I am a piping draftsperson with 6 years of experience. I'm interested in getting a SPED certification and was wondering if anyone could weigh on a few things I've been wondering about:

1. I don't have any previous technical training related to piping. This is a profession I just fell into in my early 20's (because of my father, who is a Senior Piping Designer with 40 years of experience), and have actually come to really enjoy. I'm currently completing a CAD diploma (which I started five years after getting into this business to begin with, which I'm doing because I realize that I need to have some kind of credentials on my CV for the future), and a very long time ago, I did part of an Industrial Design program but stopped before graduation. In the last six years, I started off with cleaning isometrics, to producing general arrangements, to 3D modelling of pipe supports, to simple 3D piping modelling under the supervision of senior designers, and more recently I've advanced to layout of utility piping. I've been amassing a variety of piping drafting/design reference books, and am constantly scouring the web for more reading to do that will help me build my skills. I'm planning on taking the Piper Bootcamp online course offered by SPED. I just had a look at the Level 1 PPD certification application, and saw that there's a section for Educational History. I won't really have anything to put here other than my CAD diploma, as well as the bootcamp course from SPED. Would this be sufficient? Will my experience thus far offset my lack of academic credentials?

2. Are PPD certifications well regarded by most companies? I ask because even though I've read that in fact, yes, certifications are well respected, and saw also that my current employer is an international corporate member, a lot of the senior guys, who are my mentors, whom I've spoken with haven't even heard of SPED or the PPD certification. Are they just way out of the loop?

I guess those are my only questions for now, but I would appreciate any other insight regarding the matter as well, including other educational options and/or reference materials!

Edit: Can you have a SPED membership without a certification?

Thank you very much!

Do you live in Calgary by any chance? There is a SPED chapter in Calgary and you could contact them directly to answer your questions about certification and membership. Also, you can check out the calendar on their website for when and where they meet. http://spedcalgary.typepad.com/

Concerning the second part of your posting, SPED hasn't gained the foothold and recognition in Canada yet that it would like, so my best guess is that certification may help and certainly can't hurt. This may be changing in Calgary however, with companies such as AMEC, SNC-Lavalin and Worley-Parsons committing to putting all their pipers through the SPED training to gain SPED certification. I can say that I have seen the SPED training material and I find it to be excellent, so you won't go wrong by taking their online training. If your company is a SPED sponsor, maybe they'll pay for it. I know of many successful designers that have worked their way up through the ranks, so to speak, through a combination of experience and individual courses, just as you are trying to do. And, by and large, you'll find that Canadian engineering companies are very accepting of what you can do, not how you got there.

However, you will need educational recognition for certain jobs, to join your provincial technical society, or to work in the USA or oversees (unless of course you're fortunate enough to have other citizenship), and for these you'll need a minimum of a certificate from an accredited Canadian institute. So, I would also check out programs such as the process piping drafting certificate program available through the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. http://sait.ca/pages/cometosait/academi ... appd.shtml. This link is for the day program, but many of the courses are available through correspondence.

I hope this helps, and good luck.