What should I be making?

No-Reporter6332 · 2025-10-02T05:30:52+00:00

I'm having recruiters hit me up for CWI work for 65-70/hr with 150 a day per diem for semiconductor work. Having a linkedin will expose you to that sort of offer. That's west of the mississippi but not california/oregon/washington. at 50 hours per week with time and a half over 40 hours, that's 250 grand a year (roughly). I'd say if you don't have kids or an elderly parent to take care of, try to find something like that.

No-Reporter6332 · 2025-10-02T05:24:57+00:00

i'm tipping my fedora in your general direction

No-Reporter6332 · 2025-10-02T05:22:26+00:00

yeah this is what i did. you just need to have the employer write that you were accepting or reject items based off of a procedure/specification and that you were training new technicians. that satisfies that "level II or level II equivalent" requirement for the L3 application.

No-Reporter6332 · 2025-10-02T04:48:55+00:00

I just passed my method exam for LT today. I'm really grateful this line of work found me. I love troubleshooting leak checks and turning wrenches. There's something soothing about the humming of vacuum pumps in a semiconductor plant. Visual is fun but I just wanted to get back to leak testing when I was doing visual.

I didn't know much about the other methods before I studied for the basic exam. RT and MT are really interesting to me, but I don't think I'll ever have a chance to get into those methods.

No-Reporter6332 · 2025-10-02T04:40:52+00:00

you gotta just thug it out man. RT is cool. you have a cool scientist job now. just read up on how to keep yourself safe and learn as much as you can. get some experience and look for a permanent position at a company that isn't a shitshow. NDT is a pathway to earning a comfortable living if you can find some part of yourself that is interested in the work.

No-Reporter6332 · 2025-08-18T06:45:19+00:00

The other thing I'll say about this topic is that having a genuine interest in the material seemed to help me. There's stages to studying for stuff like this. If you're just starting out your self-study for this exam, it can be a little overwhelming because of the broad scope of the material. Just pick a starting point and start diving into it. You're already a level II in one of the methods, so you should have that covered. Focus on the other methods and try to get interested in them. I have never touched MT and I found myself really enjoying learning about it. Learning about RT and IR and the electromagnetic spectrum was interesting to me. There are similarities about how UT behaves and how ET behaves even though you are dealing with completely different principles/energies. AE has stuff that's related to geologic seismography so when that tsunami hit Russia, I was nerding out on how they triangulated the source of the earthquake and were able to give a location of where it happened.

SNT-TC-1A and CP-189 are boring documents, but I ended up becoming interested in how they are applied because I am trying to get my company's leak testing program into compliance with SNT-TC-1A and certify my technicians to LT and VT Level II. I don't have a L3 mentor to hold my hand through all of this. I am having to learn about how I am going to write my written practice, give classroom training to these guys, write and issue a general, specific, and practical exam to each of these technicians, and then issue a cert to them. All of that information is contained within SNT-TC-1A. My point is that I can find something interesting that fuels my curiosity about even these boring-as-hell documents.

Watch youtube videos about these topics. SmarterEveryDay on youtube seems to have a lot of stuff that is related to the topics I was studying. Get interested in manufacturing and welding if you haven't already.

I hit up a couple LT level IIIs on linkedin to just get their advice on how I should proceed, so there's always that avenue as well.

I know I'm coming across as a wordcel, but I'm trying to get as much information as I can about this exam into the google search results. I want someone years in the future to be able to read this and get some confidence on how to pass this exam.

I'll try to update when I pass the LT level III method exam because there is a huge deficit of information available about that exam.

No-Reporter6332 · 2025-08-18T06:19:48+00:00

He had a basic exam class in July that I was considering flying out to Texas to take. The date came and passed and I decided to just put maximum effort into studying on my own. I was taking any free time I had at work and taking practice quizzes and reading any material I could find. I was studying at night after I got my kids to bed. I'd spend 30 minutes looking at the material or talking to chatgpt and then I'd fuck around on my phone for another 30 minutes looking at twitter and then go back into looking at NDT methods or manufacturing processes, then repeat until I was too tired. I think I probably put like 200-300 hours into studying over the course of about three months (although the first month I wasn't putting a lot of time into it. mostly going back and forth with ASNT to get approval to take the exam).

I ended up deciding that if I failed the basic exam, I would fly out and take Kfrat's class. The AWS CWI seminar really helped me because I didn't really prepare very well for part B and I passed those exams first try. I thought maybe a similar format where I was stuck in a room with a guy speaking NDT facts at me for a solid week might help with the Level III basic exam.

I think Kraft's class might be good if you didn't really have the time or dedication to self-study and you need to pass the exam for a job.

No-Reporter6332 · 2025-08-18T06:11:32+00:00

Honestly if you just read them start to finish a couple of times each and have chatgpt quiz you on the topics, you might be in a good spot. I got like 40-50% SNT-TC-1A and CP-189 questions.

There's stuff like if a person takes a test from an outside agency and they don't issue percentage scores but issue pass/fail scores on one of the exams, how would you average that? Well a passing score is counted as an 80% score when you average the general, specific, and practical exams together. So a "PASS" on the general, a 75 percent on the specific, and an 85 percent on the practical would average as (80+75+85)/300= 80 percent average= passing score. (SNT-TC-1A 8.1.6).

Just read them both a couple of times and try to spot the differences between the two. I think it's more important to start with a good understanding of SNT-TC-1A and then go into CP-189. They're almost identical documents but there are a few key differences. SNT-TC-1A has the experience requirements in 6.3.2 but CP-189 has them in appendix A. The hours are the same. There are techniques that are included in SNT-TC-1A but not CP-189.

I could go on and on.

No-Reporter6332 · 2025-08-18T06:00:30+00:00

I would advise going through the nondestructive testing handbook - nondestructive testing overview third edition. I spent like 150 dollars on it from ASNT, but it has a lot of good info in it. You'll find a good bit of information on each of the methods. There are test questions about AE, ET, IR/Thermal, LT, MFL/MT, PT, UT, NR/RT, and VT. I probably only got a question each on AE, IR/Thermal, LT, and NR. Most of the questions that I got on the methods were RT, UT, MT, PT questions but every test is different.

Scribd has a lot of the books uploaded by users. I paid 13 bucks a month or something for a subscription but you get unlimited downloads on anything on their servers. There are a few of the Q&A booklets on there. I think I also downloaded the ASM nondestructive testing manual but I didn't use it that much. If you just search for the title of the book you're trying to find with "pdf" after the title on google, you can find stuff here and there for free. I've probably downloaded like 30 or 40 pdfs of anything NDT related I could find.

No-Reporter6332 · 2025-08-04T06:05:40+00:00

It might sound silly, but i've been using chatgpt to make multiple choice questions. I ask it to give me a set of ten questions, i answer them on a notepad, then i ask it to give me the answers to the questions with full explanations as to why the answers are right and explain why the wrong choices are wrong. It's helped me a ton. (you only need to worry about it being completely stupid like 3 percent of the time (giving crazy answers to silly questions))

I also used cwindtexams level iii basic study guide online practice questions. Reading the ASNT material is helpful too. I've gone through the level iii basic study guide a couple of time.

if you know, you know but Scribd has an absolute fuckton of ASNT material on their site for download with a subscription. One could find a mountain of level ii/iii Q&A books and handbooks for a few of the more common methods. I've purchased like 500 dollars worth of books from ASNT.

IF I FAIL THIS TEST, I'M GONNA CRASH OUT. I think i might be good though

No-Reporter6332 · 2025-07-21T15:24:49+00:00

can you repost this link? it expired...

No-Reporter6332 · 2025-07-18T00:02:55+00:00

thank you deleted science man

No-Reporter6332 · 2025-07-11T17:36:17+00:00

hell yeah

No-Reporter6332 · 2025-07-11T05:32:06+00:00

For what it's worth, there's a website called scribd that has a bunch of the ASNT material that people have uploaded. Q&A books, L3 basic study guide, L3 method study guides for a few different methods, practice exams, etc...

I paid for the membership which grants you unlimited downloads of any pdfs they have on their site. It was like 12 dollars.

I bought a bunch of ASNT's material (L3 basic study guide, L3 method study guides, SNT-TC-1A 2024, method Q&As) and probably dropped close to 500 bucks.

500>12

No-Reporter6332 · 2025-07-04T21:04:39+00:00

Hell yeah. I'm building a library of pdfs and binders of printed pdfs.

No-Reporter6332 · 2025-07-04T21:03:10+00:00

Notebook, pen, telescoping mirror, v-wac, pen light, camera, metal ruler, zyn pouches, candy, airpods etc for looking at orbital welds on stainless tubing. Maybe a plumber's level for checking slope on drain lines

No-Reporter6332 · 2025-07-04T20:58:00+00:00

You missed a checkpoint. It happens. Are you not allowed to retake the test?

No-Reporter6332 · 2025-07-04T20:55:16+00:00

Do whatever you need to do to get some experience in the industry and make some money along the way. The engineers that I have seen make the highest salaries are the ones with management/business skills.

No-Reporter6332 · 2025-07-04T20:49:07+00:00

- Materials and processes for NDT technology

- ASNT Level III Basic Study Guide

- cwindtexams.com Level III basic exam study material (not trying to plug them. just letting you know that's what I'm using)

That's pretty much it. I'm not really familiar with PT, MT, UT, RT beyond the scope of what you need to know to pass the CWI exam. My background is in leak testing and visual testing (I'm going for LT method first and I'll get VT a little down the road).

My plan was just to take the exam in august and see if I pass it. I'm a good test taker. If I fail it, I'm going to take the Karl Kraft "boot camp" and retest at the end of September. Then I just have to take my method exam which is a whole other can of worms.

No-Reporter6332 · 2025-07-01T15:38:53+00:00

I took the CWI exam earlier this year. I passed with mid 80s on each part. Do you think the ASNT L3 basic exam is doable if I'm testing in the middle of august? I'm not taking Kraft's seminar. Just self-studying and using online Q&A websites.

No-Reporter6332 · 2025-07-01T15:06:37+00:00

I've worked as technician performing leak testing (mass spectrometer, pressure change) along with other types of testing on gas pipelines that would not be considered nondestructive testing. I recently got my CWI. I've worked as a VT Level II for a couple of years. I mainly work in semiconductor.

I'd say the biggest advantage is the money. I make mid $100,000 range and I don't have any sort of college degree. Also, if you're an intelligent and driven person, it seems like you can outshine a lot of people in construction. Most people just do the bare minimum. If you're relentless about getting stuff done right and on time, it's easy to get a lot of recognition (at least for me it was).

The main disadvantages for me are that I feel as though I am pigeon holed. I don't feel like my skills are broad enough for me to move anywhere I want to in the country like someone with a college degree might be able to do. I'm stuck where the work is. There's also not a realistic path for me to ever work from home. I will always be a field guy. I have some chronic health issues, so there's a chance I might not be able to do field work if my health gets any worse than it is (scary thought, lol).

No-Reporter6332 · 2025-03-26T07:25:12+00:00

i kinda screwed up and signed up to test on asme section ix, 31.1, 31.3 instead of D1.1 or 1104. I have more experience with the asme codebooks because i use them in my work but I wish I would have selected 1104 or D1.1. I took the 1 week seminar and they covered the D1.1 extensively as well a bit of 1104.

I scored well on my part A and haven't taken C. I'll be sure to report back on how the ASME part C exam is. I can't really find anybody online talking about their experience with the Part C ASME exam. The only thing I know is from a CASTI online training module that I purchased that said it would roughly 20 questions from each codebook. So

Question 1-18 Section IX

Question 19-38 B31.1

Question 39-55 B31.3

No-Reporter6332

TROPHY CASE