# So what to expect?



## Robmil81 (Jun 14, 2017)

I’m gonna try getting a job doing maintenance, I’ve done it once before and it was kinda I got brought in I didn’t test in kinda thing, so what can I expect on a typical maintenance test?


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

Where I'm at now, it's about a 5 part process. General aptitude test, basic electrical test, hands on test, oral interview with HR, and oral interview w/maintenance boss. Move to PA. I could use another guy.

The point of the electrical test and the hand's on test is essentially to sort out guys who have ever done this stuff before from posers

I imagine the hiring methods are many and varied. Typically in my area, an open factory electrician position generally takes 1-2 years to fill. Lots of romex ropers and pipe-n-wire guys try, to their credit. It's a more rare guy that has a electrical knowledge and a fundamental knowledge of complex mechanical systems AND printreading and PLC skills.


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## Robmil81 (Jun 14, 2017)

MDShunk said:


> Where I'm at now, it's about a 5 part process. General aptitude test, basic electrical test, hands on test, oral interview with HR, and oral interview w/maintenance boss. Move to PA. I could use another guy.
> 
> The point of the electrical test and the hand's on test is essentially to sort out guys who have ever done this stuff before from posers
> 
> I imagine the hiring methods are many and varied.




Yeah I’ve interviewed with different places before actually landing a job, one was just an interview and if you did ok with that you’d schedule a written test, then from there it was hands on, or other places I’ve done you went for an interview and during the interview you took a test, the job I actually landed was different than regular maintenance, I did maintenance but I also did waste water and chemical analysis, it was a mix of everything I took it cause I was offered OT and I needed it 


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

You seem pretty well-rounded. You won't have any special problems, no matter the interview and testing scheme (which can't be predicted). You have, to your advantage, the fact that you've actually done it before.


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## Robmil81 (Jun 14, 2017)

MDShunk said:


> You seem pretty well-rounded. You won't have any special problems, no matter the interview and testing scheme (which can't be predicted). You have, to your advantage, the fact that you've actually done it before.




Thanks! You think an ugly book would help me brush up on stuff, some of the tests I’ve took they asked junk you’d rarely see on the field, I want to test good cause I’m sure how good you do there practically makes your pay 


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

I can't be too specific on my experiences with testing because two guys from this forum are going to give the open position here a shot, but yes... studying the Ugly's is quite likely to help you in written and hands on testing.


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## Robmil81 (Jun 14, 2017)

MDShunk said:


> I can't be too specific on my experiences with testing because two guys from this forum are going to give the open position here a shot, but yes... studying the Ugly's is quite likely to help you in written and hands on testing.




Oh I gotcha, hands on I’m not worried about I can physically do it, it’s when paper meets pencil that I go full ******, and start drooling out my mouth. I have no clue how to even explain that lol idk how you all do it there but here, we do the electrical and controls along with mechanical, hydraulic and pneumatic.....some places I’ve looked into you’ve got electrical maintenance and you got mechanical maintenance two separate departments but the place I worked at and the 3 I’m interviewing for you get it all 


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

It's hard to say what you'll run into as far a paper testing goes. Might not be anything. Might just be the Wonderlic test of general cognitive ability that everyone takes. Might be a test some guy in the department wrote. Might be a general mechanical aptitude test. Might be a specific electrical test. Don't worry about it. You either know this stuff or you don't. I have a feeling you know it.


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## Robmil81 (Jun 14, 2017)

MDShunk said:


> It's hard to say what you'll run into as far a paper testing goes. Might not be anything. Might just be the Wonderlic test of general cognitive ability that everyone takes. Might be a test some guy in the department wrote. Might be a general mechanical aptitude test. Might be a specific electrical test. Don't worry about it. You either know this stuff or you don't. I have a feeling you know it.




Thanks buddy and I sure hope you’re right 


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## Helmut (May 7, 2014)

MDShunk said:


> I have a feeling you know it.


I concur. He sounds like his background is very diverse.

Them are gems in the plant world.


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## Robmil81 (Jun 14, 2017)

Helmut said:


> I concur. He sounds like his background is very diverse.
> 
> 
> 
> Them are gems in the plant world.




Yeah I may not be an expert at one thing but I know many different things lol waste water, chemical analysis, hydraulic, pneumatics, electrical and controls, paint process, chrome process, zinc process, robotics, I can weld not to well, plumbing, pumps and motors

I’m weak in PLCs and robotics far as teaching them and junk


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## Helmut (May 7, 2014)

Robmil81 said:


> Yeah I may not be an expert at one thing but I know many different things lol waste water, chemical analysis, hydraulic, pneumatics, electrical and controls, paint process, chrome process, zinc process, robotics, I can weld not to well, plumbing, pumps and motors
> 
> I’m weak in PLCs and robotics far as teaching them and junk
> 
> ...


Any thoughts on applying for a government maintenance job, with the skills you process?


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## Robmil81 (Jun 14, 2017)

Helmut said:


> Any thoughts on applying for a government maintenance job, with the skills you process?




It’s definitely not out of the question, just never found an opportunity really, we have a depot here but I never applied most the time it’s contract work anyways 


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## Helmut (May 7, 2014)

Good Luck in your search.


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## Robmil81 (Jun 14, 2017)

Helmut said:


> Good Luck in your search.




I appreciate buddy 


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

Interview tip #56B: If your weak area is PLC's, find out early in the interview process what brand they have, mostly. When the PLC topic comes up, claim your experience is mostly with some other brand. That prevents brand specific questions in the interview and they can mostly quiz on generalities. As the saying goes, "fake it till you make it".


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## Robmil81 (Jun 14, 2017)

MDShunk said:


> Interview tip #56B: If your weak area is PLC's, find out early in the interview process what brand they have, mostly. When the PLC topic comes up, claim your experience is mostly with some other brand. That prevents brand specific questions in the interview and they can mostly quiz on generalities. As the saying goes, "fake it till you make it".




Thanks lol so what is the difference between Allen Bradley, Siemens and Mitsubishi? Is the logic ladder just different or what? 


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

Robmil81 said:


> Thanks lol so what is the difference between Allen Bradley, Siemens and Mitsubishi? Is the logic ladder just different or what?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


The ladder logic is standardized these days. The differences basically boil down to how proficient you are with the manufacturer specific software with which the programming is done and how, exactly, you go online with any given processor. Jumping between brands sucks. After you get oriented (or, reoriented) with the software, the programming (or troubleshooting with the logic) is like riding a bike.


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## Robmil81 (Jun 14, 2017)

MDShunk said:


> The ladder logic is standardized these days. The differences basically boil down to how proficient you are with the manufacturer specific software with which the programming is done and how, exactly, you go online with any given processor. Jumping between brands sucks.




So basically the navigation is different between the 3? They both have what you want just getting to that particular thing is different between the 3? Like I said PLCs are my weak spot 


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## Robmil81 (Jun 14, 2017)

Kinda like Google, Yahoo and Bing in a sense? 


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

Robmil81 said:


> Kinda like Google, Yahoo and Bing in a sense?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Yeah, sorta. Maybe more like going from Word Perfect to Microsoft Word, if you're in the right age bracket to have done that. Both programs do the same thing but the buttons and features are in different places. Or, like upgrading from Windows XP to Windows 8. Still an operating system doing pretty much the same thing, only the moved all the crap around so you have to hunt it. I'd liken the difference between PLC brands (and the attendant software you use to communicate with each brand) like that. The physical programming is damned near standardized. It's where all the buttons and features are at in each brand's software and what hoops you need to jump through to get the software talking to the PLC for each brand that are different.


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## Robmil81 (Jun 14, 2017)

MDShunk said:


> Yeah, sorta. Maybe more like going from Word Perfect to Microsoft Word, if you're in the right age bracket to have done that. Both programs do the same thing but the buttons and features are in different places. Or, like upgrading from Windows XP to Windows 8. Still an operating system doing pretty much the same thing, only the moved all the crap around so you have to hunt it. I'd liken the difference between PLC brands (and the attendant software you use to communicate with each brand) like that. The physical programming is damned near standardized. It's where all the buttons and features are at in each brand's software and what hoops you need to jump through to get the software talking to the PLC for each brand that are different.




Yeah that’s kinda what I thought, didn’t have the interview today, they had to reschedule kinda rubbed me the wrong way cause I missed work today to free up my day and I hate missing work but all is well interview will be Monday and I scheduled it so I wouldn’t miss anymore work


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## gnuuser (Jan 13, 2013)

MDShunk said:


> It's hard to say what you'll run into as far a paper testing goes. Might not be anything. Might just be the Wonderlic test of general cognitive ability that everyone takes. Might be a test some guy in the department wrote. Might be a general mechanical aptitude test. Might be a specific electrical test. Don't worry about it. You either know this stuff or you don't. I have a feeling you know it.


when i took my test for the factory there was a lot of questions on math, sheet-metal design, safety, and automation concepts for the written part,

for the mechanical part we had to assemble a small motor within a given time frame! (important if they have the assembly instructions there look at them carefully as following the instructions is part of the test and you will be failed if you don't look at them)


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## Robmil81 (Jun 14, 2017)

gnuuser said:


> when i took my test for the factory there was a lot of questions on math, sheet-metal design, safety, and automation concepts for the written part,
> 
> for the mechanical part we had to assemble a small motor within a given time frame! (important if they have the assembly instructions there look at them carefully as following the instructions is part of the test and you will be failed if you don't look at them)




Sheet metal design? I have yet to see that on a test....what I normally see is ohms law, very few times have I seen calculating voltage drop I think maybe once, wire color codes, electrical symbols and blue print reading, I’ve seen once a picture of a logic ladder and you have to figure out what’s going on, basic mechanical stuff like if this gear turns which way will the other gear turn and gear ratios and hydraulic and pneumatics but can’t remember what I’ve seen on them 


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