Still thinking about going back to school and I decided to check out Sequioa Technical Institute in Fremont. I went in today for a tour and talked to this sales chick who was actually very friendly, a little to friendly. She talked about ciriculum, pricing, and gave me a tour of the place. It seemed like the same certifications and degrees (minus the BMW program) could be had at a community college and for a helluva lot less. Theirs $26,000 vs. communities $11 per unit X 40.

Has anyone gotten an education from here? Thoughts? Opinions?

 

I thinkn wrxdude went to Sequoia. PM him, nice guy!

 

holy crap! 26K?? I had no idea

 

That's the price for the 18 month program which includes all 7 ASE cetificates and manager training. It's $11,000 for the 7 month program which will probably get you a job at Pep Boys.

 

That's actually a pretty good deal. A skilled mechanic can bring in the dough...especially if they have the business sense to start their own shop. $26k to set yourself up with a solid career is chump change.

 

True, but $26,000 is alot of money when you're already in debt $50,000, and don't have a steady income.

I would have to agree tho...the education should be able to pay itself off in the long run.

 

True dat my brother. $50k of student loans? Yowzah!

I think even in the short term it's a good move, there are always cars, and that means there are always broken cars. Good luck!

 

Another option you might look at is WyoTech. They JUST (as in, this month) opened up their new campus in Sacramento. A couple of friends of mine are in the first class there.....if you want me to put you in touch with them, let me know via PM or e-mail how they should contact you (i.e. YOUR phone or e-mail).

 

I appreciate the lead, but honestly I don't wanna waste their time if the cost is anything like Sequioa's.

 

im currently in my 2nd phase at sequoia. its a great school.. for your ASE's you have to have 2 years experience in the industry and pass a test for each subject area. i think you get 1 year experience as student im not sure though.. they have excellent financial aid there you should talk to them too.. where abouts do you live? if you end up goin i need a carpool!!! :banana:

 

i have talked to the sales people there and done the tour... it really seems like a good deal if you think about it. $26k and you have yourself a career for life... i would like to open a shop some day just like my dad but i cant bring myself to move outta santa cruz right now, and that would be a sucktastic commute

 

The rep told me that the schooling would be considered as 1 year work experience towards the 2 years needed to become a master technician. Not bad at all.......but do you think that the same training could be had at a community college?

 

One of my friends at WyoTech went thru the DeAnza Auto Tech program already. He can answer that one as a pretty emphatic "NO".

Think of it as going to Harvard vs going to the local community college. While both are educational experiences, the "depth" of learning is gonna be a lot more at the specialized school. Employers will pay more (even right out of school) for that extra depth of learning. You'll make up that cost of schooling in 1-2 YEARS afterwards via the higher salary....and your career is presumably gonna be a lot longer than 1-2 years . And financial aid is available, as well as part-time jobs thru the school.

FWIW, if I remember right the Wyotech program is about $18K for the 18 month program, and that includes dormitory space if you decide to live there (as in, they'll credit you some of that back if you live elsewhere).

Take it for what it's worth, but if I were seriously looking into this as a career I'd only look at places like WyoTech or Sequoia.

 

I'm a student there, about to start my fourth phase. I'm only paying around 22k, but I'm still on the fence as to whether or not to take the extra three month program. Just to clear some things up, they do not promise you your ASE's. You still have to apply and test for them. You also have to have a the experience. When you finish your 10 phases (each one is 6 weeks, 4 hours a day. Or you can do 8 hours a day and do two phases at once) you will have credit for one year. You will still need one year of in the field experiance. Once your finished you can get your Associates Degree in Automotive Buisness (Service writers, shop foremans, and shop owners), or Automotive Diagnosis (a smarter tech). That costs and extra 4k. I fully intend to attend the BMW program and be a high payed Bimmer Tech. In order to qualify you need to have a 90% grade averege for the 10 phases (not hard to do), less the 24 hours missed for the whole 10 phases, pass a written test, and a sit down interview with both the instructer for the program and some BMW Human resources guy. I've done the local community college program at Los Medanos College, and I have a friend who's doing it now. I personally belive the quality of instructors and the program itself is better at Sequoia. There's also the option of going to the Skip Barber Racing School for traingn and/or employment when your done. This is a good choice for people wanting to move on to pro racing teams. Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions. The recruiters are cool, but there a bit biased, and maybe a student can give you a better idea of what the schools really like.

EDIT: Spelling

 

I took a look at the WyoTech website and emailed one of their reps. They emailed me back saying that an AA could be done in 12 months via 8 hrs a day 5 days a week. The cost would be around 20K. They also have some concentration courses that Sequoia didn't have......like hi-performance engines & chassis fabrication, and street rod & custom. How sweet would it be to graduate with a degree in one of those areas!

BTW a friend of a friend recently graduated from Sequoia and went through their BMW training. Before he graduated he was given a job at a local BMW dealer. But I heard that he had to work his a$$ off to get into the program and he is working his a$$ off at BMW now.....and yes he is getting paid handsomely for what he does.