BMW STEP

[supercarfreak]

I was just called by BMW telling me that I have been accepted into the STEP program.

The average starting salary of the last class that attended was $20/hr.

I will be taking every single training class offered by BMW. Within 3 years I can become a BMW Master Technician.

Some interesting info from www.bmwstep.com :

All STEP graduates will receive at least one offer of employment from a region of the country that they have indicated is acceptable to them. Many receive multiple offers. So the chances of becoming employed in an area of the country you will be happy in are excellent.

BMW Centers are often willing to negotiate relocation expenses and other assistance that will make employment at that BMW Center possible.

No other European luxury Car manufacturer has a training program as long or comprehensive as STEP.

On average, it takes a newly-hired technician 4-6 years to complete the training and achieve the level that STEP I graduates receive in less than 7 months.

After completing STEP I, a graduate is designated a "BMW Certified Diagnostic Technician" and provided with credit for 2 years of professional experience as a BMW technician. To qualify as a "BMW Master Technician", one needs to have 5 years experience as a professional. Accordingly, a STEP graduate needs only to complete 3 more years of service to meet the requirement.

To qualify for BMW's Service Technician Education Program (STEP), one needs to meet stringent acceptance criteria. An applicant accepted to BMW STEP can consider him or herself in rare company. The STEP management staff selects applicants from the best post-secondary automotive technical schools across the United States...but only a small percentage of their graduates! In other words, only the best of the best are chosen for this prestigious training opportunity.

Do you consider yourself to be an achiever? Are you motivated and possess good hands-on ability? How about your record while in automotive school...3.5 GPA or better, an excellent attendance and punctuality record, and instructor recommendations? If all of your answers are positive and you have a burning passion for BMWs and cutting-edge technology, then you should consider STEP. Its alumni have achieved high levels of accomplishment and are in a wonderful position to reach their full potential in a shorter period of time than their contemporaries.

Speak with the Career Services Advisor at your respective technical school about the BMW STEP opportunity!

Candidates for BMW STEP must meet or exceed the following requirements:

1. Have a valid driver's license and documented proof of a driving record acceptable to BMW.
2. Have completed high school or GED and post secondary automotive education level acceptable to BMW.
3. Attain a minimum of a 3.2 grade point average (3.5 preferred) in technical school.
4. Achieve a documented minimum of 98% attendance during their post secondary education.
5. Be willing to relocate within a region making the individual marketable to enough BMW centers to justify the expense of technical training for that person.
6. Accept employment at a BMW center within 30 days of graduation from STEP for a period not less than six months.
7. Have the financial means to support themselves during training with BMW.
8. Pass a written test (general automotive, not BMW specific).
9. Pass a personal interview by a BMW STEP administrator.
10. Some professional experience "turning wrenches for money" is preferred.

[sameerrao]

Congrats ... Hopefully I will be buying an M5 in the next year or two - you can service it to perfection then :)

[ZfrkS62]

way to go man 8) it'll be nice to geta little help around here :D

[5vz-fe]

Congrats supercarfreak, now we will soon to have another BMW guru around JW.

[frodefe]

Nothing is more gratifying than having and sharing news of this caliper!
- right man at the right time :D

[blinkmeat]

Nothing is more gratifying than having and sharing news of this caliper!
- right man at the right time :D

Lol :: well said

Congrats

[supercarfreak]

ahhh that's why i love this forum

you guys make me smile :P

thanks guys

[GT-R_R34]

congratulation!!!
it sound that you're going to UTI?

[saadie]

congrats dude .....

[ae86_16v]

Congratulations indeed. . . I'll need some OE parts for my car soon ;) .

[Wutputt]

Congrats! Must be an awesome experience to follow this STEP program for the next years. Have fun and learn a lot ;)

[taygunho]

Congratulations supercarfreak :clap:
We have new Bmw guru in here. We will see alotof BMW pics in here i guess.

[supercarfreak]

thanks guys!

yeah I need to take my sony dsc-f828 with me to school now haha

R34- i actually went to LTI, i graduate in 14 days

[supercarfreak]

congrats dude! hope to see ya more next summer in Rockville maybe. good luck with all this.

thanks.

the program here in columbia starts jan 9 but i was offered a spot at the cleveland, ohio program for feb 27 so im not sure where i will be next summer, they are trying to make room for me in the columbia program

[komotar]

congradulations 8)

[crayzayjay]

Well done mate! Best of luck :)

[Overmind]

congratulations mate, all you have to hope now is that you won't get tired of BMWs ;).

[ARMAN]

Congratulations mate!!! :P :wink:

[Mattk]

Great work!

[supercarfreak]

And there goes my social life down the shitter.

This isn't even half of the program's books.

http://img459.imageshack.us/img459/839/dsc018684bn.th.jpg (http://img459.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc018684bn.jpg)http://img459.imageshack.us/img459/4184/dsc018698jb.th.jpg (http://img459.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc018698jb.jpg)http://img459.imageshack.us/img459/3010/dsc018702xb.th.jpg (http://img459.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc018702xb.jpg)http://img459.imageshack.us/img459/1903/dsc018714tb.th.jpg (http://img459.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc018714tb.jpg)http://img459.imageshack.us/img459/301/dsc018727nq.th.jpg (http://img459.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc018727nq.jpg)
http://img459.imageshack.us/img459/7/dsc018732gj.th.jpg (http://img459.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc018732gj.jpg)http://img459.imageshack.us/img459/2231/dsc018749wo.th.jpg (http://img459.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc018749wo.jpg)http://img459.imageshack.us/img459/8829/dsc018754dl.th.jpg (http://img459.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc018754dl.jpg)http://img459.imageshack.us/img459/4503/dsc018764ut.th.jpg (http://img459.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc018764ut.jpg)

[RC45]

Looks like a lot of work - but it's the kind of info a real enthusiast (maybe fanatic ;)) of a brand ould love to be privvy to.

You just have to have the motivation to keep wanting to make a career of it :)

Good luck ;)

[ZfrkS62]

LMAO!!! Have fun with STO50 and 55! :lol: Not to mention memorizing all the Acronyms for everything :lol: Ah, fun times :mrgreen:

It'll be rough but you'll actually have alot of fun. Everyone in STEP ends up becoming a big social group after the first few weeks. There were a few times a bunch of us all took over a Borders bookstore for a massive studygroup :lol: that and when we all took over Chilis :D

Oh yeah, i'd make a backup or two of that floppy disk. most of them don't survive :|

one question: What the hell does UL and OL stand for? (next to the N52 engine designations) I haven't heard those yet :?

You haven't even got the model books yet either :wink: I'm curious as to wether you'll get the E46 M3 and E39 M5 books along with the original E65/66 books (when i went through they had 2 books for the 7 series)

[T-Bird]

Shit looks like you'll be there before I get to Honda School. I noticed there were some Mini symbols on some of the stuff do Mini techs have to go to STEP aswell? Me wroking for Acura I have to go to Honda school and Acura school but my Shop pays for it. Anuhow good luck mate.

[supercarfreak]

thanks guys 8)

Zfrk - I've noticed all of the STEP students are always so friendly, even the last class that graduated that I wasn't even in - they were nice to me also. i think all the STEP students realize how hard it was just to get into the program so they have this special bond and really want to help each other out.

i have no idea what UL or OL means, ill let you know when i find out

t-bird - I really doubt mini techs have to go to BMW STEP training because they would be learning about all the BMW cars offered by BMW which would be pretty pointless to learn about when all they would be working on is Minis. i'm sure BMW offers separate mini-only classes for them

[DeMoN]

congrats mate, surely a dream come true for you! Hopefully, in the future you'll be able to hook me up with a discount on getting a new M3!

[ZfrkS62]

Shit looks like you'll be there before I get to Honda School. I noticed there were some Mini symbols on some of the stuff do Mini techs have to go to STEP aswell? Me wroking for Acura I have to go to Honda school and Acura school but my Shop pays for it. Anuhow good luck mate.

I think the mini class uses the same general books as STEP does, but you won't get Mini training unless you go to a dealer that sells minis as well.

It's kind of odd though becuase if a place only sells BMW cars and sav's then they are a BMW Center (like mine) and if they sell Mini too, then they are a BMW Dealer (ie Brian Harris in Baton Rouge). Why the seperation i don't know.

But i hope Supercarfreak will help out in adding to my BMW thread as he goes through the training, filling in the new stuff i haven't learned yet. (i;m supposed to get sent to training sometime this year, but i don't know when yet)

[supercarfreak]

thanks DeMoN 8)



It's kind of odd though becuase if a place only sells BMW cars and sav's then they are a BMW Center (like mine) and if they sell Mini too, then they are a BMW Dealer (ie Brian Harris in Baton Rouge). Why the seperation i don't know.

But i hope Supercarfreak will help out in adding to my BMW thread as he goes through the training, filling in the new stuff i haven't learned yet. (i;m supposed to get sent to training sometime this year, but i don't know when yet)

that is weird. i don't really want to learn how to work on mini's as i'm not really interested in them.

i will post in your thread, what's the link? thanks


goodduck- i've seen 2 E60 M5s so far, first one was a blue one on thanksgiving day, put my window down when i saw it coming and man it sounds sweet. other one was a black one w/ tinted windows on rockville pike

to top it off my neighbor just got a silver one!!!!!!!! he now has 2 M5s... a black '01+ and a silver '06, that lucky bastard. he's leasing both of them

[ZfrkS62]

i will post in your thread, what's the link? thanks


i gotta dig it myself :lol: search this: BMW AND designations with me as the author in the car chat forum. should be there.

does your campus have an M Roadster yet? the Atlanta dealer training class has a pre-pro already

[supercarfreak]

i will post in your thread, what's the link? thanks


i gotta dig it myself :lol: search this: BMW AND designations with me as the author in the car chat forum. should be there.

does your campus have an M Roadster yet? the Atlanta dealer training class has a pre-pro already

you mean the Z4M? no we don't, can't wait to see one though, it's so badass.

we have a 760li, le mans blue '03 M5, black e46 m3 cab, some pre-pro 550i's and e60 wagons to name a few. hopefully we will get an e60 m5 when im in the program.

[ae86_16v]

Damn, that is a lot of sexy cars you get to see. . . amazing. Keep us up to date!

[ZfrkS62]

i will post in your thread, what's the link? thanks


i gotta dig it myself :lol: search this: BMW AND designations with me as the author in the car chat forum. should be there.

does your campus have an M Roadster yet? the Atlanta dealer training class has a pre-pro already

you mean the Z4M? no we don't, can't wait to see one though, it's so badass.

we have a 760li, le mans blue '03 M5, black e46 m3 cab, some pre-pro 550i's and e60 wagons to name a few. hopefully we will get an e60 m5 when im in the program.

Almost sounds like our list from Phoenix.

745Li (Silver)
760Li (Oxford Green)
E38 750iL (Oxford Green)
E38 740iL (Black)
E36 M3 Conv. (light blue)
M Roadster S52 (Light blue and stuck in a wall at PIR by a magazine)
E39 M5 (I want to say it was the Laguna Seca blue...not sure anymore)
E46 M3 SMG Conv (black)
3 Z4's a 2.5 automatic, 3.0 6spd and 3.0 SMG
2 X5's a 4.4i (M62TU) and a 4.8is (N62)
E34 530i
E30 318is
E39 540is (fell off transport truck)
E39 540it
a couple other E46's xi, it,
E60 530 SMG
X3 and 645 SMG near the end

[sameerrao]

Can you take the cars out for a spin? Tell them you want to make sure that everything was bolted back carefully :)

[ZfrkS62]

Can you take the cars out for a spin? Tell them you want to make sure that everything was bolted back carefully :)

lol, no, but part of the training is understanding the cars and how to operate their featres. So we got to drive the 745Li and M3 :twisted: Fortunately the instructor we went out with in the M3 was one of the cool ones.

I was the first one to drive and as we approached the on ramp to the freeway, he told me to let a huge gap develop between me d the car in front of me and then see if i could hit 80mph before the end of the on ramp....i did :lol: then a ricer started taunting me. I was being good and not biting until the insructor looked at me and asked me why i was being a pussy and not dusting him :roflmao: Two pulls of the "-" paddle and a stomp on the pedal on the right resulted in an instantaneous jump to 120 :lol:

[TransAm]

way to go man 8) it'll be nice to geta little help around here :D

So how much are you going to sell him your already-completed coursework for? :twisted: :lol:

By the way, congrats Supercarfreak!

[Zot09]

Congratulations dude, that is quite an accomplishment! Best of luck.

[supercarfreak]

old DIS diagnostic machine
http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/1866/dsc020045vq.th.jpg (http://img340.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc020045vq.jpg)

the $123,000 6 liter 438hp V12 760Li that has a 1,600 psi direct injection system
hooked up to the 7 is a $900 battery charger (LOL)
http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/5540/dsc020054vv.th.jpg (http://img90.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc020054vv.jpg)http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/5655/dsc020066ne.th.jpg (http://img90.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc020066ne.jpg)

http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/9227/dsc020076dy.th.jpg (http://img90.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc020076dy.jpg)

2000 E39 M5, V12 850Ci
http://img422.imageshack.us/img422/6199/dsc020080ud.th.jpg (http://img422.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc020080ud.jpg)

special tools rack
http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/4935/dsc020137as.th.jpg (http://img90.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc020137as.jpg)

http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/7425/dsc020115zl.th.jpg (http://img90.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc020115zl.jpg)http://img422.imageshack.us/img422/5342/dsc020145og.th.jpg (http://img422.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc020145og.jpg)

some random v12 just lying around
http://img422.imageshack.us/img422/9104/dsc020153vj.th.jpg (http://img422.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc020153vj.jpg)

http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/7908/dsc020191cc.th.jpg (http://img90.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc020191cc.jpg)http://img422.imageshack.us/img422/7219/dsc020211eq.th.jpg (http://img422.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc020211eq.jpg)http://img422.imageshack.us/img422/6489/dsc020243pl.th.jpg (http://img422.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc020243pl.jpg)

diagnosing the 7 with a GT1
http://img422.imageshack.us/img422/8061/dsc020277gg.th.jpg (http://img422.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc020277gg.jpg)http://img422.imageshack.us/img422/2215/dsc020296qm.th.jpg (http://img422.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc020296qm.jpg)

$3,000 suede headliner - so sweet
http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/6132/dsc020282px.th.jpg (http://img90.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc020282px.jpg)

'04 e46 m3 smg cabriolet, cinnamon leather
http://img422.imageshack.us/img422/1705/dsc020347ss.th.jpg (http://img422.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc020347ss.jpg)http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/9761/dsc020358tf.th.jpg (http://img90.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc020358tf.jpg)

645ci cabriolet
http://img422.imageshack.us/img422/7168/dsc020372xg.th.jpg (http://img422.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc020372xg.jpg)

360hp 4.8 liter in the 750i
http://img422.imageshack.us/img422/8099/dsc020406pt.th.jpg (http://img422.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc020406pt.jpg)

http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/9615/dsc020426nr.th.jpg (http://img90.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc020426nr.jpg)

e39 m5 engine with eight individual throttle butterflies.
http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/9410/dsc020446qw.th.jpg (http://img90.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc020446qw.jpg)http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/7968/dsc020454am.th.jpg (http://img90.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc020454am.jpg)

and my personal favorite the s85 5.0 v10 with 507 bhp.
http://img327.imageshack.us/img327/312/dsc020472ux.th.jpg (http://img327.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc020472ux.jpg)http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/295/dsc020498tg.th.jpg (http://img90.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc020498tg.jpg)http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/240/dsc020511lx.th.jpg (http://img90.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc020511lx.jpg)http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/3071/dsc020624qp.th.jpg (http://img90.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc020624qp.jpg)
http://img327.imageshack.us/img327/443/dsc020687qf.th.jpg (http://img327.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc020687qf.jpg)http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/8954/dsc020695fp.th.jpg (http://img90.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc020695fp.jpg)http://img327.imageshack.us/img327/39/dsc020815ch.th.jpg (http://img327.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc020815ch.jpg)

complete with ridiculous brakes.
http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/9817/dsc020531ye.th.jpg (http://img90.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc020531ye.jpg)

4 stainless steel mufflers for 10 cylinders
http://img327.imageshack.us/img327/8202/dsc020646jl.th.jpg (http://img327.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc020646jl.jpg)

7-speed paddleshift SMG
///M stitching on the steering wheel
http://img327.imageshack.us/img327/8857/dsc020737do.th.jpg (http://img327.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc020737do.jpg)

200mph speedo
8,250 redline
http://img327.imageshack.us/img327/6618/dsc020769ba.th.jpg (http://img327.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc020769ba.jpg)

the wood honestly seems out of place on this car. would much prefer aluminum trim or carbon fiber.
http://img327.imageshack.us/img327/7045/dsc020745hr.th.jpg (http://img327.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc020745hr.jpg)

power button to left of SMG adds 100hp to the engine (when you start the car it defaults to 400hp)
http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/5038/dsc020754ho.th.jpg (http://img90.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc020754ho.jpg)

http://img327.imageshack.us/img327/4888/dsc020770se.th.jpg (http://img327.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc020770se.jpg)

aka the "S85"
http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/5660/dsc020783ma.th.jpg (http://img90.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc020783ma.jpg)http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/5726/dsc020804ta.th.jpg (http://img90.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc020804ta.jpg)

sandbags for ultra-precise alignment loading
http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/8229/dsc020589cb.th.jpg (http://img90.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc020589cb.jpg)

mounter and balancer
http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/6316/dsc020602ur.th.jpg (http://img90.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc020602ur.jpg)

[5vz-fe]

Thanks for sharing the pics :) I can see u are enjoying ur work alot supercarfreak.

[r2r]

That should be a really cool job. Hope u enjoy working there and congrats.

[ZfrkS62]

you're going to be amazed when you realize you don't need 3/4 of those special tools, or sand bags :wink:

Since when did the OPPS head become diagnostic equipment :?

Your E46 M3 looks almost exactly like the one in the Phoenix class. I think ours may have been a beige interior though..and we never had an E31 :?

You're going to love synchronizing the throttles on the S62 :wink:

Have fun in STEP dude. It's a shitload of work, but it's worth it. Let me know what bugs they throw at you.

[Mattk]

That's one hell of a special tools rack.

[supercarfreak]

hey guys.

thanks for all the comments. i graduate next week. it's been a hell of a ride.

anyway since I FINALLY finished all of my tasks I had time to help take the exhaust off of our E39 M5 in class today for fun. here are the videos.

www.supercarfreak.net/MOV02393.MPG

www.supercarfreak.net/MOV02394.MPG

[ZfrkS62]

I love how easy the exhaust comes down. 5 minutes at the most :D I just wish it didn't weigh so much :?

Congrats on graduating man. I'm sure you're glad it's over :D

[5vz-fe]

I love how easy the exhaust comes down. 5 minutes at the most :D I just wish it didn't weigh so much :?

Congrats on graduating man. I'm sure you're glad it's over :D

Wonder how much the service manager will charge LOL!

[ZfrkS62]

I love how easy the exhaust comes down. 5 minutes at the most :D I just wish it didn't weigh so much :?

Congrats on graduating man. I'm sure you're glad it's over :D

Wonder how much the service manager will charge LOL!

depends on the reason the exhaust is being dropped in the first place :wink:

[Mattk]

Congrats!

[supercarfreak]

thanks guys.

xander - i'll be in maryland soon if you wanna hang out. i still have your #