I attended and graduated Wyotech at the Blairsville Campus in September in automotive technology and high performance power trains. I graduated as one of the top of my class with a 4.0 average and outstanding attendance. I was also an eagle tech, was in the student activity comittee, was a tutor for fellow students, and was involved in several other groups while in school. I was also accepted into the national vocational technical honor society.
I applied myself 100% every day and the paper work from the school proves it. Too bad that paper work is not worth anything to anybody in the real world! In the year and a half since I have graduated I have applied to over 25 repair shops and dealerships. Only 2 have ever heard of wyotech! And every one of them has the same thing to say. We are looking for someone with real time experience. The hundreds of hours of lecture and shop time account for nothing apparantly. The only places that were willing to hire me were Walmart and Jiffy Lube which pay about as much as any job you can get without even having a high school diploma.
The school itself had decent tools and equipment, when you actually can get your hands on them, but the vehicles and components you worked on were absolute garbage, due to prior students working on them. High performance lecture was decent but if you do not have your own project with the money to keep you busy you will spend 80% of the time standing around watching people who actually could afford to do things to their own stuff.
Due to the lack of employment oppurtunities I have been performing nothing but mobile repairs, which has just now started to actually become a somewhat profitable career path. But due to the money needed for tools, equipment, and business expenses, my student loans, my credit, and my brother's credit (co-signer), have suffered dearly!
I had no family support financially so I had to take loans out for everything. I originally went up there with the plan of working full time while in school full time since the recruiter promised that the career center would find me local work. Shortly after arriving I realized that was a lie. All they did was post a list of available jobs in the area which was completely out of date, and no one wanted to hire a wyotech student.
So I was forced to take more money out just to be able to graduate. Now my 35,000 dollars in loans is defaulting and has aquired an additional 15,000 in inteerest and penalties, and my brother and I are looking at garnishments and everything else because the diploma you get from this "institution" isn't worth the paper it is printed on!
If you are trying to be a tech, just get a regular job and go to school at a local community college, or start off as a tire changer at a shop (thats all I am qualified to be apparantly).
This SCAM has cost me my credit and the respect of my family. And all I have to show for it is a piece of paper that no one cares about, and another stack of papers saying how much money I am going to be paying for the rest of my life for making this mistake.
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