My employer, so far, has been unwilling to pay for this because they see it as more a benefit to me and my resume' instead of the company. I guess that means they are satisfied with my performance these last 12 years. I have a new manager and I am trying again to get it through him. If not, I will check with human resources for the education reimbursement option. If I still can't get them to do it, I will pay for it myself and use vacation time. I still have to find a close location during the summer when the kiddo isn't in school. Dee Stover At 09:01 AM 6/30/2004 -0700, you wrote: >I guess that's my queue to jump in... > >As long as I can remember, a designer's resume was the only document that >represented his/her level of expertise. Now, I have been doing this a long >time, since 1973, so I have seen a number of résumé's come across my desk >for evaluation and recommendation. I have watched people with fine résumé's >get hired and fired in the matter of a few weeks because the interview or >resume' did not reveal a deep lack of knowledge or work ethic in an >individual that only showed up in the work environment. I watched people >actually lie to the interviewer and we only really found out that they were >lying after they had been there for awhile fumbling or making inexperienced >mistakes. So, we started testing applicants. We never had a problem after >that. The potential candidates were asked to perform what they said they >could perform, and if they wanted the job they showed us what they could do. > > >The C.I.D. certificate is not given out for money, or bribery, or some sort >of subterfuge, but is ...earned... by showing the designer community that >you know what you know. > >The hiring mangers know this too now, and are using the CID as a hiring >criteria in many cases. The CID does mean something, and it has earned the >respect of the companies that have paid for the designers they have to take >the test and get the certification too. The designers who were brave enough >to step up and be tested have earned the right to wear their CID mark with >real pride. You will notice they have it following their signatures and on >their business cards. > >I equate this certification with the P.E. certificate that is awarded >Professional Engineers. They go through a similar process to get their >certification and it is recognized as an indication of their level of >knowledge in engineering. > >The C.I.D. is the ONLY certificate a PCB designer can get that sets them >apart from the 'Wannabee' designers, drafters, and techs... and it is >respected by companies and designers in the industry who know what it takes >to pass the exam. That is why it is a highly prized and respected >certificate and the Designers Council, made up of PCB designers and >Engineers, is committed to always keep it that way. > >That does not mean that anyone who does not have the certificate is not >qualified... They just have not been tested and certified. Certainly if they >were certified there would be no question as to their knowledge level. And >once tested they can compare that level with others who were brave enough to >have stepped forward and put their reputation on the line by testing and >certification. > >The successful designers studied hard and even though the information may >seem to be simple and 'common knowledge' to many, you would be surprised how >many had difficulty with simple questions... The ones who did not pass >either did not study or just had no knowledge of the subject. After going >back and studying, they usually passed the second time they tested. >When I took the exam I was so keyed up and wanted to make sure I had it all >down before the exam, that there was a great deal of concern in my demeanor >and stress over the exam. I was not alone in this feeling, there were >designers who would not test at all who walked out because they realized >they were not ready for the test... there were those who cried tears over >the stress of getting tested, its not a 'walk in the park'. If I remember >correctly I missed 6 out of the 104 questions... so don't discount the >validity of the test or its difficulty, but realize that you can pass it >with study and hard work. It is truly a measure of the designers experience >level and their knowledge level and can be a very good thing to have on your >resume'. > >Best regards, > >Bill Brooks >PCB Design Engineer , C.I.D., C.I.I. >Tel: (760)597-1500 Ext 3772 Fax: (760)597-1510 >http://pcbwizards.com > >-----Original Message----- >From: Lum Wee Mei [mailto:[log in to unmask]] >Sent: Tuesday, June 29, 2004 5:50 PM >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Re: [DC] C.I.D.Certification Exam > >Steve, > >I can fully understand your feeling. When I show my colleagues both the >Basic and Advanced IPC Designer Guides, they are completely stumped by >the "whirlpool" of information and the numbers of standards that they >have to know and have great reserve in taking the exam up to today. At >least you make the first step to take it. > >In my opinion, awarded with the C.I.D certificate is nothing great. What >great and of utmost importance is how well we can correlate and use the >learned knowledge into your work for better improvement and >self-devlopment. In this world, not all of us are born "examination >smart". On the other hand, it is sad to observe that experience cannot >be quantified without a certificate. > >Regards, >Wee Mei > >Steve Smith wrote: > > >The test questions on the disk are a fair representation of the questions >on the test. > >How hard is it? I have seen designers with 15 years of experience fail and >rookies > >with virtually no board experience pass, so it really depends on how well >you know > >the material and how well you test. > > > >My regards, > >Steve Smith, C.I.D. > >Product Engineer > > > >Staco Energy Products Co. > >301 Gaddis Boulevard. > >Dayton, OH 45403 > >Telephone: (937) 253-1191 Ext. 158 > >Fax: (937) 253-1723 > >E-mail: [log in to unmask] > >Web Site: www.stacoenergy.com > >& www.stacopower.com > > > > > > > > > > > >>-----Original Message----- > >>From: DesignerCouncil [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On > >>Behalf Of alice > >>zhang > >>Sent: Tuesday, June 29, 2004 2:04 AM > >>To: [log in to unmask] > >>Subject: [DC] C.I.D.Certification Exam > >> > >> > >>I just signed in C.I.D. Certification Exam. I really want to > >>know how the exam is. Is it hard to pass? What kind of > >>questions are they? > >> > >>Thanks > >> > >> > >>-------------------------------------------------------------- > >>------------------- > >>DesignerCouncil Mail List provided as a free service by IPC > >>using LISTSERV 1.8d > >>To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with > >>following text in > >>the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF DesignerCouncil. > >>To set a vacation stop for delivery of DesignerCouncil send: > >>SET DesignerCouncil NOMAIL > >>Search previous postings at: www.ipc.org > On-Line Resources > >>& Databases > E-mail Archives > >>Please visit IPC web site > >>http://www.ipc.org/contentpage.asp?Pageid=4.3.16 for > >>additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at > >>[log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.5315 > >>-------------------------------------------------------------- > >>------------------- > >>Alice > >> > >> > >> > > > >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- >------ > >DesignerCouncil Mail List provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV >1.8d > >To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in > >the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF DesignerCouncil. > >To set a vacation stop for delivery of DesignerCouncil send: SET >DesignerCouncil NOMAIL > >Search previous postings at: www.ipc.org > On-Line Resources & Databases > >E-mail Archives > >Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/contentpage.asp?Pageid=4.3.16 >for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or >847-509-9700 ext.5315 > >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- >------ > > > > > > >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- >----- >DesignerCouncil Mail List provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV >1.8d >To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in >the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF DesignerCouncil. >To set a vacation stop for delivery of DesignerCouncil send: SET >DesignerCouncil NOMAIL >Search previous postings at: www.ipc.org > On-Line Resources & Databases > >E-mail Archives >Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/contentpage.asp?Pageid=4.3.16 >for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or >847-509-9700 ext.5315 >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- >----- > >--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >DesignerCouncil Mail List provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV >1.8d >To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in >the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF DesignerCouncil. >To set a vacation stop for delivery of DesignerCouncil send: SET >DesignerCouncil NOMAIL >Search previous postings at: www.ipc.org > On-Line Resources & Databases > >E-mail Archives >Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/contentpage.asp?Pageid=4.3.16 >for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or >847-509-9700 ext.5315 >--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DesignerCouncil Mail List provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8d To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF DesignerCouncil. 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