How did most of you get into installing? Looking for CA school

[22mountaineer 10+ year member]

Well ATM I am an electrician, I wire houses and have been for about 3 years. I am 18 and about to graduate college for electricity. Have had a class on ac/dc motor controls and things of that nature. Nothing really interest me accept Motor Controls. I do not want to be wiring houses all of my life and installing stereos really interest me.

I was wanting to see how most of you guys started out and where you are today? I have seen a few things about some car audio school and was looking for one around North AL. Thanks alot!

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[Imshirazy 10+ year member]

I started out from a friend of mine named gabby that made me love and appreciate subs

from there I began to just get tired of subs, so i looked into speakers

then as i talked to people I realized there was a lot i didnt know

this interested me

so i learned more and more

now 3 years later I install cars locally and make a huge profit //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

you can do a few things for mobile electronics certification

the absolute cheapest is buying the mecp study guide at their site, then testing at a center near u

 

[Fiercetimbo17 10+ year member]

Well ATM I am an electrician, I wire houses and have been for about 3 years. I am 18 and about to graduate college for electricity. Have had a class on ac/dc motor controls and things of that nature. Nothing really interest me accept Motor Controls. I do not want to be wiring houses all of my life and installing stereos really interest me.
I was wanting to see how most of you guys started out and where you are today? I have seen a few things about some car audio school and was looking for one around North AL. Thanks alot!

Honestly, school will give you electrical knowledge and what not, but what really matters is hands on experience.

 

[blackbonnie 5,000+ posts]

Honestly, school will give you electrical knowledge and what not, but what really matters is hands on experience.

ill second that, read this site, learn as much as you can, then get in there and get your hands dirty

 

[22mountaineer 10+ year member]

I just dont think I could walk in a shop and them hire me. I figured in school it would give me a good amount of hands on though. From the pics I saw on some sites it looked like it was pretty hands on.

I mean I have installed friends systems before and I have went through about 4 of my own (trial and error) I know a little but not NEARLY ENOUGH but say building boxes and glassing and stuff like that, it just interest me. I just want a job I enjoy, thats it.

 

[skeptikal Premium Member]

I actually got into installing 5 years ago when i turned 15 and got a car and a pair of speakers. Granted I couldnt drive the car but I tried to install the subs. friend introduced me to caraudio.com, browsed and read up for a couple years, then registered.

long story short, helping people do installs, watching people do them, seeing pictures, reading, and please ask any question you ever have. Regardless of how stupid it is, someone has already asked it or someone can tell you where to look for it..

In all reality if you wanna learn the electrical stuff... http://www.bcae1.com , and be shown pictures of it. Otherwise you can pay $40+ for the MECP basic book

 

[xhilr8n 10+ year member]

I am not a proffessional, i have however volunteered free labor on saturdays that i have nothing going on, so that i can follow around one of our best installers locally at his shop and him show me how to do stuff. I am coming along pretty well i would think. IMO people expect too much to be handed to them now days, (not implying that is you), i am just saying it is pretty easy to make a proposition to someone with a buisiness if you can make them see the mutual benefits of the situation.

But as said above, having the information available here as well as other sites if plenty helpful when its like like so, and you can't just call anyone on the phone......lol

jason

 

[Pyro_By_Nature 5,000+ posts]

ill second that, read this site, learn as much as you can, then get in there and get your hands dirty

Yeah, that looks real good on a resume under "Experience: Read a shitty public car audio forum with mis-information being spread constantly, then installed systems in a few friends' rides in my backyard"

Or "Experience:Attended/Graduated and received MECP certification" ?

If you have the option of which one to hire, who do you think you'd pick? Besides, I notice on a lot more complex problems on forums, it's always the guys who are at least mecp cert. that come save the day.

 

[spoonraker 10+ year member]

Well if you're looking for a job as an installer, an MECP certification will always help, even if you have a ton of experience, it just looks good on a resume. And even if you have a ton of practical knowledge, taking the MECP will help you get all those little details completely hammered into your brain so you will never have to scratch your head again trying to think of formulas and whatnot.

There is nothing wrong with only having experience installing on your own car and friends, experience is experience. When I turned in resumes all over town here I included a copy of me MECP certification and then a little portfolio I made with pictures of the massive process I went through on my own vehicle, as well as a few basic installations like headunits and speakers on my friends cars. Unfortunately I don't live in a huge town and we only have 2 shops here, both have said I'm at the top of their list if they need help, but they just can't afford to take anybody else onboard //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif

 

[htownplaya456 10+ year member]

i dont know if your interested but i got to acoustic edge in houston and i like it a lot... theres a lot of hands on training there unlike other schools... also if you were just going to do mecp test... that test is really easy. check out their site if you want to

http://www.stereoschool.com

 

[NeverEnuffBass 10+ year member]

I'm at the RITOP school in Boston right now. I've learned a hell of a lot in the 2 weeks I've been here. I mostly came to get some electrical knowledge and I really feel its well worth it. The hands on stuff I've done most of but its always good to learn new ways and tricks about how to approach something.