I might leave college soon and was looking into some 4 week courses on audio/security installing. I just want to know if it's a good job and what I could expect to make working for either a small shop or like a Best Buy or whatever.
Also, I would likde tok know what schools would be good for learning about building engines etc. Thanks

 

ok..from MY experience only. it can be a very rewarding career, BUT there's lots to it. you want to find yourself a shop that you like. if your manager is a d**k and doesnt know what he's talking about then your time in the shop will suck. if i was to do it over, i would try to go for a big chain store. you will get hours and health beniifts. i would choose a larger shop over the smaller shops. but thats my own experience.

 

I totally agree with jdmmotorsports, the bigger chains offer more benefits: steady pay, health benefits, most have 410k, ect... They are more stable as far as income and business is concerned. Also you have more opportunities to move up to higher income brackets, like manager, district managers, and so on. I worked for CC and they took very good care of me, I got a raise every year, most of the time i got bonuses, always got hours that i wanted. Most of the big chains start you out at a good hrly wage and it's easy to make more with commission and stuff. The only thing with those stores are that they tend to have high expectations from their employees and are somewhat strict about certain issues, but they are common sense like no stealing or drinking on the job type stuff. Good luck with whatever you choose.

 

i used to work at best buy doing just that, part timers got squat, but you usually have to start as P/t. It took me 8 mos to get a full time position. but when i did i got all kinds of benefits: 401k stock options, health, dental, ins. 100% tuition reimbursement for school. they even offered pet ins. and car ins. through their ins carrier (AIG I think). It was a great job to work at plus i made damn good $$ for being in college. I left in feb. due to schedule coflicts, but a few mos. later I was told by some of my old co-workers that they took commission away from the installers ( taking a large chunk out of their paycheck) they rasied their hourly pay but it was not enough to make up. when you move further up in the company you can make some serious dough though.

 

i worked for a local connecticut company jo-di's as a installer and sales. the company was way cool to work for(10% over cost) but the hourse and days sucked. plus i had to do road work sometimes which i didnt like. but i learned a hell of a lot about installing and am a much better installer cause of it. just saying dont go into a small shop expecting to make the big bucks. expect to learn alot.

 

This is true. It happened right when I was leaving. Many of the installers were pissed about it, except the occassional "I think it's a great idea" thing from someone who wanted a promotion and kissed ***. Many installers left for other places when this happened.

 

yeah a lot of ***-kissing and yes-man stuff goes on there. its all about playing the game right, not nesecarily doing a good job.

 

my cousin wants to be a audio installer but he's in nyc and he wants to know if anybody knows any shops in nyc that will hire him when he gets out of school. thanx alot and also do yall know of any school in the nyc area that he can go to because he's going to installers institue

 

He's gonna have a hard time finding a job at a smaller shop, with or without a cert from II. Problem is, he may be able to fiberglass some kick panels or whatever, but can he install an alarm in a civic? He may be able to build a box for four 12s, can he disassemble the dash of a new Cavalier. I would tell him to save his money, buy the install tapes from Select Products, get a ton of tools from SnapOn, and get a job at CC or BB til he gets some experience. Then, look into a mom and pop shop if he isn't happy.

 

ditto, there are quite a few best buys in the NYC area now after attending the installers institute he should have no problem getting a job at any of them. He might be happy staying there cause of the benefits.

 

thanx alot for all the info but does anybody have a general idea on how much they make in cc or bestbuy. also does anybody know any tuning shops that might hire him we he gets certified also where do yall work at now

 

I know that the installers at best buy used to make more than at CC generally, but since they took commission away I am not sure, I applied to work at circuit city years ago and they wanted top hire me as an installer then move me out to the sales floor. but this was years ago I didn't take the job cause they only wanted to pay me $6.75/hr which was $2.25 less than I was making at the time. I am a little hesitant about taking my car to CC to get it installed because they (used to at least) hire people right off the street with no experience.
I used to work at best buy, now I go to college full time.

 

Use to think this was a good kind of job to take and I thought it would pay well. Then I grew up and found out that many jobs pay well more than this does, but installing stereo systems are fun and rewarding in itself. I don't think you can make a real living with just doing the installs though. Probably after you become manager, then you will have decent pay, but you probably put in twice as many hours when you really don't want it.

I'm just glad no one ever hired me when I was looking. I am very happy with my job now and it pays pretty well, glad I got into computers.

 

Youre right, I know many other friends that are making better money working with computers. If I could turn back the clock, I think I would have gotten into computers.

But Im a car guy. Always have been, always will. I loved gadgets, new technology, automation.

I enjoy seeing the customers face when I demo a CompuStar unit in a stick shift vehicle which they thought could not SAFELY be done in their own. I like to see their reaction when I hit buttons to roll windows up and down or to pop the gas door by remote (some newer cars have powered, push button gas doors)

I like to ask the customer to "speak" to the AUTO PC and ask for the time, and see their reaction when it speaks back and tells the current time. I'm a GADGET freak.

I used to be into "car stereo systems" years ago, but now I find myself specializing more into vehicle automation, convenience, navigation.

Sure, like I stated before, there are many friends of mine making way more $$$ than I, but they come home crabby, stressed out and HATE their job.

I may come home tired and exhausted, but I like what I do and enjoy my job. You gotta love what you do. Especially if it becomes your career. Your quality of work will be reflected in your attitude towards your job.

I've had customers tell me straight up that how they can see the enthusiasism and pride I have for my job. That makes them feel assured and comfortable about what I have to offer for them.

Its like Im getting paid for something I like to do anyway. Shouldnt that be the case for everyone???

 

You are right on that about doing the things you like. I like what I do also, but I also like working with cars as a hobby. Gives me something to look forward to sometimes. And I look forward to going to work, too. I like both worlds, but they are very much different.

Cars do not rule my world and so doesn't work either. If money is what someone want though, then I wouldn't really get into this biz, but that's me.

 

Here's a flip side to the argument:

Are you sure that you want to turn your hobby into your profession?

Think about it for a minute...sure it sounds great, you get to do what you like for a living, but look at it from a practical standpoint.

You bust your *** on your hands and knees all day long, then you have nights and ususally sunday and monday off......do you really think that you will ever want to work on your own car? I don't know about you guys, but after doing others installs, I get a bit burnt out....especially if you did it for a living.

I agree wholeheartly that you should do what you love for a living, but I think if you took a look at most competitors/master installers out there, you would find that they hold down a separate full time job that doesn't involve an install bay.

Personally, I have hobbies so that I can get a release from grad school, and my current full time job...I'm a busy guy, so I really enjoy getting to suck down a ton of fiberglass fumes and MDF dust. If I did it everyday, I would begin to hate it, and would'nt appreciate the time I spent on my car. The same thing goes for any of my other hobbies....

I guess what I'm trying to say is: don't try to turn your hobby into your carreer unless you are willing to give it up. Car audio is a borderline passion for me, yet I have no desire to make a living off it.

 

I'm am the lead installer at a circuit city. I would have to agree with most of the guys that after doing installs for a while, you do get burnt. Many of the installers we have at circuit city are people we find off the streets but they go through proper training before they actually touch a car. I started about 5 years ago with very little experience and after about a year at circuit city I have learn to do everything including many other electronics that are not related to car stereo. The pay is not really good when you start but in time you will get paid for what you know.

 

b18c1 can yu e-mail me because i have a few questions for you at ardoch@aol.cm

 

how did some of you start as an installer? learn from someone or got the job, and then learned?