ASE Certification- Necessary or Not
Written By: Ian Clayton
Edited By: Merielle Donaldson
I recently listened to a podcast on this whether or not ASE certifications are necessary and thought that it would be a useful topic to touch upon here (I will link to the podcast at the end). I, myself, have fourteen ASE certifications granting me Master Tech status in both Automotive and Medium/Heavy-Duty Truck (Diesel). There’s no arguing that’s a lot of time spent studying over the past five years. As someone who has a Bachelor’s degree, memorizing and regurgitating information for the purposes of passing an exam is something that I have a lot of experience in, which in turn made obtaining my Master Tech status significantly easier. Has it made me a better technician? Not in the slightest. Do I have more knowledge about how the parts, systems, and vehicles work and are meant to operate? Yes. In this article I will cover three reasons why you should aim to obtain ASE certification and three reasons why your time may be better spent otherwise.
Why You Should:
1) Signaling and screening theory: Economists and academics widely accept the theory that a) employers screen employees based on certain criteria and credentials, and b) employees can reveal certain information to employers as a way to signal that they possess certain characteristics. As you start off as a new technician you will have no or minimal experience, and, as I have mentioned, experience is king in this industry. A prospective employer will see that you have put in the time and effort to obtain these certifications and this will indicate a certain level of commitment to your education and your career advancement. This is the truth whether or not you are simply trying to use your ASE certifications to “signal” your attributes to an employer. Sitting down, putting in the time, and pushing yourself to achieve something is simply good for yourself in general in that it instills discipline and determination and provides clear, concrete, attainable goals to aim for while advancing your intellect. Indeed, this is what it will show your future/potential employers as well - that you are someone who pushes themselves to be a better person and a better technician. To add to this, many of the larger nationwide employers (dealerships, major truck leasing companies, major fleet companies) will increase your base pay in conjunction with the number of ASE certifications that you have achieved.
2) It will help with your diagnosis: This is really what these tests are designed for. The majority of the questions on the test will be on diagnosis of certain systems; there will be a few questions on the repair of these systems but the vast majority of the exams will be focused on diagnosis. This is a valuable competency to have, especially as a new technician. Having a slight leg up on your diagnosis skills will help you improve as a technician, which in turn allows you to better benefit your employer and get you paid more money.
3) It correlates with school programs: When I was in my training program, I took my ASE certification exams in correlation with the subject we were studying at that time in school. This made it considerably easier both to absorb the material we were being taught in school and to study for the exam. Getting to physically work with parts in school made it easier to understand what I was studying, and studying for the exam at home made it easier to understand what I was doing at school. The majority of the questions that we were getting on quizzes and exams in school were very similar to the questions that were on the ASE exams (although this may change based on the program that you are in). You are already studying for it in school, so why not just take the exam and get your certification? That’s the way I saw it.
The Downsides:
1) The cost: They are expensive - by the time you register for the test and buy all of the study materials needed, you are looking at a cost of about $175 per test. And yes, you need to study for them with those materials if you want to succeed at the exams. You could easily take that money and purchase a tool that would make it easier to do your job. The cost that I listed above may vary depending on your region of the country and the study materials that you decide to buy.
2) They DO NOT replace experience: The podcast that I will link to below discussed this in great depth. There is simply no proficiency standard that correlates with an ASE certification exam that may take. All that is needed for you to receive status and certification is a school certification (see my last post for thoughts on that) or two years of experience at a shop that is within the ASE network of shops. You could have two years of experience doing oil changes and brake jobs and other C-tech work, study hard for your electrical exam and obtain an ASE certification on the topic, and be of no more help to yourself or your employer at the end of the day because you have had actual no experience working on electrical issues.
3) The content is not always relevant: Just like my thoughts on course content in auto tech programs, there will be topics that are focused on in ASE certification tests that have little bearing on the real and current automotive world. The majority of the ASE content is relevant, but I remember ASE test questions requiring mathematical calculations about brake drum lining thicknesses as it relates to machining them. How many cars out there even use drums still? A point that was raised in the podcast linked below is why is there still an ASE certification for manual transmissions? Why is it still a requirement to achieve Master Technician status? How many people bought EVs last year? Millions? How many people bought manual transmissions? A few thousand guys in their sixties wearing tube socks, white New Balance sneakers, and jean shorts buying Miatas at their local Mazda dealers. Yes, there is an elective test out there for EVs, but it should no longer be elective; in my opinion it should be required for Master Tech status and manual transmissions should be an elective exam.
My Advice: Get them! But make sure that you are getting the relevant work experience to go along with each individual exam. This will require you to communicate with your service writer/manager, mentor, and teachers to try to expose you to the problems and jobs necessary to help you better learn and apply what you are studying and getting certified in.
Overall, I do not regret obtaining my Master Tech certification though I did it for myself more than anything. While it is definitely helpful for all of the reasons that I listed above, I am most happy that I pushed myself to obtain them on a mental and emotional level. For me personally it was a marathon/strong man competition/obstacle course race for the mind; I pushed myself to achieve something, I gained insights and knowledge along the way, and I achieved my goal in the end. It is a good feeling of accomplishment in a grueling and long process to becoming a successful technician. And that’s why you should consider getting your certifications too!
Check out the Changing the Industry Podcast on your favorite podcast player of choice for more conversations relating to this topic