You'll be better off taking out a $10k loan for a ton of tools, starting at a dealership as an entry level tech, and working your way up.
If the price is ok, I'd say community college automotive classes to learn the basics... Wyotech and UTI are overpriced and 95% of the kids who come out of there are no better than when they went in.
The reality is that you may not do well... and then you have $30k of debt(plus housing and whatever else you need while at school) to pay.
I went through my tech school while I was still in highschool... I didn't do a lot of learning at "school"... because the instructor emphasized that beyond learning some basics(hydraulic principles for brakes, steering and suspension theory, etc), nothing will teach you more than going into the real world and doing it. The senior year you failed if you did not have a job at a dealership. Pretty simple.
I worked at a Chrysler dealer for 2 years and was "mentored" throughout that time. That alone was what taught me everything I know.
Also I had the motivation to read and learn everything I possibly could in my OFF time(you will need to when starting out or else you will starve), and actually had 5 ASEs before graduating high school. I also won multiple awards for different diagnostic competitions(2nd place in Ford AAA troubleshooting at a state level in VA, and 3rd place in a SkillsUSA competition IIRC). I recieved multiple $3k to $5k scholarships to UTI, Wyotech, Nashville Auto Diesel College, and the University of NW Ohio for both of those competitions... and don't regret not using them.
FWIW ASEs do not mean anything in the real world as far as skills go... what they DO show(IMO) is that you take pride in your career and will do extra work to get recognition for it. I've met some dumb as dirt master techs.... I've watched one guy(who was a Wyotech grad BTW) spend an entire DAY trying to pull the carrier out of a D44 rear end in a Jeep... the guy was whaling on the ends of the axle shafts with a hammer because he thought it had C-clips like a GM 10 bolt axle(screwy). He failed to see the 4 bolts holding the axle shaft retaining flange on the ends of the axle tubes. He has also destroyed many many other things as well.
There is one guy who was a great tech that graduated from Wyotech... he was fast and did a good job diagnosing stuff... and I asked him what he thought bout Wyotech... he said the only reason he's any good at wrenching is because he grew up on a farm fixing stuff all the time and had a decent amount of car experience to begin with. Wyotech was a waste of money overall... he learned a few things here and there but nothing he couldn't have figured out himself.
It seems that the guys who are already good with working on cars are the ones who seem to do good when they leave Wyotech.
I worked at the Chrysler dealer for 2 years, and I've been with my current dealer(a VERY large used car dealer) for going on 5 years now. What's nice about the dealer I'm with... I'm paid hourly(not starving when we don't have work), the benefits are fantastic, and tools are provided... so my big Snap-On box is at home now(well... a friend's garage that I work out of). This is far from the norm though... On flat rate, I could probably make about the same $ I do now yearly, maybe a a tad more... but having every paycheck be the same week after week is very nice.
Shoot me a PM if you want some more info.
Oh... and opening a performance shop is a great way to lose a ton of money. I'm not saying you can't make money at it... but most who try do not... those who do are not making money for a good while, and those who still do are constantly stressed, profit is inconsistent, and the costs of technology constantly changing makes it harder and harder to do. If you still want to go this route, plan on your "job" being more of a "hobby" and the only satisfaction you will get out of it will be working on cars you like... which will come with working on cars you don't like... and enjoy it while you can because you will eventually not like working on any cars... and the whole time you will not be making much money.
I love what I do... but I sure as hell won't be doing it forever.
