NICET, which stands for National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies, was introduced in the year 1961 by a handful of highly learned technicians who strived to help people excel in various technical and engineering fields. Certifications are issued to candidates who clear the examination in technical fields like, communication system and fire protection, and to professionals in civil, electric and mechanical engineering departments.
The NICET certification for fire alarm is an added feather in the cap of people who thrive to build a successful career in fire protection services.
NICET certification for fire alarm backs up the fact that you are a highly skilled and learned professional. In fact, the certification has been made a characteristic quality benchmark for professional practices in certain departments.
The NICET certification exam is taken in computer based format, and is time bound. Pearson VUE testing centers conduct the test in many areas across the United States.
The computer based test (CBT) format has been introduced lately. The “standard model” was used prior to the introduction of the CBT format. Standard model was a descriptive test that was conducted traditionally on paper.
However, if you cleared a level of your examination before the CBT format was introduced and you want to take the next level test now, your certification will still be considered valid.
Enrolling for the NICET test is quite a simple procedure; you need to fill two application forms given on the official website.
First is a general form that requires basic information like your name, age, address, and other general questions. And the second form is the experience form- you need to make a mention of what roles have you served in the fire alarm industry professionally, and for how long. For higher levels, you need to get your documents attested from your employers to prove your claims.
The most convenient way to apply for the test and pay the examination fee is online. For online applications, you need to fill and submit your application minimum 15 days before the examination cycle begins. And if you prefer snail mail means to apply for the test, you need to mail the stamped application form to NICET at least 7 weeks before the examination cycle begins.
You need to follow a specific criterion to be allowed in the test center. Most important of them all is, you are not allowed to carry calculators or personal laptops inside the venue.
There are 4 levels in NICET examination.
Level 1- you need to have a minimum experience of 3 months.
Level 2- you need to have a minimum experience of 2 years.
Level 3- you should have 5 years of experience, backed up by personal recommendation from your current employer.
Level 4- It requires minimum 10 years of work experience, valid document proving your role in your company, and a personal recommendation letter.
Every individual should take a test depending upon personal qualification. Though NICET does offer the flexibility to apply for a higher level, the institution also reserves the right to disqualify you if you fail to prove those higher skills practically on field.
If you fail the test, you need to serve a mandatory wait period of 4 months before you can re-apply.
NICET examination is divided into four cycles:
- 1st cycle- January to March
- 2nd cycle- April to June
- 3rd cycle- July to September
- 4th cycle- October to December
You can also request for a reschedule 24 hours before the date of your exam. It involves filling an online form and paying a rescheduling fee. Though your allotted center will call you once they will receive a rescheduling request, you may personally contact the center as well. It’s not just the time that you can reschedule, you can also reschedule the date of your exam- within the same cycle of course.
The institute does not, at present, provide any test samples, study guides, or previous year papers to learn from. Luckily, we have the #1 rated study guides available on Amazon:
Level 1 –>> http://firealarmscertified.com/fire-alarms-systems-nicet-level-1-exam-study-guide/
Level 2 –>> http://firealarmscertified.com/nicet-fire-alarm-systems-level-2-study-guide/
The examination paper for NICET certification for fire alarm is set after following 8 standard procedures:
- Practice analysis: 8-10 subject matter experts determine the paper outline by collectively deciding what the standard skills for different levels should be.
- Validation: a new panel of subject matter experts decide if the practical analysis by the previous panel is correct. If found so, practical analysis is documented in a survey form that is circulated to thousands of technicians working on different posts.
- Test design: about 10 subject matter experts segregate useful data from the survey in order to decide how many questions should be included in the test paper.
- Question writing- NICET appoints and trains different groups of SEM’s (subject matter experts). At the end of the training, all panels prepare a set of most relevant questions.
- Question approval: once the questions are decided, NICET staff oversees them for corrections, and forward them to 4 random SEM’s. If approved unanimously, the questions are sent through beta testing.
- Beta testing: New relevant questions are added to the selected and approved questions to get a statistical data about the relevance of questions.
- Building a test: statistical data is used to choose final questions. They are further segregated into different levels, and the test time is decided accordingly. You are always informed pre-hand how long will your test be.
- Publishing: the final chosen questions, along with computer tutorials, are electronically transferred to the computers in test centers.
Now that you know what rigorous research goes behind preparing each set of test paper, you should have an idea that it’s not an easy examination to get through.
Once you clear the level of your experience, you can update it further by preparing and applying for the next level. The NICET certification for fire alarm helps you explore more job opportunities easily.
Having said that, NICET is the nicest way to build your work profile. It not just increases job opportunities, it also makes you more eligible for higher designations and better salary.
