Electronics Technicians Association

History

In 1965 the U.S. Labor Department, Bureau of Apprenticeship & Training (BAT) instigated a jobs program in cooperation with NEA (National Electronics Association). Local school systems, local TV association members and USDL worked together on an 8,000 hour apprenticeship program aimed at solving the labor shortage problem while finding new vocations for those put out of work by modern technology. This new program would reward trainees, but would not cover experienced technicians. Because of this, the Certified Electronics Technician (CET) program was created.

In 1970 a group of technicians decided to form an organization to promote the CET program and the electronics industry as a whole. This organization would be called the International Society of Certified Electronics Technicians (ISCET). It became a subdivision of NEA.

In the mid-1970s NEA and NATESA merged to form the National Electronic Service Dealers Association (NESDA) with ISCET remaining as a subdivision. Due to a power struggle within the organization, ETA was formed in 1978 by a group of former NESDA members and officers. Among those were Richard "Dick" Glass and Ron Crow, two of the original founders of the CET program and only administrators at that time. This made it easy to continue the CET program with the new organization.

Certifications

ETA offers certifications in various knowledge areas, but does not offer courses or training in these areas. ETA does, however, offer endorsements of courses offered through educational institutions through their Course Approval program. Maintenance or renewal of certifications is required to keep in line with the ISO-17024 standards. Most certifications are good for four years.

Basic Electronics Certifications

Associate Certified Electronics Technician (CETa)

Student Electronics Technician (SET)

Apprentice (APP)

Electronics Modules (EM1-5)

Biomedical

Biomedical Electronics Technician (BET)

Biomedical Imaging Equipment Technician (BIET)

Communications

Broadband-Voice over Internet Protocol (B-VoIP)

Certified Satellite Installer (CSI)

Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS)

General Communications Technician - Level 1 (GCT1)

General Communications Technician - Level 2 (GCT2)

Line and Antenna Sweep (LAS)

Mobile Communications and Electronics Installer (MCEI)

Passive Intermodulation Testing (PIM)

Personal Communications Service-Cellular (PCS-C)

RF Interference Mitigation (RFIM)

Radar (RAD)

TRN Wireless Communications Technician (TRN) - formerly USMSS

Telecommunications (TCM)

Wireless Communications (WCM)

Fiber optics and data cabling

ARINC Installer, Technician (AFI/AFT)

Data Cabling Installer (DCI)

Fiber Optics Designer (FOD)

Fiber Optics Installer (FOI)

Fiber Optics Technician (FOT)

Fiber Optics Technician-Outside Plant (FOT-OSP)

SAE Fabricator (SFF)

Termination and Testing Technician (TTT)

Information technology

Computer Service Technician (CST)

Network Computer Technician (NCT)

Network Systems Technician (NST)

Wireless Networking Technician (WNT)

Photonics and precision optics

Photonics Technician Operator (PTO)

Photonics Technician Specialist (PTS)

Specialist in Precision Optics (SPO)

Technician in Precision Optics (TPO)

Renewable energy

Electronic Vehicle Technician (EVT)

Photovoltaic Installer - Level 1 (PVI-LVL1)

Small Wind Installer - Level 1 (SWI-LVL1)

Smart home

Certified Alarm-Security Technician (CAST)

Electronic Security Networking Technician (ESNT)

Residential Electronics Systems Integrator (RESI)

Master Residential Electronics System Integrator (RESIma)

Additional certifications

Avionics (AVN)

Certified Service Manager (CSM)

Commercial Audio Technician (CAT)

Certified Customer Service Specialist (CSS)

Gaming & Vending Technician (GVT)

Industrial Electronics (IND)

Radio Frequency Identification Technical Specialist (RFID)

Levels of certification

Associate Electronics Technician (CETa)

The Associate Electronics Technician exam is a certification of entry-level electronics professional knowledge to include not only electronics but also safety, record keeping and professionalism. The CETa is good for four years by itself and can be renewed without a journeyman certification. The CETa was changed in November 2013 to allow renewal on a four year basis.

Journeyman Certified Electronics Technician (CET)

To attain the CET, ETA requires the candidate to pass the CETa exam and a qualifying Journeyman Certification Option. The CET is good for four years and can be renewed by retesting or demonstrating 40 hours of upgrade electronics training.

Senior Certified Electronics Technician (CETsr)

The Senior Certified Electronics Technician is an upgrade to the Journeyman CET. It requires six-years work experience and an 85% passing score on the CET exam.

Master Certified Electronics Technician (CETma)

The Master Certified Electronics Technician requires mastery of the Associate CET exam and requires a pass rate of 75% in at least six of the Journeyman specialty exams. It is a lifetime certification.

Accreditation

All certifications are accredited by the International Certification Accreditation Council (ICAC) and align with the ISO-17024 standards.

Membership

Membership is open to anyone who is involved in one of the industries ETA serves. Membership allows voting rights for such things as yearly officer elections and service awards as well as by-law changes and other association business. ETA offers six types of membership for educators, professionals, technicians, and students. Each membership includes an subscription to the High Tech News, ETA's bi-monthly membership magazine.