Posts By: Susan Brown

7 Easy Steps for Signing up your Techs at the Master Samurai Tech Academy

Posted on February 24, 2015 by - Academy Talk, Business Talk

7 seven birthday anniversary celebrationWhen enrolling technicians in an MST Academy appliance repair training course, most business owners will do the registration/enrollment process themselves so that they will have the username and password for each tech, and can therefore log in as desired to check on a tech’s progress. Here’s how to do that:

1. Make sure you are NOT logged in (check the upper right hand corner of the site).

2. Go to the Enroll page.

3. Select the course or bundle you want from the pull-down menu box.

4. Now enter your coupon code, if you have one.

5. Create your tech’s profile - First and Last name, email address, username, password. (See notes below.)

6. Click "Add Billing Method" at the bottom of the Billing Method section of the enrollment form and enter your credit card information.

7. Click the red "Submit Form" button.

That’s it! The tech is ready to log in and start his Journey of Total Appliance Enlightenment! If you have more techs to enroll, simply go back to Step 1.

Notes -

1. Once you create a profile, the username cannot be changed. All of the other items can be changed, if needed.

2. Each email address must be unique, in other words, one per student.

3. If the tech’s email address has already been registered at the site (for example, to take the Sample Course), then you can’t do a new registration with that email. You can either use his existing registration (get his username and password, log in to the site with them, then enroll in a course) or contact us and we can delete his old account and you can start fresh.

4. If a tech has a company email address, then some business owners set their email client to forward messages from the Academy to them so they will see the progress notifications. (Emails are automatically sent out when a tech completes a lesson and successfully passes a quiz.)

5. Taking our courses is a very personalized experience for each student, so each technician needs his or her own enrollment in each course. For online training to be effective, students need to work at their own pace and be encouraged to repeat lessons and videos as needed. The goal is mastery of the material, after all! And each tech comes to their training with their own unique mix of strengths, weaknesses, and experience.

If you have any questions at all, please contact us!

5 Tips for Success in Your Online Appliance Repair Training Program

Posted on February 19, 2015 by - Academy Talk, Career Talk

Online Learning on Highway Signpost.Online training courses have become a huge benefit to adult learners. From individual how-to training for a specific task (like Microsoft’s online software tutorials) to massive open online courses (MOOCS) offered by universities to students worldwide, online education brings a vast array of opportunities within reach of learners in every field imaginable — all you need is access to a computer, some time, and the determination to succeed in your chosen topic.

Like every other endeavor in life, success in your online training program depends as much on what you put into it as in the coursework itself. Even the best-designed, most comprehensive online program is only as good as the effort and commitment each student applies to making the most of the experience.

If you are considering or possibly already made the commitment to pursue online schooling, here are a few tips to help guide you through the process. Even if you are considering a career outside of appliance repair training, these tips for online courses are applicable in any industry.

1. FIRST THINGS FIRST — A journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step, and the same is true of learning appliance repair. (Don’t worry, though: it won’t take a thousand miles.) Like anything else, appliance repair has a number of fundamentals that must be mastered before you go on to more challenging tasks. First, you must thoroughly understand the principles of electricity, electronics, gas, and so on. You need to be able to read schematics and extrapolate those diagrams into the inner workings of a refrigerator or stove or dishwasher before you ever open an instrument panel. And if you already have some experience working with appliances, don’t pooh-pooh the basic courses — chances are there’s a wealth of useful information your seat-of-the-pants experience never gave you. Besides, you don’t know what you don’t know, right?

2. DON’T BE AFRAID TO ASK — You’ve often heard it said that there’s no such thing as a stupid question. If you’ve tried and tried to master a concept on your own but just can’t seem to make it click, ask your instructor or advisor. That’s what they’re there for, and a few back-and-forth emails or perhaps a Skype conference can lead to that Aha! moment that will help you rise to the next level of achievement in your training. (And cordial relationships with your instructors can be advantageous when they are asked to recommend students for any job openings.)

3. DEVELOP DISCIPLINE AND PERSISTENCE — Whether you’re employed or you’re currently out of work, it’s crucial to set aside dedicated times to pursue your online studies. Perhaps you can get up earlier or stay up later to complete your coursework — or less ideally, study at various free times during a day — but it’s important to make your education a priority. Try to find quiet times and places, free of noise and interruptions, where you can really focus on absorbing the complex information you’ll need on the job. And no matter how hard it may seem at times to keep on track with your commitment, don’t give up. Keep your goal in mind and don’t let setbacks keep you from moving forward. You CAN do it!

4. KNOW YOUR LEARNING STYLE — Some of us are visual learners who need to see and interact with how things work, while others grasp concepts more readily through listening to lectures or reading. Your training provider may offer a variety of tools such as videos, manuals, syllabuses, or hands-on practicums geared to learners of every type. Choose your preferred method, but don’t overlook other modes — the more types of input you take advantage of, the more concrete your knowledge base will become.

5. DON’T RUSH — Did you read No. 1 above? Good. Yes, we all want to get out there, roll up our sleeves, and delve into the inner workings of every appliance we have learned about. Your instructor will let you know when you’re ready for hands-on work. When that eagerly awaited time arrives, it’s a good idea to try to find an apprentice or assistant position with an experienced repair technician who can help you develop in a real-world setting the manual skills you need to apply your theoretical knowledge. If you are already working in the field, your employer will be impressed with your new expertise and determination to get ahead and will assign more challenging responsibilities.

Master Samurai Tech allows students to gain a comprehensive foundation of knowledge that students may not receive through basic hands-on training. We teach each student how to think critically through any situation for a deeper understanding of the issue at hand. This prepares our students for anything this industry might throw at them, not just particular topics covered in training.

If a student approaches their online learning with this in mind, whether it is appliance repair training or computer programming, they will be successful in the “classroom” as well as any future career opportunities it leads to.

Good luck!

How Much Does Appliance Tech Training Cost?

Posted on January 28, 2015 by - Business Talk, Career Talk

Costs and Benefits of Appliance Tech TrainingMany of you may be asking yourselves: how much does training cost? Well the truth is good training doesn’t cost anything because it pays for itself. Whatever money you spend on the training that you need to become a good tech you’ll quickly earn back when you're out in the field kicking appliance butt.

In fact, the better question to ask is: how much does it cost you not to get training? Profitablity and customer satisfaction rely on a high first call complete (FCC) rate. A high FCC rate comes primarily from successful pre-diagnostic work and sharp troubleshooting skills, which happen to be two key areas of instruction in the Fundamentals of Appliance Repair training course.

 

If you are either a novice or a working tech without a thorough background in electricity, schematics, and modern motor/circuit board configurations, then it is imperative for your bottom line that you divert some of your budget away from advertising and towards training. There’s no sense getting a bunch of calls if you can’t fix most of them on the first trip.

If you've been working as an appliance tech for awhile and still have a low FCC (below 80%), then you should definitely invest in some training.

After you’ve completed your training in appliance repair, then you can kick up the spending on advertising with confidence. You can also tout your new certification!

Make the right choice, get the training you need to succeed. Or, as we say at the Samurai Tech Academy, "Learn More. Earn More!"

If you’d like to get more of a look and feel for how the courses work and receive a discount coupon, please try out our FREE Sample Course!

 

Master Samurai Tech Academy Certification: A Standard of Excellence

Posted on January 23, 2015 by - Academy Talk, Career Talk

certified2Being a “Certified Appliance Repair Technician” sounds impressive and can open doors with employers and customers. There is no universally recognized certification for Appliance Repair techs, and there are several different organizations offering them.

We have found that most customers don't question where your certification comes from. In fact, we've never been asked. Employers are generally the only people interested in what kind of certification a tech has.

When an employer looks into where your certification came from, will it pass scrutiny? How should you evaluate the merit of a particular certification that you are considering obtaining?

The first step is to take a close look at the entity that is issuing the certification. The quality of the certification can only be as good as the organization behind it.

The second step is to evaluate what type of certification it is. Did a tech just pass a one-time test, or does his certification attest that he follow a prescribed course of study, passing numerous tests along the way to show mastery of the material?

The Master Samurai Tech Academy is operated by an acknowledged national expert on appliance repair technology, Scott M. Brown, known online as the Samurai Appliance Repair Man. His popular websites, forums, and YouTube channel have been on the forefront of online appliance repair training and support for over 15 years. Scott has a proven track record of bringing a higher standard of excellence to the appliance repair industry. You can see his work at:

  • his YouTube channel,
  • Appliantology, and
  • the Master Samurai Tech blog.
  •  
    Scott’s bio is here.

    Most appliance repair business owners will be familiar with Scott’s work. If they aren’t, a few minutes of looking at the above links will assure them of his expertise and ability to communicate with techs.

    You know you want one!

    You know you want one!

    Certification from the Master Samurai Tech Academy means that the student completed every lesson in a particular course, averaging at least 80% on the quizzes, and then passed the midterm and final exams (where applicable) with at least a 90% score. The final exam is a rigorous test with a number of “open answer” questions that are graded by the MSTA staff. If a student does not pass the first time, he is told which areas he needs to review, and then must take the entire exam again. He does not receive the certification until he has passed!

    In fact, MST certification is much more like an educational degree and not just simply a certification obtained by passing an exam.

    The courses at the Master Samurai Tech Academy are rigorous and relevant to today’s modern, computer-controlled appliances. If you are an employer and want to evaluate the MST certification of a job applicant, please see individual course pages for an overview of the topics the applicant would have studied.

    Please contact us if you have any further questions about the Samurai Tech Academy Certification!

    If you’d like to get more of a look and feel for how the courses work and receive a discount coupon, please try out our FREE Sample Course!

    Will the demand for Appliance Repair Techs increase in the near future?

    Posted on November 4, 2014 by - Business Talk, Career Talk, Tech Talk

    PCB_Testing_400The short answer is "yes!" according to the Bureau of Labor. We discussed their projection that the demand for appliance repair technicians will grow by 21% over the next decade in an earlier Blog Post.

    It's an important question for anyone looking to invest time and money in training. You want to make sure there's a good chance of getting a job or running your own business once you've geared up.

    Besides the overall growth trend that the BoL is predicting, we also think there will be another important shift in the trade due to the changes in appliances happening right now.

    Due to a number of factors, especially the government Energy Star requirements, appliances are becoming increasingly "electronified."

    We think the increasing computerization and complexity of appliances will only create more opportunities for skilled technicians to have a steady work flow with lots of interesting and profitable work. This will weed out the people who don't want to learn new technologies and change with the times from the people who do keep up with technology and continue to learn and hone their skills. That second group of techs will find that they have plenty of work.

    It was recognizing this trend, along with noting the lack of convenient training available in these critical skills, that inspired us to create the Samurai Tech Academy.

    The Fundamentals of Appliance Repair course at the Samurai Tech Academy provides an excellent technical foundation giving you the basic skills you need to build on and understand the present and future technologies coming out in appliances, and how to profit from that knowledge.

     

    Then take the Advanced Schematic Analysis and Troubleshooting training course to get advanced instruction on troubleshooting appliances with multiple electronic control boards.