Car audio career

[CrownVic 15]

Are you pursuing this to chop?

I found some testing sits near me but, im still unsure about this?

http://www.mecp.com/FAQ.asp

Edited February 3, 2010 by CrownVic

[ncacoates 104]

I hate to say it but your far better off reading at home and teaching your self over time. The best thing you'll ever do is find yourself some guys who have been into it for a long time. Go to some competitions and talk to some guys youll be surprised how much us audio guys are willing to lend a helping hand and teach you a thing or two. As far as starting an audio shop dont even think about trying to sell anything but the well known brands. People are so hell bent on Kicker and Memphis these days they could car less about your opinion on anything but. Its a sad thing i know but like others said keep it as a hobby or youll learn to hate it when you have to do it for other people all day.

[CrownVic 15]

Well from what im gathering the schools are a joke.

The MECP certification is 35 for the studyguide then 85 for the test, its valid for one year. Also thats just for the basic level there are 3 levels.

[shakes 2]

Don't get too caught up on the certification. It won't give you a whole lot of credibility. You'll have to prove yourself on the job. I highly doubt you'd be hired right into an install bay based on a certification.

[CrownVic 15]

I understand that i just think it will help and places won't look twice at someone without certification.

[porkchop 304]

Are you pursuing this to chop?

I found some testing sits near me but, im still unsure about this?

Mobile Electronics Certified Professional

yeah, actually i am. wasn't but, yeah, why not? i can always use a little extra knowledge. i am always trying to learn some about it.

i have spent that amount of cash on dinner before. the cert. may open a door somewhere for me, if not, it will proove to be just as useless as the three i have on the wall already, lol

i think it would be cool. i plan on reading into some more, but if it goes along the lines of, study, test, done, sure, why not?

uh, to op, you are so right, i have learned alot and seen alot from just hanging out.

there is alot of guys that will school you on it, because it is a hobby.

i can see hateing it. working on a dead end install, meaning one that will be trashed way too soon.

but yet, i have seen shops that have that certain feel to them, ones that make me wanna try it sometimes.

currently i am doing nothing, so i might as well apply myself to something.( grabing up that cert.)

[shakes 2]

I understand that i just think it will help and places won't look twice at someone without certification.

They will. Every installer I know started in sales and worked their way up. It definitely wouldn't hurt though. I'm just being objective and realistic from a business standpoint.

[CrownVic 15]

I appreciate all the responses and advice here.

Thank you.

If i can get a regular job working at bestbuy then i will try to move on to the install bay. If not i will try to go talk to some local shops. Im not a guru by any means but i think i know enough to be able to be taught. I just hope i can find someone willing to teach me and give me a chance. If not maybe i can just do it as a side job. I cant really do the box building thing because of the lack of tools, but i could definately run some wires the right way and hook up a system. Hell most the people around here have no idea what an ohm load is. I also understand that this all may not be a good idea for a long term career, but i turn 18 tomorrow and have been trying to think about the future. Don't want to keep working at lil caesars all my life lol.

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

Well its my senior year of highschool and i've been trying to figure out what to do with my life. I don't really have ideas but i was thinking about something to do with car audio. I enjoy tinkering with my system alot and think it would make a fun career. My question for ya'll would be does any body here besides the SSA owners do this as a career? Do you have any advice for me or guidance. I wanna eventually have a store that sells quality products very similar to the SSA store. Is there a school for this? Would there be a field i would need a degree in? Thanks for the help.

EDIT: If any body is in the field if you don't mind me asking, what kind of salary should i expect to see?

I did not go to school for this, just been around it or been doing it for a long time. And this is far from a career. Both Mark and I have full time jobs that pay the bills and are our actual careers. SSA, the store, the brand, the forum, the website etc. etc. are all part of a constant on going side effort. The MASS majority of the income from everything SSA is spent on upkeep, maintenance, fees, hosting, updates, a long list of expenses, inventory, promotion, web adds, etc. etc. Very very little actually makes it to Mark and I at the end of the month, if anything at all. If we did not both really love doing this, and had

I am not trying to discourage you, but there is little to no money in this field of car audio (unless you are at the very top). The margins, from a retailers perspective (and most brands for that matter), is very small. This is only worsened by big box stores and incorrect info spread on the web and on TV shows. These big box stores push for more and more margin, so big name companies push for higher and higher sales, which in turn means more product built cheaper and cheaper. This all means quality is constantly and steadily driven downward, to add to that, the economy being in the tank, and the insane American mindset of only caring about the initial cost makes this issue a problem that will only get worse.

Just take a brand like MB Quart for example, (disregarding any internal business decisions right or wrong), years ago, they built some of the very best speaker components available, period. I still have a set of the original 3 way MBQ's with the surfboard crossovers. But the market changed and they were bought and sold over and over again. Each time, the quality has dropped noticeably and the brand name has been diminished steadily. Look at companies like Phoenix Gold, SoundStream, Zapco and so on, all have been part or were part of the super elite, but have to have a very entry level model line to pay the bills. What I am getting at, is there is very little room left for high quality, livable margin, and steady sales to a point where it is career worthy.

I have run both a brick and mortar shop and now an on line store. Both offer (or offered) great products and we work(ed) very hard to give the best customer service, both were or are a crap ton of work nearly 7 days a week and neither were or are much of an income at all.

Hope that was not too negative.

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

Word of warning; Turning your hobby into your career can make the hobby side much less fun since it becomes "work". Doesn't happen to everyone, but happens a lot. I prefer to keep my hobbies just that, a hobby, for exactly that reason.

Don't expect to open a shop selling a bunch of brands that are unknown in your area and make a killing because you think those brands are great. Consumers typically buy what they know about, or don't buy what they've never heard of before.

Lastly....it's a really tough field to make a living at. IMO start out small as a part time thing and see how it goes.

As far as degrees; I would agree with the previous poster that it's probably a better idea to go to school in a field that is multi-purpose. Business, electrical or mechanical engineering, etc. IMO those "car audio" schools are a waste of money for what they teach and the price they charge.

Just wanted to quote Brad for effect, as this is so true.

[j-roadtatts 1,129]

I have run both a brick and mortar shop and now an on line store. Both offer (or offered) great products and we work(ed) very hard to give the best customer service, both were or are a crap ton of work nearly 7 days a week and neither were or are much of an income at all.

Long live the Brick Masons.