Yes ... but NO.. I wouldn't consider someone with Cedia certifications but no experience on the job. I think thats going about things a little backwards. Get yourself a job, in the industry as others have suggested, and then work from there. Once you get yourself a little backing it will be much easier.

Good Luck

Mike

So far I find it hard to get a job in the industry. Most employers want an installer that has already worked in the field and have no time for a beginner like me. I did consider cedia and I plan on doing the bootcamp but I think it is best if I get a job in the field. I hear good and bad things about cedia but I will go anyway. I just posted a partial resume with my experience in a new thread (Installer looking for a job in NYC area) for employers to get an idea of what I can do. Its a little but its something.

Rowdog:
If you were in California, you could probably have a job by tomorrow. There is such a shortage of techs with the right attitude out here, that you would likely be a breath of fresh air. You probably already know more than a lot of guys who are employed in this industry. Almost every successful company that I know would like to hire the "right guy". I am surprised to hear of your difficulty in finding a position in the NYC area. It sounds like your head is in the right place, but you have only been only interviewed by meatheads or companies without growth. Don't be discouraged and keep looking until someone realizes that you are a good investment. I can assure you that your persistance will eventually pay off.

Stew

Stew Pidasso

I am at the point that I am ready to relocate. If you are serious I will move just drop me an email. The address is in my profile and that goes to anyone else that may be hiring.

I left you a message but am leaving it again because I ment to do it this way but I am willing to relocate and if you are serious drop me an email @ [email protected].

Just out of curiousity, how much are you guys paying your employees when they first start out. I hired an installer with no experience with audio and video. He has experience with automotive repair and carpentry. He is upset after working with my company for only six months he receive a $.25 raise and I started him out at $11.00 an hour plus 2% commissions and bonuses. In six months he has done well in running wires through houses and using his head, but he does not have the passion about audio and video. He was extremely upset when I gave him only $.25. This employee also has never shown up on time and is constantly on the internet. He can never do anything without me telling him what to do. Look forward to your comments.

Thanks
Mike

With apologies to John McEnroe - You can't be serious! Am I on Candid Camera?

A two bit raise is insulting. It's worse than no raise at all. If he's not worth a decent raise, then fire him and find someone who is enthusiastic about learning the trade. But first ask yourself this: Did you spend time in training him about the trade, giving him direction and motivation? Does he have a career with you, or just a job?

If he's lazy, never shows up on time, and is constantly on the internet, whose fault is it? Are you leading by example, or are you a "do what I say, not what I do" manager?

If, indeed, he is a rotten apple in the barrel, you should have thrown him out long before this. 96.9% of new hires will show their true colors within the first 90 days. He's been with you twice that long.

If good help in Cincy is hard to find, then at least as long as he can do the job, put him on piece work and sit down with him and clarify your expectations of his job performance - in writing. Let him know what he can expect if he performs well, - i.e. better compensation and recognition, and what he can expect if he does not perform up to your standards -i .e. unemployment line.

As far as compensation goes, I don't know what Cincinnati wages are like, but you can find out by going on the internet, doing a search for compensation, and finding jobs that match, along with market rates.

Good luck.

By the way, guys, I'm not normally this serious, but I am passionate about employers treating their employees well, and the customers even better. Here are some of the things we do in my company:

Appearance - no beards, long hair, earrings or visible tatoos. If you show up unshaven in the morning, don't expect me to send you out anywhere.

No smoking in the company vehicle or on the customers' property - inside or out. No cigarettes or chew in the shirt pocket, and no bad odors - body or breath.

My techs attend a mandatory training session every Friday, which is payday. If they show up one minute late, they wait until Monday to get their check. Why? Because if they show up late for the boss's meeting, they think they can show up late at the customer's house, and that is a no-no! Our training is focused on customer service. If that is not your focus, don't expect to grow and be profitable.

Our employees' company supplied vehicles must be kept clean and organized - inside and out. I supply them with 13 sets of uniforms, which are cleaned by our uniform service - Cintas. They must show up at the customer's door in a clean uniform, and therefore must keep at least one fresh set on their vehicle. My vehicles are no older than three years and we have them maintained by Enterprise Fleet Services. There is no rust on our vehicles, and we don't leak oil on customers' driveways.

When our techs go into a customer's home, they must first put on shoe covers (booties, floor savers - whatever you want to call them) even if the customer tells them not to bother.

We offer a 100% money back guarantee if the customer is not completely satisfied for ANY reason.

We pay our employees TOP DOLLAR for their work, and we have the best. We have a waiting list of people wanting to join our company, because word of mouth has gotten around that we are the best company to work for. Every invoice has a postage paid business reply card seeking feedback from our customers. In addition, we guarantee a two hour window in which our tech will show up, then call the customer when the tech is on the way. We are trying to figure out if we can reduce that window to just one hour. Our customer's time is important, and they shouldn't have to wait a long time for us to show up. Furthermore, we call the customer after the work is completed and ask them a few questions to make sure they were (hopefully) more than satisfied with the work we performed.

What has this meant to us? Next month will be our tenth anniversary in business. We started out with one truck and a few employees. We now have 36 trucks and almost 80 employees. Our profits went from negative (too embarrassing to admit) to well into six figures. I moved into a million dollar house on the water, bought my wife the boat she wanted, and in our garage is parked my wife's 2003 BMW 330ci, my 2003 Mercedes SL500, my wife's 2003 Harley Dyna Low Rider, and my 2004 Harley Heritage Softail Classic.

This might sound like I'm bragging, and you're right. But since you really don't know me, I'm not telling you this to impress you, I'm telling you this because I have experienced a success story I could not have imagined ten years ago; and if I can inspire just ONE of you guys to focus on operational excellence the way I did, then you have the opportunity to excel and reach any goal you have set for yourself. By the way, if your goal is not put in writing and referred to on at least a weekly basis, then you really don't have a goal.

One last thing. I did not succeed because I was lucky or because I worked hard (which I did.) I succeeded because I sought out people who were successful and asked their advice. I truly had more than one mentor, and I still have one right now. He is worth over $35 million, and I listen to every word he says. We communicate monthly, and he gives me an assignment every month. If I don't complete it fully and on time, he will no longer mentor me. And those assignments have nothing to do with technical stuff, they are assignments that force me to train my people properly, reward them for a job well done, design new marketing campaigns, and come up with better ways to serve customers. Damn good incentive for me to keep going and not miss an assignment!

This tome of mine was written from the heart. You won't see this again for a long, long time. But I could see in this thread that there are a lot of good souls out there with good advice to give to those who are struggling a bit. I wish the best to all of you.

Dave

Well said. Look like a professional, work like a professional and act like a professional. The reward will be compensation/profits of a true professional. GOODNF's attitude is what sets him apart from 98% of those in our industry. Its his attitude that allows him to hire the best, have them feel that they are part of sometihng, not mearly employees. Its why he probably doesn't have to pull his pants down to whore, I mean get a job. And its why his clients come back without question of price. Congrats!

Thank you, Kevin!

Dear Dave,

We need more people like you in this world. I loved your story and it inspired be to keep reaching for my goals. I need a mentor like you have in my life because in this life it is very easy to just give up and very hard to keep trying no matter how much pain you feel inside and everything seems to not go your way. If you have any more advice to give someone like me trying to make it in this business drop me an email. My address is in my profile. I would love to have you as my mentor and congratulations to all of your success. Hopefully I can give my lady all she wants because lord knows she deserves it by sticking by my side on my career change and everything else she has done for me. Hopefully I can find a boss like you. God Bless.

Rowdog,

I tried to e-mail you, but it keeps telling me that the address doesn't exist. I have [email protected]. Is this right?

Stew Pidasso

Rowdog -

I sent you an e-mail. Please reply when you get it so that I know you received it. It contains my personal e-mail address.

Dave

Wow, my bosses idea of training is handing us a magazine once a month and telling us to read it. I am impressed with companies who believe in keeping their employees at the top of their game.

Are there any companies in the L.A. area who have this kind of attitude who are looking for an Installer/Programmer? I already read everything I can get my hands on, and visit the local Borders on a regular basis and pick up anything that looks of interest to this field. I can e-mail you my resume if requested.

Roddy
[email protected]

It is right and I did get your email. It did come up in error but I fixed it and sent you back an email. Did you get it?

My other email address is [email protected] just in case.