CID Training

[mnpebm]

I have been designing PCBs for a number of years and am considering whether CID training is worth the cost. I assume that there would be good information and potential other benefits. I would like to get the opinions of those here.


Thank you all.
Mike

[robertferanec]

I have never took CID, so I may not be the right person to answer.

If I would be taking CID, I would probably take to have it in my resume / CV. In some countries it may be useful (maybe in US?). In other countries (for example in Slovakia), employers do not care much about certificates. Certificate can help to get a job or stand out from other applicants for a job, but for this, even cheap / free certificates are almost the same effective as expensive certificates (many times HR doesn't know how much it costed to get the certificate, only what they consider is what is the certificate about).

I am not sure if I would pay my own money for CID training to learn something new - it would be maybe useful to check the exact topics of specific training and then decide (?) Especially if you are in the industry for couple of years, you may already know a lot.

If someone from here has CID, could you provide your feedback?

Also, I found this, may be useful: https://www.219design.com/fence-ipc-certification/

[mnpebm]

Useful Robert, thanks. I have taken a number of courses (yours included) and read a number of books and design guides which have really helped. I agree with what he said about the importance of working closely with or at least know the capabilities of the fabricator and not creating specifications that simply won't work.

Will be useful to hear from others and perhaps hear what some of those here on the forums have done for education, formal or not.

I look at whether my customer's designs work (and if not, was it PCB related) and whether there were any questions or complaints from their fabricator.

I ALWAYS ask my customers if they have received any feedback from their fabricators.

Books that have been helpful to me:

Printed-Circuits:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0071833951/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

EMC Made Simple:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/098910320X/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[robertferanec]

working closely with or at least know the capabilities of the fabricator and not creating specifications that simply won't work.

- yep, totally agree. I was there when I was starting with HW design. Only later, when I started understanding how things are made and build, I was able to consider manufacturing processes in my designs.

[Paul van Avesaath]

if you have the chance to visit an EMS or Fab and get a tour that is very helpfull in understanding things from their perspective..

[EricGene]

Hi Mike,

I haven't taken the CID training myself, but had been really curious about it for some time and made an effort to look into what the training has to offer. The benefit that it has to your career depends on what you do for work.

If you do freelance PCB design in the US, I could see this being a huge advantage as I have not seen too many freelance PCB designers on sites such as Upwork.com with these credentials. It shows the would be client that you understand and can apply best practices when it comes to laying out their board. If anything else, someone who hires a PCB designer with CID certification would likely have an extra sense of confidence that the boards designed will work correctly the first time. That being said, not everyone is aware that IPC CID certification exists, but hopefully a potential client would take the time to check up on that should they see it on your list of credentials. The other nice thing about it is that those who receive the certification show up on a list of certified designers. The certificate comes with no expiration date which is also a plus.

If you work as an EE or Hardware engineer for a large company, the value of the CID credential might not have as much value depending on how much board design is involved in the role. A lot of companies nowadays might even outsource their PCB design (maybe to someone with CID certification) so their engineers can focus more on the circuit design, simulation, schematic capture, etc. At other companies, like where I work, the EEs all have to design their own boards. This is where it might not be bad to have the certification, especially if you are responsible for designing boards which the company plans to use in many of their products and will need to go into high volume production. If you're doing EE work in a more R&D type of role, the training might be helpful, but I don't see an employer getting too excited about it since there will probably be a lot of prototyping and boards which get designed will probably be ordered in small volumes (like 10 to 20).

Anyways, I hope my two cents were helpful. If you do take the training, please share your experiences as others might be considering it as well.