Seeing in a lot of job postings that they would like you to be, or willing to get NATE certified. I have heard of this before but never knew what it was really. Can someone explain?
Test is a bitch, beware of the trick questions, and you need to renew every few years or due a certain amount of training
It's a test you pay for to get a patch and a sticker so your boss can market your certification to people who don't know what it is. Either you can fix stuff or you can't, I personally don't need a patch to wear for people to see that don't know what it is anyway.
Nate is a group of certifcations indicating you have tested and passed the test for various disciplines in our industry. It is mostly open shop guys who have this. It gives you patches to wear on your work shirt so joe homeowner thinks you are good, kinda like the ones car mechanics get. it just says you passed the test for say heatpumps or other facets of this biz. In other words, you are smart enough to pass the test you pay to take..... Its similiar to UA star for union steamfitter types.
The whole thing was conceived as a two part agenda. it was designed by folks who know how to create tests as a way to both generate income by creating a previously nonexistant certification for our industry, and to give the general public a feeling of professionalism in the trade. it was modeled after auto mechanics wearing those batcges on their arms at dealers as far as I know. Covertly, I think it was conceived by manufacturers as a way to get guys better trained in an effort to slow down the slew of warranty callbacks, failed compressors etc. As I understand, compresor manufacturers went on a run testing so called failed compressors, and found too high a rate of misdiagnosis.
You have to pass 2 test. The first is is a general test (common sense is what you need to pass) once you pass that you can move on to the major test on the topic of you choice(ex. A/C, gas heating, oil heating, airflow, heat pumps....) and if you pass one of those test, you are then nate certified
My company offered to pay for it, so I was like why not? It wouldn't hurt and if my company doesn't work out, it something nice to has on my resume.
The final part of that statement is correct. I know the guys that started NATE - they work for OEM. They were trying to find a way to get a handle on warranty claims.
I had heard it unofficially from several peeps at manufacturers, but nothing all official like. it is a step in the right direction, but more needs to be done with education. Too many owners just dont get it, but I wont stand on my box over here.
I'm still a proctor for Esco......mainly known for the EPA test, but also went into the Tech. Certification business. There is still no one program that is nationally recognized...... Stating this I am the biggest proponent of EDUCATION there is........... But it's all about the money.... Why is it when I take continuing education courses for my license, I pay $60 to get my diploma and a person getting his Nate hours pays twice that much? To take the test in Ga. you most now take a Manuel J and D course. This subject matter is one of my many weak ones....... I was gonna go, even that it was expensive. And a friend told me it was just a prep course to take the test...... 95% of the distributor classes are why our shit is better than theirs........ Most of the schools suck... What a racket......
I'm a service tech and do very little install work (THANKFULY) so I don't even know what a manual D and a manual J is....lol
i had six nate certs. with study guides, testing, and certs, it cost ME $1500 about 5 and a half years ago i let them lapse in june in five years, no one gave a damn, not one customer, not one employer, nada the worst part? the patches looks so ****ing gay that i couldn't even put them on a coat. they are big, sloppily embroidered, bold-purple outlined, with a cartoonish look. for $1500 i want some quality looking patches, that DON'T make me look like the HVAC Member of Men At Work
^^^ That's why I never bothered with the NATE stuff and dropped RSES membership. I get a lot of education doing research, reading IOM's and practicing my trade on the equipment that I work on. I attend seminars when I think they're beneficial to me and will attend a class that costs money if it's a benefit to me. I will not pay for classes that only benefit the ones putting the class on. I will not attend a training seminar that is just a sales pitch for something I have no control over my company selling.
This testing by Organizations, Governments and Profit minded exploiters has created a lot of Paper Tigers. These guys have got the certs after many tries and suck in the real world. They can't walk the walk, they're all talk, all bark, no bite. That shit works on the unknowing, if you are worth your salt you can see them for what they are. Mainly cause their work sucks. Not saying they are not worth the effort and there are well qualified people with them certs. But if you have run into them Paper Tigers you know what I'm talking about.
got nate certified 8 years ago or so...let it go away and cant tell the difference. like was said, other than the company that was pushing it, noone else cared what it was or if it benifetted them.. i remember test being harder than ky journeymans though... Sent from my LS670 using Tapatalk
