Automotive Careers with Joe Aranki

In today’s episode, Pierre Michiels interviews Joe Aranki. Joe Aranki is the Automotive Program Coordinator and professor at College of DuPage with over 30 years of experience in the automotive industry. In the interview, Joe shares his journey from technician to educator, discusses the evolution of modern vehicles, the skills taught in COD’s automotive program, and how students can prepare for careers in this high-demand field. After listening to this episode, we hope you have a better understanding of career paths and opportunities in the automotive industry. 

View the College of DuPage Automotive program
Contact the Automotive program or Joe Aranki directly by emailing arankij@cod.edu 

Full episode transcript can be found on the episode page. Below is a general timestamp summary.  

00:00:00 – 00:00:30 | Introduction & Guest Welcome 

Host Pierre Michiels introduces the episode and welcomes Joe Aranki, Automotive Program Coordinator and professor at College of DuPage. 

00:00:30 – 00:01:09 | Joe’s Background & Career Path 

Joe shares his journey from growing up fixing cars with his father to attending trade school, opening his own shop, and transitioning into teaching. 

00:01:09 – 00:02:27 | Overview of COD Automotive Program 

Discussion of program goals: teaching students to diagnose and repair modern vehicles, articulation agreements for advanced degrees, and career opportunities. 

00:02:27 – 00:03:59 | Staying Current with Technology 

Joe explains how COD invests in the latest tools and vehicles, ensuring students learn cutting-edge systems and instructors maintain ongoing training. 

00:03:59 – 00:06:01 | Skills Beyond Technical Knowledge 

Conversation shifts to soft skills like time management, efficiency, and teamwork, which are critical for success in the automotive industry. 

00:06:01 – 00:07:00 | Exploring the Field & Getting Started 

Advice for aspiring professionals: take introductory classes, seek mentorship, and gain exposure through entry-level roles or networking. 

00:07:00 – 00:09:27 | Preparing Students for Industry 

Joe highlights how the program teaches problem-solving and system-level understanding rather than memorization, fostering adaptability and technology agility. 

00:09:27 – End | Final Advice & Resources 

Joe emphasizes the importance of passion, networking, and early experience. He shares resources for learning more about COD’s automotive program and offers personal support. 

Listeners in the College of DuPage community can visit our website. All other listeners are encouraged to view the resources of their local community college, WIOA training programs, or other local support centers.

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Transcript

Welcome to the Career Ready podcast. Learn about resumes, cover letters, LinkedIn, interviewing, and all things you need to be career ready with the Career Service Center at College of DuPage. I'm your host, Pierre Michiels, for today's episode.

In addition to learning about resources and the job search process, an important part of being career ready is understanding career paths. To help us explore the field of automotive, I have Joe Aranki with me, who works as the Automotive Program Coordinator and professor here at College of DuPage. Joe, thanks for joining me.

No, thank you for having me.

All right. So as we get started here, can you share a short introduction or, as we like to call it, your elevator pitch?

Yeah. As you said, my name is Joe Aranki. I've been fixing cars for about 32 years. It started because my dad worked in a factory in a traditional 40-hour setting, but then he would fix cars at night and on the weekends to help make ends meet. So I kind of grew up holding the light for him. After I graduated high school, it just seemed like a natural fit. So I ended up going to an automotive trade school and then started fixing cars. Eventually, I opened my own shop, and that just led into teaching.

Thank you for that introduction. It's nice to hear that this was something you were exposed to so early, and then just kind of took it on professionally. And now, you made that transition into teaching. So can we talk a little bit more about that specifically here and the automotive program and maybe some of the different career paths that it could lead toward?

Yeah. So we specifically teach students how to diagnose and repair today's modern vehicles. However, we do have an articulation agreement, and a lot of our students move on to SIU to get a four-year automotive degree. That opens up even more career opportunities. But for us, really, we want to show you how to diagnose these late-model vehicles with advanced systems and repair them.

And I could see, going back to your introduction, you said that you've been working on cars for 32 years. I'm sure they've evolved quite a bit over that time. Can you expand on how the program helps students see the evolution of cars, or what students should be thinking about as they prepare for cars changing in the future?

Yeah, so that's one thing we're very fortunate about here at COD. Although I've always said that money doesn't make a program—I think instruction makes a program—the money helps, and they support us really well here. Because of that, we are able to get the latest trainers and vehicles. We have over 70 vehicles in our fleet that have advanced systems. Students are often seeing systems that even techs in the field haven't seen yet. I think we do a really good job of staying current. One of the requirements of teaching in an ASE-certified program is that you have to get 20 hours of continued training. So we stay current, and we hope that we're teaching the kids these latest things.

As you're staying current with these latest trends, just from an educational standpoint, how often are people enrolling in your program for their own professional development, or is that something they seek out elsewhere?

Yeah, I think the industry does a very good job of continuing to train current techs. Our program is geared more for students who have no background. We want to take you from zero all the way up to our capstone class, which is a live-run class. People drop off their vehicles, students have to pull the vehicle in, diagnose it, the instructor will sell that job, and then they'll have to repair it and make sure the work is done properly. It's a good buffer between the classroom and going out to industry. But our program is really geared toward bringing you from no background up to being an entry-level technician.

That's great to hear, because I know there are a lot of people like yourself who have that passion and introduction to cars early on. But I also know people who say, "I'm mechanically inclined, but I haven't really had a chance to work on cars." Sometimes they discredit going down this path. But it sounds like even if they're at that ground-zero starting point, you'll give them those fundamental technical skills to make them marketable as they enter the field.

That's what I feel we do a good job with. And again, because of that financial support, we have the equipment, tooling, training aids, and vehicles to really be able to do that.

So we're talking a lot about technical, fundamental automotive skills, but I'm curious—beyond those, do you think students are developing other valuable skill sets employers may value? Maybe like time management, teamwork, communication?

Yeah. I think that because of the way our industry pays techs—based on book time—a given job will give a certain amount of time to complete that job. You're only getting paid what that book says that job should take. For shops to be profitable, they need techs who can beat that time. So we hope we do a good job of teaching students about efficiency, whether in the diagnostic process or the repair process. We hope these—maybe soft skills—develop in students so they can be profitable for themselves and for the shops.

Yeah, it sounds great, needing to have that balance of both technical and soft skills to help them be efficient in their work. Are there other experiences or opportunities you recommend developing professionals in the automotive field seek out?

Well, because of the way we're geared to take students from zero, I think it's not a bad idea if you have a passion for it to explore and take some classes and see if it's something you enjoy. We have one class geared specifically for that—introduction to the automotive industry. Or, if you have a family friend or someone in the industry, maybe it's worth sitting down and talking to them about what they like about it, if they would do things differently. I'm happy to answer these questions. If you ever want a tour of our facilities, just email me and I'm happy to start that line of communication.

Sounds good. And what are you doing in the program here at College of DuPage to prepare students for the field?

A couple of things about that. First, I think auto is unique in the fact that we don't necessarily teach you how to fix cars. We teach you about electrical, electronics, hydraulics, HVAC systems—all these independent systems on a vehicle. We teach you how they work. So your skill set becomes very seasoned. You might utilize that skill set fixing cars, or there are so many other industries that use that skill set. So you might end up doing something else. I just think it's a good time to be in auto, and it can never really be a waste taking these classes. If you enjoy using your hands to fix things and problem-solve, we're going to help you develop that, and you will find an industry that suits that skill set.

Yeah. I want to emphasize one thing you said—problem-solving. You don't teach them how to fix a car; you teach them how to work through these problems. Because if you teach them how to do it one way, that works for that car, that model, that year. But the next vehicle could be similar but different. So helping them understand that process and approach for different cars, different vehicles, or even other mechanical pieces prepares them for more than just automotive.

I hope that's the way we approach it. Most of our homework assignments and exams are done online at home. They're open book, open note. Education has changed from when I was a student. Before, you'd go and sit, take notes, go home, memorize, and then see how good your memory was. But now information is too available. So we're trying to develop critical thinking—the process of figuring things out—with all the information available at hand. Our exams are built around you trying to figure out that problem with the resources you have.

A term we use a lot in career services is being technology agile—learning different technology and how to incorporate it to better serve you. Information is abundant, and we can access it in so many ways. Memorization isn't needed anymore, but knowing how to look up information efficiently becomes really important. So being technology agile—adjusting to technology and determining what's most appropriate to help you move forward—is key.

I couldn't agree more. And I hope that's the way we all approach it. There are five full-timers in our program and 12 part-timers, and I think we're all on the same page about what you're saying.

Is there anything else you recommend to students or young professionals preparing for the field of automotive?

If you really do have a passion for this, there's such a shortage of techs out there that there are a lot of very basic entry-level jobs that employers will take a chance on you for. It's a great way to see if you really enjoy it and have an aptitude for it. There are oil change places hiring lube techs, tire technicians, even the parts industry. Just being around the industry will give you a much deeper sense of how things work and whether you like being around it.

I think that's great advice for a few reasons. One, you might be passionate about working on your car, but seeing what that looks like in industry can either sway you away or encourage you. So getting that experience and awareness is valuable. Also, the network and connections you build by being in those places will only help open more doors in the future.

I couldn't agree more.

So how can interested listeners find out more about the program here at College of DuPage?

Well, there's our webpage. You can go to COD's menu and look up automotive. You're welcome to contact me. My email address is arankij@cod.edu. If you email me, I can send you an information packet. I'm happy to schedule time to talk over the phone, Zoom, or tour our facilities.

All right, we'll check out our show notes to easily get that email and the link to the automotive page. Joe, thank you so much for sharing all this great information.

Thank you.

With today's episode, there's no listener question. However, if you have a question, you can submit it to CareerPodcast@cod.edu or on social media at COD Career Center, and you may hear it answered in a future episode. Thanks to all our listeners, and special thanks to Joe for joining the Career Ready podcast. We hope you now have a better understanding of the automotive field.