No dog in this fight (yet) but think of a Black Belt in Karate.
1st degree, 2nd degree, 3rd degree. I think 4th degree may be highest?
That’s old school thinking. Just ask any youngster (and many oldsters) that isn’t locked away in some Colorado cave. Most are gamers, and level three beats the heck out of level one. Just sayin’.
Bingo!
Good points.
That’s for sure.
My kids would love to start at level 6 and work their way down to the first level! 
You should hire a survey company for this. My guess is you will find that most people think the higher number is higher in rank/training/experience. I agree with your sports analogy, but I don’t think that converts to our world. I could be wrong though. I have had too many calls where someone finds me because I am level III and they currently use a level II, I or none or they have a bid from a lower level…and hire me based on that fact.
My point with the 20 year, or even 10-15 year field experience person in the IR field is…they don’t really exist. The handful that are around either already own a training company (Seffrin and Snell) or they work for one (Orlove at FLIR). The others that are around are already tied to the field and make money from training and/or camera sales and training. The odds of someone like that wanting to assist (at any pay) in making a replacement system that is free is pretty slim.
Then to top that off, you are looking more for a building diagnostics person with that type of back ground. That is going to be tough considering that the building aspect of IR is fairly new.
Dunno, maybe I am looking at it to black and white.
Didn’t John Snell retire?
That’s what I was told.
Maybe he will come out of retirement for this gig!? 
Dr. Madden at ITC did. But he isn’t a “building” guy.
You can’t afford Jim…
Yeah Snell retired.
Nick is on the right track for members, but I think his motivation to do so might be a little misguided…IMO.
The industry needs a dedicated building IR course with advanced building concepts and advanced IR.
Right now there really isn’t a course designed for that. There is a reason for that. All the guys that are in the industry and making money at it know why.
A course like that would be a really big challenge to put together. No two buildings are exactly the same, even in track homes. If you are shooting the same panels over and over all day long, it would be easy to train anyone to do that. Working in a low Delta T environment on a target that is constantly exposed to nature, changing pressure planes, different construction materials, moisture, etc is super tough at best. That is just to scan it, to train it to any type of proficiency is something entirely different.
Your rowing the boat with one oar traveling in a circle.
Its not about the different levels of IR training VS CMI its IR as a field of knowledge VS CMI. I just hung the phone up not two minutes ago the call was because I offer IR, not because he thought I might be a CMI.
I do agree with you the number system has always been backwards. He who has no gold makes no rules. Good luck with your rule changing perhaps you have enough gold to do it
I’m sure you can. But you have not answered the analogy between the two…
If you ask someone on the street looking for a thermographer, you will get the same results with “Lvl III” as someone looking for a Home Inspection with “CMI”.
You feel so strongly about thermal imaging levels but just the opposite with a comparable CMI analogy. Is this just bias?
If there is no need for Thermographer Levels, why is there a need for a CMI tier?
My consideration to be a CMI would be what the program has to offer, outside of a Boy Scout “Merit badge”. Lvl III is a level of education and experience (or at least that was it’s intention till some came along a polluted the waters), not something to stick on the side of your truck or in someone’s face.
I thought that was what CMI was about, till you look at some of the CMI posts. It looks like marketing for less than qualified Inspectors all too often for my liking.
Thank you Charley.
Nothing. It has essentially no designation holder benefits, no education, no nothin’.
It does one thing and one thing only… it makes you money. It was designed to get consumers to choose you and to be willing to pay you more… and that it does!
Just to let you know being someone said you lived in a cave there are sports that don’t agree with your theory of # 1 being the best.
When my daughter competed in gymnastics she started out as a level 3 worked her way to level one, twenty some years ago. Today gymnastic starts at level one with level 10 being the top dog. So there you have it depends on who you talk to. When a gymnast takes the floor to perform they don’t announce their name or their level of experience.
They are judged on how they perform, as in life , home inspections or IR numbers or names are meaningless
I can see that. 10 is the best in a scale of 1 to 10. Bo Derek.
Do I even need to bring up the subject of SEO and Page Rank???
The point is, Lvl III Thermorgaphers are not concerned about being # I.
Only the client who knows they are looking for a Lvl III will be concerned about this.
This is not about “marketing” (which is all some are concerned about in their lives) it is about performance ability.
Most people “on the street” hardly know what a Home Inspector is, never mind how to say “Thermographer”! Nor do they know yet what David A. Andersen, CMI stands for.
Again, the two comparisons are near identical.
If you spend $1k to take Lvl III Thermography, your are in the same boat as an Inspector who paid $1k for CMI. Both face the same obstacles concerning return on investment and communication with the public. I may have to pull a Nancy Pelosi and buy into this thing to see what it’s all about what what it develops in to…
I don’t believe what I am reading your giving up the dog AHHHHH you know what that means don’t you:shock::shock::shock::shock::shock::shock:
For clarification due to David’s post… my reference to SEO and Page Rank is not the marketing aspect, but the rating system itself… Page Rank 10 is what everyone dreams of achieving for their website(s)… Page Rank 1 is what is assigned to new and low level sites!
WE know that, me thinks he was poking me;-) about marketing my IR different than he does:D
I wanted to make sure that NICK knew! :twisted: