I earned my A&P based on experience, and sought out an examiner at a college to take the practical. To qualify to take the written(s), I had to present evidence of work experience. To get that, I put together a document that cited the work at each employer, including the aircraft registrations, types of work, specific jobs, etc. I got documentation from each employer, bound it with a table of contents, and presented it to the FAA. The FAA requires that the 30 months of experience were full time, defined as 40 hours a week. I documented 5 years experience at the time.

Those who obtain a letter or letters certifying their experience, who have not put in full time experience, do so fraudulently.

Over the years, maintenance certification has opened a lot of doors and has kept me employed. I have worked concurrently with flying full time, doing maintenance, often full time, sometimes seasonally, sometimes at the same place I have flown, sometimes in addition to. I've been a director of maintenance twice, worked in repair stations, corporate flight departments, Part 91 and 137 operations, done private maintenance, 135 maintenance, been a field and station inspector, and a host of other things associated with maintenance.

While there are those here who claim certification is meaningless and easy to come buy, I reiterate that for those who have gone that route, they have done so as frauds, and have falsified their experience. Unequivocally, I EARNED my certification. That certification as a mechanic is the proverbial license to learn, and all that came after, I earned, too. None of it was given, none of it came easily.

For those ATP's looking for certification, the experience under supervision of a mechanic must be full time, or equivalent to full time. If you choose to go to a school, it it typically also full time. You may think of obtaining your mechanic certification somewhat like obtaining your private pilot certificate. It's a starting point. Doing work on any given aircraft requires current maintenance documents (expensive), the correct tools (which should be kept in calibration...expensive), and all work must be done in accordance with all relevant documentation (aircraft and engine manufacturer data, industry practices, component or appliance data, airworthiness directives, and so on. Maintenance is considerably more comprehensive and diverse than flying aircraft, and the liability/duty much more pervasive. You go fly, you buy that aircraft for the time you fly it, and you're responsible for what you do with it. When you work on an aircraft, you buy the past: everything that's been done to it, and depending on the quality if your work, you buy the future until someone else replicates your work and buys the liability from you.

Tools are expensive. Buy good ones. Buy once, keep buying. At present, I have six roll-away boxes full of tools. I'm still buying tools. Even if you just buy one tool at a time, then keep buying tools. Many years ago I bought a set of Mac offset open end wrenches that cost about 750 at the time, and did it once wrench at a time, paid it off, and bought the next. I still use that set to day. A lot. Buy decent tools, and keep buying them. They're an investment.

I got my first jet job, thanks to my certification as a mechanic. When laid off as a widebody pilot flying internationally, I found work turning wrenches almost right away. Few others at my company found work. I was fortunate. That led to 135 flying, check airman work, and overseas work. Seasonally, when doing fires in the summer, mx in the winter. I got into heavy tankers because I was a mechanic, worked year round flying fires, and turning wrenches. Same with ag work, and so on. When flying fractional, I often ended up doing maintenance on the aircraft, or assisting with work when I passed through the company base or a maintenance base. And so on, and so on. Having the certification (and the ability to use it) is not without value.

Therein lies the point: you can get certification if you're willing to earn it. The ability to use it is another matter, and you'll need to give your maintenance at least as much dedication and effort as you put into your flying career. it's not simply something you can add on easily or cheaply and forget. It's not like throwing an add-on rating onto your pilot certification. Whether you ever use it or not, you're looking at taking on a full career certification, even if you just want the plastic to carry in your wallet. Take it seriously.