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G-MAN
10-08-2003 07:50:04
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Re: JD mechanic school in reply to Ken, 10-07-2003 14:19:24
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This is not a slam on the JD Ag Tech program, but I think other programs can give you a better education. JD is getting so widespread in their technology and equipment, that it would take years to learn something about everything they make. About all they can do is summarize most things, with in-depth teaching of certain areas. I work with several Ag-Tech graduates, and I don't think they got near the technical education that I did, although they attended the same school. I went to Southeast Community College in Milford, NE, and took Diesel Technology/Truck and an additional quarter for Diesel Technology/Construction Equipment, for which I got two Associates Degrees. I got 6 quarters of full-time instruction (it's like high school - every day all day classes) and a quarter of co-op education working in a truck shop. I believe ag-tech consists of five quarters of training, and four quarters of co-op experience in the sponsoring dealership. The first two quarters of my program were the same as the automotive program, so we learned carbs, ignition systems, charging systems, engine rebuild and reconditioning, hand tools, manual transmission rebuild, and many other things in depth, something that Ag-Tech just doesn't do. Heck, we spent a couple of weeks just learning to use micrometers, bore gauges and other precision measuring tools properly - something I still use to this day. In successive quarters, we learned hydraulics, powershifts, large engines and trannies, Allison automatics, A/C, air brakes, fuel systems, etc etc etc - all in depth. If you get in with a good sponsoring dealer, you can do well and learn a lot on your co-op quarters, but a lot of dealers just don't trust an ag-tech kid to do a lot of technical stuff, so I don't think you learn near as much as you would at school. And, a lot of times, the sponsoring dealer will have the student sing a contract for x amount of years, if the dealer is paying for the schooling. This possibly locks you into a job you don't like, or into a dealership you don't like, which benefits no one. The main thing to remember, is that no matter how well you do in tech school, and how much you take out, you'll likely learn more in the first two months of actually doing the job than you did the entire time you were in school. A good tech school will give you a good education on fundamentals, proper repair practices and so forth, but the rest is up to you.
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