Mecp Master Installer Test= ********

[W8 a minute 10+ year member]

I passed the basic test when they first implemented it back in the day. I never found a shop that paid more because you had it. Most shops pay more for your reputation, installation photo album, trophies, etc. Truth be told most shops will pay you more because you can install an alarm in 30 minutes or less.

 

[12VoltInstaller 10+ year member]

At this point....sad but true...your right. I work for an owner now that would hire 10 guys that could do that over a single guy that is the pimpest dude on the planet....because it makes him money...he doesnt care about the customer or the installer....he wants his money and will do whatever it takes...(including screwing the customer) to do it....

Im tellin ya...those dudes are Chef Boyardee....the king of spaghetti in a dash....but truth be told...the industry has done this to itself.....

"Home of the $1 install"....."free installation"....."done in under 30 minutes or less"....etc. Same day Service....Free Re installation of Factory gear.... when the hell do we actually get to make some money for what we do?

It makes you care even less if your Master, Silver or Basic Certified.....

I need to blam this alarm out and on to the next...... thats not really what I signed up for when I got into this whole thing..... Quality for a good price? Whats that?

Fast

Cheap

Good....

You can only have 2 of the 3 at any one time.

Fast and cheap...but not good

Cheap and good but not fast

Fast and good but not cheap

What do we do people?

 

[Paddy McTaint 10+ year member]

It's very tough, if not impossible to make enough money installing to afford the luxuries this world has to offer. I installed for about 5 years in the 90's and after maxing out at about 7.00 an hour I bailed and haven't been back. I have found more money working in a shipyard than in auto electronics and that's working with guys with less than a 10th grade edumacation.

There is no and will never be a great pay scale in the install industry. If you're making over 20.00 an hour you are very fortunate and know your stuff and have probably been with your company a long time.

I moved into different industries and can only suggest the same. I thoroughly enjoyed installing but the pay wasn't worth the energy and cuts and bruises etc. If I'm going home tired I had better go home well paid and tired.

 

[spoonraker 10+ year member]

I am posting in this thread to get a bit of the word out from a concerned persons perspective that the test being reviewed by the peers of the community uniform ally recognize that the test doest prove that your "master quality". We should have a way to hold our installers to a higher standard that can actually accredit the people that deserve it with an award of excellence. An attainable goal...not a glass ceiling that very few can be considered. I dont really think that there are that few people out there that could actually be considered Masters of the trade. Not only including myself. I have worked with some amazing installers that know cars inside and out....different products and how to apply them....wire colors and locations of components off the top of thier heads....and make lots of money doing so...setting trends and being a leader in their field.......and still cannot pass or do not have the desire to pass the test because it proves nothing to them or their customers.....at this point.

I would love to be part of writing the next test. I think I could offer a great amount of suggestions about what type of criteria to test someone on to "REALLY FIND OUT WHAT THEY ARE MADE OF" not just a test that throws them curveballs and asks questions that really....on a daily or monthly or even out of the whole year...probably will never be tested to find the answer to in their daily task of being a master installer.....if the information that is being tested...is so rarely used....why not have the service manuals available to answer the questions that require large breath of memorization of mathematical equations...that you really only memorized to be able to pass the test.

Im opening peoples eyes to the possibility that the test really isnt all its cracked up to be and that we should probably have more master certified installers out there.... Just cuz there are so few out there....only shows that a select few have the memorization skills or as Memphisv-tec428 said.... have someone tudor them before they take the test on exactly what is on it to take it again and pass.

Im glad a NOOB is willing to stick his neck out in this type of thread. It shows that people really do care about where this industry is going....not just trying to post threads that insinuate that they just want to finsih the thread with negative comments and tell the person that started the situation to get over it and move on.

Sorry man...it wont be fixed untill its adressed and solved.

I understand what you're saying, but having not taken the master level test myself, I can't really understand exactly how bad it is.

In my mind a test that is designed to prove "Master" proficiency in a field, should obviously test the daily activities of somebody in that profession. However it should also test preparedness for theoretical situations that might never come up, and should also test very detailed technical knowledge about the products you use/sell/install. Sometimes you have to know why stuff works to be able to successfully use it, a master installer should definitely have a lot of technical knowledge of crossovers, amplifiers, and speakers, as well as many other things.

I guess the only real concerns I would have is the outdated technology. Other than that it sounds like the test just needs some tweaking in terms of the number of questions about each topic.

 

[12VoltInstaller 10+ year member]

I guess the only real concerns I would have is the outdated technology. Other than that it sounds like the test just needs some tweaking in terms of the number of questions about each topic.

Ok...now that we are on the same page...Im glad you have looked at this a few times....given your responses...(they really do matter) and have come to the suggestions that I would have expected from an educated person involved with this industry....

The test needs to be updated....not completely thrown away and discarded for a complete new test.

Updated....updated..... updated....

Thanks for your continued input to this.... lets start making suggestions on how we can change the face of this industry for the better. It starts with us....its not dead...and its only gonna get more difficult.....if the pay goes back up....there will be better and more informed people back to it.... you don't do any of this stuff for free...or cuz you just love it so much....for free?....you'd be crazy....but it sure is nice to be in a profession that started as a hobby....I wont ever leave if I can keep earning enough to feed my face....Just like the industry...we just have to keep adapting and evolving.

UPDATE:idea:

 

[spoonraker 10+ year member]

So how do you propose we go about getting the test modified?

 

[U n K n O w N ? 10+ year member]

no slamming or anything, but if you gona whine over something you can not pass. then call it BS. its kinda stupid..
what does 30 k posts have to do with anything?

btw im a first class installer too.

................

 

[snb778 5,000+ posts]

Shop I worked at gets starts at $120/hr. MORE for custom work. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

Why has nobody commented on this comment

What is the name of the shop.. I really want to call them. Is this a car audio shop, or some "we do everything"shop in a rich as hell area

and unless they are known to do some of the best work in the country....thats complete BS. I bet you guys get a ton of young people business, HAH...bet alot of your friends like payin that price

 

[12VoltInstaller 10+ year member]

Well just like any kind of democracy. Or I guess it could be viewed as a petition. This is THE Car Audio.com forum. I would hope they would be willing to listen to our requests....after that.... if our suggestions fall on deaf ears...(which actually could be the case)....its pretty much been me doing alot of *****ing and retorting....but really its one of those things that I think needs to be addressed.

I got to thinking about it.... I kind of compared my situation and me not passing it to someone becoming an activist after one of their family members gets cancer or some disease.....follow along with me here...... Simliar because if their test would have come back clear...they would have had no reason to speak out about it and try to find a cure for it. So in a sense I have become an activist for the improvement of our testing criteria because I contracted a disease...called failure....

I do however have a steadfast opinion, regardless of if I passed or not....I would still feel the same way about the test and my opinion that it needs to be addressed.

I think that we should offer good suggestions on testing criteria and why it matters to us and why we think it should matter to our employers and our customers.....and to the peers of the community that it embodies.

I want to be proud that I earned such a prestigious title in my profession...and actually have it mean something to the people that work the industry as well.

Take an industry poll of the top 100 installers as selected by their peers....(which in my opinion isn't being given a fair look either....that could be a whole other thread) and I digress

Basically....have the people that are supposed to be considered the top installers in the country write the test collaboratively. That would probably give the best instance of nation wide response of what matters and what really doesnt anymore.

I think if you have been voted a top 100 installer of the year...you should automatically earn Master Certified Status. The voting must be done again by the peers of the industry. Not just the Bias....Partisan Industry Reps that vote for the same people...sometimes...as many as 3 people from one shop.... year after year ....as members of the top 100. (That has to be an insane-o crew.)

Dedicate a web site specifically designed and designated for Voting for the top 100 installers of the year so it cannot be rigged or cheated.....then maybe once a year or every 2 years....revise the test for relevance. Make that a core duty of the Top 100 Installers and Top 100 Retailers. Damm sure it would matter then!

Some food for thought.

 

[NeverEnuffBass 10+ year member]

Why has nobody commented on this comment
What is the name of the shop.. I really want to call them. Is this a car audio shop, or some "we do everything"shop in a rich as hell area

and unless they are known to do some of the best work in the country....thats complete BS. I bet you guys get a ton of young people business, HAH...bet alot of your friends like payin that price

Car audio shop that specializes in high end installs. Alpine was the lowest line carried there. Other brands included, McIntosh, Morel, Canton, Hertz, and similar products. Most cars in the shop were: Benz, BMW, Ferari, Porshe, Bentley, etc. Area is rich as hell. Fairfield County, CT Google it.

 

[12VoltInstaller 10+ year member]

bump

 

[audioatg 10+ year member]

As an auto mechanic there are tests for ppl to take too. ASEs I know everyone has heard of them. When I took them I passed a few failed a couple. ALot of the question had to do with old time cars. Nothin to do with todays vehicles that have like 20 billion computers on them. I thought the same thing about thoses test. There is a thing called being book smart. I knew a few guys like that smartest kids on the block when it came to book smarts. Passed all their ASEs with flying colors but when it came to actually fixing a car they ****** at it.

I dunno . IMO some times theses tests an what you get for them. ASE or MECP. Mean nothin to me.

 

[12VoltInstaller 10+ year member]

It does show a level of aptitude, but really does nothing to show your application of your knowledge. Im glad they make people take a driving test as well as the writen portion as well. Maybe they need to implement a form of the phisical testing like the driving test. Book smarts are also important...Im just saying....why would we all have a test that the majority of the public think is worthless and proves nothing of your capabilities..... Thats why this forum's headding says alot. And unfortunately, no solution has been offered by our public that addresses the phisical testing as well. I guess if you get a job...cant hack it...you get fired....thats a pretty good tell tale sign of your inability to do your job....by then its too late.

 

[audioatg 10+ year member]

Well I know the ASE's tests have been updated for newer technology. For todays Vehicles. I remember one test I took for engine diag. It was a joke to me. Had alot of questions about Carberators. how many cars do you see with Carbs on them rolling off the new lot. I guess they seen somthin like this an what you are saying. They looked seen more an more ppl failing an they looked at the questions they got wrong. Mabye in time MECP will change too.

 

[supermike_05]

ok so here is my question on this subject why do we have to know old school methods that dont apply to todays technology they need to be testing us on stuff relavant to todays cars and equepment