s0nofg0d

well that sucks i just want a career in something i like to do

workin in a factory just blows

NINER

So go get a job at a bike shop and work your way up.

Hazen

Simply put - No.

Depending on your current level of skill - MMI may or may not be a place where you could learn alot of facts about the way a motorcycle works.

If you're looking to spend a year and a half of your life and $27 grand in tuituon to take an engine apart and put it back together - than sure it's great.

There are alot of poor attitudes at that school - both from staff and students. There is a dress code and strict attendance rules. Missing time lowers your grades - even if you have an emergency, illness, or personal issue that prevents you from attending class. Miss 3 days of class in one semester - you attendance fail and have to pay for the class again.

If you do choose to attend MMI - don't think that it entitles you to any kind of position in a shop. If you walk into 9 out of 10 motorsports shops in the Orlando area and tell them that you're attending MMI and you're seeking employment, they will probably direct you to an unemployment agency. It's really kind of a joke. MMI students have a very poor reputation in the surrounding area both with employers and police.

Also if you ride a motorcycle to school and back - cover your required MMI shirt with a sweatshirt, leathers, another shirt, or even duct tape. Cops down here do NOT like MMI students or the problems that they bring.

If you do choose to attend - only pick out 2 electives. They will try to tell you that you need to do Suzuki, Kawi, Honda, and Yamaha. This is false.

I'm with Niner on this one. Get into a shop, bust your ***, and move up in the company. I've seen alot of Porters (Lot Lizzards - the kid who pushes bikes out front in the morning and does bitch work) move up to a technician, supervisor, service manager, and eventually manager.

There is money to be made in this industry if you have the right attitude and motivation. Goodluck.

s0nofg0d

so basically i would be shooting myself in the foot and would be wasting alot of money?

zride

your not going to make money being a tech without skills. I would go....hey would you rather know how to do it the right way....or some ghetto rig job...plus your not going to move up very quick having to beg everyone to teach you how to use the tire machine. Then when the bikes come in that need fork rebuilding, valve adjustmnent, timing adjustment or things of that nature your not going to be doing any of them! not going to make that much doing PDI's and cleaning bikes.

NINER

I haven't been to MMI but I can use a tire machine, and do all of those other tasks. As long as you have basic knowledge spinning a wrech, you get a job at a shop and you will learn by doing probably faster than they could tech you at MMI. Plus you are already gaining senority and making money instead of wasting 2 years and 26K.

DENIRO600

OK. I went in 02 to the Orlando campus. Hazen is correct the students do have a bad rep. in the local area with cops, apartment complexes, and local shops. They are real strict on the dress code and attendance. I got top tech in Suzuki! Got deans list on everything else Honda and Kawasaki! Never missed a day. Still started in a dealership at $8.00 hour. I am now the parts manager and no longer tech. So if you want I will sell you my books and notes (all in plastic pages and highlighted). I was serious about this venture. LOL. It did cost me $20,000 out of pocket for 13 months of school. I will sell it for $5,000! LOL! It was a good experience but it is not the only way to get the job done!

Danger_Dave

yup i've thought about the mmi thing alot and realized i dont want to waste my gibill on something that gets me nowhere. i've been doing cable and satellite television for the navy for the last 6 years, maybe i should just continue with that? comcast or something along those lines. **** the military i'm out. i am definitely mechanically minded and always have been, but i need to put food on the table. being a bike mechanic in the bike capitol of the world aint going to cut it, maybe in montana it would, but not down there. perhaps a diesel mechanic or one of those dudes that drives a van out to rescue broken down 18 wheelers, they make serious cheddar

NINER

You used to be able to make decent cash doing low voltage wiring in residential and new construction if you had your own company. With the way the housing/ construction business is now, I'm not so sure.

J150

Lol work at your local post office they make some ok cash

Nick1000

edgeman68 u couldent be more wrong.. starting @ the bottom n having the more experienced tech's show u hands on thats how u learn.. and even if u graduate from MMI u aint making no money... they gona pay u dirt untill you show them u can disassemble a motor and reassemble it so it WORKS...And still u arent gona be making much more than 20 bucks an hour if that..

Now im not saying every1 that went to MMI has no idea wat they doing... Just the ones ive seen from MMI have no idea wat they doing... ive been workin @ dealerships/shops for over 6 years and u learn by doing.. HANDS ON IS EVERYTHING.. u cant watch some1 do it and think u got it, you do it over n over untill you good @ it.. The last place i worked was in mineola "suzuki-yamaha" dealership he told me he'd start me @ 14 an hour to see what i knew.. i did every job under the sun including a motor rebuild so i ask for the $ i was promised... they said flat out "no" so i packed my **** n left time to start something else..

s0nofg0d

if i took just the honda course would that be worth it or a no?

i just got really high the other day and realized i do nothing but fix my bike and work my *** off in a factory and that is all ive done basically for 4 years.

when it comes to mechanics im better than the average joe but no expert.

i was just thinking if i was going to re-locate my life with a career school is the only way to go about doing this

s0nofg0d

and i cant just start my way at the bottom and work my way up cause i cant live off of 8.00 a hr im in debt too much and have a expensive lifestyle

i work 50-60hrs a week at a factory just to be able to live with food and beer in my fridge

scooterdayton

no way! what a joke, you might see somthing positive come out of it, like a low paying job at a local shop, but more than likley its just going to putt you in debt.

work your way up from the bottom! and make money doing it!

scooterdayton

just my opinion though

s0nofg0d

damn glad i posted this here i was really looking foward to investing alot of money in myself at school

well i guess i'll just stay at my job.....

sr11

well, as a graduate from MMI (orlando), the school may be expensive and there may be a few young morons there wasting their time, but if your serious and absorb the knowledge and skills your there to learn you can be successful once you graduate. Alot of things said about the school are true: not enough bikes, dated lab material (bikes, etc...), but mechanical knowledge is just that, mechanical knowledge. All bikes whether old or new are all the same (theoretically). eg: Carbs or fuel injectors, fuel delivery is fuel delivery. The school also opened more than a few doors and opportunities for me to be successful. And now, i know leaders in many aspects of the industry. I graduated summer '06 and now work in a performance shop working on every model bike imaginable and make pretty good money doing so. As many other shops do i started on a temp pay, but three months later i was making more than the tech who had been there 2 years (also a MMI grad). Like in any industry, most shops will pay you what you are worth...so if your fast and consistent you'll make the money , if not then you wont. So again, like anything in life, you get out of the school and the career what you put into it.

DLISH

no, its not. Ive been wrenching on bikes since 2000. Ive worked at pretty much every major shop in the area and usually made as much/ more than schooled techs. A perfect example is this (first hand) I work with a great tech from mmi, our hourly pay is about the same (I make 1$ more per hour), however my commission is about 10$ more per flat rate hour.

eazenutz33

you wanna make some more serious cash (60K in a somewhat urban area)???

No Joke.....become a nurse.....male nurses make bank around here for doing very little. Guy I went to school with did about a year and a half in school, got a nursing degree, worked at a smaller hospital and was making 50K his first year....had his own house, couple cars, couple bikes.

Granted, he didnt have a family, and didnt live too expensive (drank cheap alcohol with friends versus at the bar), but he was doing well for himself at 20!

just a thought

Danger_Dave

i would do mmi if i could get 15 bucks an hour, but something tells me down in otown bike mechanics are a dime a dozen and probly get 8 bucks an hour. and that aint gonna cut it for me. i pull $700 bucks a week in the service, plus housing and food, granted i dont work 40 hours a week, its more like 100, but still 400 bucks a week aint gonna cut it for me