UTI is a world-class technical school that offers numerous opportunities for anyone who wants to…read moremake a prosperous career out of working with their hands. Their curriculum is 100% geared towards learning a trade, as they offer certificates in Auto, CNC Machining, Collision Repair, Diesel, Marine, Motorcycle, and Welding at their campuses all over the United States. While it's obviously not a school that fits everyone's needs, it's an option for people who aren't interested in attending a community college or a four year university as not everyone wants to take World History, Art, and Psychology classes.
As a Technical Recruiter for a commercial truck dealership group out of Illinois and Missouri, we are always looking for Diesel Techs. When I say "always", I mean my company is at UTI recruiting (for various events) roughly 10-12 times a year. Approximately 27% of our techs are UTI grads - and we have a few hundred techs. UTI is the #1 school that we hire techs from. Do you think we would spend so much time recruiting out of UTI if they didn't produce a quality entry level technician? :)
When it's all said and done you get out of life what you put into it. Junk in, junk out. Quality in, quality out. I recommend making a decision on what you want to do and where you want to go to school based on the time you've spent looking into each school. I invite you to do your own research. Ask people you know who have graduated from schools you're looking at what their experience is like. Visit at least four or five schools (technical schools, community colleges, four-year universities, etc. - whatever interests you) and come with a list of prepared questions. Get all of your questions answered at every school and see how the teachers, admission reps, career services personnel, and administration respond.
Check out this website to compare schools (apples to apples):
* https://collegescorecard.ed.gov
Here, you can learn the following about each school:
* Average annual cost
* Graduation rate
* Salary after attending
* % of students receiving Federal loans
* Typical total debt after graduation
* Graduation rate
* Student body information/numbers
While UTI has thirteen (soon to be fourteen) campuses nationwide, you will only find their Arizona campus (HQ) on collegescorecard.ed.gov's website. Why? I'm not sure.
The bottom line is while UTI is a great option, it's not the only one, and it's not going to be a perfect fit for every single person. But they've done a great job preparing people to be entry level techs in a wide variety of industries. Over the past 50 years, they've graduated over 200,000 students! They're constantly looking to improve their student experience, curriculum, training, products, advertising, relationships within the community, graduation and placement rates, social media presence, and more! If you haven't taken a tour yet you're missing out. I know you'll be impressed. And if it's not for you, at least you did your due diligence, right?
Nick Stafford
Technical Recruiter
CIT Trucks
e: nstafford@cittrucks.com
o: 309.445.8100