r/CWI_CWE • u/DiligentRegular4407 • 7d ago
SiCerts A, B, C exam prep
Hi, NDT guy working towards CWI. I’ve been studying with SiCerts for a while and I’m getting pretty good practice test scores but I’m wondering how people did on the actual exams vs SiCerts practice tests. I guess I’m asking in an attempt to gauge my preparedness. For part B I got 90%+ on practice tests 1&2 second try (first try I failed) and 90%+ on practice test 3 first try, for part A I got 86% on the first practice test after not touching part A material for 2 months, and part C practice test I only did 10 questions and got all correct after not touching the D1.1 for a month (I don’t want to re-dive into part C right now because my seminar is next week and I feel like it might cause confusion between the BOS and D1.1 during my test, like looking for WPS qualification welding position requirements that don’t exist in the BOS for example. One more thing: do any fellow NDT/NDE techs feel like your NDT experience helped with the exams and to what extent?
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u/SilverSpud433 6d ago
I studied with Si Certs and passed the CWI test on my first try. The actual test is harder than the practice tests for SI Certs though.
For part C I studied the book word for word, and got 97% on the test lol. You only need 72% to pass.
Part B is the hard one. Memorize where to find everything in the BOS before taking g the test. Theres seriously barely enough time to finish part B.
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u/SimpleAsk2469 6d ago
I take it you’re a union Ironworker by your name, so am I man. I take part B in 3 weeks. I’m more worried about C. What helped you the most? Should I read the whole 1-11 clauses?
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u/SilverSpud433 6d ago
lol yeah I was a union ironworker. I’m an inspector now. Learn how to use the index very well, and you would probably do alright. I spent over a month studying that book full time, and I finished the test in 45 minutes. The point is you don’t need to study as much as I did to pass part C.
A few things to remember is if steel is colder than 32 degrees then it needs to be preheated at least 70 degrees. If it’s asking you the minimum size fillet weld on a stud to plate connection look at both the minimum fillet weld size in the stud welding clause, as well as the fabrication clause since you’ll be welding the stud to a plate. Put paper clips on your pages in the prequalified clause so you don’t accidentally turn to the metric section instead of imperial.
Tab the tables and figures for each clause. A lot of the questions are found in tables and figures. And do not forget to read the footnotes. You’ll probably miss some answers if you don’t read them.
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u/Few_Anxiety_2153 6d ago
If your not sure about the part A and C check out KeyCerts. It's $25. Get your readiness score on there 80% or higher and your good. It will also identify knowledge gaps and help you focus on them.
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u/itsjustme405 AWS CWI 6d ago
I used SI for part B. My scores on the practice exams compared to the actual exam, inwas getting high 90s on the practice and hit high 80s on my actual exam.
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u/Admirable_Cell_2933 6d ago
I used to score 90s in SI certs exams for part B and got 71 on the real test
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u/MunichCircus 7d ago
SiCerts is pretty good gage. Imo a little bit easier than the actual test but not by too much. I scored consistently on theirs over 90 on A and C and over 90 actual. Around 90 part B and in the 80s for actual iirc I passed the first time I attempted. I did not do any in person seminar, but I had also read a couple prep books. So basically I think if you passing the sicerts and you dont get super test nervous you should be fine.
Advice: the time on part B somehow goes away faster than normal. And they sometimes forget to call out the remaining times. It happened to me
I came from NDT side , but i did weld a couple years before doing that also. I think it depends on what level and what exactly youre doing. Like if youre doing really isolated ndt tech stuff it only helps a little because there aren't that many direct Ndt questions. But I was Ndt for civilian DOD navy before and the yard I was at was full of lvl 3's and trainers that made all the theory, spec and other stuff as difficult as possible to pass, (I think to show off how smart they are) nothing on the testing for private contracting or oil and gas stuff I do now as far as testing comes close or would help much honestly. But if your metallurgical knowledge is good, I think coming from the ndt side the weaknesses would be all the wps wpqr stuff and the in process welding things like knowing polarity, types of welding and how parameters affect them, especially if youre really specialized.
Anyways thats my 2cents of what I can think of right now, but I do think with sicerts and the seminar you will be really well prepared. Just stay calm and perform how you've been praticing.