[Link: twice.com]

Have never once heard the term technologist used in real life. I could never imagine a client googling "technologist". Siri botched it to writing this. Amazing how out of touch with reality some people are.

It sure could use a little disambiguation....

[Link: en.wikipedia.org]

"Integrator"? Isn't that a tutor for freshman calculus?

Seriously, it would require a lot of marketing effort before the public will attach the term "Technologist" to the services that we provide. Although a little more of a mouthful, "Home Electronics Technologist" would be a more familiar sounding, somewhat self defining description, but I'm not keen on this either. Offhand, I don't have a better term.

Electronic Systems Integrator

I have never liked that these titles don't name audio or video. An Electronic Systems Integrator could be a guy who does street lighting, traffic signals, irrigation systems and canal locks control.

Or a gal. I'm open-minded.


And so could Technologist. Seems like no matter what it is, we have to explain it.

My take: Don’t Write off ‘Integrators’ Just Yet

It's from Cedia so completely useless and will never reach the consumer as they know NOTHING about Cedia or what it is.

That's 100% Cedia's fault! My local "vape" store does better marketing than Cedia.

Vape was Oxford English Dictionary's 2014 word of the year. My father coined the term in the late 1970s as the CEO of the first smoke-free cigarette co. Truth. (OED has the evidence but they haven't changed the entry yet)

Another fun fact by Julie Jacobson.

Should be simply "my guy." As in ... "Oh, I have a guy that does that for me."

You dead nuts nailed it. I agree a customer is going to search for installer. That is no questions asked the most likely thing they would type in. I remember back in december reading the article you linked to ([Link: cepro.com]).
A home technology professional is probably the best name for it imho. Sounds a little more upscale then installer yet captures it well.

Technologist is just awful. There is about a -82.639 percent chance of someone searching for a home automation technologist.

Leave it up to a typical ceo type and our trade organization to put out a friggin survey polling the entire installer base as to what term fits best fits what we do, then choose the second least popular term and coin that as our industry moniker for installers from here on out. Home Technology Professional was the most popular choice. So why would u separate the installer and create a separate moniker for them as a technologist. He said he wanted to eliminate excess terms for our industry. How is a home tech professional not fitting for an installer. I love this... in closing he stated “Using the ‘licensed technologist’ term will make it so much easier to refer to our potential pool of labor”.
Cedia..... SMH

end of rant lol.

WTF? He starts by explaining why "integrator" is no good because that is not what people google when they want speakers installed. Then he says it needs to be changed to "technologist". Why? Is that what people google for when they want speakers installed? I think not.

Plumber is easy. They are the guys who lay pipe and use dope. Electrician (or sparky) is easy. They put the lights and "plugs" in. Landscaper is easy. They scape the land...or so. Painter is easy. They paint (and huff paint). Framer is easy. Roofer? Easy. Floorist? That could be a thing....kind of confusing though.

We do so many things that it is impossible to have a title that defines us. For example, the floorist puts in the floors. Period. He does not do anything else aside from floors. So floorist is the perfect title because it accurately and completely defines the scope of his/her work. No confusion. No question. You have a question about the floors? You ask the floorist. No one else will be able to help you. And the floorist will not help you with anything else.

We install speakers. We install TVs. We install Apple (yeah I have heard it before). We install internet. We install wifi. We install theaters. We install cable/satellite....we not technically, but we have to basically do all the real work after they leave. :) We install shades/drapes/blinds. In some cases, we "install" lighting, HVAC, Pool controls, security, surveillance, etc. It is seemingly endless the things people ask us to do. And why? Simple. Anyone else is disqualified because of their limited, yet accurate self-defining titles. Back to the floorist. No one is going to even think of calling him about mounting a TV on the patio.....or fixing the internet....or acoustic treatments in a bar...etc. He is the damn floorist! He only does floors! DUH!

I miss the days when we were A/V guys. We installed TVs and speakers. That was essentially it. The electrician did the lights. The HVAC guys did the stats. The shade guy did the shades. The alarm guys did the alarm and cameras. The pool guy did the pool. The landscaper scaped the land. And we did not have to ever speak to any one of them on a job. It was glorious! :)

That's the truth. We pretty much have to be a near master of everything. I really wish we were compensated for the insanely large amount of knowledge that is required of us to bring to the table. We have to be pretty knowledgable in just about every trade if your covering all forms of home automation. Like you stated, pool guy, hvac guy, electrician, a/v guy, irrigation guy, and on and on is us. Yet we aren't getting the compensation of 8 trades combined. Or of even two trades combined. Or maybe not even enough as just one trade.

Sometimes I say to myself man there is so many easier trades out there or business's you could run that just require so much less knowledge yet still make a good buck. I mean a pizza guy has to know how to make a sub, a calzone, drop some wings and toss a pie. Doesn't get much more in depth then that. idk. i just don't know. But we should be no questions asked the highest paid trade out there.


I guess when you simplify it we manage all things technology. Hence technologist. LMAO. ehh i still hate the term.

Electron Gigolos

That guy is us. Obviously a residential ESI won't be touching street lighting but a commercial ESI might.

When I went to college at an engineering school, they had several majors- some were for spawning engineers who could design, some were more for training people to be technicians who could install and service and in the middle were technologists, who may spend a good amount of time installing, tweaking and servicing equipment and systems, but they were also trained in the theory and able to make design changes, if needed. We do the latter, all the time and I think this concept was a bit ahead of its time, seeing as I started school in 1975. The curriculum I was in was called Architectural and Building Construction Engineering Technology and, while I decided I didn't want to be an architect anymore, the courses I took were invaluable for what I have done for most of the time since. Also, the science classes and the first class dealing with electricity make this much easier than if I had never been exposed to it at that time- between that and the training I received when I did home and car audio, I spend less time scratching my head and instead, getting things done.