...in October 2005. I'll be taking the Electrical Exam with the Power Option in the afternoon. The paperwork just to apply is absolutely ridiculous.
Any advice, words of wisdom or insight would be appreciated!
TIA!
WOT: Engineers...gearing up for my PE Test...
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Blue Shadow
- Posts: 10281
- Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
- Location: SE PA
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stuartinmn
- Posts: 9462
- Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
- Location: Minneapolis
Find a group to study with and/or a refresher class. Here in MN the state board can provide info on where to go for these things, check with yours, also check with your college.
Your college library may have old tests on file you can use for studying (I think they can only do this with tests that are more than five years old.)
Set yourself up with a good set of reference books, the PE exam is open book so you can bring then with you (within reason...when I took the test, some idiot came in with a six foot tall bookshelf FULL of books on a handcart, and they booted him out.) This will probably include some of your college textbooks and notebooks, the National Electric Code book, reference manuals from work, plus there are some standard reference and problem books designed specifically for the PE exam - the ones I used were A Programmed Review for Electrical Engineering by James H. Bentley; the Electrical Engineering Reference Manual, Solutions Manual and Sample Examination by Raymond B. Yarbrough; the Electrical Engineering Quick Reference Cards manual by Kenneth Nelson; and the Principles and Practice of Engineering manual of typical questions from the NCEES. I got them all from my college bookstore.
Set up a regular study schedule, I tried to hit the books an hour or two, five nights a week, for several months before the exam.
Finally, don't get discouraged if you don't pass the first time...the electrical PE exam is tough. I just looked at the NCEES website, and the pass rate is about 60%. I ended up taking it a couple times myself before I finally passed, but I made it extra hard for myself by waiting until I was 40 years old to do it - talk about having the textbook knowledge drained out of my head. On the other hand, I did pretty well on the Code related problems since I had quite a bit of hands on experience by then.
Your college library may have old tests on file you can use for studying (I think they can only do this with tests that are more than five years old.)
Set yourself up with a good set of reference books, the PE exam is open book so you can bring then with you (within reason...when I took the test, some idiot came in with a six foot tall bookshelf FULL of books on a handcart, and they booted him out.) This will probably include some of your college textbooks and notebooks, the National Electric Code book, reference manuals from work, plus there are some standard reference and problem books designed specifically for the PE exam - the ones I used were A Programmed Review for Electrical Engineering by James H. Bentley; the Electrical Engineering Reference Manual, Solutions Manual and Sample Examination by Raymond B. Yarbrough; the Electrical Engineering Quick Reference Cards manual by Kenneth Nelson; and the Principles and Practice of Engineering manual of typical questions from the NCEES. I got them all from my college bookstore.
Set up a regular study schedule, I tried to hit the books an hour or two, five nights a week, for several months before the exam.
Finally, don't get discouraged if you don't pass the first time...the electrical PE exam is tough. I just looked at the NCEES website, and the pass rate is about 60%. I ended up taking it a couple times myself before I finally passed, but I made it extra hard for myself by waiting until I was 40 years old to do it - talk about having the textbook knowledge drained out of my head. On the other hand, I did pretty well on the Code related problems since I had quite a bit of hands on experience by then.
1. Get the commercially avialable study materials and practice tests etc. - as much as you can.......
2. Setup a study plan - topics, types of problems etc.
3. Plan your study/review to take place over a couple of months prior to the test. Maybe a couple hours every other day etc.
4. Use the practice tests to gauge wear you need to focus.
I left a couple of days of doing nothing prior to the test, it helped me relax. Fortunately, I was able to pass the EE exam on the first try.
2. Setup a study plan - topics, types of problems etc.
3. Plan your study/review to take place over a couple of months prior to the test. Maybe a couple hours every other day etc.
4. Use the practice tests to gauge wear you need to focus.
I left a couple of days of doing nothing prior to the test, it helped me relax. Fortunately, I was able to pass the EE exam on the first try.