mecp

the seams to be a lot of installers that chat here how many have mecp certification.

i have advanced installer and will soon will be going for master, just some more studying this test is ridiculous. 

Well I KNOW I'm going to blow a few fuses with this so be forewarned.....MECP vs. experience seems to be a very charged topic (well, at least for me). I am certified as a basic installer and as a salesperson. I dont believe that there is necessarily one better than the other, just advantages. I think everyone serious about what they do should strive to be certified. There seems to be a lot of guys who have already "put in time " who do not have the respect for the certification that it deserves. The certification test is made by long-time installers, shop owners, manufacturers, and others who have "put in time" and deem it very important for a sound foundation inside an industry that only gets more and more complicated as time goes by. IMHO experience means one thing, speed due to repetition. Think about it, when new vehicles hit the market (especially totally new designs) put the experienced guy and the certified guy in with the car and the are in the same boat--neither have had the experience of this vehicle. But hark I say because the certified guy has a decent electrical background which MAY give him the advantage. Vehicles are more and more sophisticated each year so experience by itself may not hold up as strong as it would have 10 years ago. Oh, BTW when i say certified guy i dont mean a new person who has never touched a car, he has SOME experience otherwise why would he have chosen this field of work, surely not for the fame, fortune, or endless line of women (or men if u prefer) at your feet! I kinda take the whole "just a piece of paper" thing personal because i worked hard for it and will continue on the path to hold every certification the CEA has. But I also understand both sides: In 2002 I took my geo to BB to have my system installed b/c they were certified. I had them design the system for me and i was in there every 2 weeks like clock work exchanging my blown woofers that they had chosen for "optimum performance" with my amplifier also from BB. The madness only stopped when they no longer carried the woofers and let me chose a set to my liking, which never blew. It was frustrating b/c how could someone certified make such a mistake? i asked. Now my more recent experience was with my last employer. He had been in business for 11 years and he installed he said almost every day. He had a prized employee who had also been doing this for 5 years with him. He hired me to help open a new store and help with the work load. Well between the 2 "experienced installers" i spent 50% of my time repairing terrible installs of which none were mine. I worked there for 3 months. His only complaint was that I wasnt fast enough (though I could do 4 vehicles in an 8 hour shift by myself and help in front with sales at the same time). That was wierd b/c i spent a lot of time repairing wiring that looked like twine and troubleshooting things. Now the advantage I had over both of them was the fact that I could troubleshoot things almost 4 times as fast as they could b/c i had the electrical background from studying for the MECP, thats why i spent so much time fixing their bad installs. Now the only reason that I am no longer there is the fact that the new store went belly up and since i was the last one in, i was the first one to go. Well here is my 2 pennies about this MECP vs Experience thing: If i had to chose as a consumer and/or shop owner here is what they would be in order:

1.MECP Installer w/experience (have your cake and eat it 2!)

2.Experienced installer willing to become/andstay certified.

3. MECP Installer (electrical knowledge will lessen likelyhood of mistakes)

4.Experienced installer who will not become certified(imo, certification shows some respect for the industry)

5. An apprentice

That's my $.02, and thanks for letting me vent. One love!

KarTuneMan wrote:

That's cool, and i'm not saying that b/c u are certified that u won't catch anything on fire, just that the likelyhood that u will should be greatly reduced with the extra knowledge that certification requires. Like I said, i think anybody really serious should give it go at being certified mainly for the customers, they tend to have more respect (if they know what MECP is) for the installer, shop, install, cost of install, etc. and those that dont know will ask. You know it's kinda like being a certified (ASE) mechanic, doctor (PhD), or anything else it just holds a little wait and gives some reassurance.

Not certified, never plan on becoming certified and personally do not see the need to do so. One advantage I have in my experience is being a business owner. Once you view MECP as a business and not a licensing program, you can see past the Jedi Mind Trick that they are doing to you. After everything is done, at the end of the day, MECP is a business, that  business is to take your money and trade you a peice of paper for it.

A customer does not give two shats about a piece of paper. What they care about it the price and if the contraption you just installed into their car works or not. Will MECP make me more adapt at doing something I for example have been on top of for 20 years, nope. Could I go to MECP and instruct, if asked and the time was free, yup. Wait a minute....I don't have a piece of paper though...... and probably never will.

I'm not certified any more. I have been certified in the past, but just because my employer at the time required it. My cert has long since expired. I did buy the new MECP advanced/whatever study guide  -  I like to read. I am considering getting re-certified, but only to use it as a lever

I've seen certified, but inexperienced, installers do some C R A Z Y things to cars! There is positively NO substitute for experience. A new Tech will learn VERY rapidly if he is supervised by an experienced Tech. Common sense, folks. My point is - taking & passing some test will not make you "The Man".

Concerning the hypothetical "New Car" situation mentioned previously in this thread, I am of the firm opinion that in the un-certified-with-experience Tech vs certified-but-not-so-experienced Tech situation, the experienced dude will figure out the "New Car" faster & he will do a better job. That is how an experienced Tech becomes an experienced Tech! That is the benefit of experience.

Old Dogs learn new tricks every day, man, so they will ALWAYS be ahead of the newbys ... sorry kids!