Of you guys in CA who have a C7, how did you go about getting it? Pay the "guaranteed to pass" outfits, or buy materials and study up a storm??

Feedback appreciated!
=Tom

I'm looking forward to what people have to say on this one.

I passed the test two years ago. I didn't want to take a chance on failing so I paid $100 to a company that provided me with prep materials for the legal half of the exam. It was money well spent because I breezed through that part in 20 minutes (I test well). I took a smoke break, pounded out the low volt part and everyone else in the room was still struggling through the legal stuff. I spoke to people with years and years of experience in their trade who told me that they were taking the legal test for the 3rd time - and still failing it!

The actual trade part of the exam was more difficult - all about UTP, fiber and OSHA. It had 2 of 100+ questions on anything that we do. It seemed all based on communication stuff like phone closets for high-rises. Fortunately I had some UTP and a slight amount of fiber education in a previous life. I passed on the first try (half an hour, I didn't have the patience to go back over my answers), but, since they only tell you that you passed - not what your score was - I think I barely got by (or got lucky).
The study materials I got on the trade part were hopelessly outdated and made me prepare for a very different test. I would call a few training centers and get them to prove to you that they have current material for you to study from. If they tell you it's all about 300 ohm antenna work and 70 volt systems then find another company.

Good luck - we need more qualified AV people to get licensed here. Maybe if there are enough of us experienced folk getting licensed (I'm in for more then a decade and a half) we can pressure the state to have a more realistic exam - or change the classifications to better reflect our jobs.

Jeff

People still take cigarette breaks?

I passed the test this year with the help of Golden State Contr. School. They were awesome. It is worth the $. They have 8 night classes to prepare you and also how the test questions work. There would be no way I would have passed without their help. I am now no longer a "trunk slammer", I am lisenced, bonded and insured. Boy are those things nice to have when competing against another outfit.

I'm not sure wht a C7 is... probably the same as L6 here in Washington. We can do security, phones, cable , satellite, audio, CCTV, HVAC wiring but you have to avoid romex like the plague (I got a $250.00 fine for shoving some unconnected into an ONQ enclosure.

If California is anything like Washington... its a great thing to have. Like Jeff says though, the questions have been drummed up by a bunch of old school IBEW boys and are so outdated an whacked out that you will be amazed. Mine had 5 questions on "what type of light bulb is this"? If I'd been able to answer in essay form I'd have written "Don't know... isn't that what my electrician is for?".

It is nice to be bonded, licensed and insured but don't expect it to be the be-all end-all. Now you'll do stuff above board... pay the extra money to do stuff above board and have trunk slammers who run away when permits are needed or "design" the system and have the electrical contractor do it, bid out jobs for less than you can afford to do them. Of course your local distributors won't check to see that these guys have proper licensing... neither will CEDIA. It's funny how quick your attitude changes when you cross the line.

The C7 in California is similar to the admistrator license in Washington, but not quite the same. California also seems to lack the funding to chase after the unlicensed masses, althought they do make some very public busts of general contractors - usually roofing and swimming pool types - and the fines they can impose are massive. We actually detail some of the reasons for using a licensend contractor in our ten reasons to have Magnolia install it - although I like to mention that an unlicensed contractor is a criminal in California and who wants to have a criminal working in their 10 million dollar house? Corporate is less thrilled with that line...


Jeff

They are criminals here too... but have found ways around it (see above comment about "designing" pre-wires for electricians to do and selling wire, gear etc. with no more than a business license. It is illegal to advertise to perform any kind of work without a valid contractors license but tons of Tom, Dick & Harry's AV companies are doing it every day. It is also illegal for a licensed low voltage SUBcontrator to bid a whole job out and hire subs like electricians, heating guys, etc. For that you are supposed to have a General Contractors license. I think about three companies around here have one of those (yes... toot my horn... I'm one of them...sure costs a lot more in insurance and bonding)

Retrofits are rarely permitted... even by the big guys... even by me... even by a certain company that I used to work for that Jeff now does. Guess we'll all tread around that one although I find that the permit process is a way to seal out the slammers. By convincing the homeowner that the work should be permitted you raise the bar of the competition you are up against. It doesn't really hurt me when I lose a job to Magnolia or Definitive Audio as much as it does to some two-bit newbie stereo whore.

Generals pick your brain... do it themselves (usually drastically wrong) and blame their electrical contractor or the homeowner if caught. One general even had his Mexican painting crew pulling wires... I couldn't resist calling L&I on that one... don't know if he ever got plucked.

It's a bad game to play though. Like I said, I'm glad to be on the right side.

Oddly enough though Jeff, people here DO let unlicensed guys work on their multi-million dollar homes. I'm sure you too have seen some of the nightmares that continue to give our industry black eyes.

i've looked into getting my c-7. looked at both options, spend about $1,000 for schooling and testing fees. or study and pay $450 for testing fees. cant tell you which is best, but if you can get help on the legal side it sounds like great advive. i had a customer who has a c-10. when i asked him he said its easy and i should be able to ace it on my first try. it made me feel good but it also made me feel as if i dont ace it i might be an idiot. anyway beeing in the same shoes your in tom i'd say go to a book store, or the internet, look at some of the materials, see what you need to study, and decide from there if you can figure it out or need a little extra.

So, once licensed, does that mean that each job gets a permit, inspections, etc?

1. Can't picture a permit for running a pair of speakers to the patio.

2. Can't picture an electrical inspector judging my work.

Oh well.

California doesn't require low voltage permits to pull wires. I've heard that that may be the case in some municipalities, but I haven't come across it in any of the Northern California (bay area) counties that we work in - Nor has it come up in our LA markets.

Jeff