do it yourselfers

Thinking about it, how many installers actually have formal training? Not just from the shop chief, or supervisor, but actually went to school for installations? I would venture to say that most started out as DIY'ers. There has been times when I have bought something and the cost of installation was almost as much as the price I paid for the item. Back when I was doing electronics, my job, done incorrectly, could cost lives or many casualties. That was another lifetime. Having a sound system or other component is not so serious, but it ticks me off to see broken clips, loose panels and wires hanging out. I took my wife's BMW in to several shops to have a hands-free system installed a few years back. No one would touch it because it was new technology and they didn't want to be responsible for screwing up the BMW Nav system. So much for formal training. I later found someone else that said, no problem and it was done in a short while. Honestly, I see most installers as have started out being DIY'ers and were really sharp at it and have a good head on their shoulders. In a situation like that, it is probably, for the most part, better than formal training. Sometimes formal training does no good, like trying to train a brick. If you don't have the aptitude and an interest in what you are doing you are not going to be good at it.

Formal training... BMW... LOL! Until recently they were still teaching 13.8V for their charging systems despite having been updated to ~14.2V years ago. (Though I think that was a Bosch legacy....) Alas it is DIYers that are more likely to be up with the new. Those that are formally trained rely on that training (which has ceased for the qualified). And in my experience, training LAGS reality - often by decades! I maintain that the self-taught are the best. But that is a generalisation, and it does not include the "self taught idiots". (Like that audio-shop turkey that claimed my car's voltage might be 14.4V but only BEFORE it goes through the voltage-regulator, though that type of understanding is typical of formally trained people too.) Broken clips etc comes down to attitude or pride, or maybe economic prudence (why charge a customer excessively for the non-essential). Though I do wonder why the "brilliant mechanic" broke both door-handle surround plastics, and tried arc-welding the window-winder cable... And most replies herein seem to cover my common allegation that managers are generally fairly unknowledgeable, and are led by "forced economics" or accountants (lower short-term cost etc). But labor should cost more than parts. I remember a mechanic describing how they used to pull down an engine often (weekly) to re-shim the main & big-end bearings with paper. That was when labor was much cheaper than parts (1920s etc).