Nate senior

[jimj]

Passed Nate senior!!!

I'm going to take it in the next couple of weeks, any advice? Not really looking forward to a FOUR HOUR TEST! How long did it take you?

I did the Gas and Air Distribution last week with no problem.

[hvaclover]

NATE is a scam...

[jimj]

NATE is a scam...

Well.............that may be true!

But what is not a scam anymore. I know my company is a Gold Circle Nate company and I receive calls because of that!

[jimj]

By the way. Our first round of testing at our company doing the core and Heatpump had a 100% passing grade! Our main competitor ( a One Hour Company) had a 100% failure rate! What company would you call.

[techbill11]

Congratulations!!

[Trehak01]

Dont over think the questions. That was my biggest mistake when i took that test.

[slctech]

I believe based on your state and jurisdiction, the usefulness of the NATE can be questionable. Here in Utah, with very little certification to operate and work in our field, the NATE is the only thing here that sets us apart. It has become increasingly more popular with our local utility companies, in fact to take advantage of any of their rebates, installations must be performed by a NATE certified installer.
RSES has never made a splash here in Utah, I am a member, but that is about it. No one here has a clue what RSES is, but they all know about NATE.

Step outside Utah and I am sure it is much different. So is it a scam or just another plaque on ones wall of pride? Depends on your locale. Personal opinion in the organization and it's hierarchy doesn't matter here in Utah, just important to have certification to be competitive in our residential market. Get into our light commercial and larger industry here, and any fly-by-night company or wanna-be technicians have already been filtered out, so no badges or certifications necessary...just reputation.

I have pushed RSES with all of my local distributors and factory reps, TM's, and Field Techs, but the few who are members, understand that our industry has changed a lot. Hard to get the younger generation to set aside an evening to attend local chapter meetings, let alone even attend basic classes held at such places like Lennox, Johnstone, etc to just further ones knowledge. The old day pride has diminished. Hell, my old man is RSES, Lions Club, Elks, VFW, and a Mason....attending these groups and organizations was the way of life. But now, no one has time.

Our company technicians are required to have a minimum of two NATE service certs. A technician is given a dollar an hour raise for simply being a member of RSES, and another dollar raise if he/she attends a minimum of 4 seminars, classes, or whatever maybe put on by any number of our local distributors. Most only attend those classes that promise NATE points, so even our company has those that will do the bare minimum.

I would love to become CM from RSES, but no one remotely close around here proctors the test. In contrast NATE testing is on a weekly basis here.

[King4207]

Can anyone make reccomendations on which books are actually required for the Senior Nate test? There are 15 to 20 books listed on their web site as references for the Senior. I really don't want to purchase any that wouldn't be useful. Any help or info on which are important to have would be greatly appreciated.

[second opinion]

Can anyone make reccomendations on which books are actually required for the Senior Nate test? There are 15 to 20 books listed on their web site as references for the Senior. I really don't want to purchase any that wouldn't be useful. Any help or info on which are important to have would be greatly appreciated.

None are actually required. Depending on what you weaknesses are will dictate what books you should study. The only ones that I would tell you to purchase that you should be using every day in the field are the ACCA Manual J,D,S,T,B, ICC's Fuel Gas and Mechanical, the ADC manual for flex, all others would be optional depending on what your daily scope focuses on. If you do strictly residential Manual N for commercial would be useless to you. The ACCA Standards would be the next recommendation, they are beginning to be incorporated in the International Codes.

A lot of the information that is needed for the correct answer can be found in several different books.

[jimj]

In addition to the list above I would add DeWalts "HVAC/R Professional Reference Master Edition".

I'm sure you know its open book and the DeWalt book makes for easy lookup of a lot of information.

[ADillon]

When you pass the senior exam, it is good for 10 years and all of your current nate certifications are automatically renued. I'm waiting till my current certs are on the verge of expiring before i take the senior exam. I would be interested to know what sort of questions are on it.

[jimj]

When you pass the senior exam, it is good for 10 years and all of your current nate certifications are automatically renued. I'm waiting till my current certs are on the verge of expiring before i take the senior exam. I would be interested to know what sort of questions are on it.

Nope no true, its good for five years and all my other certs show as the same expiring date.

[ADillon]

My fault it is only goof for 5 years but all of your other certs should be brought up to the same date as the senior cert. This from NATE's website

Note: When the Efficiency Analysts Certification is earned the dates of all other certifications are updated to coincide with the EA. When recertifying in EA, all certifications are updated at the same time. If EA is not recertified the candidate must recertify in all other specialties. Also, note that holding HP and AC counts as one certification not two. Passing Senior Level Efficiency Analyst awards a 5 year certification.