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I think you just have to look at the other trades. The apprenticeship to journeyman path is much more stringent, with class study and on the job training coinciding and taking years. Compared to a master plumbers exam ASE is a joke and we're plumbers and electricians and HVAC specialists rolled into one. If we want the legitimacy according to the common man and pay scale of other trades, shouldn't we have similar prerequisites?

That's the ironic part of this discussion. I believe that ASE *has* achieved exactly this, especially with folks who have extended warranties that specify ASE certified shops. What it hasn't done is provided a higher education and guidance to the people in our industry that need it most.

Like EkmanAutomotive, I passed my first round of ASE testing in the late 1980's. I passed as a Master Tech and had never worked on a transmission, still haven't. I was and still am good at taking tests. I recertified as a Master Tech twice over the years, with my last certification expiring in 2019. I feel that as a certification, it does little to prove competancy of a tech. There was a prerequisite of 2 years experience to be able to sit for the test, which is something, I guess. From a consumer perspective, very few have any idea what that blue seal is. It looks good hanging on the wall, but you could create your own logo and hang it on the wall and the consumer wouldn't know any diference. It really doesn't mean anything. I have found many people who think Techs have to have a certification like hairdressers and other professions do. While I don't like Gov't control, I think working on a vehicle, with so many critical systems, and the potential for causing great bodily harm if not maintained correctly should have more oversight than a hairdresser. Look at the difernece in liability ("My hair is ugly, I'm embaressed" vs "My brakes failed and I killed somebody"). ASE has not achieved the goals of promoting Automotive Service Excellence nor in educating the consumer.

Good Day! We are a Brake and Front End shop! We do oil changes, state vehicle inspections, suspension work, alignments tune ups, cooling systems, what I call "basic maintenance". I have learned to say "No" for the fact that we have small location, the property itself won't allow us to do some of the big jobs. we are an in & out shop We have 4 bays, 1 for alignments, one for state vehicle inspections and 2 for brakes and suspension and anything else within our capabilities. we are a 2 man show, but we work fast and efficiently to where we don't delay our customers more than we need to. We have become a Suspension Specialist shop, most of our revenue comes from alignments and suspension work. The big jobs are for the big shops, where they have room for the cars and more techs, and the cars stay over night. I hate to take a car and don't deliver within the time.. Some of our customers want us to do odd jobs out of scope of work, but time is a very valuable commodity, we take a big job and then I have to either turn down work or don't deliver the big job on time. I just don't think is fair! the big jobs put a lot of stress on us because we want to finish them on time.. and some time we end up loosing time and money... My next addition to our list of services will be the ADAS. The camera and sensors calibration goes a long with our scope of work... I am still studying the process... not many places down here in Brownsville, TX doing that type of services yet..