Get Your RCDD Now

We share a straight path to earning the RCDD, from eligibility and study plans to test-day tactics and career impact. The goal is simple: use standards, discipline, and community to turn design knowledge into better roles and higher pay.

• why the RCDD is the design gold standard
• where the credential unlocks bids and global work
• how codes, standards, and best practices stack
• who should pursue it across roles and titles
• eligibility routes and resume focus on design
• common mindset and study mistakes to avoid
• TDMM 15th edition as the primary reference
• study hours, note taking, and block learning
• study groups for pacing and accountability
• Pearson VUE logistics, timing, and question types
• scheduling strategy, retakes, and handling nerves
• resources and community support for success

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Visit GoFar on LinkedIn or click on the link in the description below.
Put down your tips for passing the RCE test in the comment box below.

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome, Housekeeping, And Livestream
• 2:35 Why The RCDD Matters Globally
• 5:13 Codes, Standards, And Best Practices
• 7:05 Who Should Pursue The RCDD
• 9:49 Eligibility Paths And Resume Tips
• 13:44 Underestimating Scope And Mindset
• 16:11 Study Strategy And Materials
• 19:00 Time Investment And Note Taking
• 22:15 Learn The Why, Not Just Facts
• 25:05 Avoid Common Study Pitfalls
• 27:20 The Power Of Study Groups
• 30:13 Test Day Realities At Pearson VUE

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Hey Wanna Monkey's, welcome to another episode of Let's Talk Cabling. This week we're talking about how to become an RCDD. Welcome to the show where we tackle the tough questions submitted by installers, technicians, apprentices, project managers, estimators, IT personnel, even customers. We are connecting at the human level so that we can connect the world. If you're watching this show 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? Those simple little steps help us take on the algorithm so we can educate, encourage, and enrich the lives of people in the ICT industry. Wednesday nights at 6 p.m. What are you doing? You know I do a live stream. We get to ask your favorite RCD questions on installation, design, certification, project management. I even do career path questions. But I can hear you know check up my turn at 6 p.m. on Wednesdays. I know when I can do the exit. Relax. I record them and you can watch them at your convenience. And finally, while this show is free and will always remain free. If you find value in this content, will you click on that QR code right there? Where you can schedule a 15-minute one-on-one call with me after hours, of course. Or you can even buy some Let's Talk Cabling merchandise. So this week I decided to do a special episode because the Bixie Winter Conference in Orlando is next week. I'm super excited. I will be there. If you're gonna be there, make sure you find me. I'll have stickers and a bunch of other stuff. Got lots of great stuff planned. I'm gonna be doing that memorial for Phil Clinging Smith. I'm doing the thing with the high school students, can be attending um committee meetings, can be walking the exhibit hall, might even try to line up a couple interviews for the podcast while I'm there. You just don't never know. So what I wanted to do is in honor of the conference being next week, I wanted to kind of revisit because it's been a while since I said, you know, how to become an RCDD. What do you really need to know? Now, I don't want to assume that everybody knows what an RCDD is. RCD is that's a registered communications distribution designer. Okay, there are not that many of us out there. I mean, there's you when you look at all the other certifications, there's a lot of people have way other certifications. So we divide this in three sections tonight. One is making the decision, the other is studying, and then the other is taking the actual test. So let's talk about making the decision. Is the RCDD right for you right now? My answer to you is if you're in information communication technologies, the answer is yes, it is. It's perfect for you right now. It is considered the gold standard design credential in our industry. It's not an installer certification, it's not a merit badge. That credential is focused on design, coordination, documentation, and quality, not pulling cable faster. So, again, so a lot of people think, well, Chuck, I'd really need my RCDD if I'm not uh a project manager or an estimator. There are a lot of other fields that you can get into that your RCDD will help you get there, like quality assurance, training, as well as design, maybe even sales as well. Nothing nothing inspires confidence in a salesperson when they've got their RCDD, especially if they've got field experience to back up that RCDD. That's really gonna help you. One of my biggest regrets is I really wish I'd gotten my RCDD earlier because it has helped my career so much. So don't be like Chuck. Get your RCDD. If you've been thinking about it, get your R C D D now. Don't wait, because the earlier you get it, the more money you can make of your career. Why not get your RCDD as soon as you can qualify for the exam? We'll talk about that here in a minute. What does it take to qualify to sit for that exam? See, one of the benefits of being an RCDD is you will find a lot of your bids, your your larger bids for major companies for government work are requiring RCD, at least one RCDD to be on staff. And it's also globally recognized. Matter of fact, they just did a Bixie conference in Saudi Arabia. How cool was that? I got invited to go do that, but I just did not have enough money in the podcast to travel to do travel expenses. I would have loved to go to Saudi Arabia. I am going to be speaking at a Bixie conference in Costa Rica, talking about bonding and grounding, and also talking about AI and how it's going to affect our industry. So it's globally recognized, and everything in the RCDD follows the good ANSI ANSI standards. Remember, I always say this and I'll repeat it. It's worth repeating again. Think of a four-tier cake. The bottom tier is the codes, minimum quality of construction. You have to do that because it guarantees safety. You can always exceed the code book. Then there's the standards. That's the second layer of that cake. It actually gives you parameters where you will meet and exceed what the code tells you to do, and it will guarantee performance. See the code book tells us it doesn't even guarantee it won't even be adequate for good service. Go look it up. 90.1 paragraph B. Won't even be adequate for good service. So following the code does not guarantee it's going to perform, it's just going to be safe. How funny is that? Right? The third tier of the cake is going to be the best practice manuals, like the TDMM, the Telecommunications Distribution Methods Manual, the It's A manual, the Information Transport Systems Installations Methods Manual, and the ICT Field Practice Guidelines. Those are all best practice manuals. That's the third tier. They often will meet the standards and sometimes even give you more parameters to follow by. And then the fourth and final is going to be manufacture recommendations, which you'll find 99% of the time they coincide with, you guessed it, the best practices. So who should but you know I can't even get on the other side of this on the other side of the screen right now saying, but Chuck, should I really seriously consider being an RCDD? Yes, you should. I've I've luckily been able to um have uh encourage enough people to take the RCD that it's actually changed the career. I'm hearing back from people now. By the way, we're just finishing up registration for the RCD study group. The registration closed just in a few days. Only have last time I checked, two seats, two seats open on that. So if you want to become a designer, if you want to become an estimator, if you want to become a project manager, right? Those are all perfect positions where your RCD is going to help you. Um, it's a great way. If you're a senior technician, you know, you've been a technician for 10, 12 years, and you got the Bixie Tech certification, or you got the FOA certification, which by the way, I'm gonna do an episode on getting a FOA certification. I'm currently working my way through one right now. I just passed my premise technician one. Uh, passed the exam. Now I got to go through the next step and actually apply for that certification. So I'll talk about that in a different show. But because I want you to always know there's Bixie is a great option. It is a fantastic option, but it's not the only option. There are other ones out there that some people do decide to go that pathway. Um, I happen to think the the Bixie certification is the better one for most jobs in our industry. So if you if you do any kind of work with drawings, right, if you have to interpret drawings, if you create drawings, you have to make red lines, you have to do specifications, you have to create bill of materials, or some people call them bombs. If you have to if you design pathways and telecom rooms, a telecom closure, spaces, getting your RCD is going to help you with that. Folks are tired of being well almost qualified for the next role. Why? Let me ask you this question. And it's if you're watching this on a video or one on one of my shorts, let me ask you this question. Why do you have to wait to get the job that requires the RCDD before you get your RCDD? It's let's be honest now, it is a tough job market out there right now, especially in the trades. There's a lot of people coming to the trades as they should be because there's a huge need for electricians and low voltage technicians, fiber optic technicians, building automation technicians, fire alarm technicians. There's a huge trade shortage in the trades right now, and we need people, and a lot of people are starting to recognize that fact. Why wait? Get it now. So, but Chuck, okay, so you convinced me. I want to go ahead and do this. What are the eligibilities? How do I qualify to be able to even sit for the exam? By the way, I if you if you're seriously considering the RCDD, go to your Google machine right now, okay. Your Google machine and type in RCD study handbook v.15 and download it. It's a free PDF. They actually have them for the technician level, too, actually. Um download it and read it. It's gonna have all this information and a bunch of others, like the flow chart on the process of going through and what you can expect. Download the book, it's free. If you know somebody who's thinking about becoming an RCD, you download that book, email them to them, say, Hey, read this, and if there's any way I can help you, any way I can encourage you, let me know. Okay, why not be a mentor? Okay, so let's talk about those three ways that you can qualify. Let's take a short break.

SPEAKER_01: 10:35

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SPEAKER_00: 11:20

The first one, option one. You have two years of ICT design experience plus an active Bixie credential like a Bixie Tech, RTPM, DC DC, or OSP. Now, what does design experience really look like? The real answer there, only Bixie can tell you that. But I will tell you this: there are project managers who design their own change orders. There are project managers who do design work. There are people who estimate the project, win the project, and then become the project manager of the project. But they may only have the title of project manager. So don't let titles hold you back. If you ever, ever want to know, hey Chuck, this is what I'm doing, does this qualify as design experience? Shoot Bixie an email. Or shoot me an email and I'll relate to Bixie and I'll find out for myself because it's always good information to know. So that's option number one. So if you're already, you know, like there's a lot of people out there who are installer copper, installer fiber, technician, they have that active credential. Active credentials critical there. And now you need just two years of design experience. The second option is two years of ICT design experience plus two years of higher education or something equivalent, some type of equivalent ICT coursework. Option number three, and this is the one that I would use to qualify, is five years of design, installation, and management experience. That's how I qualify for it. But you don't have to wait the five years. And again, if you qualify now, I encourage you to apply now to take that test because you will get a bump in your boat, you will get a bump in your salary. You will you might get that position that you've always been wanting, but didn't think you were qualified for it. Now I will tell you this. You know, there's a whole process that you got to go through. You got to submit your resume and and some other stuff like that. Bixie will verify it. So do not put anything on that resume that you didn't do. Don't exaggerate anything. And I've heard people about saying that their applications got denied. Truth is always the best policy, always the best policy. Let's talk about some reasons why people fail before they even start. Number one, they underestimate the scope. Getting your RCDD is not a sprint, it's a journey. I know some people that get it on the first time who with literally like four weeks, six weeks of studying. I do know other people who have literally studied for the exam and then taken the exam three, four, five times, and it's taken them two years, three years. Just understand, it is a journey, especially, especially the very it's kind of ironic. The first chapter, Principles of Transmission. I call that the weed out chapter because there's a lot of people decide on a whim, oh, I want to get my RCDD because I you know I think I should get that. And then they go read Principles of Transmission, and by the time they get done with that, their head is spun so many times they're like, Yeah, um, I don't think I can do this. Yeah. Another thing, too, is they assume that the install experience alone equals the design experience. It doesn't. Okay, it doesn't. And I'll tell you one of the things I've learned when I when I studied for my RC exam the first time, because it took me two attempts to pass the test. The first time I read through that book, I I literally, I hate to say this, I laughed halfway through the book because I'm like, that's not how we do that in the field. Well, I was trained wrong. I was trained wrong. So you need to go through the book, you need to study the book. By the way, that's the the TDMN, the 15th edition. And just because you've done installation experience doesn't mean that you've done the design experience and you don't know all the things are in there, right? Another problem where people run into the issues is they apply too early or they have a weak resume. Make sure when you write your resume that you emphasize your design experience. Make sure that you give away for Bixie when they call to check on your resume that they have the ability to talk to the people that you've identified who can say, yes, this guy has designed change orders and this and that and another. And another thing, too, and this is a big one, too many people have treated this as it's just a test. No, no, no. This is not a test, this is a career move. A career, it's a career launcher, is what it actually is. So now if you're still here after hearing all of that, congratulations. You might be RCDD material. So let's talk about studying for the RCDD. How do you study without burning out? How do you study without affecting your personal life? How do you study without affecting your professional life? I'm gonna tell you right now, and listen up closely. If you make this decision to pursue your RCDD, you will have to cut back on your personal life. You will have to cut back on your professional because it's it's that much of a dedication. But in the long run, it's worth it. Okay, it is absolutely worth it. So, number one, you need to understand how is the exam set up. Okay, because I've heard a lot of people say, well, Chuck, you know, the only the only thing you really need to read out of the uh TDMM to pass the test is the uh project management chapter. That's not true. Now there are I've I've talked to a lot of people and they all say, yeah, there's a lot of project management questions on it. Okay, I get it. Because that's what a lot of RCDDs do. But 63% of the exam deals with ICT solutions, 16% deals with installation, 11% deal with bidding and doing and tenders, and 10% 10% includes or 10% talks about defining the scope of the project. So don't let that kind of fool you. You do need to, and that's what that's where that that RCD study handbook comes into play. It's got all that information in there, and it even gives you the chart. And another question, a question that I get unfortunately too often is Chuck, do I need a T DMM? Chuck, can I use the 14th edition T DMM? The T DMM is not optional. You need the 15th edition T DMM because that's what the test questions are based off of. And if you're studying out of the 14th edition, there are new things in the 15th edition that you may not be aware of, and it might be enough to make you fail that exam.

SPEAKER_01: 18:05

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SPEAKER_00: 18:48

The T DMM is the primary reference for the exam, period. You can expect to put in, and this really kind of depends on each person, anywhere between 125 to 150 hours of real studying time. Now that doesn't mean as soon as you hit 125, you're ready to take that test. Or as soon as you hit 151, you've studied too much. Everybody's a little bit different. Me don't tell nobody this. When it comes to studying and reading, I was actually labeled in school SLRD, special learning and reading disabilities. And on top of that, I've got ADHD. And when you're reading a real heavy technical document like the TMM, it's a challenge. And I'll give you tips on how to how to read through that and have that problems. And also make sure, you know, when you start doing your reading, make sure that you read and you take notes. Because if you don't take notes, that equals forgetting that information. So let's talk about some smart strategies studying for RC that will actually work. Number one, study in blocks. That's why my RC study group that I do, um, it's it's Setups very specifically into digestible manageable blocks so that way you're not overwhelmed. If you follow the program, it's it's gonna be a marathon. It's not I'm gonna tell you the right, it's it's a marathon, it's gonna be a long time. But break it up so that way you can you can actually understand what it is that you're reading. Focus on why, not the memorization. See, there's a lot of lot of RCD uh training classes out that you can take, and there's a lot that I can go on to that I've heard good things about and bad things about. If a class says, if the instructor says, this is gonna be on the RCD exam, so you might want to circle that. Oh, I know that's on the RCD exam, they're doing you a disservice because number one, they're not supposed to be doing that anyway, especially if they are all if they are an RCDD. Because even though I'm an RCDD and I'm gonna be going through my study group, I'm gonna let my people know, they must do it my class now that I want you to understand why this is, how to apply this. My goal is not to get you to pass the RCD test, my goal is to make you, when you do pass it, that you will be the best RCDD so that way you can start capitalizing on that information from the very first moment. And and it and because of the way that it goes, yes, you should be able to pass that test. And I I've heard other people say too that it helps them when they learn to visualize what they talk about, visualize the pathways, visualize the spaces. And this one, this is really good because you know, when you bring up manual chunks, it's gonna take you some time to go through this. And then while you're reading it, you'd be surprised when you're studying for your RCD test, how many times you'll be reading something, and then the very next day at work, you'll be dealing with that exact same thing you just read. That just reinforces what you just read. There's even a way that you could even color code stuff as well, too, to help you retain that information. We can talk more about that in a future episode. And also know that make sure the more you can tie that information back to a real job scenario, the better it's going to help you to memorize that information so you can pass that test. It truly is. Some common mistakes, again, I mentioned starting too late. You if the qualify as soon as you qualify for it, apply for it. I had 20 years of experience when I applied for mine, and I had to go back and battle 20 years of experience of doing it wrong. And another problem you can run into is reading passively. If you if you're reading through the information and and let's say you read through a paragraph and you can't you read it, but you can't remember anything you read in that paragraph, it's time to put that book away. Put it away, come back in 24 hours. Do not read passively. Don't over also don't skip over the standards in the code language. Learn the words should, shall, may, and must. What do they imply? There's a critical should, shall, may, and must. Homework assignment. Go look those words up and find out how they apply to you when it comes to the code or come to the ANSI standards or even the best practice manuals. And one of the biggest things you could do, the hinder you're giving your RCD is studying alone. There are people who can do it. I I've done it myself. You know, I did not join a group. Now, I yes, I do have a study group. I do. But you don't have to join my study group. Create your own study group. If you know one or two or three other people within the company who are also working towards your RCDD, why don't you get together and create your own study group? If I I'll put this out for you. If you want, if you know a couple people that you want to, you all you all have decided to get your RCD together and to get you together to get your RCD together at the same time, and you're not quite sure how to do the whole study group thing, reach out to me and I will give you some guidelines to help you create your own study group. That's how important this is. Because when you study in a group, there are lots of lots of things. There's a lot of synergies that will come to play and help you. Number one, forced pacing. There's an expectation. You know that if you decide that you want to read X amount of pages every week as a study group, you know that if you don't read those pages, the other people in the group are going to call you out on it. It also gives you great exposure to how other people can interpret the same content. I I get this all the time. You know, I'm on my sixth class for doing study groups, and it always it always amazes me because we'll be going through something or a particular subject, and there's somebody in the class that that's what they do day in and day out, especially if it's one of my weak areas. You know, it it it helps you understand because they can step up and say, here's what this means. And if you're in a group, this is the critical one, if you're in a group, you have less chances of quitting when when when your life starts getting in your way because you got people there to back you up. So if you're if you're sp if your study plan is, oh, I'll read when I have some time, spoiler alert, you won't have any time. Let's talk about the test now. Some game day realities at Pearson View. Now, when I took my test, there was no Pearson View. You literally had to go to a hotel room or hotel conference room somewhere with 30, 40 other people, and they did paper tests, and you had to fill them all out and and then put them back in the envelope, seal them up, and you had to wait two weeks. Today's environment is you know, Pearson View, you go to your local Pearson Center, you present your ID, you take the test on the computer right then and there, and it gives you the results right then and there. God, that was so much, that's so much a better system than waiting for two weeks. So you have 100 questions and you have two and a half hours to answer all those questions. It's computer based, so there are no breaks. So make sure that you, you know, you don't drink three cups of coffee right before you go in and sit down and take your test. Make sure you get a good night's sleep the night before. Make sure you're well rested. The exam questions are a mixture of multiple choice, multiple responses, and matching style questions. So be prepared. It's not going to be just one type of question. Be prepared to have your your brain challenged when you take this test. So once you apply for your RCDD and you get accepted, you have one year from the application approval to actually take your test. One year. So what I would suggest that you do is schedule that test as early as you can. That way, if you fail it, you have time to take the test again. Because the vast majority of people who take the RCD test will fail it the first time. And uh this is a good tip. This is an absolute great tip. Pick a day that you want to take that test. Well, I go online, maybe you know, finding figure out what day you want to take that test, put that on the calendar and work backwards with your study plan. And then that way you know when that day comes, you better be ready for that test. It's kind of like that old project management thing, right? How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Do you know this? When you go to the Pearson View at a place, you better have your your your ID, and your ID better match your application. So if there's any kind of weird things going on with you know, you know, your your you you got a different name or whatever, you're gonna run into problems. So let's talk about some test taking strategies. Number one, read every question like a specification. Read it slow, read it all the way through, and deliberate and think about it deliberately. So taking your time slowly to read through the answer all the way to the end, you realistically remember 100 questions, two and a half hours, that's about a minute and a half for question. Um and some of the questions are gonna come to you like that. So you'll you'll build up some time. So when you read the question and you look at those potential answers, one of them answers is gonna jump out right away as automatically being the wrong answer. Rule that out quickly. Watch your time management and don't spend too much time on one question. If you've if you write read a question and you're not sure what it is, or if you think it's wrong, there are mechanisms where you can challenge that question. And I had to do that online as well. Because the test is actually made to test your judgment, not just your recall. And as I mentioned, as soon as you get done taking the test, the computer is gonna tell you whether you pass or fail. If you do happen to fail, no harm, no foul. A lot of people fail that test on the first time around. You have up to 30 days that you're gonna have to wait before you can take your retake. So you gotta wait a month, and then you have up to three failures, and then when you get to that third failure, then you gotta wait 90 days. That's why I said earlier. You have a year from the time you get approved to take the exam, take it as early as possible. So if you do happen to fail multiple times, you have time within your application lifespan to still be able to take that test. When you get your results from the test, it's not gonna tell you what test questions you get wrong. Get that out of your head. It's gonna show you what weak domains you have, and it's not gonna give you an exact score. And that's gonna that's gonna bug you because I'm a I'm a goal-oriented person. I want to know my score. What did I get? You're not gonna get that. You're not gonna get that, but it will give you what areas that you that you're weak in. Keep in mind that working on your RCD is a mental game. Nerves are normal. I know a lot of people who suffer from analysis paralysis. They'll think about, you know, what about this? What about that? What about this? Sometimes you just gotta do it. You just gotta do it. And it's okay to feel nervous. I was extremely nervous when I sat down and took my RCD test. I'm extremely nervous right before I teach every single RCD study group. Overconfidence, by the way, is not a sign that you're good and ready to take the test. Overconfident, overconfidence is dangerous. Just kind of give you an example. When I took my test the first time, I was positive, positive that I passed that test, which I failed. I failed it. And then that motivated me to get the test again within 30 days. I looked at the exam schedule, when's the next test? 30 days out, and I even drove three states away, three states away, went and took that test. And the second time I took the test, I really swore that I failed it, but yet I passed it. So keep that in mind. The exam is fair, but it's not easy. So passing the RCD doesn't make you perfect, it just proves that you belong in the design conversation. There's lots of reasons why you do that. There's a lot of great resources, and I'm gonna put you know some of them in the uh in the description below. Make sure you visit the Bixie credentialing page, that's where the official requirements are, the applications, the policies. Um, there's also some Bixie go to Bixie Connect. They have online courses like the D D style courses that can help you do this as well. You do need to have your TDM. Some people want the print version, some people want the PDF version. I like both. I like the print version because if I'm reading to comprehend, I want paper in my hands. But if I'm searching something, I want a PDF because it's control F, type in the key phrase, boom, it helps you find it pretty easy. Pretty easy. And you can also watch the podcast. On the podcast, I do a lot of RCE material. I also take real world stories and study advice and career context, but you already know that one because you're watching this episode. So do me a favor, in the chat box below or the comment box down below, put down your tips for passing the RCE test, and then that way we as a group can come together and help more people pass this test. Until next time, everybody, remember knowledge is power.