I have over 25 yrs in the structural,Machinery field,and i had thorough knowledge of the '72 d1.1,i also have the '06 d1.1 and the code clinic,but the 2  are like totaly different books,i only recently got the 2006 code book and have only 6 weeks to study! i just thought i could get some knowledge of the kind of questions asked on the test!

AL, I've been a boilermaker welder for over 24 yrs so I've been around the ASME and D1.1 codes my whole career as a welder. When i decided to take the CWI test about 2 yrs ago i spoke with many of our inspectors and asked what i should do. Every one that i spoke to told me to take it under API 1104 like i said I've been around the other codes awhile but welding to them i had never had the chance to look at one. I have invested over $3000 of my money and studied on and off for about 1 1/2 yrs so every one has 2 hrs on each section and like i stated why look thru a sears and roebuck catalog when you can look at 70 pages it just helps your odds i think it is stressful enough without adding more pressure to yourself. Yes i have a job as a CWI this fall working under D1.1 and ASME but maybe I'm fortunate enough to be working with 5 other inspectors to help me transition into it slowly and not be thrown to the wolfs first time. From what i can find out not many of the ones that took the D1.1 passed the test and some of them work under that code all of the time. I'm not saying anyone of them was dumb by no mends it's just the test is different then the way you will be using the codes out in the workplace. So i wanted all the odds on my side. I also believe that they will give you more than 3 mins. to give them and answer in the work field.                                     

Like they say, opinions are like axxhxxxs, everyone has one.

Mine was just one of the many opinions freely offered. In the end, you have to do what's best for you.

You sound like you are at a crossroad in your career. You have many years of welding experience and that's what can separate the inspector from a really good inspector. There's nothing like having first hand knowledge of welding to become a very good welding inspector. First hand knowledge and experience as a welder is like having a full tool box of tool when you're working on your car. It doen't make you an "ace mechanic", but it sure make the work easier.   A welder can always tell which inspectors "know" welding and those that simply read the book. It takes those inspectors with no welding experience a longer time to establish their credibility with welders than the inspector that has first hand welding experience. Now you need to add some credentials to your resume.

My experience, and I'm speaking as a person that has been preparing people for the CWI for many years, has been that those people that prepare before the examination do well. Those that cram the week before don't do so well. My cohort and I can usually predict within the first day of class who will pass and who will fail with a 95% certainty rate. The individuals that complain the loudest are the one or two that are unprepared.

A few people take the AWS seminar just before the examination without ever cracking a book before hand. Then, to their amazement, they find the volume of information presented overwhelming. You've heard comments from several people that were very upset with the AWS instructors. I've instructed several times for AWS as a replacement instructor and I'm always taken aback by the attitude of a few of the attendees. They (and let me make it very clear that they are the minority) figure the seminar should cover only what's on the examination and nothing more. They assume that because they sit in the classroom for six days they should be able to walk into the examination and pass it.  Usually their first few questions are, "where are the strip clubs or can we quit early so we can miss the heavy traffic?"  

My reply is that they aren't chained to the chair and they are free to leave any time they get the urge to do so. I'm not very sympathetic. As for the passing rate, as I said, those that come to the review prepared do very well. Those that don't come prepared do not fare very well. No one leaves my class knowing less than they did coming into the class. Do I tell stories? Yes, and lots of them to reinforce a point or to demonstrate how the information is put to use. Do I tell stories of my boat? No, I don't own one because I don't have time to use one. I usually work seven days week on welding related issues. Do I let a curse slip once in a while? Yup, guilty as charged. In my twenty plus years in the field as a welder, I learned a lot of words I never knew before entering the trades.  

I have to imagine the other instructors are like me. Some like Rich DePue, Ken Coryell, and Ted Webber (now retired) are great instructors and have more polish than I do. But the bottom line is that the instructors are doing their level best to provide their students with the information needed to work as an inspector, not merely pass the CWI examination. They cover the information to freshen your memory and perhaps provide some additional insight, but it is still the student's responsibility to prepare of the seminar and to do their best to study in the evenings. The instructors can't do that for the student.   

Sorry to get off the subject, but I get concerned with some of the threads I've been reading about AWS seminars or instructors. Which open book examination should I take? Why is the examination so hard?  And the list of questions goes on and on. You do what's best for you. You after all is said and done with, will be the person that pays for the examination with your time and possibly your own money. Just make sure you get the most for the money and effort spent.  Take the examination that will give you the most value when all is said and done. A little more effort and study on the front end will usually pay off in the long run.

Do you plan to work as a special inspector in the structural steel industry? Do you want to inspect bridges? Do you want to work in the oil patch? Let that be your guide, not what others say is the easiest test. Don't let other people plan your life for you. You do what's best for you and look "long term". 

I've always tried to look down the road to prepare myself for the next job. No job is forever, so plan ahead and be ready for the next opportunity.

My father told me, "Don't run with the pack, put yourself ahead of the pack". They were good words of advice. Why be a wanabe?

Good luck - Al