# RECII



## RECII (5 mo ago)

Hey peeps,
Couple questions.
What is the best site to go to for sample Journeyman test?
And has anyone passed it on your first try?
Because one guy I work with failed it 3 times before passing, another has failed it twice so far, and our manager has failed it 4 timed. ALL are very good and smart Electricians.


----------



## Almost Retired (Sep 14, 2021)

tests are more about being book smart than working smart
i know of many ppl who didnt pass the first time and they were also good electricians

i also know of many "masters" who cant wire a house, much less do industrial controls


----------



## backstay (Feb 3, 2011)

I never took my journeyman test. I skipped it and took my masters. Passed the first time.


----------



## RECII (5 mo ago)

backstay said:


> I never took my journeyman test. I skipped it and took my masters. Passed the first time.


Wow that's crazy. Where you from? Didn't know you could skip Journeyman and go right to masters. Pretty sure in Michigan you can't. Does anyone know different?


----------



## backstay (Feb 3, 2011)

Minnesota, I qualified by having over 10,000 hours. I was told an EE degree qualifies to test for the masters also.


----------



## kb1jb1 (Nov 11, 2017)

One thing I learned about taking tests, if you cannot answer the question with in seconds skip it and go on to the next question. Go back to it later. Every test I took, they had a time consuming question with in the first 5 questions. On one two hour test I finished all but two questions in 45 minutes. Then I spent 10 minutes and 20 minutes on the two I left for last. On some tests time is the biggest problem especially if the code reference is required.


----------



## SWDweller (Dec 9, 2020)

RecII, maybe your just a babe in the woods but there are at LEAST 50 sites for testing. That is just one per state. Then there are local requirements. The best thing I can think of is buy the code book and tabs that you will be using for the test? Once you get the tabs on you will be better prepared to know how to find the answers to questions. Knowing HOW TO FIND the answer is much better than memorization.


----------



## backstay (Feb 3, 2011)

SWDweller said:


> RecII, maybe your just a babe in the woods but there are at LEAST 50 sites for testing. That is just one per state. Then there are local requirements. The best thing I can think of is buy the code book and tabs that you will be using for the test? Once you get the tabs on you will be better prepared to know how to find the answers to questions. Knowing HOW TO FIND the answer is much better than memorization.


Not sure about now, but back in the day I took the test, you were allowed a calculator and pencil. They supplied the code book, so no tabs.

The test was 25 questions with multiple choice, but you needed all relevant code references. That was open book. Then you turned it in and got 50 questions true or false closed book.

This is Minnesota’s rules.

An applicant for a Class A Master Electrician's license shall 
(a) hold a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering; or 
(b) shall have at least one year's experience, acceptable to the board, as a licensed journeyman; or 
(c) shall have at least five years' experience, acceptable to the board, in planning for, laying out, supervising and installing wiring, apparatus, or equipment for electrical light, heat, and power.


----------



## Nehan3 (3 mo ago)

Back to your original question, I just passed a commercial + residential electrical contractors test. while studying I used a test prep from Delmar learning that I bought through Dewalt. It has a bunch of test questions devided into jurnyman, masters, residential contractor, sign contractor. I whent through it with the NEC in my lap and by the time I took the test I could rip through the code.


----------



## brian john (Mar 11, 2007)

Almost Retired said:


> tests are more about being book smart than working smart
> i know of many ppl who didnt pass the first time and they were also good electricians
> 
> i also know of many "masters" who cant wire a house, much less do industrial controls


I passed 7 tests first time and flunked one by one point, passed on the 2nd go round. But I have worked with excellent electricians that could never pass the test and gave up after a few tries. I also know some that never took any test.

One introduction that always let me know how little someone knows about the trade was "Hi, I Bille Buck Master Electrician, Head electrician at XXXXX". Another giveaway is when you are talking to someone that is totally wrong about anything electrical and they state "well I am a master electrician" I had many sarcastic answers for these buffoons unfortunately they were usually a customer that had hired me to fix something, so I had to swallow my words.


----------



## LGLS (Nov 10, 2007)

RECII said:


> Hey peeps,
> Couple questions.
> What is the best site to go to for sample Journeyman test?
> And has anyone passed it on your first try?
> Because one guy I work with failed it 3 times before passing, another has failed it twice so far, and our manager has failed it 4 timed. ALL are very good and smart Electricians.


Some people are books mart, some a street smart, some of the test well and some people just aren't any good at test-taking. You should be spending a decent amount of time studying the code book and the regs for contracting businesses if taking the masters exam... sounds like the 2-3-4 times failed people you know likely picked up much of their knowledge to be great installers on the job and have a great work ethic, but with little or no theory in their background or don't remember much of it and aren't well versed in where to locate the relevant codes quickly... 

There's professionals who have license testing prep courses, just like the police have set up retirement gigs teaching rookie wannabees how to pass the police exams. 

Even just not liking and enjoying your trade can be a stumbling block because it's difficult to put your heart into it. I've loved and cherished almost every experience I loved meeting new people, spinning the wheel, and found this whole career extremely rewarding, I got up every day, showered and did the best I could with bells on. Never "worked" a day in my life, and would sooner work a 8 OT shift on a Saturday and hire a landscaper to maintain the lawns and gardens which I very much enjoyed as well, but liked working electrical work better than using my green thumb.


----------

