On November 6, 2015 at 16:14, juliejacobson said...
That's not so sad. You look at automotive techs or hair dressers -- consumers don't care about their certifications. Advertising the value of these certs to the mass market would be pointless.
But it does matter in terms of hiring and subcontracting. You might want to hire a certified CEDIA guy if for no other reason than they took the initiative to do the training.
Likewise, you may want to refer jobs to CEDIA-certified integrators in the absence of other credentials.
Certain institutional customers might care about certifications. A restaurant chain, for example, might require that each store use a certified CEDIA (or Infocomm) professional.
So, yeah, the certifications matter and it's important to abide to the same conventions as other tech trades.
When I first heard of Cedia and started reading about them, their number one talking point was consumer awareness, educating the consumer about our industry. The point was to be Cedia certified to impress your customer, not others IN the industry.
If I'm looking for somebody to help on a job, I couldn't give a crap about their Cedia certification, I'm more interested in their experience. I know a few guys that have a lot of Cedia courses under their belt and I wouldn't let them wire a dog house. I want someone that understands my regional electrical code until we have a unified electrical code for North America.
Cedia does have it's benefits. I can go to the show and take many manufacturers' courses at a fraction of the cost of travelling all over to take them.
It's frustrating when there was so much potential to raise consumer awareness and it's been pissed away.
I care if my mechanic is certified, you should too. Don't have enough hair to worry about a hairdresser :(
