(ThyBlackMan.com) Plenty of people make a living as the local handyman, doing little repairs and fixes on cars for neighbors and friends. It’s not a bad way to earn your keep, and it’s a job you can hold as a totally self-taught mechanic. However, if you ever want to run your own garage or be hired as anything but an assistant at someone else’s, you must get certified. In Tampa and Orlando traffic school can help you get a great deal on your auto insurance, but traffic school won’t turn you into an automotive technician. For that, you need to specialize. Here are some of the best auto mechanic schools in the Sunshine State:
Broward College
You’ll find Broward College in Fort Lauderdale, where they offer a range of AAS programs, or Associate in Applied Science programs. 
The programs relevant to you are the Associate in Applied Science in Automotive Technology, and Dealer Specific Associate in Applied Science in Automotive Service Management Technology. Both great programs, and the latter is a good way to go if you’re looking for a scholarship. It’s a four-year program, with tuition running two thousand four hundred ninety-four in state, and eight thousand six hundred sixteen for out-of-staters.
Florida State College at Jacksonville
The Florida State College in Jacksonville offers an associate degree program for those looking into automotive service management technology. They teach light maintenance and parts installation for cars and trucks. The program is useful for people who want to work in the business end of mechanics and still know their way around an engine. This is a four-year course running two thousand seven hundred ninety for Florida residents, and nine thousand nine hundred three for out of state residents.
Santa Fe College
Santa Fe College is in Gainesville, which is a nice town if you want to be in a prime position to visit both the East and West coast beaches. The programs offered here include an AAS in Automotive Technology, and AAS Service Management Technology. Tuition starts at two thousand four hundred fifty-seven for in state students, and nine thousand fifty-seven for out of state. This is a four-year program.
Seminole State College of Florida
Seminole offers four-year programs that cover coursework in chassis electronics, engine diagnosis, repair and engine control system maintenance and repair. There are distance learning assignments included in your coursework. This is a great college for people wanting to go right into employment with Ford and Lincoln dealers. Tuition is three thousand one hundred thirty-one for in-state students, and eleven thousand four hundred fifty-six for out of state. This is a four-year program.
There’s nothing better you can do for your career than learning a trade. Car repair has gotten more and more complicated, and it’s not always something that you can do at home anymore with these onboard computers and everything. Even after cars go completely driverless, we’re still going to need mechanics to take care of them. The colleges listed above are some of the best in the state of Florida, but they’re not the only good automotive schools we have in the Sunshine State.
Take your time to study all your options, set your tuition budget and get a scholarship if possible. We always need gifted mechanics, especially on the twisty, turny, mazelike highways of Florida. Good luck in your new career as an automotive student.
Staff Writer; Patrick Long