Thats really pretty much how it's always been.. (not the knife part)

The best compensation is going to go to inspectors with a broad range of skills...  Not that different from welders..  The more varied process/fitting skills you have the more your worth.

I don't think top pay has ever gone to inspectors with just visual inspection experience.

It doesn't help much today... But next time you get that QC position it would be worth your while to expand your education on the job...  Take a class or seminar in MT, PT, UT or RT...  Your local AWS section will point you to where the training is going on...  In the two and a half years since you earned that CWI there was ample time for you to continue learning so you could land on your feet when that knife appears.

I'm not hating on the CWI... But it is only the beginning for somebody intent on an inspection career.

CWI is the start of a career not the end, so id say no, you need to become as well rounded as possible.
In most DOT inspections you would need a CWI, MT, and NACE certs to follow a job from welding to painting.
The need for So many certs may be 2 things one is necessity, and the other is a way to see if a person is ambitious.
I would suggest that you focus on getting a shop job.
Another thing you could do is troll the 3 party agencies Every1 ive worked with love to have more CWIs on the books, its feast or famine work but it never never hurts to hook up with some of them.

I know pipeline inspectors that only have a CWI. All they do is pipeline inspection. It pays pretty good but you have to travel. However when it comes to structural where the inspector may be required to do MT, PT and UT additional certs are going to be required. And the competition you face will have these certs so to compete in the job market against others who have additional certifications require you to have these as well.
My philosophy is to go where the others aint. With 16 years experience instead of competing against the 25 year old techs, get a NACE coating inspector cert and if you have a structural background get the bridge painting cert to go with it. If you have a petroleum background and have the experience qualifications the NACE with any of the API inspector certifications will gain you opportunities.
Keep in mind, additional certs mean more money. And more chances to land a job. All things considered, a company needing a inspector who is looking at someone with 16 years experience welding experience but 2 years inspection experience and only a CWI against someone who has 5 years practical experience but 5 years inspection experience and CWI, MT, PT, and UT certs would probably choose the latter over the former.

Any one of us that is "selling" our services to a customer or employer has to meet their needs and any certification requirements imposed by the applicable code or standards. The applicable code or standard will stipulate what requirements must be met with regard to welder qualification and the qualifications of the inspector. In some cases those requirements are a legal requirement once the code or standard is adopted in statues such as a building code.

ASNT has three certification schemas. One best known is the employer based SNT-TC-1A. It is the granddaddy of qualification and certification programs for those involved in nondestructive testing. It allows the employer to modify the recommendations of the "recommended practice" SNT-TC-1A. Some employers take full advantage, no, make that abuse the latitude of the recommended practices of SNT-TC-1A. Customers that do not take the time to read and understand the flexibility offered by SNT-TC-1A and do not read the "Written Practice" required for any company offering NDT services may get less than they expected. Individuals qualified and certified in accordance with SNT-TC-1A are in fact qualified and certified to their employer's written practice, not SNT-TC-1A. The requirements of the written practice may be very different from SNT-TC-1A with regards to the training, experience, and examinations recommended for certification. Remember, SNT-TC-1A is a recommended practice! The employer certifies the individual. The certification may be limited in scope and it is not transferable to a new employer.

ASNT also has a standard that specifies the minimum requirements for qualification and certification of NDT personnel in CP-189. This standard is similar to SNT-TC-1A, but there is a major difference. That difference is that the employer cannot water down the qualification requirements. The level of education, hours of training, hours (months) of job experience, and the examinations are minimum requirements that have to be met. The employer still has to have a written practice, but it has to meet the minimum requirements of CP-189. There has to be a Level III involve that has been tested and certified by ASNT. That Level III is certified by ASNT and has to subscribe to a code of ethics similar to the code of ethics that a CWI or SCWI has to agree to. The Level I and Level II, as well as the Level III have to be certified by the employer. Only the Level III is certified through a central agency, the ASNT, and that certification is transferable from one employer to another (if permitted by the written practice).

ASNT also offers central certification by examination. The Level II and Level III examinations and the certification are issued by ASNT in a manner similar to AWS's QC1 program. The certification is transferable from one employer to another if permitted by the employer's written practice.

The ASNT ACCP program also offers an examination that involves writing a NDT procedure based on a "standard.” This examination is administered as part of the ACCP Level III examinations to become an ACCP Professional NDT Level III. The certification is transferable from one employer to another if it is permitted by the employer's written practice.

Some employers have an additional examination that is administered in addition to the ASNT examinations to ensure the Level II and Level III is familiar with the employer's written practice and any in-house procedures. However, for most companies, it is the ACCP Level III that develops the company's written practice and in-house NDT procedures.

It is unfortunate that some people fail to take the time or the energy to understand the differences between the different programs offered by ASNT for the qualification and certification of people performing NDT. It is easier to rant and rave and denounce the weaknesses of the offerings rather than seeing or recognizing the flexibility they offer.

I just hope that the motto of AWS' offerings for NDT do not become, "Certify with AWS. We are second best and proud of it!"

I do not believe a program that fails to meet the recommendations of SNT-TC-1A is one worth pursuing. Let us hope that AWS takes the "high road,” exceeds the requirements of competing organizations, and offers a certification that is worth carrying and will be respected by those industries we work with. Being second best is not going to do any of us any good. 

Certifications, whether it is for welding inspection, other NDT methods, forklift drivers, etc. is big business. There is no doubt about that. An organization offering certification for any purpose has to meet their customer's expectations. A certification that is not recognized is worthless. AWS, ANT, API, and others offer certifications of many types for different applications, but each has be accepted by their customers, not the individual being certified, but the company that hires the individuals holding the certification. The certification process evolves over time in response to customer demands. Those programs that fail to respond to the customer's needs will ultimately flounder.

When making recommendations to my clients, I do not recommend hiring those NDT companies that certify their personnel to SNT-TC-1A. Instead, I recommend hiring those firms that qualify and certify their people to CP-189. SNT-TC-1A was the only schema available for many years, but the expectations of the customers have changed. In response ASNT and AWS have expanded their offerings. They will continue to do so or they will become irrelevant and flounder.

The customer has to be cognizant of the programs available and the limitations of each of the programs. Anyone seeking certification is wise to explore the different certifications offered by different companies or organizations. Not all certifications are created equal and they are not universally recognized. The individual seeking training and certification has to be selective and choose the certification schema that will best suit the needs of the industrial sector they wish to work with.

If you are seeking employment in the oil patch, AWS may not be the best certification to obtain. API has their own certification programs geared to the needs of the oil patch. If you are working in the structural steel industry, certification to AWS' QC1 program is recognized and required by most engineers, municipalities, and state DOTs. API certification holds little sway in the structural steel industry and would not be highly prized. If you expect to work for a NDT house that does penetrant testing or magnetic particle testing for aerospace applications, you need to verify the certification you hold is applicable. In the later case AWS certification for solvent removable penetrant dye testing or continuous current dry magnetic particle testing with a yoke is not going to hold sway with a prospective employer. 

Best regards - Al