- The Short Answer: What the IND Actually Is
- Who Issues It and Where It Sits on the ETA Ladder
- What the Exam Covers: 16 Competency Categories
- The Core-Versus-Specialty Wrinkle in ETA's Own Document
- Exam Format, Fees, and Testing Rules
- Who Can Sit for It
- Keeping the Credential Current
- Who Benefits From It
- Sequencing Your Preparation Around the Domains
- Frequently Asked Questions
- IND is ETA International's Industrial Electronics Journeyman certification, built on 16 numbered exam-competency categories.
- Live ETA tables list USD 80, 100 questions, two hours, a 75% passing score, and no hands-on portion.
- The Journeyman pathway requires CETa or the complete EM1-5 foundation, with two or more years of experience recommended.
- The certification lasts four years and is maintained with continuing education or employer verification plus yearly fees.
The Short Answer: What the IND Actually Is
On this site, IND means one thing: the Industrial Electronics certification issued by ETA International, the Electronics Technicians Association, International. It is a Journeyman-level credential for technicians who install, maintain, troubleshoot, and repair the electrical and electronic systems found in factories, plants, and other industrial environments.
If you landed here searching for a definition, think of it as a written, proctored exam that tests whether you understand how industrial equipment is powered, controlled, wired, measured, and diagnosed. It is not a degree, and it is not a hands-on practical. The live ETA exam tables list it with no hands-on assessment, so what gets verified is knowledge: the concepts, calculations, code awareness, and troubleshooting logic that a working industrial electronics technician is expected to carry in their head.
If you want other angles on the same question, our pages on what IND is, what IND stands for, and the meaning of IND cover the naming side, while this article focuses on what the credential contains and how it works in practice.
Who Issues It and Where It Sits on the ETA Ladder
ETA International publishes a "ladder of progression" that moves technicians from foundation credentials toward Journeyman and specialty certifications. The IND is a Journeyman-tier credential on that ladder. Its prerequisite structure tells you a lot about what ETA expects you to already know when you arrive:
- The Journeyman pathway requires either the CETa credential or the complete EM1-5 foundation.
- ETA issues CETa once all five module certifications (EM1 through EM5) are current.
- ETA's Journeyman pathway guidance says a candidate should have two or more years of experience.
In other words, IND is positioned as the step after the electronics fundamentals, not as an entry point. If you are still building the basics, start with the foundation modules and return to this exam afterward. Details on qualifying are in our IND requirements guide.
What the Exam Covers: 16 Competency Categories
ETA publishes a competency-requirements document for Industrial Electronics, and it organizes exam content into 16 numbered categories. These are exam objectives rather than a curriculum, which matters: the document tells you what can be tested, not how any particular school teaches it. Here is the full list:
- Safety
- Industrial Mathematics
- Diagrams and Schematics
- Electrical Components
- Electro-Mechanical Devices
- Wiring and Codes
- AC Power Sources and Motors
- DC Power Sources and Motors
- Networking, Interfacing, and Programming
- Test Equipment and Troubleshooting
- Industrial Communications
- Networks
- Fluid Power
- Instrumentation
- PLCs (Programmable Logic Controllers)
- Robotics
Our complete guide to all 16 content areas goes deeper on each one. Below is a practical read on the clusters that candidates tend to find most demanding.
The foundational block: safety, math, diagrams, components
Safety, Industrial Mathematics, Diagrams and Schematics, Electrical Components
These four categories form the vocabulary of everything else. A technician who cannot read a schematic or work a power calculation will struggle to interpret later questions on motors or controllers.
- Hazard awareness and safe work practices around energized and rotating equipment
- Applied math: Ohm's law, power relationships, and unit handling in industrial contexts
- Reading and interpreting schematics, one-line diagrams, and control drawings
- Identifying and understanding passive and active components and their roles in circuits
The electrical-power block: devices, wiring, AC and DC machines
Electro-Mechanical Devices, Wiring and Codes, AC and DC Power Sources and Motors
This is the heavy-current side of the exam. Expect questions about how relays, contactors, and similar devices behave, how wiring is selected and protected, and how motors and their power sources operate and fail.
- Operation and troubleshooting of electro-mechanical control devices
- Wiring practices and awareness of applicable codes
- AC power sources and AC motor behavior
- DC power sources and DC motor behavior
The control-and-data block: networking, communications, PLCs, instrumentation, robotics
Networking, Industrial Communications, Networks, Instrumentation, PLCs, Robotics
This is where modern industrial electronics diverges from classic electrician-style knowledge. Controllers, sensors, and communication links tie the plant together, and the exam reflects that.
- Interfacing and programming concepts for industrial systems
- How industrial communication links and networks move data between devices
- Instrumentation: measuring and transmitting process variables
- PLC fundamentals and logic-based control
- Robotics as it appears in industrial automation
Fluid Power and Test Equipment and Troubleshooting round out the list. Fluid power matters because many industrial machines are electro-hydraulic or electro-pneumatic, and test equipment and troubleshooting ties every other domain together: when a system fails, you need a method and the right instrument.
The Core-Versus-Specialty Wrinkle in ETA's Own Document
One detail trips up careful readers. ETA's competency document says the IND Core examination covers all 16 categories, yet it also describes twelve core categories. In the body of the document, categories 1 through 10 are labeled Core, and categories 11 through 16 are grouped into five specialty areas.
That is an internal inconsistency in the published material, and we are not going to paper over it. The practical takeaway: do not assume that categories 11 through 16 are optional or tested separately. The introduction states the exam covers all 16 categories, and nothing in the sources we verified describes a separate specialty examination for the IND. Prepare for the whole list. If ETA clarifies the scope in a future revision of the document, that guidance will override this reading.
Exam Format, Fees, and Testing Rules
Here is the exam in a snapshot, drawn from ETA's live IND listings:
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Issuer | ETA International |
| Level | Journeyman |
| Exam fee | USD 80 |
| Questions | 100 |
| Time limit | Two hours |
| Passing score | 75% |
| Hands-on assessment | None |
| Certification term | Four years |
| Free retake | One eligible retake within one year of the original session |
A conflict you may notice online
Not every ETA-related page agrees on the question count. The ETA certification catalog booklet lists 75 questions for the IND, and an ETA Press listing also shows 75 questions and a different fee. We follow the two live IND exam tables on ETA's own site, which both specify 100 questions and USD 80. Before you schedule, confirm the current numbers with ETA directly, because published sources have not always matched.
How testing is delivered
- Exams are proctored through ETA Certification Administrators, using Trapeza online testing or paper and pencil.
- Optional ExamRoom.AI remote proctoring must be arranged through ETA and adds USD 16 for the two-hour examination, including an otherwise eligible free retake.
- Photo ID is required.
- Scratch paper and a non-programmable scientific calculator are permitted; used scratch paper goes back to the proctor.
- Phones are prohibited, and candidates may not leave the room after testing begins.
Because only a non-programmable scientific calculator is allowed, practice your Industrial Mathematics work on a basic scientific model rather than a phone or graphing device. Fluency with your exact calculator is worth real minutes across 100 questions in two hours. For the cost side in full, see our pricing breakdown, and for scheduling logistics see IND exam dates.
Key Takeaway
At 100 questions in two hours, you have roughly a minute and a bit per question. With a 75% passing score, you can miss a quarter of the items, so a strategy of answering confidently what you know and flagging calculation-heavy items for a second pass is sound. Read the passing score guide for how to think about that margin.
Who Can Sit for It
The gate is the foundation credential. You need CETa or the complete EM1-5 set, and ETA recommends two or more years of experience for Journeyman candidates. Candidates typically come from one of these backgrounds:
- Technicians who completed ETA foundation modules and have since accumulated field time in a plant or maintenance environment.
- Maintenance staff moving into automation-heavy roles who want a formal credential that documents controls, instrumentation, and troubleshooting competence.
- Graduates of course-approved schools that prepare students for ETA exams and often serve as testing sites.
The full prerequisite picture, including how the pathway is structured, is in our requirements article.
Keeping the Credential Current
The IND runs on a four-year certification term. For credentials without a hands-on component, ETA's general maintenance route requires:
- A Certification Maintenance Form,
- Either 10 continuing-education hours per year (40 over four years) or a supervisor-completed Employer Verification, and
- USD 25 per year (USD 100 over the four-year cycle).
The employer-verification option is notable for working technicians: if your supervisor can attest to your ongoing work, you may not need to chase formal classroom hours. Confirm the current procedure on ETA's maintenance page when your renewal window opens.
Who Benefits From It
Industrial electronics technicians are the people who keep production lines, process plants, and automated equipment running. Roles that overlap with the IND's scope include industrial maintenance technician, controls and automation technician, instrumentation technician, and field service technician for industrial equipment. Employers in manufacturing, processing, utilities, and equipment service often care about demonstrated competence in motors, PLCs, sensors, and troubleshooting, which are exactly the topics the 16 categories enumerate.
We do not quote salary figures here because ETA's materials do not publish any and we will not invent them. For a qualitative discussion of earning potential and whether the credential pays off for your situation, see our salary guide, the ROI analysis, and the IND jobs overview.
Sequencing Your Preparation Around the Domains
The order in which you study matters more than the method. Because later domains lean on earlier ones, a dependency-driven sequence beats studying in whatever order feels comfortable. Here is one way to lay it out:
Foundations first
- Safety and Industrial Mathematics, with your approved calculator in hand
- Diagrams and Schematics: practice reading control and power drawings until symbols are automatic
Components and devices
- Electrical Components and Electro-Mechanical Devices
- Wiring and Codes: wiring methods, protection, and code awareness
Rotating machines and power
- AC Power Sources and Motors, then DC Power Sources and Motors
- Compare how each type is controlled, protected, and troubleshot
Control, data, and process
- Networking, Interfacing, and Programming; Industrial Communications; Networks
- Instrumentation and PLCs, since both depend on the networking vocabulary
Systems and integration
- Fluid Power and Robotics
- Test Equipment and Troubleshooting, practiced across every earlier domain as a capstone
Troubleshooting comes last on purpose: it is the domain where everything converges, so it rewards you most once the others are solid. For a fuller study framework, see the IND study guide, the one-page cheat sheet, and the training overview. When you want to test yourself under realistic conditions, use the IND practice tests, and gauge your readiness against the realities in how hard the IND exam is.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. It is a professional certification issued by ETA International. It documents knowledge through a proctored written exam and is not a state license or an academic degree.
ETA's live IND tables list 100 questions and two hours. Some other ETA documents list 75 questions, so confirm the current figure with ETA when you register.
ETA's live tables specify a 75% passing score. For more on interpreting that threshold, see our pass rate discussion; ETA does not publish a pass-rate figure in the sources we verified, so we do not quote one.
No. The IND is listed with no hands-on assessment. It is a proctored knowledge exam, delivered by online testing or paper and pencil.
ETA allows one eligible retake at no charge within one year of the original session. If you used optional ExamRoom.AI remote proctoring, the USD 16 fee applies to the free retake as well.
For a broader overview of the credential beyond this article, read what IND certification is and the main IND certification page.