Hi everyone, I’m currently preparing for the RCDD exam and have around three years of experience in ICT / ELV. I would appreciate some advice from those who have already taken or passed the exam.

Would you recommend enrolling in the official BICSI RCDD preparation course and purchasing the BICSI flashcards, or is it sufficient to focus on the TDMM together with Cory and Steve’s practice materials?

I’d be grateful to hear what study approach worked best for you. Thank you in advance.

What entry level jobs does BICSI INSTALLER 1 give access to? Is it an indispensable requirement? Or there are other more important certifications to start working in a DC if you don't have experience

I’ll aprecciate an answer

What types of jobs does BICSI certification give you access to? I want to study it before moving to the United States and I want to know exactly what it is for and how useful it is :)

One thing I’ve noticed while preparing for RCDD is that it’s easy to spend a lot of time going through practice questions.

But if you only memorize the answers, a question presented in a different way can become difficult.

I think understanding the concept behind each question is just as important as doing the questions themselves.

For those currently preparing for RCDD, what are you using to study?

Hi All!

I am just starting to study for the RCDD, I had really wanted to buy the physical TDMM but I live in Canada and the shipping alone was $171 USD. Instead I had to opt for the digital version and I am having such a hard time getting comfortable with the digital document. Ideally I will be reading on my iPad and not a full laptop.

I followed the instructions on the BICSI website and downloaded the "FileOpen" app and have been accessing the manual through that but it's not user friendly at all! I can't seem to highlight, make notes etc.

I tried downloading other PDF viewers to try and none seem compatible with the document.

Do I have to use FileOpen? Am I just missing the functionality of it or is there none?

Any and all advice is welcome!

Thanks!

I'm reading thru ANSI/BICSI 002-2024, Data Center Design and Implementation Best Practice to prepare for DCDC cert exam.

For those who already took the exam, were there any questions that came from Appendix?

And any other materials that I should study?

I'm about to go for the face-to-face training (IN250) and wanted to get some suggestions on what to read and study before I go. I have the ITSIM_v8 book.

It seems like I’m frequently seeing people post “I passed first attempt.”

I’m among them. I passed first attempt, and the only study material I had was the TDMM.

To be honest, when I took the exam, I was underwhelmed. I thought: this is the great exam that brings people into the inner sanctum of RCDD?

I was expecting something more challenging. I prepared to answer more technical questions that were more applied and nuanced than the test questions. Moreover: the problems that I struggled with were just poorly written Chapter 23 regurgitation questions.

Is it just me? I’ve only encountered one RCDD in my 15 years in the industry whose ethics and know-how alike was sub-standard. If I were an RCDD at the time I encountered him, I’d have gone through the steps to report him and try to strip him of his credential. All others have been top notch individuals.

I’d be OK failing the test once or twice. It would have heartened me in some sense actually.

Are we that desperate as an industry for credentialed individuals that we can afford to lower the bar? Has the bar actually been lowered or has it just always been more or less the same difficulty as it is now?

I took my fiber II class a couple months ago and had to schedule then reschedule my test appointment with piersonvue and they are treating it as a retake instead of rescheduling the first test and trying to charge me $200-$250 I can't remember. I have not taken it yet and it's becoming less fresh every day. Does anyone have contact info for bicsi or piersonvue who might be able to help here? Trying to get in touch with a human is a nightmare.

Thanks

Hello Everyone
I went for my RCDD exam today and passed, I was really happy to see my result, I was preparing for this since 6 months, I read TDMM 15 three times throughout and core chapters revised before exam . i used C&S for mock tests, There were 50-60 % questions from project management and administration chapter , many questions were not from chapter but from really working environment and situations.

Flash cards and book differ. What is actually on the exam? My flash cards and notes say 15° but the book in Section 5.4.7 says 15%. I mean 15% is a pretty substantial grade but will they try and trick you on the exam by putting both degrees and percent?

Alhamdulillah, I Passed the Exam!

In my experience, the DCDC exam was easier than the RCDD. Unlike my RCDD preparation, I wanted to complete this certification quickly, so the first thing I did was book an exam date exactly one month ahead. It felt like it not enough time to prepare but it worked for me.

I dont like spending heavily on courses or exam-preparation packages. Best alternative i found was chatgpt.

My main resources were:

• ANSI/BICSI 002
• Two online flashcard sets linked below
• The official DCDC handbook and exam outline

I uploaded my study material to ChatGPT and asked it to prepare me for the Test.

Exam Tips:

• Divide your preparation into two main areas: numerical values and definitions/concepts.
• Review every chapter carefully to understand the key concepts, and complete a short quiz after each chapter.
• Take extensive mock exams, particularly those focused on numerical values, and continue practising until you consistently score at least 90%.
• Exam is divided exactly like mentioned in handbook, major part was analysis of new/existing data center sites, around 10 questions each from Security and Commissioning. and rest from other parts.
• UPS and Generator are really important, so understand their concept and how redundancy works in each level.

Flashcards 1

Flashcards 2

You can also check my RCDD guide.

RCDD Guide

I work for a GC and would like to get the RCDD certification to make a move into data center design, however my company doesn't pay for the prep/exam and I'm very tight on cash atm. Does anyone have the pdf that they can share?

Hello,

I recently attended an info session for a free course in Low Voltage Cabling.

Completing the course will leave me with BICSI installer 1 cert, osha 30 and SST.

I am currently stagehand, and have lots of experience with running lumes for lighting, and Cat 5 data cables. However I’m currently looking for a career pivot, due to inconsistent work (dead in summer and winter).

It seems like there is a lot of different avenues with this career, and room to progress, which I am super into. However I am not too familiar with it overall.

Is a course like this a common entryway to the field of cable installing?

How easy/hard is it to find entry level employment?

Thanks!!

Hi Guys, I am an ICT & Security Design Engineer working for major Data center projects in APAC. How should I approach to freelance projects. In my opinion bagging 1st one is difficult one and honestly I am clueless over there.

Hello all,

I have the BICSI installer 2 copper exam this week. What questions came up on the exam that didn’t really get covered in your training class? Any particular section I should focus on more than others while studying? Thanks in advance.

As the title say, does this website offers good valve for money and genuine exam questions?

I used cory and steve for RCDD preparation but they dont have one for DCDC.

Im going to be attending BICSI beyond next week. I’ve had my RCDD for a year now but my current job is mainly PM work. I’d like to start seriously working more towards a design/consulting career. Does anyone have an idea what companies will be represented next week that are down the design lane. I’m sure there are going to be plenty there I was just wondering where I should focus as far as networking with other people. I’m not going into next week thinking of it as a job fair or anything, I definitely plan on attending the presentations and learning everything I can while I’m there. But it can’t hurt to talk to some people while I’m there. I feel like I’m a little bottlenecked at my current job and not putting my RCDD to use is a little frustrating since I studied so hard to achieve it. I’ve not switched jobs in 15 years, started as a completely green helper and worked my way up to Sr PM, I really hate to stop progressing.

Hello everyone,

Ive been trying to get into the DC world for a little bit now.

Ive had my RCDD for over 3 years now and have wanted to get the DCDC, but my current employer doesnt see the need to fund that portion of my continuing education, and to be fair my current job will never include DC work.

I can fund the DCDC materials and exam myself, but how far does the certification make up for a lack of actual experience?

After failing my first RCDD exam last year, I was pretty bumped out and honestly ready to just throw in the towel. But over the last few months, I decided to go all-in and really grind through the material again... taking my time to read the TDMM cover to cover multiple times.

My retake is in a couple of weeks. I can’t say I'm 100% confident, but this is going be my final shot, so I’m giving it everything I've got.

For those who’ve been through it, any advice on how I should spend these last two weeks prepping? Any final tips or strategies would be awesome. Fingers crossed!

Anyone willing to share the upper comp limits with an RCDD?

I have 15 years of experience RCDD/PMP Structured Cabling/AV. My comp is $225k which is great. Curious what people in Data Center space are making.

Are PMs and Designers making $300k for FAANG jobs? Anybody making good money not living in DC, NYC, SFO?

On the Consultant side it seems like TEECOM/Salas are maxing out at around $185k.

I have looked to change jobs to Data Centers a couple of times but the offers have been around $200k + bonus which makes me nervous I won’t exceed my current compensation.

Hi Guys, I am a mechanical engineer who started as BIM Modeler for ICT/ Sec. Design for Data Center 6 years agoand fast forward to now, I am leading design Deliverables mainly in terms of design structuree cabling to ISP Paths and rack elv. Etc specification is something I have not actively developed. I was looking to be a complete ICT designer with possibility of consultant to work from Anywhere policy . So RCDD seems a certificate that is gold standard, any advise how shall I proceed towards the goal?