MECP Certification... Difficult? Worthwhile?
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From: College Station, TX
MECP Certification... Difficult? Worthwhile?
I took a look at the MECP.com website and I've been thinking about getting myself certified. I don't think it's something I want to make a career out of, but I'm curious about mobile audio and electronics and would love to work part-time during school, maybe full-time during the summer doing it. It'd beat waiting tables anways...
But I digress. This is for those of y'all who are certified. Was the material difficult? Do you feel like it was worth your time to get certified? Are you making pretty decent money ($15+ an hour) as an installer? Is it a fun job? Would I have a pretty good shot at getting a job installing just with this certification, even though I have very limited hands-on experience? Thanks for any insight y'all can give me!
But I digress. This is for those of y'all who are certified. Was the material difficult? Do you feel like it was worth your time to get certified? Are you making pretty decent money ($15+ an hour) as an installer? Is it a fun job? Would I have a pretty good shot at getting a job installing just with this certification, even though I have very limited hands-on experience? Thanks for any insight y'all can give me!
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From: Philadelphia, PA
There's 3 levels to the certification- Bronze, Silver, and Gold. I'm Silver certified. to get gold, you have to have (if i remember correctly) 5 years experience minimum, as well as take the test.
when i took the Bronze, i got a 98% (which means i think i missed one or two questions, if i remember correctly. on the silver i got something like a 94%. i have a MECP test book guide thing.. it helped a crap load. very useful information in it, even the stuff that isn't on the test.
i'm not working in that field, so i don't know how pay is or anything like that... but... as far as the information... i was like you... i was interested in all of it, so i went ahead and got certified.
if anything, you'll come away with a good knowledge about everything in general having to do with mobile audio/video.
when i took the Bronze, i got a 98% (which means i think i missed one or two questions, if i remember correctly. on the silver i got something like a 94%. i have a MECP test book guide thing.. it helped a crap load. very useful information in it, even the stuff that isn't on the test.
i'm not working in that field, so i don't know how pay is or anything like that... but... as far as the information... i was like you... i was interested in all of it, so i went ahead and got certified.
if anything, you'll come away with a good knowledge about everything in general having to do with mobile audio/video.
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From: The ILL State
im bronze certified...Most major places look at it but eh it may or may not help you. Best buy and CC will pay for you to get certfiied and u get like a dollar or 2 raise from it. Most of the stuff is second hand. I got an 89 on it and barely even studied
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very easy exam, bronze is a cake walk. give me a few days to find my study guide and i can send it to you. best thing is to get the bronze and go to circuit or best buy. i can get you into best buy in college station if i make a few phone calls. i make $14/hr but i am only part time. i do clock 30+ hours on average. i went back to Best Buy because of my school schedule so it works. i believe it is the best PT job while in college. I just had a friend hired at BBY with no cert for $12.85 FT. if you can dress up in a monkey suit, talk the talk, and walk in certified. there is no reason you cant start at $12+. i have been bronze/silver/ and back to bronze. hope to get silver before my bronze expires in march. at that point i will clock $15-16/hr. i also have alot of experience though, alot more than i show on any forum.
BTW CC and BBY dont allow side work if it is a conflict of interest, but i have a signed letter from my district manager that allows me to build custom boxes at home. i clock another 1200 or so a month so give it a try...or i will never talk to you again!
BTW CC and BBY dont allow side work if it is a conflict of interest, but i have a signed letter from my district manager that allows me to build custom boxes at home. i clock another 1200 or so a month so give it a try...or i will never talk to you again!
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From: The ILL State
Originally Posted by quest51210
very easy exam, bronze is a cake walk. give me a few days to find my study guide and i can send it to you. best thing is to get the bronze and go to circuit or best buy. i can get you into best buy in college station if i make a few phone calls. i make $14/hr but i am only part time. i do clock 30+ hours on average. i went back to Best Buy because of my school schedule so it works. i believe it is the best PT job while in college. I just had a friend hired at BBY with no cert for $12.85 FT. if you can dress up in a monkey suit, talk the talk, and walk in certified. there is no reason you cant start at $12+. i have been bronze/silver/ and back to bronze. hope to get silver before my bronze expires in march. at that point i will clock $15-16/hr. i also have alot of experience though, alot more than i show on any forum.
BTW CC and BBY dont allow side work if it is a conflict of interest, but i have a signed letter from my district manager that allows me to build custom boxes at home. i clock another 1200 or so a month so give it a try...or i will never talk to you again!
BTW CC and BBY dont allow side work if it is a conflict of interest, but i have a signed letter from my district manager that allows me to build custom boxes at home. i clock another 1200 or so a month so give it a try...or i will never talk to you again!
i do side work outta my install bay and my manager coudl careless as long as i ring up tracking sku's he doesnt care.
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From: College Station, TX
The only problem is... I used to work for Best Buy, and they were kind of shady about the whole thing. They owe me a fair amount of money from bonuses I never got paid for and hours I worked and didn't get paid for.
Fernando I'd love to take a look at your book though. Maybe I'll talk to some of the other places around College Station and see what I can do. If there's one thing I'm good at, it's interviews, so maybe I'll look into this stuff!
On the MECP site they don't mention bronze/silver/gold, but rather something like basic/expert/master or something like that... any difference?
Fernando I'd love to take a look at your book though. Maybe I'll talk to some of the other places around College Station and see what I can do. If there's one thing I'm good at, it's interviews, so maybe I'll look into this stuff!
On the MECP site they don't mention bronze/silver/gold, but rather something like basic/expert/master or something like that... any difference?
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From: Philadelphia, PA
Originally Posted by Gearhead61
On the MECP site they don't mention bronze/silver/gold, but rather something like basic/expert/master or something like that... any difference?
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From: College Station, TX
I'm in college... my books cost $150 each! $80 bucks isn't too bad really. I do remember seeing the books are like $25ish each, and the bronze test is $50, the other two tests are $80.
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Joined: Jan 2005
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From: Ringgold, Georgia
There is still a master level...
Anyways, I'm bronze certified, and I spent a month last year in Tempe, AZ at a school called Mobile Dynamics (They also have a school in Toronto). They have both 4 and a 8 week training program designed to get you certified and well-known in the industry before you go out there and try for yourself. The 8 week program will get you a Silver Certification level. It was one of the best experiences of my life because of all the cool *** people I met while I was down there, not to mention the school is top notch and VERY much worth it. If you're that interested in it I'd suggest you check it out.
But back to the test...yeah, they're pretty easy. I heard the test for master is harder than hell though, plus you need like 10 years of experience before you are even eligible. As for what I've done with it=nothing. I looked around my area for a job in the mobile electronics industry for months and the problem with trying to find your FIRST job as an installer is that most companies don't want to hire a newcomer because they usually have the skilled workers they need. Best Buy and Circuit City are always an option, but then again CC will keep you from doing a lot of custom stuff that you may want to try out. It's hard to find a job in this industry, trust me.
Anyways, I'm bronze certified, and I spent a month last year in Tempe, AZ at a school called Mobile Dynamics (They also have a school in Toronto). They have both 4 and a 8 week training program designed to get you certified and well-known in the industry before you go out there and try for yourself. The 8 week program will get you a Silver Certification level. It was one of the best experiences of my life because of all the cool *** people I met while I was down there, not to mention the school is top notch and VERY much worth it. If you're that interested in it I'd suggest you check it out.
But back to the test...yeah, they're pretty easy. I heard the test for master is harder than hell though, plus you need like 10 years of experience before you are even eligible. As for what I've done with it=nothing. I looked around my area for a job in the mobile electronics industry for months and the problem with trying to find your FIRST job as an installer is that most companies don't want to hire a newcomer because they usually have the skilled workers they need. Best Buy and Circuit City are always an option, but then again CC will keep you from doing a lot of custom stuff that you may want to try out. It's hard to find a job in this industry, trust me.
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i went to installer institute about 7 years ago. i already had mom and pop experience and looked to get into something to pay better. got out of the school and dropped into a $10/hr job at circuit city. year later went over to best buy for $14/hr then back out to the custom shops where i averaged about $20-$25/hr when it was busy, then back at best buy for $15/hr. i am in college and my bills are minimal, know all the rules, and dont bend over backwards for management. so yes i like best buy since its on my terms.
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Originally Posted by Gearhead61
Best buy was never on my terms when I worked for them... but I was just a cashier.
when i see ppl on different forums complain about best buy it is usually because they either dont stand up for themselves, are sacred to say anything, or dont study SOP enough to know what they can get away with and how to get their managers on deep **** if the managers cross the line.
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From: College Station, TX
Yeah... the place was just temporary employment for the holidays anyways... I think it's silly that you've got managers who will try to take advantage of you or give you the shaft anyways. I've never had worse managers than I did when I worked at Best Buy. The one good one we had got deployed to Iraq after about a month of me working there.
