# IBEW Local 98 Aptitude Test



## eejack

Welcome to the site.
Basic algebra is enough for the test. 

You should always mention your assets when applying, your schooling and relations in this case are assets.

Best of luck.


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## sdonapel

Thanks a lot!


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## Kunolop

.................


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## icefalkon

You know...it's classy individuals like the above poster that make this so enjoyable. I'm SURE that the benefits to working non-union in Canada outweigh the wonders of belonging to an organization with unlimited educational opportunity, retirement, medical, life insurance, paid holidays, and better work conditions. Not to mention the ability to work anywhere in the United States...oh yeah...AND Canada if I really wanted to enjoy the cold. 

So, back to the OP before the immature attempt at hijacking the thread...

Go over basic algebra, reading comprehension, and some Locals test you on spacial relationships on paper. 

Be honest, show all your education, stay calm, and you'll do fine.


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## cwsims84

sdonapel said:


> Hey everyone I was wondering if anyone could help me with my preparation for the aptitude test and if basic algebra is enough. I am 19 and i studied Electrical and Network cablling in 3 years of tech during high school and this is the first chance I have to get in the union. I was wondering if saying I have a relative in the union when i applied actually helps and if they will frown upon me already having schooling when they review my transcripts. I am looking to build a long sustainable career in this industry and really want this. Thanks!


multiplying polynomials, solving equations, solving equations using graphs, and solving patterns.. obviously the reading comprehension is just that.. if you took algebra 1 and geometry in high school and still remember most of it you will do just fine... as for the the guy who said the union is the wrong way to go, youll probably make more than him hourly as a second year apprentice, jealousy has a way of bringing out the worst in people.


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## Tonedeaf

98's a good gig.

You need to go do a full court press on your relative in the local to talk to the right ppl...or anyone else that can help in that regard. It's not what you know it's who.

Good luck


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## icefalkon

As Tonedeaf said...make sure your relatives go to bat for you. Everything helps. I'm sure there will thousands applying for the slots that are opening up.


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## sdonapel

Thanks everyone. Ill make sure I keep nagging my brother-in-law to make some calls. Applications end today and I applied on April 1st and was the first one. That probably means nothing though haha.


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## LanceBass

I don't think basic algebra is enough. Basic algebra is just solving for an x value.


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## J.Dunner

You might not find out if your excepted until the fall, sometimes as late as November. There's a lot of variables at play.


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## bml215

Good luck man, 98 from what I have heard is extremely picky. You don't get in unless you know someone important. If they don't take you try king of Prussia, they are very accepting, and from what I heard also hurting for lineman. I think they are 303.


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## J.Dunner

bml215 said:


> Good luck man, 98 from what I have heard is extremely picky. You don't get in unless you know someone important. If they don't take you try king of Prussia, they are very accepting, and from what I heard also hurting for lineman. I think they are 303.


God almighty......Gotta love the internet. People just love making things up.
98 only excepts application for apprentices the first two weeks in April. Obviously, you missed this years group.

King of Prussia is in local 380's area. I wouldn't even waste my time applying there as they have almost no market share and are declining in membership rapidly.

Also, 380 doesn't have a linesman division. If you would like to work as a lineman, apply at local 126 on Germantowne Pike, or try to see if PECO is hiring.

If you wanna try one of the NJ locals, the only one I would suggest is local 456 out of Brunswick. They have both inside and outside jurisdiction and from what I understand have near full employment right now.

Good luck.


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## Jbowyer24

What's wrong with 351 in jersey, lack of work? I go Friday for my interview for outside lineman... I think I would get placed in 351 based on where I live, but I went through the neat program so I'm not sure yet.


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## bml215

J.Dunner said:


> God almighty......Gotta love the internet. People just love making things up.
> 98 only excepts application for apprentices the first two weeks in April. Obviously, you missed this years group.
> 
> King of Prussia is in local 380's area. I wouldn't even waste my time applying there as they have almost no market share and are declining in membership rapidly.
> 
> Also, 380 doesn't have a linesman division. If you would like to work as a lineman, apply at local 126 on Germantowne Pike, or try to see if PECO is hiring.
> 
> If you wanna try one of the NJ locals, the only one I would suggest is local 456 out of Brunswick. They have both inside and outside jurisdiction and from what I understand have near full employment right now.
> 
> Good luck.


I said "from what I heard". I didn't say for sure, I am not a fan of the union so I don't follow them.


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## J.Dunner

Jbowyer24 said:


> What's wrong with 351 in jersey, lack of work? I go Friday for my interview for outside lineman... I think I would get placed in 351 based on where I live, but I went through the neat program so I'm not sure yet.


Yeah, 351 is the local where the business agents warn the scabs _"that a picket line is coming and to try to get to work before the line comes." _ Then, for good measure the business agent will explain how he has to pretend that he cares because of the size of the job.

How do I know this to be true??? Because I was once that scab.
I mean, if you wanna join a local that collects due's from it's members but doesn't serve the membership or the jurisdiction then by all means, join 351!


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## J.Dunner

bml215 said:


> I said "from what I heard". I didn't say for sure, I am not a fan of the union so I don't follow them.


Could of fooled me.............




bml215 said:


> Good luck man, 98 from what I have heard is extremely picky. You don't get in unless you know someone important. If they don't take you try king of Prussia, they are very accepting, and from what I heard also hurting for lineman. I think they are 303.


:whistling2:


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## bml215

Yup, recently heard that from a pro-union guy about 2 weeks ago and figured I'd pass it on, did f up the local number and the lineman thing. And everyone has said 98 takes you only if you know someone already in there. They only accept like 40 people out of 200 that passed their test.


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## J.Dunner

bml215 said:


> Yup, recently heard that from a pro-union guy about 2 weeks ago and figured I'd pass it on, did f up the local number and the lineman thing. And everyone has said 98 takes you only if you know someone already in there. They only accept like 40 people out of 200 that passed their test.


The rumor mill never stops running......My apprentice group had 190 people in it. Some how I managed to get accepted without knowing, blowing, or owing anyone anything.


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## Jbowyer24

I know a lot of guys in 98... Extremely selective as far as they have told me. And I haven't once heard that about 351, maybe it's because I'm not going to be an IW but my cousin and both of my uncles are IW in 351 and seem to have a pretty decent life. Everyone has opinions though I suppose. I just don't see how that would benefit an agent to forewarn scabs of picket lines, sounds like a waste of their time.


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## bml215

Rumors or not never hurts to apply anyway


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## J.Dunner

Jbowyer24 said:


> I know a lot of guys in 98... Extremely selective as far as they have told me. And I haven't once heard that about 351, maybe it's because I'm not going to be an IW but my cousin and both of my uncles are IW in 351 and seem to have a pretty decent life. Everyone has opinions though I suppose. I just don't see how that would benefit an agent to forewarn scabs of picket lines, sounds like a waste of their time.


OK. 
I made the whole story up. 
Do yourself a favor, drive through South Jersey and find as many construction sites as you can, then count how many of them are actually union.
When I was non-union, the two biggest markets in the area for the open shops were South Jersey and most of Montgomery & Bucks county in PA.

Ask your family members why they allow so much work to go bad????


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## drumnut08

Jbowyer24 said:


> What's wrong with 351 in jersey, lack of work? I go Friday for my interview for outside lineman... I think I would get placed in 351 based on where I live, but I went through the neat program so I'm not sure yet.


Nothing is wrong with any local when they can employ their membership . That is a very rare thing these days unfortunately ! I don't belong to 351 , but have worked in their territory a lot . The problem is , they have a ton of guys on the bench right now . If you're starting out as a lineman going through the apprenticeship , you'll probably be ok ? Apprentices tend to work more than journeyman do because of their bottom of the rung pay . You hold on to the cheap labor as long as you can , but you need a good mix of apprentices and journeyman on any job . Most locals operate pretty similar and it definitely helps to be known and know some people too . Whatever you choose , good luck and don't get discouraged ! This economy isn't exactly rebounding like some tell us , lol !


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## J.Dunner

bml215 said:


> Rumors or not never hurts to apply anyway


Sure, it doesn't hurt, BUT if you want a members advice on where in the area you will have the best chance to be successful and actually work, I would apply in NJ-456, Philly-98 (Next April), PA-126 for Lineman, or with PECO, the local utility in SEPA.

Honestly, out of all them, the best gig would be with PECO.

Another question to ask yourself when applying is, what's the locals market share like? Most places are slow, but is it because of their market share, or because of their market?

Trenton NJ isn't a bad local either. Local 269. The only thing is, they are starting to implement the CE/CW program. Personally, I would probably leave my local if they implemented that program.


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## Jbowyer24

No need to get ****ty and jump down my throat I was just telling you what I heard. My family friends that do outside that are 351 are steadily employed through Pseg. I'm not even sure ill be placed in 351, I'm just assuming so because its the jurisdiction I live in. Hell I'm not even sure ill get through the interview stage.


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## J.Dunner

Jbowyer24 said:


> No need to get ****ty and jump down my throat I was just telling you what I heard. My family friends that do outside that are 351 are steadily employed through Pseg. I'm not even sure ill be placed in 351, I'm just assuming so because its the jurisdiction I live in. Hell I'm not even sure ill get through the interview stage.


I wasn't getting ****ty and jumping down your throat.
I was just being honest with you.
Good luck with whatever you do.


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## Jbowyer24

I went through NEAT1968... Didn't apply directly to any local. I'm not really sure of the process to be honest, they may place me where needed or the jurisdiction I'm in I'm not really sure.


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## Jbowyer24

Curious question for you though, I'm located in mt laurel, 08054. Moved last week from Delian, 08075. Did I change from 351 jurisdiction to 269? Everything is right on the border in this area.


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## drumnut08

Jbowyer24 said:


> Curious question for you though, I'm located in mt laurel, 08054. Moved last week from Delian, 08075. Did I change from 351 jurisdiction to 269? Everything is right on the border in this area.


My laurel is still 351 territory .


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## drumnut08

Jbowyer24 said:


> Curious question for you though, I'm located in mt laurel, 08054. Moved last week from Delian, 08075. Did I change from 351 jurisdiction to 269? Everything is right on the border in this area.


I should know , I live here , lol . I belong to that not so bad local on Trenton too by the way , lol .


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## drumnut08

drumnut08 said:


> I should know , I live here , lol . I belong to that not so bad local on Trenton too by the way , lol .


In not on . Big thumbs and i phones don't mix !


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## J.Dunner

drumnut08 said:


> I should know , I live here , lol . I belong to that not so bad local on Trenton too by the way , lol .


Hey, is it true that half your administration runs scab shops on the side? LOL!


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## Jbowyer24

I hear you, I do the same thing all the time! Thats a pretty sweet gig, are you a lineman?


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## drumnut08

J.Dunner said:


> Hey, is it true that half your administration runs scab shops on the side? LOL!


Not sure , anything is possible , lol ? I'm not on the inner circle , lol !


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## J.Dunner

drumnut08 said:


> Not sure , anything is possible , lol ? I'm not on the inner circle , lol !


I heard that your Organizer & Recording Secretary run scab shops on the side.
If thats true they should be reported to the IO, brought up on charges, and then the FBI should be called and a RICO investigation should start.

Hell, your business manager doesn't even live in his own jurisdiction! :laughing:
That's one hell of an organization they're running there! :laughing::laughing:


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## J.Dunner

sorry if I'm coming off rough. Sometimes our elected officials make me wonder....


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## drumnut08

J.Dunner said:


> sorry if I'm coming off rough. Sometimes our elected officials make me wonder....


I really don't know any of that to be true , but anything is possible , lol ? I've worked side by side with one of the business agents and can vouch for him . Are you in 98 ? I'm sure more Backdoor underhanded deals go down that any of us care to know about , lol ! Besides , you were telling the kid we were a decent local , what happened , lol ? I don't take any of this personally , so you won't offend me .


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## drumnut08

J.Dunner said:


> sorry if I'm coming off rough. Sometimes our elected officials make me wonder....


Our elected officials for " everything " , make me wonder , not just my local !


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## eejack

J.Dunner said:


> I heard that your Organizer & Recording Secretary run scab shops on the side.
> If thats true they should be reported to the IO, brought up on charges, and then the FBI should be called and a RICO investigation should start.
> 
> Hell, your business manager doesn't even live in his own jurisdiction! :laughing:
> That's one hell of an organization they're running there! :laughing::laughing:


So you go from complaining that folks make things up and spread rumors ( post 13 ) to doing the same yourself.

If you actually know something to be true, call it in to the IO yourself, otherwise you are just publicly smearing folks' reputations for no reason, which is not very nice of you.


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## J.Dunner

drumnut08 said:


> I really don't know any of that to be true , but anything is possible , lol ? I've worked side by side with one of the business agents and can vouch for him . Are you in 98 ? I'm sure more Backdoor underhanded deals go down that any of us care to know about , lol ! Besides , you were telling the kid we were a decent local , what happened , lol ? I don't take any of this personally , so you won't offend me .


Yes, I am a 98 member. And NO, despite popular opinion we are NOT involved in any underhanded backroom dealings. The FBI just wasted tons and tons of tax payers money investigating us over the last 5 years and determined that we are squeaky clean. 
:laughing:


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## eejack

J.Dunner said:


> Yes, I am a 98 member. And NO, despite popular opinion we are NOT involved in any underhanded backroom dealings. The FBI just wasted tons and tons of tax payers money investigating us over the last 5 years and determined that we are squeaky clean.
> :laughing:


All the locals are going to go through that over the next bunch of years, they seem to be working the northeast now. Seems the FBI has a particular problem, they get organized labor and organized crime confused. 98 caught a hell of a lot of bad press...and look, no issue...but you still get to live with the stigma of the accusations.


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## J.Dunner

eejack said:


> So you go from complaining that folks make things up and spread rumors ( post 13 ) to doing the same yourself.
> 
> If you actually know something to be true, call it in to the IO yourself, otherwise you are just publicly smearing folks' reputations for no reason, which is not very nice of you.



I know EXACTLY what I am talking about. It is not my place to file a charge with the IO in another locals affairs. It is up to the members to run their own local as they see fit. If they are OK losing market share (Princeton University going SCAB) while their officers OPENLY run scab shops who bootleg in other locals jurisdictions then that is their is business. It will not be any of my business unless those scabs creep into my local and work UTR. 


Did I name names????? NO. Do you want me to???? On a public website? 
Or would you want it in a PM.....


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## J.Dunner

eejack said:


> All the locals are going to go through that over the next bunch of years, they seem to be working the northeast now. Seems the FBI has a particular problem, they get organized labor and organized crime confused. 98 caught a hell of a lot of bad press...and look, no issue...but you still get to live with the stigma of the accusations.


What bad press?


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## eejack

J.Dunner said:


> I know EXACTLY what I am talking about....


Oh gee, you are right, you didn't name names. Just publicly accused a sister local of rampant corruption.


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## drumnut08

J.Dunner said:


> I know EXACTLY what I am talking about. It is not my place to file a charge with the IO in another locals affairs. It is up to the members to run their own local as they see fit. If they are OK losing market share (Princeton University going SCAB) while their officers OPENLY run scab shops who bootleg in other locals jurisdictions then that is their is business. It will not be any of my business unless those scabs creep into my local and work UTR.
> 
> Did I name names????? NO. Do you want me to???? On a public website?
> Or would you want it in a PM.....


Go ahead and name names then , lol ! Shoot me a pm and I'll tell you how squeaky clean Johnny doc is , lol . I love how 269 goes from being a not so bad local to join , to the most corrupt in the IO ? Which is it ?


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## J.Dunner

eejack said:


> Oh gee, you are right, you didn't name names. Just publicly accused a sister local of rampant corruption.


Doesn't mean what I said isn't true.



drumnut08 said:


> Go ahead and name names then , lol ! Shoot me a pm and I'll tell you how squeaky clean Johnny doc is , lol . I love how 269 goes from being a not so bad local to join , to the most corrupt in the IO ? Which is it ?


269 has a lot of really good people as members. 269 and my local have a really good relationship. I never said that they were the most corrupt in the IBEW. And despite the negative things I have said, I would still recommend them to any young person looking to join the IBEW.

Tell me about John. What super secrete insider information do you have that will end the whole thing?! :laughing:


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## drumnut08

J.Dunner said:


> I know EXACTLY what I am talking about. It is not my place to file a charge with the IO in another locals affairs. It is up to the members to run their own local as they see fit. If they are OK losing market share (Princeton University going SCAB) while their officers OPENLY run scab shops who bootleg in other locals jurisdictions then that is their is business. It will not be any of my business unless those scabs creep into my local and work UTR.
> 
> Did I name names????? NO. Do you want me to???? On a public website?
> Or would you want it in a PM.....


Princeton university is not at all going " scab " either ! I'm not a big fan of that word since I was once " non union " too . You sure seem to know a lot about jersey locals for a Philly guy ? Not sure where you're getting all your info . , but I'm sure most , if not all of it is slightly skewed at best . Anything amiss in locals 1 - 1000 ? Just curious ?


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## drumnut08

J.Dunner said:


> Doesn't mean what I said isn't true.
> 
> 269 has a lot of really good people as members. 269 and my local have a really good relationship. I never said that they were the most corrupt in the IBEW. And despite the negative things I have said, I would still recommend them to any young person looking to join the IBEW.
> 
> Tell me about John. What super secrete insider information do you have that will end the whole thing?! :laughing:


Well , it's not super secret , but his commercials aren't the greatest , lol ! I don't see a professional acting career in his immediate future , but if he does right by his members , that's all that matters .


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## Jbowyer24

Wow lol in light of all this I still have hopes that 351 will do right by me. Ill take this thread with a grain of salt and see my opportunity through to the end.


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## drumnut08

Jbowyer24 said:


> Wow lol in light of all this I still have hopes that 351 will do right by me. Ill take this thread with a grain of salt and see my opportunity through to the end.


Don't feel put off by the bickering man . This is just friendly local brothers bickering over things that may or may not be true ? It's seldom one big happy family , but I think for the most part , we look out for one another ?


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## Jbowyer24

Oh I'm not put off by the bickering, more so the fact that its been states 351 doesn't do right by their members.


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## Jbowyer24

Just had my interview today, fairly sure I aced it. He said there's 115 prospective and I will not be on the bottom of the list he's positive of. I received the second highest test score in my class and based on how I feel I did at the interview Id say I did well there too. Hopefully it's not too long before they call me for my boot camp, I receive my official letter and ranking sometime in the next ten days. 

I'm definitely excited to get this thing rolling.


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