Jeremy Bednarsh hopes to complete his North American Technician Excellence (NATE) training by the end of the year. He has been studying for the test and feels just about ready to take it. The certification exam basically tests the HVAC technician on absolutely everything there is to know from installation to maintenance. Jeremy Bednarsh wants this certification as it will help him command a higher pay rate, do higher quality work, and it will look great as experience and training on his growing resume.

The NATE certification is valid for five years from certification. Jeremy Bednarsh now sees how much can change in five years and understands the importance of continuing his education even after his certification is complete. With so much changing and evolving in the field, Jeremy Bednarsh thinks it is actually a good thing that every five years you have to stop and refresh your knowledge and skills.

“I work a lot with some of the old-school guys who are not too concerned about the expiration of their NATE certification. They feel that they are too old to learn anything new and are not concerned about it. I feel that they will start to be overlooked when the new jobs come in and those of us who keep our knowledge current, will be offered the jobs first,” said Jeremy Bednarsh.

Since Jeremy Bednarsh plans to operate his own business one day in the future, he knows he will be keeping up on his continuing education credits through NATE. It makes sense to him that most companies and homeowners would prefer a certified technician over one who is not, and definitely prefer one who is regularly getting new certifications and improving. HVAC systems are costly and no one wants to think the job was only done half-way, or not done correctly. Jeremy Bednarsh will always want to offer his clients the best service and believes that having certified technicians is one of the ways to do so.