Now that I am an Amateur Extra, (KF6TYO /AE) the thought of being a VE has become a future option. I hear there are about 14 different Volunteer Examiner Coordinators, with ARRL being by far the largest. This brings up a different question to me and I'm sure it has been discussed many times, but I'm failing to find them, but WHY are there so many different VECs? Are there philosophical difference between VECs? While they all seem to perform the same role, do they have drastically different rules?
I'm curious if it is similar to the issues I see in my profession, I'm a nurse. I am an American Heart Association BLS ( AKA.. CPR or Basic Life Support) and ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support) and PALS (Pediatric Advanced Life Support) instructor. There are several entities other than AHA that provide CPR courses, most notably American Red Cross, but there are others that are off-shoots due to the bureaucracy of paperwork handling with AHA.
In amateur radio, the VECs and their VEs only facilitate the process for obtaining a license from the FCC and once license is obtained, ham operator follows FCC rules. Does it even matter then WHO the VEC is?
I'm curious if it is similar to the issues I see in my profession, I'm a nurse. I am an American Heart Association BLS ( AKA.. CPR or Basic Life Support) and ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support) and PALS (Pediatric Advanced Life Support) instructor. There are several entities other than AHA that provide CPR courses, most notably American Red Cross, but there are others that are off-shoots due to the bureaucracy of paperwork handling with AHA.
In amateur radio, the VECs and their VEs only facilitate the process for obtaining a license from the FCC and once license is obtained, ham operator follows FCC rules. Does it even matter then WHO the VEC is?