ASQ CCT Results

Kalrock · 06-15-2009 -- 10:54:59

Well I took my CCT exam on the 6th and I passed. I don't really think anything else will change except now if and when I finally get a company card I can slap ASQ Certified Calibration Technician on it. As it is right now the only thing that changes is my email sig.

I personally didn't find it to difficult. I studied for probably 30 mins total. I think it's just because I've been doing it for a while now. Personally when I was in the Marines and became a CDI the test over the 4790 was more of a pain. Nobody ever studied for that, but the 4790 covered everything in the MALS so trying to find anything was a hassle.

Congrats to anyone else that took it and passed.

griff61 · 06-15-2009 -- 11:42:15

I hope you had the good sense to have someone else pay for it...
I will be eternally grateful to Goodrich for mine...I would have been pissed to have chucked that kind of money away for something as useful as the CCT...

Winterfire2008 · 06-15-2009 -- 11:51:19

Congratulations!!!!!!!

Kalrock · 06-15-2009 -- 12:42:14

Yeah my company is going to reimburse me and then I still get to double bit with the VA. So hurray for the CCT because I'm going to make some money.

Bryan · 06-15-2009 -- 14:59:43

Congratulations!

griff61 · 06-15-2009 -- 18:27:45

Quote from: Kalrock on 06-15-2009 -- 12:42:14
Yeah my company is going to reimburse me and then I still get to double bit with the VA. So hurray for the CCT because I'm going to make some money.

Gotta love the VA.
Congrats, it does make for an interesting conversation piece on a business card. You'll soon get the cool CCT coin...another benefit from ASQ

Duckbutta · 06-15-2009 -- 22:20:49

Kalrock,

I don't mean to burst your bubble but that ASQ CCT isn't going to mean a hill of beans like you think it will, so I would put off any extravagant purchases. Air Force PMEL experience reigns supreme in the world of calibration and it always will. ASQ CCT is the PMEL equivalent of a bush league pinch hitter, not quite ready for the big leagues. It may get you a sniff at your local commercial cal lab, but like I said, there's no money in that. I'm not saying it's by any means fair, but that's the way it is. If you've got PMEL experience, you get to punch your own ticket. You can virtually work anywhere you want. It definitely opens doors that your CCT never will. Don't get too discouraged though, someone may be willing to take a flyer on you because you won't be able to command a hefty salary. You can always get your foot in the door of a good job that way and hope to wow them from there.

griff61 · 06-16-2009 -- 01:28:42

Quote from: Duckbutta on 06-15-2009 -- 22:20:49
Kalrock,

I don't mean to burst your bubble but that ASQ CCT isn't going to mean a hill of beans like you think it will...

Two different things Duck. One's a school/training, one's a professional certification. Neither is meant to replace the other, the CCT is like icing on the PMEL cake. This is the one we've got, unless you know of a more appropriate civilian certification. Perhaps, like me, Kalrock has both. It never hurts to expand yor horizons.
Please let us know if you do know of a better cert, but as far as I can tell from your postings, you've never worked anywhere but a government lab so I'd take your advice on commercial labs with a grain of salt. So far I've made pretty good money working for them.

P.S. Would it kill you to congratulate the kid?

Kalrock · 06-16-2009 -- 08:30:22

Quote from: Duckbutta on 06-15-2009 -- 22:20:49
I don't mean to burst your bubble but that ASQ CCT isn't going to mean a hill of beans like you think it will, so I would put off any extravagant purchases. Air Force PMEL experience reigns supreme in the world of calibration and it always will.

Duckbutta,

Your pretty funny. I've read a lot of your post in the forum and you always have something interesting to say. Sometimes I think your right and other times I think your wrong and that's just the way it is. I do for the most part think you are a little over the top on a lot of things, but whatever. I've never thought the CCT was anything more than another way to show people that I know what I'm doing.

As far as your other statement goes, that is fine if you think that, but it really is hilarious. School doesn't make a person smart or knowledgeable, a person has to do that themselves. School is just a tool some people use it others don't. It is just a way, like the CCT, to say "Hey look I have a certificate. These people recognized my abilities."

I don't go to college because I feel like I really need it. I go to college because it will give others justification to hire me. The CCT is the same. Like Griff said there is nothing wrong with having both. I made $155 to take the test so it really only cost me 3 hours of my time.

Keep posting Duckbutta I really do enjoy reading what you have to say.

Limey1966 · 06-16-2009 -- 11:50:42

How many times have we run across someone with the education to be an outstanding tech, but when it comes down too it they are useless (all the knowledge and not the practical ability or competence). A good resume and the fact that you've been employed by the same company for a long time will probably count more than the CCT on its own. However I have seen a company ask specifically for that qual as a discrimator for hiring, mind you knowing the company and its operating location they more than likely wrote the position for the person that they already wanted to hire.

As for me I'll stick with the certificates from all the courses I attended in the Air Force and my experience over the last 25 years rather than the CCT as it seems to have worked well so far.

jimmyc · 06-16-2009 -- 13:24:11

How many times have we run across someone with the education to be an outstanding tech, but when it comes down too it they are useless

Limey,

i see your point about a certificate from PMEL school , but why not get the certificate? if they gave you an associates for finishing cal school would you take it or say "these certificates are all i need"? As for calrock, congrats and semper fi!

scottbp · 06-17-2009 -- 09:47:46

I put the ASQ CCT right up there with all the "feather in your cap" certificates you get at computer schools (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE), A+, Novell, etc.) Sure, they look good on resume's and office walls, but when it comes down to it, time spent at the bench or in the field carries more impact than time spent taking tests.

FWIW, I haven't taken the CCT, but I've collected enough certificates from courses taken at NCSL conferences (with more to come) and others from manufacturer training on their product lines to wallpaper the wall over my desk and bench, but the only two I have that really count are my Honorable Discharge from the Army, and Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering from college.

Our management has told us that passing the CCT is worth a payraise, since it shows committment and dedication and so forth, and might even reimburse the cost to take the test, but basically stopped short of requiring it, because there is no industry mandate for it, like having to pass a periodic review board or having a license in order to maintain professional status or accreditation (like a lawyer or a doctor or even a barber, for that matter).

Freezer · 06-17-2009 -- 16:08:25

I have to say I agree with scottbp. I happen to have a CCT, but it probably isn't as usefull as my PMEL schooling and experience. Having said that, I don't regret getting it.

I'ts just a recognition of accomplishment. Simple as that. Someday it may be worth something, maybe not, but I'm proud to have it just the same.

Way to go Kalrock! If nothing else, we'll start a club. Maybe a secret handshake. :-)

Did you get the coin yet?

CalLabSolutions · 06-17-2009 -- 22:03:21

We did a very unofficial poll on a hand full of local companies about CCT. From small mom and pop calibration lab to large aerospace labs. They all pretty much agreed..

1) They would pay / reimburse a technician for taking and passing the CCT Test.

2) However they would not increase / pay a technician more for having a CCT certificate.

I concluded having a CCT may give bragging rights, and with all things being equal it may help get you hired over the other technician who does not have the CCT..

Duckbutta · 06-17-2009 -- 23:25:01

ASQ CCT will never trump Air Force PMEL experience. Period. In fact, at the lab where I work, you wouldn't even be considered for a job without military calibration experience. They tried it a few times because experienced PMEL techs are in short supply, and it just didn't work out. Now, they would rather have an open slot than fill it with someone who doesn't fit the criteria. ASQ CCT is a vehicle for electronics techs with no real metrology credentials to give them an air of legitimacy. There is no way that I would be half the technician that I am today without the benefit of working in an Air Force PMEL lab. You don't experience the same rate of technical growth in the commercial sector because the luxury of time needed to really understand what you are doing is limited. As someone said in a previous post, there is a HUGE difference between a Cal Tech and a Metrologist. I've worked for two different commercial calibration companies, and on the whole, the people with prior PMEL experience were definitely a cut above those without. Of course there are exceptions, but in general, I think most people on here will agree with my take on it.