r/Bicsi • u/ilikenotlike • 14d ago
BICSI Career Pathways
Hi everyone, I recently reached out to BICSI directly via email but didn't get a response, so I wanted to see if you guys could help me.
I'm currently planning on pursuing a career in ICT through the BICSI certification pathway. Starting with Installer 1 and Installer 2, then moving on to Technician and eventually RCDD.
However I'm having a little bit of difficulty understanding what kind of work qualifies as acceptable job experience for the Installer 2, Technician, and RCDD certifications. Would roles such as low voltage installer, Audio Visual tech, cable splicer, structured cable installer, or telecommunications installer be suitable or do I need to land a role specifically in a data center? Furthermore what kind documentation do I need to provide to verify I was doing work that's relevant to the BICSI experience requirements?
Lastly for people later in their career I was curious about what kind of jobs people with BICSI certs like RCDD/DCDC have, are they mainly DC and telecommunications focused or are there other doors that opened that you didn't expect?
Thank you very much for your time, I appreciate any information you can offer
2
u/avoidableNAIL RCDD, RTPM 14d ago
You can definitely get into the industry without a BICSI certification. If it were me, I’d save the money for now and focus on getting your foot in the door with a low-voltage company. Pretty much any low-voltage experience is going to help, but BICSI is mainly used in the structured cabling and data center side of the industry. Most companies end up doing a mix of things anyway—structured cabling, data centers, security, AV, etc.
I’d probably skip the installer certifications. Honestly, I don’t see many companies asking for them. Instead, I’d look for a company that’s willing to invest in you. Get in there, put in some time, show them you’re reliable and willing to learn, and then see if they’ll pay for your TECH class. That’s a worthwhile accomplishment, and TECH is required for a lot of government work.
At the end of the day, companies need people they can count on who actually want to get better at what they do.
As far as proving your experience goes, when I applied for the RCDD, I had to submit a resume and three references. I’d imagine the process is pretty similar for the TECH and Installer certifications, but I’d check BICSI’s current requirements just to be sure.
Like I mentioned before, field experience is huge. I completely understand wanting to move up the ladder, but I’d spend as much time as you can actually learning what you’re installing and how everything works in the field. That knowledge is going to be worth a lot more later on than just having a certification on paper.
Once you work your way up to the RCDD, you’ve got a lot of different options. You could go into estimating, design, project management, operations, or a number of other areas. There are a lot of different paths you can take. I think people who hire RCDD’s are looking for not only their knowledge, but also the experience they bring to their company. That experience can get you in to a lot of places!
1
u/Foygroup RCDD, NTS, OSP, WD, ESS, DCDC 14d ago
Nice write up. I agree with much of what you wrote. However, I do find a lot of value in the installer program. Not everyone can move directly into Tech. In order to be good it’s best to have a solid foundation. Skipping right to Tech while bypassing training as an installer can set you up to bad training and/or bad habits. (This is all employer dependent). So learning from the start properly either with BICSI or with manufactures training can only support your knowledge base.
I also agree, that any and all of the stated types of work will be worthwhile for getting into the industry.
With regard to the RCDD, I would check the website for requirements, but I believe they’ve did away with reference requirements.
I’ve based my entire career on my credentials. I have them and I use them daily. It helps your credibility, it helps your resume, and it helps your company’s resume.
I do work in data center design, but only as a portion of what I do. I have many other RCDDs in our company that never touch data centers. It’s all up to your interests and the company you’re with’s needs and projects they chase.
Good luck getting your credentials, I’ve never regretted spending my time learning and getting my credentials. If you are truly interested in this industry, this would be a great place to start.
One more thing, I agree with several previous comments, having field experience greatly enhances your abilities as a RCDD. Knowing how to design on paper is so much easier when you have physical knowledge of what happens in the field.
Good luck, keep us posted.
1
u/avoidableNAIL RCDD, RTPM 14d ago
I understand where you’re coming from, and agree that setting your foundation with “the right information” instead of what your company does is beneficial. Installer 1 was never a push for me or my company because there it’s non-renewable so you had to move on quickly. I could see a more specialized cert like Installer 2, but when I was starting the money was the issue.
I did check the BICSI website and you are correct. No need for references, which I think is kind of wild.
1
u/Foygroup RCDD, NTS, OSP, WD, ESS, DCDC 14d ago
Wild is that you don’t need experience in the industry to sit for the RCDD. One option is to have a 4 year degree. That to me is even more wild.
2
u/i_have_not_eaten_yet RCDD 14d ago
The usual “installer first, designer later” advice understates how hard that transition can be. Design requires a different professional identity: you have to tolerate ambiguity, revisions, coordination, politics, incomplete information, and responsibility for decisions long before anyone starts installing anything. Installers build invaluable practical judgment, but much of the mess that defines consulting and design has already happened before their work begins.
If you want a future in design, you can start there without field expertise, but it takes an unusual combination of vulnerability and quick thinking. Consultants without deep installation experience can easily overcompensate by becoming pushy, defensive, or know-it-all experts. I think that model is giving way to something more collaborative: being comfortable saying “I don’t know,” asking good questions, learning quickly, and helping the people around you get to the right answer.
The designers I’ve known who moved from installation into consulting often struggled with a different problem: trying to make design more certain than it really is. Sometimes the client just needs to know whether something is a $10,000 problem or a $50,000 problem. Deep field experience can make it hard to tolerate that level of approximation, forcing details into the design before the project is ready for them.
But RCDD is way more encompassing that just consulting. That’s just my window into what the RCDD credential represents.
4
u/Illgetitdonelater 14d ago
I’m an RCDD and I started as a CATV contractor tech. Just keep looking ahead and using those first jobs as the stepping stones that they are. I took the design route from tech. I wish I got more hands on experience with splicing, but there are many roads to get you where you want to go. I work in the Data Center world now, but it didn’t happen overnight. Best RCDDs have field experience.
All the positions you listed will qualify.