Q: How many years have you been in the industry?
A: 8.5
Q: How many years have you been MECP certified?
A: 8.5
Q: How long did it take you to become a MECP Master Installation Technician?
A: From the time that I started seriously studying for the test to the time I passed it was about 10 months.
Q: How has becoming an MECP Master Installation Technician impacted your career?
A: While working for my previous employer as an installer, the Master Installation Technicians Certification had significant financial benefits. Now that I am in a supervisor/salary position, it has assisted in establishing a level of respect from employees and co-workers in the field of automotive electronics.
Q: What do you feel are the big challenges facing the industry?
A: I feel that the biggest challenge facing the industry today is the advancement in vehicle electrical systems. I currently work for a company whose main focus is vehicle security and recovery. Interfacing factory power sources safely is becoming more and more difficult every year with the addition of voltage and current draw monitoring systems. Also, with the prospect of vehicle electrical systems changing from the current 12V platform to a much higher voltage source, I believe we will continue to face new challenges in regards to outfitting the vehicles of tomorrow with electronic aftermarket products.
Q: What do you feel are the big challenges technicians face while working in the install bay?
A: To list a few… Keeping up with what power sources are safe to tie into (see above comments), and working with new vehicle materials. Every year, vehicle manufactures try to cut costs, many times going with weaker and/or thinner materials than the year before. Often times, these materials are weaker than the clips and fasteners that hold them together. This allows for many opportunities for damage claims if proper care is not taken. Also, with the advent of side impact and curtain air bags, we are starting to see “One-Time-Use” clips that are destroyed upon removal. These can be a challenge to avoid for techs that have not come across them before.
Q: What are your comments about other installers who feel like the certification does not apply to them?
A: Like it or not, most customers like to see that the person that is working on their car has some type of formal training or certification. They may not be looking for it when the come through the door, but you may get them as a repeat customer because of it.
Q: As a Master Installation Technician, have you benefited financially in regard to salary, incentives or growth at your current employer?
A: It helped me obtain my current position, but is difficult to say what financial benefits it gave me. As mentioned above, when I was still an installer at my previous job, the Master Installation Technician Certification had a direct financial benefit. However, they recently stopped paying an incentive for obtaining the certificate.
Q: As a result of your certification, do you feel you have job security or better job prospects?
A: Having the certificate looks great on a resume, and I feel it lets employers know that you take your field of work seriously and you are someone that likes to stay at the top of their industry.
Q: Do you actively promote your Master Installation Technician Certification to your customers or retail audience
A: I am not currently in a position that allows for me to do this.
Q: What is your favorite tool and why?
A: The Pneumatic D/A Sander (all models and sizes). Because it gets the job done so much faster!
Q: What is the most challenging car that you’ve worked on and why? (Include year, make, model and why was it difficult?)
A: For me the challenging cars were the really nasty ones. The ones that come in filthy, with a back seat full of dirty dippers, half eaten rotting food, and sometimes if you were really luck vomit. But one car that really stands out was a 90-something Nissan Sentra. A customer came in one night and purchased a CD player and wanted to get it installed. It was dark out when I pulled in the car, I noticed that were was a strangely shaped object on the dash as I was pulling the car into the bay but could not make it out because it was dark out, or maybe I was just distracted by the sickening sour sweet smell that permeated the car. When I got the car into the light of the shop I was surprised to learn that the object on the dash was a half eaten crab that was quickly dripping its juicy goodness all over the dash and was running down into the depths of the windshield defrost heater vents. Based on the smell I had to assume it has been on the dash for some time. Nothing could cut the stench, so I put on my respirator, finished the install job and quickly parked the car in the lot… crab and all.
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