I like the process. I think the part B that I took was fair. I guess I added my .02 to the specific "the new part b" discussion as someone who has taken it, and was very unprepared. I wanted people to know that you must be very prepared to take it. The test pulls from a wide range of practice, as is the point, and requires a wide variety of skills, again that's the point. My opinion from that point forward is just that. My opinion.
I've been in this field a long time, I didn't just show up expecting to take a class/seminar, and to magically pass this test. I did expect a preparation to take the test. I expected that seminar/class to test my existing knowledge and reveal my weaknesses, so that I could study those, gain knowledge and become better rounded.

I was provided exactly that on part a and on part c, as promised, prior to actually having to sit down and take the actual test. What a great experience and opportunity! What I did not get was the same experience and opportunity on part b. It is just that simple. Here are the facts.
We got:
Here are the tools we think will be in the kit (close)here are the weld samples we believe are similar to new part b samples (pretty close btw), here is the new part b specification (surprise it's different to what you studied for weeks in advance of this class), here is what we think will be in the book of exhibits (way off btw). They might ask you to measure this, or measure that, we are not sure.(they were not)
We are not here to teach you to be inspectors (valid point) we are here to teach you to pass this test (but we have no sample questions or any practice questions for you to work on whatsoever) good luck!

So there was no way to reveal your weakness except to take the actual test. There was no way to focus the expansion of your knowledge. I'm an expert at what I do, and I am very confident that I did well at the things geared toward my small part of the field. Admittedly, I'm not an expert in the wider field the test represents. That doesn't make it an unfair test. It just means that there are many things I have never seen in my small area that I need to educate myself on in order to pass the test. I didn't have any idea what those things were prior to taking the actual test because I was not prepared properly.

So for those that have never taken it, or for those preparing to take it, do not rely on anyone to help you figure out where you are weak unless they can actually give you problems to solve upfront. Many will have experienced the types of things that tripped me up in their everyday inspection life. I did not. Some may not have experience things I am an expert at, the things I found easy. My point is I paid someone to prepare me, and they were not ready to do that for the new part B. So beware.

That isn't a vent, but a cautionary tale on how the new part B went for me. I shared it hoping that it will help someone meet the challenge. As for me, I will work hard and study the areas I don't have experience in, and I will pass this test as a better rounded professional, worthy of the CWI stamp. It's what I would have done prior to the test, if the preparation for the test had included it, and it's what I'll do now having taken and failed the test.

I don't even know what that means? I'm not the one saying anything about it being a rip off or money grab. I'm the one saying the test was fair. Indeed assumption abounds.

I had one contractor complain to the owner that I wasn't playing fair because I climbed the columns to access connections that could only be accessed with a ladder. They locked all the ladders specifically to keep me from doing my job.

Many of us have been there.

Al

So, what is it that you find so threatening, an opposing view?

I didn't disagree that welding experience is beneficial, it just that being a competent welding inspector takes more than being a competent welder. The ability to weld is just one of many factors that can contribute to successful inspection and a successful career as an inspector.

Even if welding experience was mandatory, few of us have experience with all the different welding processes that are used to produce welds. What welding experience should be made mandatory, SMAW, FCAW, GMAW, GTAW, LBW, EBW, ESW? Does the inspector have to demonstrate proficiency on structural plate or would you demand they pass an open root 6GR test? What base metal should be mandatory when taking the qualification test?

Since the welding inspector is often checking fabrication that involves layout, dimensional checks, structural steel framing, titanium structures for aerospace, petrochemical, or the paper industry, the inspector may also be called upon to inspect bridges, ships, railroad rolling stock, etc., does that mean the CWI candidate should show competence in each industrial sector as a condition for certification?

Should the Certification Committee require the CWI candidate to demonstrate competence in using several codes or is the system in place sufficient to determine one has the skill set needed to navigate a code to find specific information?

Whereas the welding inspector is required to monitor NDT, should the CWI candidate be required to demonstrate proficiency in each NDT method used to evaluate welds?

The welding inspector needs to have a basic understanding of stress, strain, material properties, concepts such as tension compression, torsion, bending stresses, stress intensification caused by geometric features, i.e., welded lugs welded to tension members, undercut transverse to the primary tensile stress, etc. Should the Certification Committee require each candidate posses an engineering degree?

My position is the CWI examination requires the candidate to demonstrate basic competence in one's ability to evaluate a weld in accordance with a standard. The specialization, if one decides to go down that road, comes after obtaining the basic credential. Expanding one's competence is something many CWIs do once they have earned the CWI credential. Granted, some CWIs are perfectly satisfied and earn a good living with nothing more than their hard earned CWI credential. The decision to obtain additional training, additional credentials, or to maintain the status quo is left to the individual CWI. 

I like the CWI program and I believe the new Part B is an improvement over the old Part B examination. The program has evolved since the 1970's. At one time there was no practical hands on examination. It was a short coming that was address in the early 1980's. Make your case to the Certification Committee if you really believe experience as a welder is essential to being a competent visual welding inspector. I believe you can attend a certification meeting, present your case, and you can do so without anyone on the committee telling you to "pull you head out of your rectum."  

Al

I used all my time double checking answers after i finished.
I agree on skipping the hard ones and moving to others. I had two questions that got me a little rattled and I wasted a lot of time on them before i decided to skip and go back to them at the end. When i did go back to them the answers actually came to me very quickly with a clear head.

Thank you for the constructive criticism.

Though that would probably be unfairly distracting to the other test takers were I to sit on a bucket for the duration of the test.

I agree that any excuse to fail any test twice is weak, and the fault no doubt lies with me.  Regardless of what was going on in my head.

When we got the 30 minute warning and the 5 minute warning (seemingly) 2 minutes later, I realized my watch wasn't just erroneously ticking way faster than usual, as I was sure was the case for the first 90 minutes.

A big part of my flawed strategy was that I was re-reading even the simple questions, trying to find the "trick" to every question.  The answers came so much more easily the second time around, I was sure I was "missing" something.

The third time will be the one.  New test or not.  Either that or I'll go back to college and get some liberal arts degree where they have easy finals and I can make half as much money.

Deone,

When you go to the main AWS website, go to this link:  https://app.aws.org/registrations/     from there, go down and click on the appropriate boxes and you will come to one that is titled 'seminars'.  That one will list the breakdowns of the seminar week.  You can take the whole thing or it has the two available code book sections, the WIT section, and the Visual Inspection Workshop.  You want that Visual Inspection Workshop. 

With the new info they will have on the New Part B book, the Book of Exhibits, weld molds including pipe, and different inspections tools, you can't go wrong getting in and seeing what they have and how they approach it.

Brent