Vince Edwards has been in the car audio business for 15 years. He's a sales
manager and installer at a car stereo store.
"I've always been a car nut, so I just like car audio," says Edwards. "I
like making things that put smiles on the customers' faces."
However, there are downsides to the job, too. "Lying underneath the dash
in the wintertime when the carpet's wet," says Edwards with a chuckle. "It's
the difficult time of the installs."
Installing car stereos involves a lot of technical know-how. But the job
isn't just about gadgets and gizmos.
"Personality definitely comes into it, because every day you deal with
a different situation -- not every car is the same, not every customer is
the same," says Edwards.
"You'll deal with a client who's very particular about how a particular
product is installed or how a particular product sounds," he says. "When you're
dealing with basic installs, that's one thing, but when you're dealing with
custom work, that's where the real personality of the installer comes in."
Ian Walls is the owner of a car stereo store. He describes car stereo installers
as follows: "Mentally unstable -- they're all a little crazy," he jokes. "I
don't think people go into it purely for the money or the atmosphere that
they'll be working in. There's got to be a passion for vehicles -- working
in vehicles and modifying vehicles."
Carlos Zambrano is a former car audio installer in South Hackensack, New
Jersey. He now works for a technical training school that teaches mobile electronic
installation. He has always enjoyed being around cars and music. His interest
in cars first led him to try his hand as a car mechanic.
"At first, I got into mechanics, and I found out the hard way that wasn't
the path I wanted," says Zambrano. "What intrigued me about [car stereo installation]
is that people rely on you, they give their car to you and... you're getting
somebody's pride and property. Every time they think of that radio, they're
going to think of you."
The constantly changing technology is something else that Zambrano enjoys
about car stereo installation.
"You're always learning as you go," he says. "The schooling doesn't stop.
It's never the same -- every day, there's always a new challenge."
Theresa Hephner's stint as a car stereo installer was brief. But as the
national account director for a major car stereo manufacturer, she knows car
stereos inside and out.
"I was actually a salesperson, but would do installs if the bay was really
busy," she says. "Most of my installation time was spent on my days off helping
my husband build his cars for sound-off competitions."
A sound-off competition is exactly what it sounds like -- a chance for
people to show off their decked-out cars and earn prizes for the best-sounding
car.
Hephner got into the car stereo industry in the early 1990s.
"My husband and I went to a sound-off competition almost every weekend,"
she recalls. "This gave me a chance to meet many people in the industry, many
of whom I still talk with and work with today. Twenty years later, I can tell
you that I'm glad that I made the choice to come into the car audio industry.
I get paid for selling 'fun'! What could be better than that?"