Daniel Socia loves his new job as an automotive technician at Honda of Westborough and says he couldn’t have landed it without the training he received from Porter and Chester Institute. They taught him the fundamentals he needed to be a good automotive technician and a whole lot more!

“Every day I was learning something new and doing something different,” said Daniel. “There was always a lot of work to do. It was just like working in a real shop.”

Daniel had been working as a school custodian, but knew he wanted to do more with his life. He’d always loved working on cars so when his friend told him about the Automotive Technology Program at Porter and Chester Institute, Daniel decided to take a chance –on Porter and Chester Institute and himself! Even though he’d never enjoyed going to school before, Daniel soon found out that Porter and Chester Institute was different. He was doing something new every day at school and working on real cars.

During Daniel’s training at PCI not only did they learn how to work on all automotive systems but there were additional projects. At one point in his training, Daniel’s instructor tore apart a car engine and told the students to put it back together.

“We rebuilt the engine from scratch and got the car up and running again,” said Daniel. "If we didn’t know how to do something, our instructor would jump in and show us how it was done.”

The program was hands-on from the very first day, says Daniel. He even had the opportunity to work on vehicles from the community. People would bring in their cars for repair service conducted by students under instructor supervision.

As Daniel got closer to his graduation date, he started working with the Career Services Department to prepare for his upcoming job search. One of the Career Services Advisors alerted Daniel to a job opening at a local Honda Dealership.

“The people in the Career Services Department taught me how to do more with what I had just learned. They found the job listing, helped me prepare for the interview, and even gave me a recommendation for the job,” Daniel said.

The service manager invited Daniel in for a job interview and showed him around the shop. He called Daniel with a job offer one week later. Daniel started as a shop assistant, but was quickly promoted to a full-fledged Automotive Technician.

In his new position, Daniel is  busy doing general service and repairs on the cars in the shop, which includes brakes, timing belts, oil changes, transmission work, and much more. Daniel loves his new job and he credits Porter and Chester Institute for getting him there!

If you’d like to become an automotive technician, check out the automotive technology program at Porter and Chester Institute. Its hands-on training can help you acquire the skills you’ll need to work in the automotive technology field. Porter and Chester Institute has nine locations in Connecticut and Massachusetts.