SparkFun Electronics Forum

Hello, I want to know - Is it necessary or compulsory to go for IPC Certification courses (CID or CID+) to be a professional designer or to get a reputed job in PCB Designing. I have checked many links regarding this but not getting straightforward results. However, I got more confusion after reading multiple links regarding this.

Please share your views what you all think about this? I request and welcome answer should be in brief and simple words.

Thanks in advance for your valuable time.

HI, no it is not necessary.
Does it help get a job? I would say yes it may help but not as much as a degree (or other similar qualification) or lots of experience.

However, it does help a designer know what materials they should be using for their chosen PCB, how important providing good instructions to others in the manufacture of a pcb is, how a pcb is made and many other things etc. These make for someone who does well with a pcb design for the manufacture of it.
(The rest passes me by, it was a long course).

Do employers understand what CID means to them? If not then no. If they do then yes.
But CID/CID+ on its own is no guarantee of someone being a good designer.

It does not teach you how to design, how to use any CAD system, how to do the job.

And ye gods, the course is a long few days with hundreds of powerpoints, if you do it then make sure you read the book well before you go.

Matt
CID+

In my facility, we deal primarily with equipment destined to be used by the military. We occasionally design circuit boards but none of us on the engineering side of the equation are IPC certified. On our production side of the building, they are required to be IPC certified for soldering, board assembly, and board inspection depending on their actual role in the company. We have an IPC certified instructor in the building who occasionally holds courses for new hires and people needing to renew.

Whether or not a certification is necessary will depend on the company you are looking to work for. A facility dedicated to designing PCBs will likely have tougher requirements than one that only occasionally produces a board. There is also a good chance that they would make training available to you if it was required for the job. In any case, having the certification certainly will not hurt but it may be something that a future employer will pay for.

-Bill

Thanks for the such helpful and informative replies, @phalanx and @mattylad.