Elevate Your ICT Career: Insights from BICSI Learning Academy with Christopher Hobbs

Discover how to elevate your career in the ICT industry with expert insights from Christopher Hobbs, an experienced RCDD and certified trainer. In our latest episode, Christopher breaks down the unparalleled benefits of BICSI Learning Academy's training programs, both face-to-face and virtual, underscoring the unique personal touch and interactive elements that set them apart. From installation to advanced design and project management, get a comprehensive look at the diverse array of classes offered and learn how proper education can save you from costly errors and propel your professional journey forward.

Take a detailed tour inside the virtual classroom training kits for Installer 1 and Installer 2 Copper classes. We dive into the extensive list of materials included in these kits, from the student workbook to various cables, blocks, and connectors. Special attention is given to the importance of labeling and the necessity for students to bring their own tools for hands-on learning. For those advancing to Installer 2, we explore additional critical components such as the Bix frame and 210 block, essential for mastering more complex termination techniques.

Curious about becoming a BICSI trainer? Hear firsthand from one of our hosts about their decade-long journey from a training delivery specialist to a director. We outline the qualifications and steps needed to achieve certification, including the Train-the-Trainer (T3) course. We also shed light on the various career paths within the ICT industry, such as design, quality assurance, and sales engineering, demonstrating how BICSI provides robust educational resources and alternative routes to career advancement, proving that success in technology doesn't always require a college degree.

Chapters

• 0:00 Benefits of Bixie Learning Academy
• 13:26 Virtual Classroom Training Kit Components
• 22:42 Pathway to Becoming a Bixie Trainer
• 33:59 Advancing Careers in Telecommunications

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hey Wiremonkeys, welcome to another episode of let's Talk Cabling. We're coming to you live from Classroom A, the Bixie Learning Institute. Follow along. Welcome to the show where we tackle the tough questions submitted by installers, estimators, project managers, designers, even customers. We're connecting at the human level so that we can connect the world. If you like what we're doing and you're following us on YouTube, would you mind hitting the subscribe button and the bell button to be notified when new content is being produced? If you're listening to us on one of the audio podcast platforms, would you mind leaving us a five-star rating? And if we don't, in order to five-star rated show, tell me what I can do to make this a five-star rated show.

Speaker 1: 0:54

Wednesday nights, 6 pm. Yes, I said Wednesday nights, 6 pm because we just changed the dates. I do a live stream where you can ask your favorite favorite RCDD and you know that's me questions about installation, certification, design, project management, estimation, even do career path questions. But I can hear you now. But, chuck, I'm driving my truck at 6 pm on Wednesday nights. I don't want to get into an accident. Relax, I record them and you can watch them at your convenience when it's safe to do so. Also, we're always looking for people to help sponsor the show. So if you like the content we're producing, you can look us up on Patreon. You can go to our Amazon link on our webpage. We're even looking for corporate sponsorship.

Speaker 1: 1:36

So this is a special episode too. We're coming to you live, like I said, classroom A at Bixie. Yes, you know, one of the most common questions I get asked is Chuck, I've signed up for a Bixie class. I'm going there. What can I expect? Or what's the difference between the classroom and the virtual? And I got so many questions I got tired of answering them all or forwarding them on. I figured, you know, I know a lot of people, so I figured I just would reach out to Bixie and see if Christopher Hobbs can come on the show and actually talk about this. So I got him. Do you believe that I actually got Christopher Hobbs? How's that? I'm his favorite RCD. We'll have to ask him that later on in the show if I'm his favorite RCDD. So, christopher, welcome to the show. How are you doing today, my friend?

Speaker 2: 2:19

I'm doing well, Chuck. Thanks for having me on.

Speaker 1: 2:21

It's a pleasure having you. We always talk at the Bixie conferences, but I think this is the first time I've actually no, no, no, you've been on the show before, but we've done Zoom. This is the first time live to live camera stuff, so don't get nervous no-transcript Academy in Classroom A where we're hosting this podcast.

Speaker 3: 2:57

So my name is.

Speaker 2: 2:58

Christopher Hobbs. I'm an RCDD, rtpm, dcdc, osb and a certified trainer through BICC and.

Speaker 3: 3:04

I've been in the.

Speaker 2: 3:05

ICT industry for over 30 years, so I always like having my favorite RCDD here who I can swap stories with, because we've been around for quite a while and a little bit about BICC.

Speaker 2: 3:14

Bicc is a not-for-profit association that supports the information and communication technology industry, so we are the ones that are providing best practices, standards, as well as training and certifications in the ICT industry. And if you are interested in the ICT industry, either as a person who is new coming into the industry or as an individual who has been in the industry for several years and are looking to advance your career or be able to take the next step, then I'm hoping we can answer some questions for you on this podcast answer some questions for you on this podcast.

Speaker 1: 3:45

So you know one thing I like about Bixie is they. They not only do they offer a lot of classes, you know installation classes, design classes, project management classes. They are good quality classes. I hear people all the time but Chuck, that class of Bixie is so expensive. My usual response is knowledge usually is Well. The only thing more expensive than knowledge is stupidity, because if you do something wrong that might cost your job $20,000, $30,000. Ask me how I know that one. So you guys have lots of different classes. Can you explain what are the benefits of taking a class here at Bixie?

Speaker 2: 4:14

So there's a couple advantages. First, we have different modalities of the way we facilitate our courses here at Bixie.

Speaker 3: 4:19

The primary method is, of course, face-to-face that is what a lot of people want to come to Bixie Headquarters is we are here today.

Speaker 2: 4:27

They want to take a class in our classrooms and that allows individuals to be able to have actual face time with an instructor in person and maybe get a little bit more of a personal touch when they have questions and things that they need to have answered in class. But at Bixie we realize not everybody can attend a class here at Bixie headquarters or one of our remote locations that we facilitate courses at. In that case we actually have another modality called virtual classroom training. And that allows students that are in our installer one or installer two copper class or any of our design classes to be able to actually attend the course virtually over five days with an instructor.

Speaker 2: 5:04

So they still get the personal touch, but they're not having to travel or pay the travel expenses. Airline car rentals, hotels of those nature and be able to attend an actual Bixie course with a Bixie instructor.

Speaker 1: 5:18

So one of the biggest challenges is technicians in the field, installers in the field. They learn about Bixie through either peers or through some of your publications and stuff and then they want to get this training because there are some people who realize that if they learn the right way, the best practice ways as detailed in the ITSIM manual and the other Bixie manuals, they want to become Bixie certified. Their bosses, on the other hand, don't like spending money. So what benefits would an employer gain by sending some of their employees to a Bixby Learning Academy class?

Speaker 2: 5:53

Chuck, that's a great question and, of course, as a person who had their own business many, many years ago and has worked for companies as a project manager and other roles, maintaining your bottom line is critically important, but also ensuring that your employees understand the industry and are going to be installing things according to best practices. As you said earlier, mistakes on jobs can cost a lot of money. By having individuals who have a baseline level of knowledge and then acquiring a certification, through that, they at least understand the gotchas that may happen on a project.

Speaker 2: 6:28

They understand the things who have a baseline level of knowledge and then acquiring a certification through that they at least understand the gotchas that may happen on a project, they understand the things that they need to avoid and they also, more importantly, understand the correct way that the installations either need to be designed in the case of our design courses, or, more importantly for our technicians, how they should actually be installed.

Speaker 1: 6:42

Employees always like to say return on investment, roi, and I get asked a lot of questions on all the social media platforms I'm on about but, chuck, that class is so expensive. And I usually tell them I want you to tell me, because you guys have probably done the research on this and I tell people all the time look, yes, you can spend money on this class, but over your career you'll reap that back 20-fold, 30-fold, 40-fold, 50-fold times what you put into it now by being more valuable to your employer, being more valuable to your customer. Is that a reasonable number, or should I bump that up?

Speaker 2: 7:18

Well, I can tell you that research has been done, and not just in our industry industry, but all industries that show people who do hold certifications in their industry do make more money. Me personally, my credentials have paid me back a hundredfold. Anything credential that I've got, the time and investment that I've put into it, has paid me back at least a hundredfold.

Speaker 3: 7:37

And again, it's not what employers have to pay, but it's also the employee.

Speaker 2: 7:41

It's that dedication that they have to spend time, and time is money. If you're taking away time from your family, you're taking away time from possibly work or other things that you'd rather be doing, but by spending that time it's going to affect your career in a positive way. And really that's what certifications and credentials are going to do for you. They're going to affect your career in a positive way.

Speaker 2: 8:03

They're going to open doors up that you may have not had before, because you have proven that you have a level of knowledge, whether it's an RCDD or a technician or even an installer, one for an entry-level person, that they have that knowledge so that they can advance in their career.

Speaker 1: 8:21

And you hit the right. I like how you said investment. I love that term because, as a technician or an installer or whatever, they take a class yeah, the company's investing in them, but they have to invest too because they have to come to the classroom with an open mind, willing to learn. As an instructor, I couldn't tell you how many times I've had a class full of people. There'd always be that one person who would sit there with their arms crossed because they're only they're're being forced to be there, but they don't have an open mind, they don't learn anything. So, as a student, you have to invest your time to learn the material, because now you have to invest that money. When you get your certification, you have to get your ready for this.

Speaker 1: 8:58

Cecs, continuing education credits it's not a one and done certification and I like that because our industry changes literally at the speed of light, which is kind of funny, because we have fiber in our industry. You have to stay invested, you have to stay learning and one of the whole reasons I started the RCD study group a couple years back was because I realized I hadn't read the RCD since my exam and I took it on the 8th edition and we're at the 15th edition now, so there's some new stuff in there, so you got to continue. You'll be a continuous learner and one of the things I like about that is Bixie realizes that and they're always coming up with new courses. So tell us what new courses out there at the Bixie Learning Academy.

Speaker 2: 9:38

Chuck, you're exactly right, Continuing education is important not just the initial education you get, but making sure that you stay up with the industry. So I'm very excited to tell you we actually have some new course offerings that we're going to be introducing for Big C's new fiscal year, which started July 1. The first course and we're going to start with installation and then move to design is we have an applied fiber splicing class, that is, a two-day splicing only course.

Speaker 2: 10:05

Now the nice thing about this is while our installer tube fiber class is designed to make a well-rounded fiber installer, the applied fiber splicing class is actually a skills-based class. There's very little knowledge that we're passing along in that class when they step in. They're going to be splicing fiber within the first hour. Not only are they going to splice a single strand fiber, but we're going to do mats or ribbon fiber.

Speaker 3: 10:31

As for inside plant, as well as outside plant, so you're not just going to get one style of fiber that you're going to be splicing You're going to be splicing inside and outside plant fiber so this

Speaker 2: 10:42

again. Two-day course inside plants the first day, outside plants the second day and it is going to take an individual who either has a little bit of knowledge about fiber splicing or even advanced knowledge about fiber splicing, and turn them into an individual that I personally would feel comfortable sending out into a splice trailer and sitting down and doing either indoor or outdoor splicing of fiber optic cables. The next course that we have is a new modality that we're offering for our Installer 1. One of the requests that we've had from our customers is that the entry-level individuals for our courses, the Installer 1 program. They're not able to come out of the field for five days straight to attend our virtual classroom training. So what we've done is we've taken the knowledge portion of that course and we have put it into a self-paced online format that allows individuals over a six-week time period to complete the self-paced part, gain all the knowledge that they need to.

Speaker 2: 11:36

And then there is a one-day virtual hands-on classroom session where we will go over the terminations and how to do those terminations in three quarters of a day and at the end of that day, they'll be able to take their hands-on written exam.

Speaker 2: 11:52

The last new course that we have is actually on the design side, and we're very proud of this. As Chuck mentioned, we have the new Telecommunications Distribution Methods Manual, 15th edition that came out earlier this year, and with that we have the new telecommunications distribution methods manual 15th edition that came out earlier this year and with that we have an entirely brand new design course.

Speaker 2: 12:07

We have our applied intelligent building design class that we released, which is a five-day course that will be offered both as a virtual classroom training, the online format with the instructor, and we will be offering limited in-person classroom training as well with that course. As you know, intelligent buildings is where everything is moving towards. All of the technologies are being integrated, from the mechanical systems to the electrical systems, everything is coming together and Bixie is providing the backbone for the design of an intelligent building.

Speaker 2: 12:38

And this new course, which we're very excited about, is going to show individuals how we're going to tie everything together in an intelligent building.

Speaker 1: 12:49

One of the things that you and I talked about before we turned the cameras on. I really should turn the cameras on before I even start doing the show. We always talk about cool stuff. We talked about how our students are tactile learners. We talked about how our students are tactile learners and I love the fact that you said that you're offering the ability, where they can, to help lower the cost for employers and make it more attractive for them to take classes so they can do the knowledge portion separately and then just come in and just focus on the hands-on. Because an instructor, I can tell you right now, my favorite part of teaching is hands-on. I hate you're not going to believe me I hate being up in front of people talking. People don't believe me when I say that, but when I'm teaching somebody hands on, I love it a lot better. And so you guys send out those, those virtual kits. What's in those virtual kits for the hands on component?

Speaker 2: 13:32

Chuck, that's a great question. So I have right here in front of me a virtual kit. So this is what the students will actually get shipped to them for the Installer 1 class or the Installer 2 Copper class. So why don't we take a second and we'll go through each one of the course materials that are shipped out. So let's talk about what actually is in a kit for a virtual classroom training. So I have in front of me what is shipped to the students. This is for our Installer 1 student. This is the entry-level student that's coming into the class. So you'll get a box that looks just like this and inside of this box we have all sorts of neat little goodies that are in here. So first off is the actual student workbook. Now, if you are going to be taking the course and studying for the exam, you're still also going to need to purchase the ITSUM, but this student workbook will actually come with the class. So that's the first thing that you're going to get.

Speaker 2: 14:21

The next thing that we're going to get is we're going to send you some various types of cables. So we have a 25 pair here, we have a series six dual shielded coax cable and we have two pieces of category 5e cable that is on here that are about four and a half five feet long. Your colors may vary, so if your color doesn't look exactly like this, don't freak out. We use different types of cable, so that's the cable portion that you're going to get. The other pieces that you're going to get is a good old 66 block. Make sure I got the top pointed right here, so we have our Because people will point that out.

Speaker 2: 14:59

Yes, people will point that out. If I was sitting here holding it like this, I guarantee you somebody's going to say he had the block upside down. So we've got one of our good old 66 blocks here. These are still being used. So currently we are teaching these and how to actually properly terminate these with a Category 5 cable. The other thing that they're going to get is a Leviton 110 block is a Leviton 110 block and this is going to allow them to learn how to actually punch down on a 110 block and use the C4s and the C5s appropriately, to know how to count off using a four pair cable. And then the last thing they get is they get a for the blocks and all is a little piece of cross connect wire, because we do teach people how to properly cross connect. Last thing is this little bag. So inside this little bag we have a variety of little items. The first thing is a packing list. So if you are taking a Bixie class, take a look at the packing list, making sure everything checks off and that you do have it.

Speaker 2: 15:57

Don't start using these materials, because we do ship limited quantities and they are going to be used during the class. Don't use it on a job site? That would be bad. Are you going to be going back and pulling it off the wall or going and finding other pieces to replace it? So we have a couple C4's that we actually use for the 110 block.

Speaker 2: 16:16

We have our series 6 RG6 coax connectors that we learned to terminate on there. We also have a cat 5e jack that you're going to learn to terminate, and then, of course, everybody at an entry level should be able to learn how to do an 8p8c, or what is commonly referred to as an rj45. I'm going to use a proper term, an 8p8c here. And this is what all is going to be included in the kit, with a couple spares in here, as well as some labels, because, as you know, labeling is important. You're not done with your project until you actually label everything. So we have both cable labels as well as labels to put on the blocks so that we understand what has been terminated. So this is kind of everything that comes in the Installer 1 kit and let's move on to the Installer 2 Copper I got one question before we move on to that.

Speaker 1: 17:08

So I saw lots of cool stuff in there, but I didn't see any tools. I didn't see a crimper for the 8P8C or RJ45. I didn't see a punch tool for the 66. I'm assuming that the student is going to provide them themselves.

Speaker 2: 17:21

Chuck, that's actually a fantastic question. So when you sign up for one of our classes that's the installation, virtual classroom training we actually have a tool list of the tools that you have to provide. So you will need to provide a 110 style punch tool. You'll also need to provide a 66 style punch tool, which could be the same tool with a reversible blade a 66 on one side and 110 on the other. You're also going to need to provide a tool that will properly strip coax so that you can actually use the connector, and then you'll need to provide a compression tool to actually compress the connector that will be used on the series 6 coax. So this is the box that is sent out for our Installer 2, copper students, so much like what we have for our Installer 1,. You're going to open this up and you're going to have your student workbook that's going to be in there and, again, you'll still need your ITSEM for the class to study for the exam. But this is going to be all the course material that you're going to cover in the week. As you can see, it's not a thin book. The next thing that we have in here is we actually have a Bix frame, so Bix is still being used worldwide and we actually are going to terminate on a Gigabix. So we take a standard Bix frame and we actually put the Gigabix termination bar that's inside there. We also provide a 210 block from Leviton. That's in here. This is so that individuals can understand how to actually terminate category 6 cable. On a 210 style block the spacing is going to be a little bit different than what you see on a 110 style block. We have our cable. So we have our Cat 6A shielded cable. That's right here. We have our Series 6 quad shield cable. It's a little bit different, a lot harder to terminate in some cases, if you're not familiar with it than the dual shielded cable. We also have a standard Cat 6 cable that's located in here and, again, cross-connect wire. Your cable colors may vary so again, don't freak out if you get something different.

Speaker 2: 19:23

The other thing that we have is much like the other kit. We have a bag and inside that bag is a packing list. Double check, make sure everything is there. You don't want to wait until Monday morning and tell everybody hey, I don't have all my parts and all. We have a Category 6A shielded jack that they'll be terminating and the tool that goes along with that. We have our Bix termination bar. We also have the wire guard for the Bix. We have the label strip for the Bix. So all of the items that are there for the Bix, that are there for the BICs. And then, most importantly, if you've ever terminated gigabits, there is a wire separator that is actually used a pair separator on the back of the block, maybe a little hard to see, they're clear. We put a couple of them in the bag here. And then we've got our BNC connector for quad shield cable.

Speaker 2: 20:18

So, in response to your last question about tools, again, they are going to need to provide some tools for this. They're going to need to be able to provide a 110 tool for the termination of the 210 block to punch that down. They will also need to provide a coax stripper so that they can strip the coax, as well as a compression tool. Now, most technicians don't have a Bix tool tool. Now, most technicians don't have a Bix tool. So Bixie is going to provide you with a Bix tool as part of taking the installer to copper class. So you, they will get their very own Bix tool so that they can actually do the Bix determinations on there without trying to source one of these. They're not as easy to find. You can't run down to your local hardware store and pick one of these up, like you can a 110 tool or 66 tool so we do provide this for the students.

Speaker 1: 21:05

Let's say I sign up for a class. How much time before my class starts do I actually receive this kit?

Speaker 2: 21:11

That's a great question. Well, part of that's going to depend on when you sign up for the class. If you wait to the last minute, you're going to get the kit at the last minute. Typically, you're going to receive your kits usually a week out before your class starts. That way, we can ensure that you actually have your material on that Monday when class begins.

Speaker 1: 21:27

Do they need to put down their home address or their company address? Because I teach virtual classes too, you know, and I couldn't tell you how many times we've actually shipped stuff to the company. Look, just because we work in the communications industry doesn't mean we communicate right, and they didn't get this stuff to the tech. So is it? Is there a spot for them, I guess, somewhere in the form, to say hey, you need to ship?

Speaker 2: 21:48

this to my home address? Fantastic question. One of the things that we do is we actually reach out to everyone that's registered for a class. So you will get an email from BICC asking what address do you wish your materials to be shipped to? So make sure that it is an address that is not a PO box, because we can't ship to a PO box. It's got to be an actual physical address and I would highly recommend that it's an address that someone is there to get the package, because you don't want this stolen off of your porch or wind up missing. So if it has to be your work address, that's fine. Or if it's going to be your work address, that's fine. Or if it's going to be your home address, that's okay too.

Speaker 2: 22:23

We ship them to both. We ship them overseas, Wherever the student is going to be located at. We are more than happy to get it shipped out to them. But just no PO boxes, because, as you can tell, that's not going to fit in your standard PO box. It's a little bit large of a package. But yeah, we'll reach out. Give us your address that you want us into and we'll get it on the way.

Speaker 1: 22:42

You know, you and I have known each other for I don't know, five years now, six years, something like that. I don't keep track and I've noticed that because if I keep track that means I'm getting old. That's why I don't keep track of that. But I've noticed that you and I share a lot of history, a lot of work backgrounds.

Speaker 2: 22:59

Were you ever a facilitator? I was Actually. What's interesting, I've been at Bixie for 10 years now.

Speaker 2: 23:03

March of this year was my 10th year anniversary here at Bixie and I actually was hired at Bixie as a training delivery specialist. I was hired in to facilitate the, at the time, the telecommunications building distribution class, building, the courses of infrastructure out project management, the data center class and outside planning. So those were the courses that I facilitated, starting at Bixie, and, like you, I enjoy teaching. That's really something that I have a passion for and luckily Bixie has offered me the opportunity to better my facilitation skills through a program that we have here at BIXI, to become a trainer and then, through the years as I've been promoted and moved up, I now manage and direct the training delivery and operations unit here at VIXI. So all the training delivery specialists actually report up to me and it's amazing to be able to have the ability to influence trainers the new trainers that we have coming in, as well as our partner programs that we have through our authorized training facilities as well as our authorized design training providers.

Speaker 1: 24:09

You know, I personally know quite a few of your trainers. I'm going to tell you right now, they are top-notch people and that's one thing I like about you People don't realize how hard it is to be a trainer. Number one you've got to be willing to stand up in front of people and talk Public speaking. That's the number one fear of most people. Number two you have to know the material. Okay, that's kind of not so hard. But number three you have to be able to be relatable. Right, there are some instructors that get up there, that what I call book smart, but they haven't actually done the work Well, a good instructor can relate to the students. So, with that all in mind, if there's a company out there that's looking to maybe facilitate Bixie training on their own thing, is there a pathway for somebody to become a trainer?

Speaker 2: 24:53

There is. So, as I mentioned before, we have two programs we have our authorized training facilities and we have our authorized design training providers. So the authorized training facilities, or the ATS, actually are, through our BICC program, our partners who can facilitate our installation program. So that would be the installer one, the installer two copper, the installer two fiber and our technician course that allows them to have people run through the course material and be able to facilitate and proctor the current hands-on exam for the version 8 of the installation program.

Speaker 2: 25:28

For our authorized design training providers, those are people who teach our design courses. So that's the project management course, that is the applied data center design course, that is the applied outside plant course, as well as the applied intelligent building design class that we have now. And to become a certified trainer you have to work for one of those two organizations and if you have an organization that will sponsor you as a trainer, then you will come to Bixie. You have to have attended the course that you're going to facilitate within the past two years. For the ATFs it would be the technician course. For the authorized design training providers it would be the up to two courses that you wish to facilitate. So it could be outside plan, it could be data center or applied intelligent building design.

Speaker 2: 26:16

You have to have attended that course within the past two years. And then you come to Bixie here in Tampa Florida, as we are here in classroom A, and you would attend what we call our train, the trainer course.

Speaker 3: 26:26

And that is an intensive five course.

Speaker 2: 26:28

It's going to teach you facilitation skills and adult learning theory, and you will have to pass that course to be able to facilitate either at the authorized training facilities or the authorized design training providers.

Speaker 1: 26:41

And that's the T3 course right.

Speaker 2: 26:43

That is the T3 course. I spelled it out because if I said T3, many people would say well, what's T3? We're an industry full of acronyms, so I try to cut down on the number of acronyms that we use.

Speaker 1: 26:54

No, we need more People outside of our industry.

Speaker 2: 26:56

Don't have to try to figure out what that is no, we need more.

Speaker 1: 27:00

I need more acronyms for my acronym challenge and I've attended that T3 course and I don't know if it's changed since I've taken it. It was two weeks when I took it. The first week they teach you all three levels and then the second week you have to teach it back to the instructors, the master instructors, and I'll tell you what. That was a fun two weeks and I got my eyes open because I thought I was a good trainer before I went to that, but after that I learned so much how to become a better trainer. So do those trainers? Do they have to recertify?

Speaker 2: 27:28

Yes, so anyone who does hold a certified trainer is required, just like all of our other certifications, with the exception of the Installer 1, which is only a three-year certificate program. You have to have continuing education credits. It's 36 continuing education credits every three years that you have to acquire and, as a certified trainer, we offer many opportunities through webinars and other activities that we do at our conferences. We will offer activities for you to gain CECs specifically for the certified trainer.

Speaker 1: 27:59

The RCDDs and the Bixie Tech and the installers have to get CECs. So when I go to a Bixie conference or I attend a Bixie class, I'm getting my CECs. Do those CECs also apply to that, or do I have to take an additional 36 CECs on top of all the other CECs I got to take?

Speaker 2: 28:15

That's a great question. Actually, any technical content that you take, whether it is from a Bixie conference, whether it is a Bixie course, be it one of the five-day training courses that we have, or one of the self-paced online courses or virtual instructor-led class that we have, which are typically six hours spread over three weeks, or even if you, for our installers that are out there, or even the project managers or our CDDs that are going to job sites, safety training counts for CECs. So there are plenty of opportunities for individuals to be able to get CECs. One of the complaints I used to hear long ago was people would say oh no, it's so hard to get.

Speaker 2: 28:53

CECs. It's hard for me to get CECs. You'd be amazed at the opportunities that are out there just for free CECs or the activities that VIXI itself offers for continuing education that you can get. So don't think that there's not opportunities out there. There are, and there probably will be more in the future that will be coming out.

Speaker 1: 29:13

There's a time when that statement was true. The only way you can get CECs was to go to a conference, to go to a BICC class or something like that. But nowadays Cable Installation Managers Magazine they do two CEC webinars a month. There are CECs on BrightTalk. I've got three classes that are recognized for CECs All the manufacturing. So there's no excuse why you should not be able to get enough CECs. All you got to do is just invest in time. If you want to know where to get some CEC classes, make sure you reach out to me and I'll line you up with some. Actually, I got a document I'm working on collecting all of them together so that way we know how to get them CECs, because the last thing you want to do is let the certification expire. Trust me, you'll be on nervous nearly if you do.

Speaker 1: 29:52

Now when you take a Bixie class a lot of people coming out of the field. A lot of people have been out of school for a while I know I was and now you put them back in the classroom environment, back in learning. That's a whole different mode. They're going to struggle with that. They truly are. Or. Just because you've been taught one way doesn't mean that that's the right way to do it. That's how people all the time. So what does Bixie do to help with a student who might be struggling?

Speaker 2: 30:16

So one of the things that we provide for students who are attending our courses is through our learning management system. There are additional resources that we give students so that can help them prepare for their exams, for example, for the RCDD exam. Now we provide a resource online that gives an entire study plan for individuals so they can understand how to approach the telecommunications distribution methods manual. That is a very thick book and for the installation people. The ITSIM is a very thick book, so there are resources that we provide for that.

Speaker 2: 30:48

The other thing is if, coming to a class, the best thing that a person can do to prepare before they step through the doors of the Bixie Learning Academy, or whether they're taking it virtually online at their home, is, don't wait until the day of or the day before class to open up whatever reference manual is being used for the class. So if it's for the installation course, don't be the guy that shows up that morning and you're putting your book together.

Speaker 2: 31:15

That's not where you want to be at, you want to open that book up, you want to at least get yourself familiar with what the chapter order layout is and even start reading through that.

Speaker 2: 31:21

That's going to help prepare you much better.

Speaker 2: 31:24

We do recommend that individuals coming to our class spend at least 50 hours studying the IDSUM or the TDMM or the OSPDRM the outside plant manual, whatever the case may be before they come to class, because that's going to put you in a better position. When you have that face-to-face time with the instructor to actually be able to ask questions for things that you may not understand or the course itself may not cover, because it's some obscure place in whatever manual and you're trying to understand the concept, that's the best time to be able to ask those questions. And then other people in the class may have the same question, or they may if they're come prepared. They're going to ask questions and you're like, wow, I didn't think about that, but no, I don't quite understand that concept that well either. And that gives the training delivery specialist or, if you're at one of our partners, the certified trainer, the opportunity to clarify those instances where you don't have perhaps the knowledge of that particular topic, where you need to bridge some type of gap so that you can understand it better.

Speaker 1: 32:23

That's why I love face-to-face classes, because students get together. I've taught I don't know 20,000 students I couldn't tell you how many classes that is. Every single class goes the sack sack. Same way. The first two hours nobody talks to each other. Everybody's afraid to talk. They're afraid they're sitting like bumps on a log. The next two hours they're starting to explore their relationships within the group dynamics. By the end of the class they're all like they've been friends for like 30-some years. They've been knowing each other and they keep in touch with each other, even afterwards. I love that part about classes because you develop friendships that literally last a long time. So let's talk about somebody who's thinking about getting into ICT, because another question I get quite often is I'm thinking about getting into ICT. Well, they typically would have called it ICT. That's something that that's what we call the industry language. But they want to say I want to get into that industry. What advice?

Speaker 2: 33:15

would you give that person Really? Honestly, it depends on where they are in their career. We can get plenty of people who are leaving the military or are mid-career and looking for a change, or they could be somebody that's entry if you're an entry level person, more than likely you're going to start out on the installer side and, of course, bixi's installer. One program is perfect for an entry level person and now with the new modality that we offer with the blended installer one course it offers them another opportunity to not have to sit and spend five days of their time at one sitting to be able to attend the course.

Speaker 2: 33:49

They can actually do that self-paced over six weeks and then attend it on that last day, the hands-on portion of that class.

Speaker 2: 33:57

So, that would be a good way to get involved. The other thing is buy the instant and start reading it, understand. Start asking questions when you're out on a job site, as you're reading through it, ask those individuals out there who should be your mentors, who are showing you how to do the work. You know, ask them questions out of the instance That'll help better prepare you If you've been in the field for a while and now you're looking to make a change. This is always my favorite area.

Speaker 2: 34:20

You know I did a webinar with technicians to project managers. I love to talk about that because it is a way for individuals who are saying you know, I want a career change, but I love being in the ICT industry and project management is just such a great natural next step because, more than likely, as a lead in the field, you're managing people as it is. So you're going to take that leadership and that knowledge that you have and you're going to apply it to a much broader scale because instead of managing usually one individual project, you're going to be managing multiple projects and you're going to take some of that same knowledge and skills and it's going to translate it and you're going to be able to scale that up.

Speaker 2: 34:55

That is where you're going to want to step into and be able to take that course and go get your registered telecommunication project management certification so that you have the ability to show an employer or to show organizations that you're doing work for, that you have a knowledge of the tools and techniques that project managers need to understand and utilize to turn successful projects in on time at or under budget and meeting whatever the satisfaction of the customer is going to be so that's really important if you're currently a project manager. You already have your you know rtpm. You're already doing project management.

Speaker 3: 35:31

What I found and, kind of the way, my career progressed was.

Speaker 2: 35:34

You know, I went from field to project management and then now I was doing a lot of design work, because you'll find that many customers don't know what they don't know, and sometimes maybe designs were not fully thought out when they got handed over for implementation.

Speaker 2: 35:52

A project manager starts doing a lot of design work, so that's going to lead you kind of into the design areas where you know you might be doing outside plan design or you might be doing now intelligent building design, or you might be doing data center design. Well then, bixie's got those credentials that allow you to move into those areas. The great thing about Bixie and our ICT industry as a whole there is a career path. If you start out as an installer, you're not going to just be in the field your entire life. You can move up. As long as you're willing to put in the time and the effort and invest in yourself, you're going to be able to advance your career and move up from being in the field, leading people into the field, to leading projects and then being able to do design work, which is at the top of our industry.

Speaker 1: 36:37

And that's the beautiful thing about certifications is you don't have to be just a designer. You could be a trainer, you could be QA, you could be a sales engineer. There's lots of different pathways. There's lots of room for you to grow. So I appreciate you taking time coming on the show with me today, chris, and inviting me down to Classroom A. I appreciate that.

Speaker 2: 36:57

Chuck, it's always great to have you here. We need to make this more of a regular occurrence. I'm glad you're here at VIXI, being able to take a look at the classrooms and the amazing things that we do here, like. I said I've been with Bixie for 10 years.

Speaker 2: 37:10

It is an organization who's made significant changes in that 10-year time period. Much like our industry, as you said, we're moving at the speed of light. Bixie's moving right along at the speed of light, trying to advance our industry, being a thought leader, and it's individuals like yourself who are allowing us the ability to reach greater audiences, or individuals who may be interested in coming into the ICT industry. Like I don't understand that Maybe college isn't for me. College is not the only way to technology, and VIXI is here to help provide that alternative pathway to get where you want to go.

Speaker 1: 37:45

I couldn't say it better myself. Now you know, I know you're a closet wire monkey. I know you are, and I sign off every show with three simple words. What are they? Knowledge is power. Thanks for telling me.

Speaker 3: 38:01

That's it for this episode of today's podcast. We hope you were able to learn something. Make sure to subscribe so you don't miss out on future content. Also, leave a rating so we can help even more people learn about telecommunications. Until next time, be safe.