IEEE WCET Certification Program Announces Spring Testing Period

The IEEE Communications Society (IEEE ComSoc), the leading worldwide professional organization dedicated to the advancement of communications technologies, will hold the Spring examination period for the IEEE Wireless Communication Engineering Technologies (IEEE WCET) Certification Program from 11 April to 8 May 2010. The application deadline for this upcoming exam cycle is 26 March 2010. Additional details including program and application information are available at www.ieee-wcet.org.

In addition, prospective certification candidates are urged to consider the benefits of several training programs, which have been launched in recent months to provide comprehensive global knowledge of the wireless field as well as help professionals to prepare for the IEEE WCET examination. From February 1 to 5 in Reading, United Kingdom and from February 22 to 26 in San Francisco, California, Cientifica, a leading global provider of science and emerging technology business consulting and information services, will hold a five-day course developed specifically to help candidates succeed in all seven areas of the IEEE WCET exam. Course specifics for this program are also available at www.ieee-wcet.org.

On Tuesday, 9 March, a one-day session titled "IEEE Wireless Certification Exam Preparation" will be offered at the upcoming IWCE 2010 conference to be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The full-day course is designed to provide a broad audience, including those with an engineering or technology background, with a review of the IEEE WCET examination areas as well as its subject material. For more information as well as registration details please visit http://www.iwceexpo.com/iwce2010/Public/SessionDetails.aspx?SessionID=1003759.

Furthermore, it is also recommended that IEEE WCET examination candidates should visit the "Resource" section of www.ieee-wcet.org to learn more about the "Online Tutorials' and "How to Prepare Webinar," which have been developed to help professionals gain a detailed understanding of specific IEEE WCET Program areas as well as examination criteria. For instance, the:

• "WCET Area 1: RF Engineering, Propagation and Antennas" tutorial covers basic antenna engineering concepts such as directivity, gain aperture, polarization and bandwidth; basic principles of line-of-sight radio wave propagation; and RF transceiver design concepts from the idea of heterodyning to direct conversion transceiver and software defined radios
• "WCET Area 2: Wireless Access Technologies" offers an end-to-end picture of wireless access technologies with a focus on generations of mobile technology standards
• "WCET Area 3: Network & Service Architecture" reviews fundamental networking concepts, cellular network architectures, advancement towards an "all IP" network, and service and alternate architectures

Launched in 2008, the IEEE WCET Program has rapidly gained international recognition as a leading tool for certifying the wireless communications expertise of professionals worldwide as well as helping global employers to qualify the knowledge and skills of potential job candidates. To earn the IEEE Wireless Communication Professional (WCP) credential, individuals whose education and wireless experience are comparable to or exceed a bachelor's degree and three years of professional practice must pass the comprehensive examination, which is composed of 150 multiple choice questions.

The US$500 fee ($450 for IEEE and IEEE ComSoc members) covers the application, processing fees and "seat fee" for taking the test. A certificate is sent to those who pass the exam. In addition, a 75-question practice exam can be purchased online by communications professionals who would like to gauge their preparedness for the official exam prior to the next testing period.

Additional resources to those interested in the IEEE WCET Program include A Guide to the Wireless Engineering Body of Knowledge (WEBOK). This 272-page guidebook contains detailed descriptions of commonly accepted best practices in wireless communications and contributions from more than 50 selected international experts. It is currently available at bookstores and can be ordered from Wiley publishers at www.wiley.com or directly from the IEEE WCET web site located at www.ieee-wcet.org.

Other ongoing resources available to support the IEEE WCET program include free subscriptions to the bi-monthly IEEE Wireless Communications Professional electronic newsletter and a free copy of the Candidate's Handbook covering policies, subject area details, reference sources, and sample questions. The IEEE WCET web site also provides an ideal source for updated program information including eligibility requirements, testing locations, examination specifications, links to training organizations, and free resources such as a glossary, a list of references, and sample questions for helping candidates thoroughly prepare for the exam.

For more information on the next IEEE WCET Certification Program examination and additional program details, please visit www.ieee-wcet.org.

About IEEE ComSoc
The IEEE Communications Society has over 40,000 members and is the second largest of IEEE's 37 technical societies. Founded in 1952, it has become the major international forum for the exchange of ideas on communications and information networking.

About the IEEE
Celebrating its 125th anniversary, the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.) is the world's largest technical professional society. Through its more than 375,000 members in 150 countries, the organization is a leading authority on a wide variety of areas ranging from aerospace systems, computers and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power and consumer electronics. Dedicated to the advancement of technology, the IEEE publishes 30 percent of the world's literature in the electrical and electronics engineering and computer science fields, and has developed nearly 900 active industry standards. The organization annually sponsors more than 850 conferences worldwide. For more information, visit: http://www.ieee.org.

SOURCE: IEEE ComSoc