Which ASE certification test should I take first?

Getting a job as an auto mechanic is difficult if you feel like you don't stand out from the crowd. This industry makes it difficult even if you did well at a respectable auto mechanic school. Luckily, if you're looking for a higher auto mechanic salary or just want to have more fun in your job, the National Automotive Institute of Excellence can help you out a lot.

Earning a certification through ASE will definitely improve your resume, but with so many certifications to choose from, you may be wondering which test should come first.

Decide on your specialty

There is no single answer to the question of which ASE certification test to take first. It would be like a college freshman asking what subjects he should take first before signing up for the first semester.

It's not that you don't have to think about which test you should take first. The same goes for a college freshman who thinks about classes. However, no question can be answered until you decide on a specialty. What careers in auto mechanics are you most interested in? What job do you enjoy the most? What auto mechanic salary do you want to receive?

Start with this important consideration first. Simply choosing a major will help you make more money and add value to your employer in the long run. It is also the only way to decide which ASE certification test to pass first.

Let's start with the basics

Once you have decided on a specialization, it makes sense to start with the basics. To some extent, you won't have a choice. While ASE is actually very lenient on how you get an education, they do have rules about how much experience you need to take certain courses. Also, as with college courses, you can't just jump to the most advanced options. You will need a foundation of knowledge on which to build.

ASE Student Certificate

That being said, it probably makes sense to start with the ASE student certification. As we just mentioned, it's wise to cover your basics and start with a solid foundation.

Another great thing about choosing this route is that you don't need work experience to take these courses. So even if you just became a mechanic this year, if you want to improve your future prospects, you can start with this certification.

Other certifications will take two or three years to complete, which should also help you prioritize which you decide to get first.

Consider the recertification process

For those of you with enough experience, it might be tempting to just get as many certifications as possible. After all, this should also give you the widest choice in terms of automotive technology, right?

While this is probably true, the problem is that ASE requires you to recertify in order to keep your status. This usually means that every five years you have to sit down and take another test to prove that you still understand the information.

However, in order to receive the ASE Student Certification, you must requalify every two years. For all these tests, you will also have to pay about $100 for each test. For some, this won't necessarily be a problem, especially if they used these certifications to boost their auto mechanic salary, but others may want to avoid such time and money commitments in the future.

There is no perfect way to structure your ASE certification efforts. However, we recommend that you take your time choosing a course. You don't want to wander or end up backtracking because you didn't spend enough time in the beginning to figure out what you want the end goal to be. By doing this, it will be easy for you to decide where to start.

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