ASE Certification

[Leeztruk]

Eons ago, I was an ASE Master Tech. I learned early on that putting on "the patch" didn't gain me anything. To me it seemed that it was the dealership was the one gaining the prestige by boasting they had ASE techs on staff to lure the potential customer. As alluded to earlier, there were techs much smarter than those who took the ASE exams and didn't bother taking the exams themselves. Being "book" smart doesn't always equal real-world smart. Ended my career in a mop&pop shop, with ASE master, GM certified, Toyota pro tech certifications working with a bunch of Know-it-all yahoos. The shop proudly displayed the "We have ASE techs". Was so glad to retire

 

[Erik the Awful]

Back in the day I worked for the Navy as a contractor. The first company I worked for was absolutely professional. They never hired anyone above you that didn't at least have the training to be there. They might not be competent, but at least somebody invested the time to train them.

The second company was a $#!+-show. They'd hire anybody off the streets to be your supervisor - and then pay them less than they were paying you. They're attitude was that the person would sink or swim and they could underpay them until the person performed. They lost the contract at the first opportunity - but I'd already decided I didn't want their stink on me and I'd left. They hemorrhaged talent.

The training matters, but so does the competency. With that certificate you stand a better chance of working with someone who at least has a clue. With the second company, we peons were getting really tired of training our leadership how to do their job.

ASE itself was always a self-serving cash grab. They moved from technician testing to jumping into certifying everyone they could find. Parts guys were getting ASE certifications. I believe ASE tests have their place, but technician training has evaporated. Too much of working on cars has moved away from understanding the physics to knowing the stupid tricks the auto makers make you jump through to wrench on their specific cars. Now we have mechanics who can't think through the physics of why a transmission rumble goes away when you push in the clutch pedal. Electrical troubleshooting especially has become a lost art.

Customers don't care about ASE certifications any more. Too many shops have ripped customers off while hanging that ASE shingle on their wall. Nobody gives a f***.

I had four ASEs, but I didn't get paid any more for having them. I was judged more on my ability to look at a car and magically know what was wrong with it, and then cover my @$$ with bs when wrong.

 

[0xDEADBEEF]

Save the money and ask the youngest person in your family to Photoshop you a new cert.

In my industry most certs aren't worth much because there are a lot of them where everyone gets a cert at the end of the course. Certain certs can be worth a mint, but they have to actually be earned and are roughly equivalent to an associate degree without all the fluff courses.

 

[Schurkey]

Ego officially boosted.

For some silly reason, I took the Transit Bus Diesel Engine recert; haven't touched a transit bus engine since I left the Bus Company. Passing score is 16 correct out of 25 total questions (!!!); I managed 21/25.

L1 passing score is similarly low-bar, 34/50. I managed 49/50.

Good for another five years, or until I go all Biden.