What to do for college?
 

I want to open a custom shop or get a job at a custom shop after college. What should I do for college? I was thinking about wyotech, but there is a great school (South Dakota School of Mines and Technology) in my city where I can take mechanical engineering and other stuff. What do you think I should do? I wanna do something with cars for the rest of my life.

Re:What to do for college?
 

m.e. (mech, eng.) is ok. the only problem with it, it is not directed exactly at cars.

it was one of the reasons i started it. i thought it was all about cars, but its not. if you really want to focus on cars, a technical automotive school is more up your alley.

mechanical engineers usually focus on a specific part of an automobile (provided they are working on an automobile). some of them make tire composites and such. and some ---- is just plain out boring.

depending on your age, you can start a college, and you can always change your mind. it is never too late. I know a guy that is 26 and still going to school.

a technical school, in which you should also pursue a business degree if you want to open a shop, would help you out if you want to be the person working on the cars.

m.e.'s usually are the person behind the automobile, like the designer of a certain part of it, or the whole thing in some cases. so, you might get lucky and have a hands on job... or you might be stuck behind a computer.

Re:What to do for college?
 

if you wanna own a shop a business degree will be nice.

Re:What to do for college?
 

check out wyo-tech. they have great programs. im schedualed to go there oct '05

they have businesss managment programs there you can "add on" or make them part of your program.


www.wyo-tech.com

Re:What to do for college?
 

bachelors in buisness administration, ase mechanic degrees,
whatever else you can think of. to open a shop, you're gonna need some big bucks though. but any education you complete, will be realy rewarding when it comes to pay day.

Re:What to do for college?
 

Just go to a state university and smoke your way through it. State universitys are easy I know because I attend one and Im high right now

Re:What to do for college?
 

Nice. I'm chillin at SRU right now.. man, this place ownz..

Go for the engineering man. Highly impressive on a resume ;)

Re:What to do for college?
 

I would say some business management, motive power technicians course (kinda useless).. take some welding courses at night...there are tons of options but i would say the business aspect is very important though

Re:What to do for college?
 

I'm at RPI right now and pretty much mechanical engineering is a lot more gay then I thought it might be. Its great for some people but I was def. hoping for lot more mechanics and a lot less calculus. Its not horrible, and I know that once I graduate I am pretty much garunteed a great job, but in all honesty if you really want to work on cars then engineering might not be what you want to go to school for. Although I bet most garages would hire a mechanical engineer, if your just gonna be a mechanic anyways then it might not worth spending all that money on a tech degree. If your wondering weather you should go to college at all though, then my answer would def. be yes. Its a great time and no matter what you decide to do it will be of great help.

Re:What to do for college?
 

I am really looking into Wyotech, I am interested in Automotive Technology, Chassis Fabrication/High Performance Engines, and Collision/Refinishing Technology. Would it be smart to take a business class at a different college before I try to take these classes? Or is there a business class I can take there?

Re:What to do for college?
 

im going for street rod fab/auto collision refinishing.

my friends are going for the automotive mechaic/business management coarse. 9 months, you cant go wrong. in and out.

my advice, go to wyoming with the intenet on getting out of school and working for someone else. then start doing side jobs, helping kids with a new paint job, helping family memebers...over time you will have outside people asking for ----, and your business could start like that.
maybe buy a project car, rebuild it and sell it to get some money to upgrade your own garage and go from there.

im wanting to do the same thing ^^^^^^ hoping to get into racecar painting. the hometown track thing in my area is huge, so i dont think it would be to hard to get things going. just get a sponser spot at the track, hang a banner, and over time i hope to build a nice clientel base and do it full time. -this will probably take me about 5-10 years to get goign though...)

my $.02

Re:What to do for college?
 

What campus are you signed up at?

Re:What to do for college?
 

wyoming

there is
me going
2 of my buddies (as mentiond above)
my brother and his buddy

all starting in oct 05. oct 3rd to be exact.

Re:What to do for college?
 

Yeah that's the one I was looking at, I am in South Dakota so it's not to far from here. I only 11th grade, but I am trying to get ahead of the game. So when Im done with highschool I will be ready for college. If you signed up a year early I may sign up next year. By the way how old are you?

Re:What to do for college?
 

im 22. been in the MC for 4 years, and they let you sign up 1 year in advance.

from what the lady told me when i called, there were only like 12 seats left when i signed up.

just call them up and ask for a rep to come out and talk to you.

Re:What to do for college?
 

They'll just come to my house? What's it going to cost you?

Re:What to do for college?
 

yeah, they will come to your house, or meet you wherever you want. i accually met the guy at a subway and signed my papers there.


and its costing me 22K without housing.
all books and tools provided. so no book fees. (well you have to put a deposit on them, but when you return the ----, you get the deposit back)

Re:What to do for college?
 

Consider becoming a CNC machinist if you're good at drafting. You know all those custom wheels they have on thos biker builiding shows, that could be YOU making them.

Also, it is a broad enough field that you can find work outside of the automotive field. It is very desirable to keep yourself flexible.

What if 15 years from now, all body panels are plactic and replacable, and all cars are hybrids, that can't be modified. Then having pigeon-holed yourself into automotive stuff may not be good.

I'm just saying keep yourself diversified so you can be flexible with job market trends.

-PHiZ