Well as you know I plan on going to UTI in Houston, TX this coming August for the Collision Repair/Refinishing program to become a Body Technician, I am getting excited as well as VERY nervous. I only have around 5 months maybe a little less until I will be leaving for about 15 months, or maybe longer depending on if I like it there enough to possibly end up staying there or around the area. I would be set up with a job as I would anywhere I live (a perk of the school). I will also be receiving more I-CAR certification points; I already have around 8 which makes me a gold member of I-CAR. I'm hoping by the end of the school year at CTE I should have enough points to be considered a platinum member, thus giving me an upper hand on most people in a body shop including people that have worked there much longer then me; which would give me a possibly higher salary, and better chance of getting a job compared to other people that may have less or no I-CAR points. If a shop has more techs with I-CAR points then they will get more business because of the education that their employees have and insurance companies will look for that.
So I'm guessing most of you are probably like WTF is I-CAR? I-CAR is a non-profit organization that was created in 1979 by the collision industry to achieve higher levels of training for the industry of collision repair. So hopefully after my fifteen months at UTI I will be a platinum member of the I-CAR org. and should never have a problem getting a job at any body shop. Being that people are now keeping their cars for as long as possible, keeping them in running condition and is why I chose this as my official career track. I don't think that this field of work will ever have a problem with business.
