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Topic: Certified Electronics Technician?

Tim Reed
Better Projection Pays

Posts: 5246
From: Northampton, PA
Registered: Sep 1999

posted 06-12-2000 05:18 PM

I found my old CET exam manual yesterday and wondered if anyone here ever bothered to become a CET? If so, what area(s) of specialization did you elect to be tested in?

I know they (the Electronics Technicians Association) don't offer much in our line of work, but the certification today carries about as much weight as the old FCC Radiotelephone licenses *used* to.

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

posted 06-12-2000 05:53 PM

I was always going to do this but never did. I was always too busy at work and too tired when I got home(especially now!). Since I've always had electronic / mechanical type hobbies I either learned from them or on the job.
Mark

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Oscar Neundorfer
Master Film Handler

Posts: 275
From: Senoia, GA
Registered: May 2000

posted 06-13-2000 05:58 AM

I worked for many years as a repair technician in the consumer electronics and professional musician equipment areas. I seem to recall that the CET was popular in the mid 70's, but I also never got one as I did not need it at all for my jobs. I think it was a good attempt to qualify repair techs since there were so many shops at the time that were total ripoffs and techs were getting bad reputations. Is the program still in force?

Regarding FCC licenses, I got my First Class Phone license at 19 years of age and kept it for many years. Then, sometime in the mid 80's I think, the FCC "downgraded" the First Class License to a General class (I think it was called) for various political reasons, or so I was led to believe. I let mine lapse which did not matter since I was not using it anymore anyway.

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Oscar Neundorfer
Chief Engineer
SMART Devices, Inc.

oscar@smartdev.com

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John Walsh
Film God

Posts: 2490
From: Connecticut, USA, Earth, Milky Way
Registered: Oct 1999

posted 06-13-2000 08:38 AM

I thought the CET exam program was a good idea. But, I heard that there wasn't any support by electronic companies (companies who would employ electronics technicians.)

The reason was the companies' thought the CET exam was too close to the start of an electronics technicians union. When I started in electronics in the late 1970's, there were very few technicians. The longer companies' could keep techs from talking to each other (to compaire pay and benefits) the better. And a program to standarize knowledge wasn't in their best interest.

If electronics technicians got together and created a union, it would be very powerful.

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

posted 06-13-2000 11:52 AM

Having the CET paper did not guarantee that you could trouble shoot or reair anything anyway and most large companys never even asked if you had one. I worked for both Panasonic and Canon factory service for years and I don't recall anyone having a CET certification. there were many bad and many good technicians that went through both places.
Another interesting thing about working factory service is that you were graded each month, based on percentage of repaired units and returns etc. You either made it or you didn't at both companies.
Mark

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Tim Reed
Better Projection Pays

Posts: 5246
From: Northampton, PA
Registered: Sep 1999

posted 06-18-2000 11:24 AM

Oscar wrote:>>Is the program still in force?<<

Very much so. They've expanded into several other specializations, and are pretty heavy into computer certifications.

Check them out at: http://eta-sda.com/

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