tell ya this now...in 10+ years its a pretty good chance you will not be saying the same thing.

last two years i dealt with numerous body shops and not one of the painters was ever happy unless i had something free for him or he happened to be working on a job that wasnt just a fix and spray.

its a profession that tends to get real old real quick unless your in a shop that sees a decent traffic of custom work, not just repair jobs.

the technology doesnt exactly change overnight so the chance to use completely new techniques and hardware isnt that prevelent. for that matter newer technology isnt always better.

30 years down the road unless your in a custom shop theres not much to look forward to in the pbe business. insurance companies are really starting to kill profits for alot of shops, at least in michigan

but hopefully u make a go of it since u are going to school for it