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How do you get a couple of running
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It's not on a boat. The coveted master tech. The title, the pride, the joy, and the price tag
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The last of these is what ultimately affects you and is why you need to know about this
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All of these things seem to come into play when we start talking about certified technicians
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You could probably say that this holds true across most industries, but I'll stick to the industry that I know best, which is the marine industry
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It's like a standard tag that is used when it comes to marketing, advertising, and selling for any business, the dealerships use it, the mobile techs use it, the service centers, and even the YouTubers
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Certified technician, but what does that even mean? Certified in what? And certified by who
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I'll certify that the device you're viewing this video on will shut down immediately if you don't destroy that like button, but what's that matter to you
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Ultimately, nothing. But when you have to open up that pocketbook and slide out a couple hundies in order to get that boat working, now we're talking about a life or death situation
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Pay the electricity bill, fix the boat. Use the generator, fix the boat
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Plug that fridge back into the extension cord. The certified technician said the boat needs another ignition coil
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And that's the 14th coil this month. Where do you find this guy? Okay so maybe that an exaggeration but you know what I saying There are many levels of certifications differing from brand to brand and being a certified technician myself I got some insider information for you so you can put your dollar bills back in your pocket which is why we interrupt
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this video right here to give you a second to subscribe to this channel and if for nothing
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else you'll want to subscribe for one reason because we'll save you money when it comes to
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your boat now the best way to describe this situation is to use our insider information
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and allow Mercury and Yamaha's path to Master Tech show us how this scale tips and in which direction you want it to tip
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Each company has specific criteria in order to acquire that coveted Master Tech status
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Right now, we are also in a transitional period in the educational fields and in the need for mechanics in general
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Even before the COVID situation, most companies were transitioning into doing online training for a lot of the written portions of whatever class you were taking
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Then after the online classes, you would go to one of the schools that they had available to do all the hands-on training
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And given the need we all have for mechanics right now, period, which many of you might have to deal with this very issue where you live and not being able to find a decent mechanic around you
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They also added a new level of quote-unquote certification to their training programs, like Yamaha now features this apprenticeship program where they have a maintenance course
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which is a two-week-long marine service skills training program where they teach you all about servicing and maintenance on their engines
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from 8 horse to 350 horsepower. They go over all the oils oil filters fuel filters water pump impellers timing belts and other preventative maintenance skills that are needed to be basically someone that can properly do your normal service on the boat engine which is great but I don know if we can say that that a certified technician
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or not. Anyway, then they move on to their certification courses where there are six specific
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classes that the technician has to go through, and once they have passed all six of the courses
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with the tests, they can then take what is called the Master Tech Test, which is another series of
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tests, written and hands-on tests, before you are awarded that Master Tech title
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Basically, every company wants to make sure that if someone is running around as a Master
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Tech, then they need to be able to work on all of their products. They don't want a Master Tech that doesn't know how to work on a V6 engine because all they
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ever worked on was 10-horse engines. And that goes for everyone. Mercury doesn't want to have someone claiming they are Master Tech, and they don't know
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how to work on an Optimax or a Verado. So they each have a class going over the specific models in order to get to that top level of certification
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But when you get to the level of being a master tech, you'll be paying a premium to have that person with that skill level and experience work on your boat
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Master techs usually carry the premium level of professionalism and efficiency with them when they get their tools out
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When we bring this into the field though, at the same time, schooling is one thing and is great
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but you can't take someone and give them 10 years of experience in three months
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You just can't. No matter what the training and schooling is, experience is a massive part when it comes to the price tag And this comes down to you in the end when it comes to the price that is paid for someone to work on your boat Now we understand that everyone is different and not all marinas shops dealerships mechanics
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mobile techs, you, your neighbor, or your brother's wife's friend's friend that changes the
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oil on his lawnmower is going to be act, think, or charge like this, making this my own
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personal opinion. But the way I see it, when charging a rate, you get what you pay for
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If someone is charging top market dollar, say $175 an hour, to diagnose something
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then you want that person to be experienced or certified in that area
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I know I wouldn't want to pay a premium to have someone that is a service tech try and diagnose some serious issue and spend three days learning the system having me pay for the time on those three days
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But I think that a lot of us have been down that road at some point in time with some situations
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or another and that experience burns us to where we lose our trust in something
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So when it comes to getting a mechanic to come and work on your boat, just simply ask them
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about their experience and training. And over time, you will find the right person to help you take care of your boat, your engine
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and keep you out on the water more without leaving you at the dock with no gas money to run the boat
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Speaking of gas money, if you haven't seen our video on how to instantly increase your
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fuel economy, you should click on this video here. Don't forget to hit the like button
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subscribe, and leave a comment down below for the algorithm. Visit us at born againboating.com
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and we look forward to seeing you next week
