Woody is currently an automotive technician at one of the largest Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, and Ram dealerships in the Phoenix metro area. And thanks to the Mopar Career Automotive Program at Glendale Community College he is achieving his personal and financial goals.
Although he has been working on cars all his life, it wasn’t until four years ago that he decided to make it a career. He landed a job at the dealership mentioned earlier, and quickly realized how much the Level III technicians were making. He asked what he would need to do to get on that path. His supervisor said, “Go to school and get training.” According to Woody, he went over to Glendale Community College the next day and enrolled. During the time he was taking Auto Tech classes at GCC, he was shifting his upward trajectory at work. As Woody described it, “I had to take a couple steps back in order to leap forward when I got my certification from GCC.”
This meant that he would be working for a short time on the “lube rack” earning a lower salary, but he knew that his earning potential would go up after he completed the Glendale Community College, Mopar CAP program. He explained that as a Level III technician he gets to work on large and complex warranty jobs, which means he can pull more work and earn more money.
Woody said that the training he received from GCC was exactly what he needed and his Mopar CAP instructor, Greg, was incredibly knowledgeable. He stated, “Greg is really good at taking technical terms and explaining them in ways we could understand; everything from physics to wiring harnesses, he was able to make them relatable.”
When asked about his history with cars Woody reminisced about refurbishing cars with his dad; a 1969 Plymouth Roadrunner with a 383, a 1970 Ford F-100 and a 1991 Dodge Daytona. “The two cars were fun” he said, “the Roadrunner was a full frame-off restoration.” The F-100 is the vehicle with the most sentimental value. “It was my grandfather’s truck and he willed it to my father. My father gave it to me just before he passed away.
Woody is right where he wants to be, working at a job he loves, and tooling around in his grandfather's F-100.