Were you a Boy Scout? Or a Girl Guide or Girl Scout? What badges did you earn? Not the digital technology badge, to the left, since that was only introduced in 2014 to replace the computers badge. It looks like an SoC (scout-on-chip) on a small printed circuit board. I was a scout in my teens, and although I could program by then, I don't think you could get a badge for anything electronic at all. The troop I was in was more focused on hiking, caving, climbing, and other outdoor things, along with a healthy portion of community service.

Would you like a badge? Did you miss out as a kid? You can now get recognized for your proficiency with Cadence tools. You don't get an actual physical badge to sew on your shirt (although I'm sure you can find someone on Etsy who'll run you up one). These are digital badges, and they look like the one on the right. You can be any of a customer, a university student, or an employee.

How Do You Earn a Digital Badge?

The short version: you pass a proficiency exam for the relevant tool.

The longer version:

1. You sign up for a course that has a digital badge exam.
2. You complete the course. If it is an internet course you go at your own pace.
3. Take the digital badge exam. This is about 50 questions, so will take an hour or an hour-and-a-half. See above for an example question (on SKILL).
4. Complete the post-exam survey.
5. You will then get a digital badge from Cadence. It is verified by Credly so it can always be confirmed, and it describes the course and exam you completed. If you like, you can put the badge on sites like LinkedIn too. Just not on your sleeve.

Available Courses

Currently, the following courses have digital badge exams. But more are being added all the time:

Allegro Design Entry HDL Front-to-Back Flow v17.2
Allegro High-Speed Constraint Management v17.2-2016
Allegro PCB Editor Basic Techniques v17.2-2016
Allegro PCB Librarian v17.2
Analog Modeling with Verilog-A v17.1
Innovus Implementation System (Block) v18.1
Mixed Signal Simulations Using Spectre AMS Designer v18.03
Physical Verification System v16.1
Sigrity PowerDC Optimize PI v2018
SKILL Language for Parameterized Cells vIC6.1.7
SKILL Language Programming vIC6.1.7
Tempus Signoff Timing Analysis and Closure v18.1
Virtuoso Connectivity-Driven Layout Transition vIC6.1.7
Virtuoso Layout for Advanced Nodes: T1 Place and Route vICADV12.3
Virtuoso Layout for Advanced Nodes: T2 Electromigration vICADV12.3
Virtuoso Layout Pro: T1 Environment and Basic Commands (L) vIC6.1.7
Virtuoso Layout Pro: T2 Create and Edit Commands (L) vIC6.1.7
Virtuoso Space-Based Router Express vIC6.1.7
Virtuoso Space-Based Router vIC6.1.7

More Information

For information on digital badges, see the Become Certified page.

To get started, for everyone except students, register through the Learning Management System. In the US, you can also call 800-787-2460 and a real person will answer. University students go through the Cadence Academic Network. 

For all things training, such as course descriptions, class schedules, and the full catalog, start at the Cadence Training Page. For a printable version of much of the material, here is the 24-page pdf Training Brochure.

Yes, if you want your kids to follow in your footsteps, there's a scout electronics badge. That's it to the left. The wrong type of transistor. We're more source-gate-drain people than emitter-base-collector people. But a badge with a transistor, we'll take it.

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