ASE Certification

Got a notice from ASE that I've got two certifications expiring at the end of June.

Paid the money to register for the recertification tests. Downloaded the study guides. Have a Motor Age* print study guide for one of the tests that hasn't been updated since the last time I re-certified five years ago--it's a 2016 edition book but that's what's current eight years later.

Anyone else bother to get ASE Certification?

Honestly, I don't really know why I bother. It's not like I'm a pro any more, and haven't been for decades. But they're not horribly expensive, they're not hard tests other than the "Advanced Level" units; and it's an ego-boost. I keep telling myself that I should just let 'em expire...and then I recertify again anyway.



*I also have an out-of-date/previous edition "Delmar" study guide for the same test...and I really dislike it. The practice questions are of very low quality. Motor Age is much better than Delmar.

Y'all got a different system down there than up here.
On the surface, I like the idea of getting "recertified" every few years to keep current. Although using 8yr old material just seems silly. More of a cash grab it appears.

Up here, most trades are a 4yr apprenticeship program. 10 months working, then 2 months of school. Do that 4 times then write your journeyman test for your ticket. But once you get your ticket, that is given by the province you are in, that's it. It's yours for life. I believe all the trades are like that.

BUT...there is always updated courses you can go to, either from your employer, union, manufacturer etc. This allows you to stay current in your trade. But that base ticket never expires.

Then you can write your "inter-provincial" Red Seal. That allows you to use your ticket in any province or territory, other than Quebec.

I would be horrified if I had to rewrite my carpenter exam from 20+ yrs ago or scaffolding from 14yrs ago!!!! I'm sure it would definitely humble me!!! Lol

Personally of it's not too much time or money involved, I'd keep your certification current. Better to have it and not need it than.....you know the rest!! Lol

And again..... thanks for all the knowledge you spew at the rest of us!! Even though I'm sure your patience is tested multiple times a day!!! Lol

I peeped a couple sample tests years ago and they seemed really easy. Like take the test without studying easy. Made me wonder why folks make such a fuss over it. Or do they?

The certs can help hanging up in a shop for customers to see. I have seen techs in my shops that were not certified and could work rings around some certified techs. For most that are certified, it is just checking a box. I have my Master Tech and Service Consultant expired certs. I am not in a shop and know what I know but not all that I should or want to know. Forums help. There isn't a certified tech alive that does not look thru All Data or other available material and even non certified techs can get that access. Most certified techs just know how to work smarter and not harder. Plus, it makes you feel good when you can prove you are either current or expired in ASE Certification groups.

Knowledge does not always equal intelligence!!!
But having that piece of paper states you SHOULD have a basic knowledge of your trade. And should be able to help you get a better wage. Up here in my industry, "un-ticketed" Journeymen get paid as a 4th year apprentice, or 90% of what a JM makes. But a LOT of them can work circles and are smarter than someone with a ticket. They for some reason or another just didn't go to school. So leaving hundreds of thousands of dollars on the table over the course of a career.

Every time I certified and then recertified, my employer paid for all tests I passed. If they would not have paid me, I would not have allowed my certs to be hung in the front office, in front of customers.

movietvet said:

I have seen techs in my shops that were not certified and could work rings around some certified techs.

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I've seen this sentiment so often that I usually never let on that I actually have an expired ASE certification in my past.

Didn't want to spill the beans and be branded part of the Overpromise & Underdeliver herd. Doesn't seem fair to those
who have a whole string of advanced ASE certifications *and* know which end of the hammer goes where, but this seems
to be the way it used to play out in the real world?

Especially given how this ASE certification thing tends to polarize the perspective of those on the team who have climbed
all the way to the top with purely street cred, I found that answering direct questions truthfully, volunteering nothing more,
and cranking out quality fixes kept me under the radar, both at work & play.

As for the difficulty of the ASE tests, they were close to the 5-level tests, and easier than the 7-level & 9-level tests
in the Air Force. Typical multiple choice, just gotta read for comprehension & take your time, no worries. Funny, it's
like the FCC 1st Class Radiotelephone license I got back in the late '70s. I thought being known for this would
guarantee my being invited to all the top tier parties...but alas, yet another grandiose vision of mine gleaned from the
career brochures dashed against the hard rocks of reality. Turns out the only other people who even knew what this
was also wore pocket protectors and were fellow Tesla (the AC guru) devos.

I actually thought I was going to move from working in a garage to working on high power radio & TV transmitters...
instead I ended up working in raised floor computer rooms and flightline Avionics. With 20/20 hindsight, my career
crystal ball wasn't even close to accurate. But it was a good run, for I was always found myself fixing on the far side
of my comfort zone, so I was too busy drinking from the fire hydrant of tech data & microfiche machine code listings
to ever be bored. :0)

Drunkcanuk said:

Y'all got a different system down there than up here.

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I learned the "interesting" way that Canada is very different from USA in ways sometimes surprising.

Drunkcanuk said:

On the surface, I like the idea of getting "recertified" every few years to keep current. Although using 8yr old material just seems silly. More of a cash grab it appears.

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I won't dispute the cash-grab. And I gotta say that I really resent the full-fist-wrectal-search at the ProMetric testing station.

8-year-old study material is not such a bad thing. It likely means that the emissions systems haven't dramatically changed since 2016. Thus no need to dramatically revise the test...and study guide.

Drunkcanuk said:

Up here, most trades are a 4yr apprenticeship program. 10 months working, then 2 months of school. Do that 4 times then write your journeyman test for your ticket. But once you get your ticket, that is given by the province you are in, that's it. It's yours for life. I believe all the trades are like that.

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ASE requires 2 years full-time work in the relevant areas to be qualified for certification. Two years of full-time schooling can substitute for one of the two years of experience.

Drunkcanuk said:

I would be horrified if I had to rewrite my carpenter exam from 20+ yrs ago or scaffolding from 14yrs ago!!!! I'm sure it would definitely humble me!!! Lol

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Kinda thinking that's exactly why they require re-certifying at 5-year intervals. That, and the money it generates.

Much like airline pilots who have to have occasional check-rides to root-out various bad habits.

Drunkcanuk said:

Personally of it's not too much time or money involved, I'd keep your certification current. Better to have it and not need it than.....you know the rest!!

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Yeah. I think that's why I do it.

Drunkcanuk said:

And again..... thanks for all the knowledge you spew at the rest of us!

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One of the many services I offer.

Supercharged111 said:

I peeped a couple sample tests years ago and they seemed really easy. Like take the test without studying easy. Made me wonder why folks make such a fuss over it. Or do they?

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"Sample tests" are not really representative of the real test questions. I find multiple poorly-worded/ambiguous "sample" test questions, but rarely in the actual tests.

About the only person on Earth who makes a big deal out of ASE Certification is...me.

movietvet said:

The certs can help hanging up in a shop for customers to see.

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You'd think so. In reality, nobody seems to care about 'em.

movietvet said:

I have seen techs in my shops that were not certified and could work rings around some certified techs.

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Yes. I've seen that, too.

movietvet said:

it makes you feel good when you can prove you are either current or expired in ASE Certification groups.

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Yeah. It's an ego boost.

Drunkcanuk said:

having that piece of paper states you SHOULD have a basic knowledge of your trade.

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Yes. Certification weeds-out the know-nothings.

Drunkcanuk said:

And should be able to help you get a better wage.

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movietvet said:

Every time I certified and then recertified, my employer paid for all tests I passed. If they would not have paid me, I would not have allowed my certs to be hung in the front office, in front of customers.

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If only.

Not only have I paid for every Cert and Re-Cert; I never got a dime extra for being certified. None of my employers had an ASE-bonus-pay program.

Maybe being certified did help me get jobs, though. Hard to say. None of my employers actually said that was a factor in my hiring.

'Course, my auto-repair professional life was decades ago, maybe things are different now.

@Schurkey, I should say most of the shop owners paid for the certs tests. Others had to be told they should and then they were coaxed into doing it.

The certs hanging for the customers to see, is SUPPOSED, to help but as you said, I never had a customer ask for a certain tech because of his/her certs.

The last current date of my Master Tech/Service Consultant certs is from 2009. I keep them to show, when and if I wanted to go full time back to the shops and then always offered to re-certify if hired, as long as they paid. Since retirement, I have not been too serious about going back to the shops unless it was the PERFECT situation.

When I first certified and then went in to the management side, there were no Advanced Tests, so I never aimed for them after starting to run shops. Sounds like you and I started back when we were setting dwell on points. I never did work for a retail shop or a dealer. Always the mom and pop places.

Schurkey said:

Yes. Certification weeds-out the know-nothings.

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This! When you see that ASE shingle hanging outside on the sign, it at least lets you know they care about hiring certified techs. Real-world, it doesn't guarantee better results, but it does indicate the chances are pretty good of someone working on your vehicle that isn't just a lube tech or tire jockey that got pressed into more advanced service because the place couldn't attract the proper talent.

Richard