NOCTI’s professional network includes the dedicated professionals who serve as Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). These industry experts are critical to NOCTI’s credential development and revision process and include people like Chris Waterbury, an ASE Master Technician and 30-year veteran in CTE. Mr. Waterbury is a key member of the Automotive Technician revision team. Keep reading to learn more about Mr. Waterbury’s SME experience.
On Being an SME
“Taking things apart and seeing how they worked was a favorite childhood activity. In addition to high school, I spent three years at a vocational school studying television production and automotive technology. I decided to pursue automotive technology further after graduating high school and getting my associate’s degree at a technical college in Arizona. I was happy to be on the team at NOCTI because I felt it was my chance to give back to the vocational educational community that helped me find my path years ago.”
On CTE Teaching as a Career
“The most rewarding thing about my career is the sense of accomplishment I feel when I diagnose and repair a difficult problem, especially if it’s been at a variety of different shops before me. Automotive repair requires more technical skill and problem solving than most people realize. The age of the ignorant grease monkey stereotype is long gone. Some advice for someone considering involvement in a NOCTI test revision would be to brush up on the fundamentals of their particular field of expertise. When you have been in the field for a number of years, you don’t get to exercise the basic principles you learned in school as much. So, I would advise them to open their old textbooks or notes from when they were in school if they still have them for a refresher.”
In Closing
“My experience with NOCTI was a positive one. I was happy to add my real-world experience to the process. I was impressed with my team who genuinely cared about their students and had a passion for getting them prepared to work as professional technicians. I would absolutely do it again and would recommend to my fellow technicians to get involved as well. Outside of automotive, I enjoy gardening, hiking, camping, and exploring outdoors with my wife and grown children any chance we get. As a family, we have also been involved in a weekly group that cooks and feeds homeless and hungry people in our area.”
Thank you, Chris, for serving on the NOCTI team!
Interested in becoming an SME? More information and application can be found here.