Auto Tech Students Explain How a Degree Is Supercharging Their Career

Students and recent graduates from the University of Northwestern Ohio explain how their training helps them pull ahead in the auto tech industry.

First and foremost, what motivated you to pursue a career in auto care?

After high school, I joined the military and was in the U.S. Marine Corps for 7 years, active duty. I was honorably discharged in 2015, and shortly after that I started at UNOH. I worked on diesel trucks while I was in the military, so I wanted to get back into the field and work on both the automotive and diesel technician side.

What advice would you give to prospective students looking to pursue their passion for auto care? What should they be looking for in a potential degree program?

Instructor experience and hands-on classes. You need to get the hands-on experience. The teachers I have at UNOH are so well informed, many of them are master-ASE certified and have decades of experience in the field. They know their job and they work with you. They’re very understanding that this is our first time working with equipment and training aids of this caliber. So I very much like that about UNOH.

What is important to you when choosing a school or degree program?

I wanted to be able to get an actual degree, so being able to say that I will be graduating with an associate’s degree in both diesel technology and automotive technology really opens up a lot of career doors for me moving forward. Employers like to hear that I have a degree, not just a certificate.

First and foremost, what motivated you to pursue a career in auto care?

My dad and I have always been really into cars and fixing them up. I saw an ad for University of Northwestern Ohio (UNOH) in a magazine, so I looked the school up online, scheduled a visit and applied shortly thereafter.

What advice would you give to prospective students looking to pursue their passion for auto care? What should they be looking for in a potential degree program?

For me, the most important aspect about choosing a school for automotive technology was to make sure the school had a hands-on component to the classes. At UNOH, about 70 percent of the time we are working in the different shops, making actual repairs and learning about every piece of equipment in a car or truck.

What is important to you when choosing a school or degree program?

Affordability was important to me when looking at college. I have a brother going to a state school in Indiana and I know what he is paying. I get to do what I love at UNOH and I know I’ll be able to pay it all off in a few years, which is great. Career services was important too. I wanted to know that the school could help me make connections with future employers. This past summer, with help from UNOH, I was able to get an internship with General Motors at the proving grounds up in Michigan and got offered a job. So I was working on the greatest stuff that’s not even out yet up there, and hopefully I’ll be going back after school.

In terms of your professional career, where do you hope to be in five years? 

I’ve learned so much at UNOH. My strength was probably motors coming in. Now I feel comfortable with HVAC, electrical, motors, transmissions, everything. So I feel very well prepared to get a job after graduation. If I’m lucky, I’ll be at the Proving Grounds for GM.

First and foremost, what motivated you to pursue a career in auto care?

I drag race, and I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do for college or a career. A friend told me about UNOH, which offers degrees in things like automotive technology and high performance motorsports, so I looked them up online and was hooked immediately. It allows me to do what I love as a career, which is amazing.

What advice would you give to prospective students looking to pursue their passion for auto care? What should they be looking for in a potential degree program?

UNOH holds their reputation very well. It’s one of the reasons why I decided to come here. Any instructor here is willing to give you any type of advice, and I really needed that one-on-one attention. All of our classes have less than 20 students, so you get a lot of opportunity to ask questions and really learn the material. Plus, the instructors know a lot of people in the industry, so they have connections to get you wherever you want to go.

What is important to you when choosing a school or degree program?

I wanted to know that I could find a job after graduation, and UNOH puts on, at minimum, two big career fairs each year. To have the opportunity to meet with future employers is huge. Some of the top engine builders and machine shops in the country come here to find their next technicians and put on a show to see who has the top engine, so it will be very good.

In terms of your professional career, where do you hope to be in five years? 

I would like to stay in the drag racing industry if possible. But, one thing I would definitely love to do is work on high performance engines, be an engine builder, and also transmissions too.

First and foremost, what motivated you to pursue a career in auto care?

I grew up around cars and when I was looking for colleges, I couldn’t find anything that offered what I wanted. What I wanted to be around were other people who liked working on cars as much as I did. A friend pointed me in the direction of UNOH, and I fell in love after a tour. I could turn my passion for cars into a career which was a perfect fit for me.

What advice would you give to prospective students looking to pursue their passion for auto care? What should they be looking for in a potential degree program?

Look for a program that has a good reputation in the industry and one that can show that their students are getting jobs after graduation. UNOH is known as one of the best automotive technician schools in the country and anywhere from 80 to 90 percent of their graduates have jobs within six months.

What is important to you when choosing a school or degree program?

For me, I knew I wanted to get more than an associate’s degree. At UNOH, I was able to add on the Automotive Technology Supervision Bachelor program. I see it as an extra step to market myself for employment. When you graduate, you are competing for jobs with all these other guys leaving here with diplomas and associates degrees, in the same exact field as I am. So I had to look at what was going to help make me stand out a little farther than anybody else. For me, having that business education and background at the bachelor degree level, and understanding all of the paperwork and what happens just outside of the shop, it makes me feel like I have an extra edge compared to some of the other graduates leaving here. It makes me feel like I’ll have the chance to advance myself further in my career.

In terms of your professional career, where do you hope to be in five years? 

I’ve already got a great job starting off at GM. I’m going to be starting as an automotive engineer in research and development in vehicle dynamics. It’s crazy to think about, but it’s an amazing opportunity and I’m excited for it.