Bryon,
I did considerable cruising around from the link you posted and the only thing I can find (if I could find it again, me and computers) was in the fee schedule. Down a couple of items on the left it had a section that said 'Supplementals/Endorsements' or something to that effect. It stated a price of $275 I believe. I will try to find it again. I could not find any thing on books, classes, etc. I would assume (don't go there) that the AISC, RCSC, and other docs used by ICC would carry all necessary information.
I'll see if I can find that again. Have a Great Day, Brent
Okay, after clicking on your link, go to the 'Price & Schedule' over on the left. Then you will get a screen the towards the bottom states '2009 Certification Price Schedule'. It will give you the current fee schedule which includes a price of $275 for 'Supplemental Inspections Examinations/Endorsements'.
I took one of the BETA tests in August 2008. Never seen an ICC exam but have seen an ICC "special" inspector. WOW! I sure hope he was the exception and not the rule.
Sometimes it is hard to remember exactly what is on an exam after you walk out, but these are my thoughts after 10 months:
Bolt exam was pretty straight forward and uses RCSC and AISC Manual of Steel Construction. If you can use them and are familiar with Skidmore use, you will do OK. I had time left to take 2nd quick look thru exam to recheck my answers. Mine was 44 questions.
Drawing exam was another matter. Finished right at 2 hours; no time to recheck any answers. Still only need AISC MoSC as a reference (as best I remember) and the set of prints that they give you. I see tons of fabrication drawings, some erection drawings and occasional design drawings usually only during kick off meetings or when trying to clarify a question on a fab drawing. I had to figure these out in a hurry! This exam will drag you all through entire set, looking for references in charts and footnotes and sections. That is something one would regularly need to do in the real world, just not with a 2 hour window and many more questions to answer. That is not complaining, just reality of an exam. If you regularly look at design drawings, then this should be easier for you than it was for me. Mine was 30 questions.
Exams were fair but be prepared to turn pages quickly! Passed both comfortably, but you will have to know your stuff to get thru efficiently in 2 hours. There is no way to memorize material on exam so it will have to be open book and AWS will tell you what books to bring. You should have access to books you need for exam in advance so just be familiar with them and you will do OK.
Hope this helps.
thanks everyone for the info, im sure aws will come out with the applicable information in due time. im sure im just jumping the gun i was just hoping to sign up since the exam will be in my area in a short time and i didnt want to miss the cutoff date. i really dont need them work is obviously slow and i thought this could be something to occupy my time. Since the company is willing to pay for it.
Here's a little test taking tip for the plan reading.
First off read all of the general notes. Then flip through the plans and locate any schedules, i.e. beam connection, bolting, column, and footings, try and read any note intensive pages or details too as well as becoming familiar with the general layout of the structure. After you do that then begin to take the test. On the ICC test a lot of answers can be found in notes and schedules and if you spend the time to go through them first you will save time in the long run instead of doing fruitless searches everywhere else. I have only taken the ICC so I can't be sure where most of the questions will come from with the AWS test but if I was going to sit for their test I would use the same approach.
Good Luck
Ramon
Forum
