Licensing, Training, and Experience.

I don’t know you, but I know you were a very bad driver at 16…you were as careful as deer crossing a road.

NYS requires a home inspector to be licensed. In New York, that takes 100 hours of classroom instruction, and 40 hours of in field training under the supervision of a qualified instructor. That’s it, pay your dues and get your license.   What licensing means is you meet the minimum qualifications, like when you were 17 and passed your road test. You were a very bad driver because you had no experience, but you had a valid license. Experience is a funny thing, it can’t be rushed, and by the time you’ve acquired it, you also have usually acquired good judgement, patience, discipline, common sense, and a total befuddlement over how you ever got by without it. When I was a young home inspector, I was a bad driver. When I was a young environmental consultant, I was a bad driver. When I was a young business owner, I was a bad driver. Experience trumps training, but both play a part in the development of a veteran inspector. Experience puts things in context. Experience allows an inspector to understand the client and the property. You most likely didn’t want to be a bad driver when you got your license, you had no choice. Hopefully the road to experience was uneventful and safe.

I almost hit 2 deer on my way to a home inspection today, experience told me to start early on the drive, give myself plenty of time to find the house, go slow through the wooded section of the highway. 20 years ago if those deer had darted in front of me, I would have ended up with lots of body damage to the truck, if not worse. Thank you experience….but I would like to be 36 again..