Is it possible to earn an FAA designation without company sponsorship? Due to the economic downturn, the company I work for has terminated my designee (DMIR) triaining about half-way thru - can I continue training and completion on my own? The on-line study is fairly easy to get ($150) from the FAA. But I'm not sure how (or what) would be needed for completion, such as a written test and panel interview. Any experience with this?

If your company has terminated your DMIR training I would assume that they have determined that there is not a need for additional designee resources. Is your company pursuing an ODA approval instead? Since the scope of a DMIR designation is typically based on a production approval holder’s geographic location and specific type of product(s), it would not be possible to pursue it on your own and of no value anyway. You could become an independent DAR though. The biggest challenge that you will face is convincing your MIDO of the need to grant and manage another DAR resource.

As for the how-to, see FAA order number 8100.8c:

http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgOrders.nsf/0/EE717221C199AFA5862575FD0063C498?OpenDocument

Yes, my company has just obtained ODA. Those employees that had designations at the transition from ODAR to ODA have become "unit members". Since I had not completed the training, my training has been terminated with no further discussion. So, my question really concerns future employment. I enjoy doing conformity work and want to obtain the best credential I can. But I am only five years into the inspection/conformity world (and aerospace for that matter - i wrote software for 21 years but got out after 911) and would likely not have much success establishing myself as a DAR.

The procedure to become a unit member will be included in your organization’s approved ODA manual which complies with the requirements stated in FAA order 8100.15. Unfortunately, the addition of a new unit member is based on the needs of the organization and the approval of the FAA’s managing office (MIDO?). About the only thing I can suggest is to start working on convincing your ODA Administrator that they need your services.....maybe just a limited scope including just the function code(s) for conformity work? Problem is, it's the same amount of work for your organization regardless of scope beacuse you still have to be trained and then run through the approval process. Then, the ODA Manual needs to be revised, showing the scope and limitations of your authority, and then submitted to the FAA managing office for approval.