the spectrum it seems and engmadsm did well as to working flat rate and such.

I worked for several places just doing small engine repair, Lawn mowers chain saw and pumps. That is almost harder than automotive was as there is only the single cylinder to fire off. Multi cylinder engines can limp along if one goes bad.

I then went to work along the path for a rental agency that starts with a U- at there manufacturing plant in Glendale, I beleive they are only running the tech center in Tempe now. That was a great position I mostly did engine and tranny swaps and could get the customer back on the road faster than reloading another truck. Then on the refurbs we jacked the trucks up and gutted them and refreshed top to bottom again. This was much better than most any place I have ever worked.

I beleive another challenging specialized position was when I was doing carburetor repair on imports (older generation with webers and strombergs multi carb units)
These had to be balanced out with air flow to prform properly.
Somewhere along the line I switched to Air conditionig specialtys putting custom hidden ac units in muscle cars that were never designed for them.
So yes specialize to me is the way to go, I also had the patience to trouble shoot electrical problems that most people would have ripped there hair out. Learning to read wiring schematics is a very important thing to learn.
Computers are only as smart as what they are being told to do at any given time. learn input and out puts etc.
So yes if you specialize in Ac and electrical you can generally be assured of staying fairly clean.
I still amaze my wife cause if its a toaster or washing machine etc. I can make it work again. Pretty much if its put together with nuts and bolts I can figure it out.
I build all of my own computers here at the house and design small websites.

And after all that I grew bored and went into Facility Maintenenace and repair with great retirement & benefits.

Enough it sounds like I am tooting my horn but your son needs to be versitale learn customer service skills and figure which trade he wants to be involved in.