{"slug":"/et-level-2-training","title":"ET Level 2 Course — Online & Onsite ASNT Training","description":"ET Level 2 course under ASNT SNT-TC-1A: 80 training hours, 840 experience hours, impedance-plane interpretation and the NAS 410 contrast. Online or onsite.","h1":"ET Level 2 Course — Eddy Current Testing Level II Training","answer":"ET Level II under SNT-TC-1A requires 80 cumulative training hours (40 plus 40) and 840 cumulative experience hours (210 plus 630). Aerospace's NAS 410 keeps the 80 training hours but demands 1,200 experience hours for direct Level 2 — with a mandated 40-question general exam and annual vision checks. Level II holds interpretation authority: reading the impedance plane and dispositioning parts.","expansion":"Eddy current Level II is where the aerospace demand story concentrates. Airframe and engine inspection is fatigue-crack detection around fasteners, bolt holes, and blade roots — work that only an interpreting Level II can disposition, and NAS 410's higher experience wall keeps qualified supply chronically short. The standards diverge exactly where it costs time: formal training is 40+40 hours under both systems, but SNT-TC-1A's cumulative 840 experience hours become 1,200 under NAS 410 for direct Level 2 (400 at Level 1 plus 800 more with prior Level 1 certification). NAS 410 also mandates exam minimums — 40 general questions, 30 specific — annual near-vision and color perception checks, and Responsible Level 3 approval of the program. General industry keeps its own Level II market in heat-exchanger tubing analysis. Method fundamentals are at /eddy-current-testing-training, the cross-method Level II view at /ndt-level-2-training, and full hour tables at /blog/ndt-training-hours-requirements-by-method.","source":"ASNT SNT-TC-1A (2020), Table 6.3.1A; AIA NAS 410 (minimum training, experience, and examination requirements)","table":{"caption":"ET Level II requirements: SNT-TC-1A vs NAS 410","columns":["Requirement","SNT-TC-1A (general industry)","NAS 410 (aerospace)"],"rows":[["Formal training, cumulative","80 hours (40 Level I + 40 Level II)","80 hours (40 Level 1 + 40 Level 2)"],["Experience, cumulative","840 hours (210 + 630)","1,200 hours direct Level 2; 400 + 800 via Level 1"],["General exam","Closed-book; content per written practice","Closed-book; minimum 40 questions mandated"],["Specific exam","Per written practice","Open-book; minimum 30 questions mandated"],["Practical exam","Calibration, scan, evaluation on samples","Proficiency demonstration on representative aerospace hardware"],["Vision","Near-vision annually; color at ≤5-year intervals","Near-vision and color perception annually"],["Interpretation authority","Evaluates and dispositions per code/procedure","Sets up, standardizes, interprets, accepts/rejects; guides Level 1s"],["Recertification","≤5-year interval per written practice","5-year maximum; refresher if training-to-certification gap exceeds 12 months"]],"note":"Both systems are employer-based. NAS 410 written practices require Responsible Level 3 approval; EN 4179 is the harmonized European equivalent aerospace primes accept interchangeably."},"facets":[{"q":"Why does NAS 410 require more experience hours than SNT-TC-1A?","a":"Aerospace eddy current findings disposition fatigue-critical hardware — engine disks, wing attachments, bolt holes — where a missed crack is catastrophic. NAS 410 is a minimum standard with 'shall' language, and its 1,200-hour direct Level 2 wall buys judgment that classroom hours cannot."},{"q":"What does an ET Level II do that a Level I cannot?","a":"Set up and standardize equipment from scratch, choose frequencies and probes within procedure limits, interpret impedance-plane signals — separating cracks from lift-off, edge effect, and permeability noise — accept or reject parts, document dispositions, and supervise Level I technicians and trainees."},{"q":"How long does it take to reach ET Level II in aerospace?","a":"With NAS 410's 1,200 experience hours, a full-time trainee needs roughly seven to nine months of logged method time plus 80 training hours and exams — most candidates land certification in about a year. The SNT-TC-1A route at 840 hours runs a few months faster."},{"q":"Is heat-exchanger tubing analysis a Level II job?","a":"Yes — bobbin and array tubing data analysis is a classic SNT-TC-1A Level II role. Outage crews collect terabytes of coil data; certified analysts interpret signals, size wall loss, and disposition tubes, often remotely from the data they are fed."},{"q":"Do aerospace employers accept SNT-TC-1A ET Level II?","a":"Generally no. Primes and their supply chains flow down NAS 410 or EN 4179 contractually. Your training and logged hours carry over, but the employer must certify you under its NAS 410 written practice, including its mandated exams and annual vision."},{"q":"What surface techniques does aerospace ET Level II cover?","a":"Pencil-probe scanning around fastener heads and radii, automated rotary bolt-hole inspection, conductivity verification for alloy and heat-treat condition, and increasingly eddy current array for coverage-critical surfaces — each standardized on reference standards with EDM notches."}],"sections":[{"heading":"The two hour-stacks, side by side","paragraphs":["Formal training is identical under both systems: 40 hours at Level I plus 40 at Level II, 80 cumulative. Experience is where the standards split. SNT-TC-1A recommends 210 plus 630 hours — 840 cumulative in the method. NAS 410 requires 400 hours at Level 1 and 800 more for Level 2 with prior Level 1 certification, or 1,200 hours for direct Level 2 — roughly 40 percent more time on hardware than general industry. The gap is deliberate: NAS 410 is a minimum standard whose numbers cannot be reduced by any written practice, where SNT-TC-1A's table is a recommendation employers adapt. Plan your timeline against the standard your target industry actually uses; the tables for every method are at /blog/ndt-training-hours-requirements-by-method."]},{"heading":"Interpretation authority: the impedance plane is the job","paragraphs":["An ET Level II's defining skill is reading the impedance plane — the two-dimensional display where every signal is a vector whose phase and amplitude encode what caused it. Lift-off sweeps one direction; conductivity change another; a surface crack breaks the eddy current flow with a phase signature that deepens predictably with flaw depth. The Level II separates these in real time, on parts where edge effect, fastener geometry, and permeability noise all crowd the screen. Under both standards, that judgment carries disposition authority: accept, reject, document, and defend. It is also why the experience walls exist — phase discrimination is pattern recognition, and pattern recognition is built only from hours of standardized, supervised looking."]},{"heading":"Why aerospace demand concentrates at ET Level II","paragraphs":["Aerospace is the largest eddy current employer because the method is unmatched for surface and near-surface fatigue cracks in conductive alloys — exactly the failure mode that governs aircraft structures. Airframe programs inspect fastener holes and skin around them; engine shops inspect disk bores, blade roots, and dovetails; MRO stations re-inspect on every heavy check. All of it requires an interpreting Level II under a NAS 410 or EN 4179 written practice, and the 1,200-hour experience wall means supply cannot surge when demand does. The result is a persistent seller's market for certified aerospace ET Level IIs, concentrated around US aerospace hubs — Wichita, the Puget Sound, Connecticut's engine corridor, and the Texas and Florida MRO belts."]},{"heading":"The general-industry Level II market: tubing analysis","paragraphs":["Outside aerospace, the strongest ET Level II demand is heat-exchanger and condenser tubing inspection in power and process plants. Bobbin coils fly through thousands of tubes per outage shift, generating data that a certified analyst must interpret: distinguishing wall loss, pitting, and cracking from support-plate signals and deposits, sizing indications in percent through-wall, and dispositioning tubes for plugging. This is SNT-TC-1A territory — 840 cumulative hours — and it is one of the few NDT roles that can be performed substantially off-site, since analysis happens on recorded data. Nuclear plants layer additional qualification requirements on top, making experienced tubing analysts among the best-compensated Level IIs in general industry."]},{"heading":"Exams under both standards — and where candidates fail","paragraphs":["SNT-TC-1A prescribes the familiar trio — general, specific, practical — at a recommended 80 percent composite, with content set by the written practice. NAS 410 hardens the structure: the general exam shall contain at least 40 questions, closed-book; the specific at least 30, covering the employer's specifications and techniques; and the practical is a proficiency demonstration on representative hardware, from setup and standardization through scan, interpretation, and documentation. Failure patterns are consistent across both systems: candidates pass the written exams and stumble on practical interpretation — misreading phase on a bolt-hole standard, or failing to re-verify standardization after a probe change. NAS 410 additionally requires documented remedial training before any re-examination."]},{"heading":"Vision requirements: annual, and stricter in aerospace","paragraphs":["SNT-TC-1A's regime — annual near-vision at Jaeger No. 2 or equivalent from not less than 12 inches, color-contrast differentiation at intervals not exceeding five years — is the general-industry baseline. NAS 410 requires near vision and color perception verified annually for every certified level, no five-year color cycle. For eddy current the color requirement is functional, not formal: modern instruments encode channels and alarm states in color, and array systems paint C-scans in graded palettes. Lapsed vision exams suspend certification immediately under both systems, and aerospace auditors check vision records with the same rigor as exam scores — an easily avoided finding that shows up in real audits constantly."]},{"heading":"What ET Level II pays in the US","paragraphs":["ZipRecruiter's NDT Level 2 band runs $48,000 to $90,000 with top earners above it, and the BLS median for all nondestructive testing specialists sits at $78,350 (May 2025). Aerospace ET Level IIs cluster in the upper half of that range: NAS 410's experience wall restricts supply, and primes pay for it — with engine-shop and nuclear tubing-analysis roles at the top of the method. Multi-technique holders (surface, bolt-hole rotary, array, tubing) out-earn single-technique peers consistently. US-first bands by method, industry, and region — including how aerospace ET compares against pipeline RT and PAUT premiums — are maintained at /blog/ndt-salary-guide-2026-global."]},{"heading":"Routes to ET Level II: ladder, direct, and crossover","paragraphs":["Three routes lead here. The ladder route certifies Level I first — 40 hours training, 210 or 400 experience hours by standard — then adds the second 40-hour course and remaining hours. The direct route runs the full stack as a documented trainee: 80 training and 840 hours under SNT-TC-1A, or 1,200 under NAS 410, then examines straight to Level II. The crossover route brings a certified ET Level II across the standards boundary — general industry to aerospace or back — carrying training certificates and logged hours but requiring full re-examination under the new employer's written practice, including NAS 410's mandated minimums and annual vision when moving toward aerospace. Complete personal records make every route faster."]},{"heading":"Training ET Level II with Atlantis","paragraphs":["Atlantis NDT's 40-hour ET Level II course is built around interpretation: impedance-plane analysis drills, phase-depth discrimination on EDM-notched standards, bolt-hole and surface-scan practicals, and tubing-signal fundamentals — structured to satisfy SNT-TC-1A written practices and NAS 410 formal-training requirements alike. For employers, our ASNT Level III consultants deliver the full program: NAS 410-compliant written practices with Responsible Level 3 review, examination banks meeting the 40/30 question minimums, annual vision tracking, and audit-ready records. Affordable, accessible, fully customizable to your hardware and specifications. Start from /eddy-current-testing-training and /ndt-level-2-training, then request a quote for seats or a complete certification program."]}],"faq":[{"q":"Can I certify directly to ET Level II without holding Level I?","a":"Yes, under both standards. SNT-TC-1A requires the summed hours — 80 training, 840 experience. NAS 410 permits direct Level 2 at 80 training hours and 1,200 experience hours, all logged as a documented trainee under qualified supervision before examination."},{"q":"Do my SNT-TC-1A hours count toward NAS 410 certification?","a":"Documented training and experience hours carry over — NAS 410 accepts verifiable prior records. But the new employer must still examine and certify you under its NAS 410 written practice, meeting the mandated exam minimums and annual vision requirements in full."},{"q":"Is eddy current array a separate certification from ET Level II?","a":"Typically an additional technique qualification on top of conventional ET Level II, with supplemental training and practical examination defined in the written practice — parallel to how PAUT sits atop conventional UT. Array-qualified Level IIs command a premium."},{"q":"How often must an aerospace ET Level II recertify?","a":"NAS 410 sets a five-year maximum recertification interval, with annual vision exams throughout and refresher training triggered by gaps — including any 12-month lapse between training and certification, or extended interruption of method work."},{"q":"What should I study for the ET Level II general exam?","a":"Impedance-plane theory, phase-depth relationships, skin depth and frequency selection, probe types and field patterns, standardization discipline, and signal discrimination — cracks versus lift-off, edge, and permeability effects. Under NAS 410, expect at least 40 closed-book questions across that span."}]}