ET Level 1 Course — Eddy Current Testing Level I Training

Two standards, one method: pick your track first

Eddy current qualification runs on two parallel systems, and the split follows industry lines almost perfectly. General industry — heat-exchanger tubing, conductivity sorting, weld and surface inspection in energy and manufacturing — uses SNT-TC-1A: an ASNT recommended practice implemented through each employer's written practice. Aerospace manufacturing, overhaul, and their supply chains use NAS 410, an AIA minimum standard whose requirements are mandatory 'shall' statements approved by a Responsible Level 3. Both are employer-based certification; the difference is rigidity and hours. Since aerospace is eddy current's largest employment market, most ET careers eventually touch NAS 410 — worth knowing before choosing a first course.

The SNT-TC-1A numbers for ET Level I

Table 6.3.1A recommends 40 hours of formal training and 210 hours of eddy current experience for Level I, within roughly 400 total NDT hours — the same tier as UT and RT, reflecting the method's theoretical density. The employer's Level III administers general, specific, and practical exams at a recommended 80 percent composite, annual near-vision checks apply, and recertification comes due at intervals not exceeding five years. Candidates with two years of engineering or science study may qualify for reduced classroom hours, a provision that matters more in ET than most methods because electrical-background candidates absorb the theory faster. Full method-by-method comparisons live at /blog/ndt-training-hours-requirements-by-method.

The NAS 410 numbers — and why they differ

NAS 410 keeps the 40 formal training hours for ET Level 1 but nearly doubles the experience requirement to 400 hours, and it hardens everything SNT-TC-1A leaves flexible. The general examination shall contain at least 40 questions, closed-book; the specific exam at least 30. Near-vision and color perception are checked annually, not on the SNT-TC-1A five-year color cycle. Refresher training is mandatory if certification does not follow training within 12 months. And the written practice itself must be approved by the employer's Responsible Level 3. Aerospace justifies the extra weight simply: eddy current findings on fatigue-critical airframe and engine parts leave no margin for marginal qualification.

What a Level I does: preset scans, not interpretation

Level I eddy current work is executing inspections a Level II has already engineered. The technician calibrates on a reference standard with EDM notches or drilled holes, verifies instrument response, then runs the prescribed scan — a pencil probe around fastener heads, an encircling coil on bar stock, a conductivity meter sorting alloy batches, a coating-thickness check on anodized parts — recording results against preset alarm gates. What Level I explicitly does not do is decide what a signal means. Lift-off wobble, edge effect, permeability noise, and real cracks can all deflect the same trace; separating them on the impedance plane is Level II authority under both standards. The discipline of the role is procedural fidelity.

Inside the 40 hours: what ET training covers

The Level I curriculum builds the minimum electromagnetic foundation the method demands: electromagnetic induction, eddy current generation and flow, skin depth and the standard depth of penetration, frequency selection, conductivity and permeability effects, and lift-off. Probe families get significant time — absolute versus differential, surface pencil probes, encircling coils, ID bobbin coils — along with reference standards and calibration discipline. Instrument operation covers balance, gain, phase rotation, and alarm gates. The math is lighter than UT's trigonometry but the concepts are less intuitive; students without electrical background should expect the theory blocks to demand real study. Impedance-plane analysis is introduced at Level I and mastered at Level II.

Exams and vision requirements

Under SNT-TC-1A, certification requires the standard three exams — closed-book general on ET fundamentals, specific on employer procedures, practical demonstrating calibration and scanning on real standards — at a recommended 80 percent composite. NAS 410 mandates the question minimums (40 general, 30 specific) and adds a proficiency demonstration typical of aerospace practicals: full setup, standardization, scan, and documentation on representative hardware. Vision requirements diverge meaningfully: SNT-TC-1A calls for annual near-vision at Jaeger No. 2 or equivalent with color-contrast checks at up to five-year intervals, while NAS 410 requires near vision and color perception verified annually. For ET specifically, color perception matters at the screen — phase-coded trace displays assume it.

Where ET Level I gets hired

Aerospace absorbs most US eddy current capacity: airframe manufacturers, engine shops, and MRO stations inspecting fastener holes, wheel assemblies, turbine components, and structural repairs under NAS 410 programs. The second market is power and process industry tubing — condenser and heat-exchanger bundles inspected in outage seasons — plus alloy verification and weld testing in general manufacturing under SNT-TC-1A. Entry postings ask for the 40-hour certificate, documented trainee status, and increasingly a preference for candidates already inside a NAS 410 written practice. Because aerospace concentrates in specific regions — Wichita, Seattle, Connecticut's engine corridor, Texas and Florida MRO hubs — ET Level I mobility often matters more than in other methods.

Pay and the case for moving to Level II fast

Entry ET pay tracks the general NDT floor — ZipRecruiter's NDT Level 2 band runs $48,000–$90,000 and Level I sits below its midpoint — against a BLS all-levels median of $78,350 for nondestructive testing specialists (May 2025). The premium arrives with interpretation authority: aerospace ET Level IIs command strong rates precisely because NAS 410's 1,200-hour direct-Level 2 experience wall keeps supply tight. That makes the Level I phase an investment period: every logged hour counts toward the Level II requirement under either standard. US-first pay bands by method and industry are maintained at /blog/ndt-salary-guide-2026-global.

Starting ET Level I with Atlantis

Atlantis NDT delivers 40-hour ET Level I training aligned to the ASNT body of knowledge and structured to satisfy both SNT-TC-1A written practices and NAS 410 formal-training requirements — one course, either destination. Employers get the full certification infrastructure from our ASNT Level III consultants: written practice development, examination administration with NAS 410-compliant question banks, vision programs, and audit-ready records. Affordable, accessible, fully customizable to your parts, probes, and procedures. Explore the method curriculum at /eddy-current-testing-training and the entry landscape at /ndt-level-1-training, then request a quote for a seat or a complete program.

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