Is it worth it to get certified?
- Thread starter awsskater
- Start date
The first question I would ask is:
"How much and who do you plan to string for?"
The title USRSA CS "Certified Stringer" means that you have passed a written and practical "hands on" set of tests designed to test your skill and knowledge of racquet stringing, repair and strings. It says that you have the knowledge and skill to do the job right!
If your customer base will continue to be friends and family, I would say it is up to you whether you obtain certification. Join the USRSA anyway, the books, stringers digest, etc contain alot of information and are the main course study material for USRSA exams. You can learn alot from these books....
On the other hand if you are thinking of getting a summer job at a local sporting good store, expanding your customer base beyond friends and family, or are looking for extra income through college, I think it would be a good idea. Certification is something you can use as proof of your abilities, and it might help you land a part time job in your local sporting good store while you are in school.
Good luck with your stringing.... and I hope this helps with your decision,
Geoff Jones
USRSA MRT
"How much and who do you plan to string for?"
The title USRSA CS "Certified Stringer" means that you have passed a written and practical "hands on" set of tests designed to test your skill and knowledge of racquet stringing, repair and strings. It says that you have the knowledge and skill to do the job right!
If your customer base will continue to be friends and family, I would say it is up to you whether you obtain certification. Join the USRSA anyway, the books, stringers digest, etc contain alot of information and are the main course study material for USRSA exams. You can learn alot from these books....
On the other hand if you are thinking of getting a summer job at a local sporting good store, expanding your customer base beyond friends and family, or are looking for extra income through college, I think it would be a good idea. Certification is something you can use as proof of your abilities, and it might help you land a part time job in your local sporting good store while you are in school.
Good luck with your stringing.... and I hope this helps with your decision,
Geoff Jones
USRSA MRT
David Pavlich
Professional
If you go to a good tester, you will be checked on quality and efficiency. You will also be tested on your knowledge of what makes a string do what it does and how it interacts with a racquet.
There's a lot of other stuff, but if you can pass the test, it shows that you have a pretty good grasp of what it takes to produce a quality string job.
That's what the certification process is about. Can you produce a high quality string job in a reasonable amount of time?
I think it's worth the time. If you decide to string at a shop or store, it will certainly be a résumé enhancer. I finally took the time to get my Master Racquet Technician certification. Will it help me in my shop? Not as far as my stringing quality is concerned because I think I've been doing a good job all along, but my customers that are concerned about quality and new customers that may be hesitant will appreciate the effort. and the MRT certification requires that the applicant understand different technologies from the different manufacturers (Catapult, Intelligence, etc.).
Besides, it doesn't hurt to learn new things, which the test will force you to do.
David
There's a lot of other stuff, but if you can pass the test, it shows that you have a pretty good grasp of what it takes to produce a quality string job.
That's what the certification process is about. Can you produce a high quality string job in a reasonable amount of time?
I think it's worth the time. If you decide to string at a shop or store, it will certainly be a résumé enhancer. I finally took the time to get my Master Racquet Technician certification. Will it help me in my shop? Not as far as my stringing quality is concerned because I think I've been doing a good job all along, but my customers that are concerned about quality and new customers that may be hesitant will appreciate the effort. and the MRT certification requires that the applicant understand different technologies from the different manufacturers (Catapult, Intelligence, etc.).
Besides, it doesn't hurt to learn new things, which the test will force you to do.
David
cantaloupe
Rookie
If you want a job as a stringer, just show up at a tennis store and say i can string racquets, care to see me string??? That's what i did and i got a job with a great sporting shop.
One of the best stringers in canada, Brian Caufield, who strings the canadian open, never got hs certification, but he's so good just based on stringing like 30 racquets each day. Managers will be more impressed with your actual ability to string than a piece of paper.
thats my 2 cents
One of the best stringers in canada, Brian Caufield, who strings the canadian open, never got hs certification, but he's so good just based on stringing like 30 racquets each day. Managers will be more impressed with your actual ability to string than a piece of paper.
thats my 2 cents
Yeah I was just wondering, because I met one the guys who could give me the test and i was thinking about it. If I could get a job at stringing racquets it would be a good job, but I don't think at the moment I would get hired because I am too young. Stringing in college seems like it could be something though.