Chris, make sure you do your homework and understand your market as well as your competitors. If you plan to succeed, having the right credentials means everything and more often than not your client knows a thing or two about education. At least this has been my experience. If you go up against a Level I (which is the entry level standard now) or level II in a bid situation guess who will get the job.
If your even thinking about doing any commercial work you will need a level I to start. I’m not trying to slam NACHI, just helping out a fellow thermographer.
Get recognized training from either ITC, The Snell Group or Inframation. It will pay ten fold in the long run and remember there is no cheap way into this business.
And when it comes to CEUs, don’t use this kind of education just to add to your CEUs list. This kind of education is a business decision and should be treated as such.
Here’s a paragraph from one of my competitors.
Good Luck
With the introduction of new less expensive camera’s, there is an increasing number of people using infrared technology. This is good for everyone because it helps promote the technology. Unfortunately, some people are making a business decision to not get any formal training.
You should understand that there are differences in the levels of training. Some home inspection associations and other web based companies offer a course over the Internet for you to become “Certified”. Like everything else, some are good and some are not. When a large company like a Dupont (for example) looks for a Thermographer, the qualifications they look for are experience and if they are in compliance with ASNT ( American Society for Nondestructive Testing).This is as close to a national standard as there is in the industry.
I am a Level II Thermographer with over 7 years inspection experience who is in compliance with ASNT. This means I have experience, formal class room training, and have passed the required testing. In addition to being a Level II Thermographer, I have been “certified” by ITC (Infrared Training Center) as a Building Science Thermographer. Again, to attain these qualifications I had to go to onsite formal training and pass all required testing.
I have experience in buildings from science centers, state legislative buildings, commercial buildings, retail buildings, institutional, industrial and residential homes. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns in regard to a thermographic inspection. There are many very good thermographers out there, just make sure you ask about there experience and training. It can, and does make a big difference in the quality of the inspection you will receive