college
 

I am a senior in high school right now, and I am planning on going to college after HS. I am thinking about a bunch of different jobs, things with cars being one. I was thinking about going to wyotech, and going for autobody, and then doing like all the other things, like interior, the hot rod class, custom painting, and engine and chassis. The thing is, i like working on old cars, but cant really stand working on new cars much. How big is the field of restoring/customizing cars?? Does anybody know of the chances of actually getting to do that kind of thing?? Also, i heard that there is a college in Missouri or something that only does restoring cars, has anybody else heard of them?? What else should i consider?? thanks for any help, kinda a major decision in my life, so its kinda freaky!

A big part of the answer you are looking for depends on where you plan to live when you graduate. If you live in a smaller town, the jobs are scarce. If you live in a large city, there are restoration shops you could work in or open your own. The population supplies the demand. I live in a town with official population around 85000, and there are only 2 or 3 shops that do restorations. Go to Dallas and you will find many shops, some specializing in certain makes like Mustangs. The West Coast is well known for customizing/restoration businesses.

You are thinking in the right direction, go to college and learn the skills you need so that when you get out you can get a good job doing what you like best. Try to make some contacts in your area, find out what shops exhist and talk to the owners, let them know what you are planning, get them to let you hang out and see how they do things, keep in touch and when you graduate you could possibly get hired by them.

Everything I know about working on cars I learned the hard way, by doing it. I have made a lot of mistakes and had to start over on a few things, had I had some training that wouldn't have happened. My friend and I have been working on cars since high school (I won't say how long ago that was) but we don't have the time or space to work a lot, just in my 2 car garage, so the process is slow, but we do good work.

Good luck to you, I hope you make it BIG!:D