Hey guys, what did you have to do to become a certified Audi Tech? I would really like to do this. I'm thinking about going to UTI and do the Street-Legal tuning program with the Audi and VW Manufacturer programs, then working for a dealer or euro shop. As of right now my experience includes:

8 years Carpentry and Construction
4 years Electrical
4 years Automotive
2 years Hospitality
Diesel Hobbyist
Minor Welding Experience

I figure that shoud be enough to get a job in an average garage, but I wanna work at an Audi or VW Dealer. I've talked to the head Tech at a Toyota (I know, not the same company) dealer on the western shore and he is making six digits a year. So how did you guys get certified, what's the process?

 

I started at UTI, the hot rod program is a gimick though, its part of the regular program and only consists of engine buiding and parts changing on the chevy 350. The other hot rod class is slapping parts on a bunch of cars that companies donate to UTI.

Getting audi certified or VW certified is different than lets say ASE master certified.
ASE's are only tests you can take and pass, getting audi certified is much more difficult and a lot longer process, consisting of 11 hands on classes and written/online tests. Thats only to get registered as an audi tech, then there is expert, master, and master guild.

UTI is the best possible way to get certified and high pay at a dealer inviroment, plus they probably won't hire you un-less your friends with the owner of the dealer.
Lets say you get hired doing PDI inspections at a dealer at $12.00 an hour and the dealer pays to get you certified over the next 3 years depending on how many classes are open, after you just get registered certified you may only be getting $15.00 an hour flat rate.
This a long a crappy way to go now a days, the cars are far too advanced for anybody to just grab a wrench and start working.

To get into the academy programs that UTI provides is you must yield a specific GPA (3.5 or higher) and then interview with the manufacture scouts to get accepted into the program. The reason for this is the manufacture pays to train you, its free to you, but its not easy to get into these programs so you have to bust your ***. BMW actually denied me with a 3.7 GPA, and audi accepted me.

UTI will generally set you back around $30,000 and is well worth it IMO, but if you decide to do it, go with a purpose and get into one of those academy programs.
I graduated and started working in Sacramento with a starting pay of $15 hourly, the next year went flat rate to $18, then my last year i made $22 and was wrenching 60-70 hours a week which yielded me around $80,000.

 

im looking into this right now. probly gona do the 51 week course in orlando, and then transfer to arizona to do the academy program for audi (or if im extremely lucky, porsche). the only downside to UTI seems to be the price, but with the amount of connections that school has, it seems worth it.

 

age is the issue to become an apprentice ( at least in the UK ) but the direct approach would be better if its different in the states so go to the garage and apply for work you might just get a surprise,
a qualified mechanic/tech can work for any garage but some will train you up to their ways if your mechanically minded and they will ask questions to verify that

 

So how long would it take to get Master Guild certification? I'm sort of like an obsession freak, if I do something I wanna take it to extremes. If I get a 4x4 I want to make it the loudest and the most jacked up, if I get a muscle car I want to make it the fastest, if I get a RWD Ricer I want to make it the best drifter, you get my point. If I start something I want to go the highest I can. And will they let you transfer from another college just for the dealer program or come in only for the dealer program? I really want to go to the University of Northwestern Ohio, they have really good programs, but no dealer programs. Thanks for the help guys.

 

Where did life take you? Are you a Audi/VW tech? I am looking for factory trained Audi techs and it is hard and the VAG product line is just getting larger. My small Audi/VW shop is getting busier and busier. I am a Phx UTI grad 2005 and walked into the Audi dealer world in 2006 after AATP... Best $35K I have ever spent. Oh yeah, in 2009 I was three classes from Master Guild Level and was trained on the complete product line for A3 up to R8 including Common Rail TDI...