Pro installers only....need advice. Im thinking about getting into the trade.

[sicilianiggy]

Lemme start off by saying im 30 years old and im an electrician. Im really interested in changing careers and I don't wanna make a mistake. I've always been into car audio. I've had about 6 cars and I pulled every one of them apart and did the system. Now im still a beginner but im really into this.im gonna look into schools .

What im concerned about is I don't know what im getting into because I've never worked at a shop and I'll be at the bottom. Can you guys give me some input as to what to expect starting out.

What kind of work will I be doing?

Is there demand for installers?

with these new cars being so advanced is there the work to keep busy all year for years to come?

Will I be under someone's wing?

starting wage in nyc area?

Usual hours?

Just any and everything you guys can tell me. I'd even appreciate ur experience starting out and what you had to go thru.

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[hispls 5,000+ posts]

Being a good installer has more to do with experience... mostly experience getting interiors taken apart and back together clean and quick, and knowing where to look for what wires.

Most shops' bread and butter is remote starts, tinting, and similar. If you're good at tinting you will have a lot of value at a customs shop, and if you know your way in and out of a remote starts on a wide range of vehicles you'll stay busy.

 

[sicilianiggy]

So you think practicing tinting or taking a class would be good to step in? I don't wanna tint windows all day but I do wanna get a foot in the door. Maybe take a class on remote starters?

Guys please keep stepping in any input would be great.

 

[brian84corvette 10+ year member]

man says for every 20 customers in the doors = 12 of them will only want window tint installed on their car. 6 of them will want remote starts installed on their car - and the last 2 customers will want car audio stuff installed in their viechles.

do you want to work on 2 out of every 20 customer viechles ? no then you have to also be willing to do what it takes to get er done

 

[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

There is a demand for skilled 12V technicians.

Installer Shortage Reaches Near Crisis | ceoutlook.com

What are you prepared to do about filling this demand?

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

So you think practicing tinting or taking a class would be good to step in? I don't wanna tint windows all day but I do wanna get a foot in the door. Maybe take a class on remote starters?
Guys please keep stepping in any input would be great.

Sadly there's no "class" about it. You can learn the basics by reading the manuals and experience. I can tell you that the guys who have had 100 different cars torn apart are going to bang out those things in a jiffy. If you haven't done a similar make/model vehicle before it'll take you a while because something almost invariably comes up (something you'll remember the next time after you've done one).

I don't know who teaches window tinting, but if you got really good with that I guarantee you could get your foot in the door to an install bay and they'd put up with training you to do other stuff if you could pull your weight in the tinting department. There's so many tinting hacks out there, the shop I know that does really clean tint almost always has one in the garage being done.

man says for every 20 customers in the doors = 12 of them will only want window tint installed on their car. 6 of them will want remote starts installed on their car - and the last 2 customers will want car audio stuff installed in their viechles.
do you want to work on 2 out of every 20 customer viechles ? no then you have to also be willing to do what it takes to get er done

Speaking truth. I worked in the industry in the mid 90's and 9 out of 10 cars coming in were remote start, alarm (or cellphones back then). Even the 1 in 10 audio jobs was just replacing a head unit or door speakers. This may vary a bit based on your area, but you'd better love doing remote starts, alarms, and tinting if you want to make a career in the industry.

Or if you're very good at woodworking/fiberglass and really high end (show car type) custom work you can probably find work at a specialty shop that is known for over-the-top builds but you might not find that kind of shop within 100 miles of you. If that's your think start taking a lot of pictures of your work.

Expect to make crap for money until you're experienced unless you're very skilled at one of those things that the shop is doing every day.

 

[BoomTaco64]

So you think practicing tinting or taking a class would be good to step in? I don't wanna tint windows all day but I do wanna get a foot in the door. Maybe take a class on remote starters?
Guys please keep stepping in any input would be great.

Personally, i would not recommend taking a class on how to install anything unless you are working hands on in an actual vehicle. I started my career back in 1999 and went to the mobile dynamics school and they teach so much to you there that you will never use in the actual car audio installer shop. i will admit there is a lot of stuff you will use in the actual shop and it was beneficial. when it came to work on an actual vehicle the first day professionally well....$hittin bricks but take it on and knock it out, on to the next one. getting hands on with someone that actually makes you do the install and "trains" you how to run wires correctly in a vehicle, and connect wires correctly is the only way. learning remote starts and alarms are where you make your money, tint as well. custom work comes with time as does faster install times. the first time you install something it will take a set amount of time. the second time you do the same install it should take you less time until you can perfect your install method. starting off your car audio install career with hacky methods will turn you into a hack installer so be careful who you learn from. if he is the guy that says "that should work" when done with his install, slowly move away with no sudden movements and go to the installer that says "thats perfect" when finished with his install. ive seen my share of hack jobs from good quality shops and the owners of the shops never know because of the shadyness of the installer working for him but installs worked most of the time. No i have not been in the industry for 20+ years like others will say they have and they will rip on in later comments and yes i went to mobile dynamics install school, which others will rip on in later comments as well. from my experience this is what i gather....car audio installers are a dime a dozen, anyone can do it....a good car audio installer is a little harder to find and mostly are somewhat dedicated......a great installer is a diamond in the rough and is in 110%.

go to a shop near you and ask if they are willing to hire you as a training tech and you will be doing mostly cleanup duties starting off then eventually you will be running wires through firewalls and into doors. after a little time you will be installing radios and door speakers. if you are shining like you could be and turning out good work you will be working full time sooner than you know it and then be chosen by the owner/sales staff for the quick installs because you are the go-to-guy for that stuff...perfect way to start without any actual professional car audio experience.