Taking PE Electrical in 2008

I plan on taking the PE Electrical Exam in October 2008 and I was wondering what advise people who have taken and passed it in the past can give me. i'm really apprehensive on taking the "the other board" class since I hear mixed reveiws. Any help would be greatly appreciated

I plan on taking the PE Electrical Exam in October 2008 and I was wondering what advise people who have taken and passed it in the past can give me. i'm really apprehensive on taking the "the other board" class since I hear mixed reveiws. Any help would be greatly appreciated

On the main page, go down to EXAM DISCIPLINES, then to Electrical. Thats where us EEs hang.

You'll find lots of detailed info on book lists to study and bring into the exam and review courses. You'll also want google IEEE PE Review DVDs and check ebay (these are $$$, but great).

Also, if taking Power PM Depth, check out the Mike Holt NEC DVD series, they give lots of info besides just NEC, like transformers, motors, etc. These are also $$$, but you can rent then for $15 per week from www.smartflix.com under construction then under electrical.

Good luck!!!

thanks for the advise! I just hope if I get an early enough head start i can pass the PE on the first try.

I started about this time last year for the April '07 exam. I wasted two weeks studying calc, then lost another two weeks in Feb. I graduated in '93, got the EIT in '95 and I passed, so don't despair.

I put in about 150 hours; roughly 3 weeksnights @ 3 hrs/night + 4 hours Sat & 4 hours Sun. = 17 hrs/week x 10 weeks = 170 hours ( - 20 hours off nodding off and glancing up at the TV from time to time) = 150 hours.

Tips:

1) Set a good schedule and use a calendar to track your progress.

2) Have all your books and references that you'll use and use those while you study. As you study, tab well, over tab if need be. It will save you prescious time during the exam. You can add more if you need to fill in some areas, but don't take any away. In my opinion, its better to carry in 10 extra books if you get one answer right because you had the right book!

3) Anything useful you find on the Internet, print it out and bind it in a 3 ring binder. Divide these binders by sections (Computer, Power, etc) and tab those as well.

4) When I was done studying each night, I packed the books into the three plastic milk crates that I put on a dolly and bungee corded down on exam day. Then each day I started studying, I got used to knowing where stuff was in the crates. I also had a duffle bag I placed on top of the crated dolly with stuff like ear plugs, Tylenol, stop watch, regular watch, spare batteries and calculator, power bars and snack to eat on the way to the restroom if I was hungry, a jacket in case I was cold and a t-shirt in case I was hot (another restroom trip).

Dig in!!

Almost forgot, also in my goodie dufflebag:

- Seat cushion: memory foam or regular kitchen chair type. You're sitting for a long time and them bones get tired. You don't need the distraction.

- Ginseng: I used red panax liquid. I relaxes and sharpens mental functions.

IMPORTANT!!!

- Your ID: Driver's license, etc. No test without it.

- Admission slip: No admission without it.

If you are taking the power depth exam, I recommend these books: Electrical Power Systems Technology and Electrical Systems Design, both by Theodore Bosela. I read both of these cover to cover and did the problems in them, probably did both of those things twice, and then used Schaum's outlines for additional practice problems, and I felt like I nailed the PM portion of the exam. (My degree is in electrical engineering (i.e. electronics and control systems) so I didn't know any of the power stuff from school.)

I started studying in February for the October exam, which was probably overkill, but I wanted to try to do 1 hour/night every day. In the beginning I probably studied like this 4x/week, and by the end I studied every day, 2 or 2.5 hours a night during the week and 4 hours each Saturday and Sunday. If you are a "typical" geeky engineer (!) you may actually kind of enjoy the studying - I did! Good luck.

Oh, and these boards rock! Great for motivation or a little study break.

how do you feel about the MGI course? I keep hear about it in the forums but i'm not sure if the person who's recommending it is someone that works there. Any help would be great!

IMHO the most important thing to do is to get the NCEES sample questions and answers and give it a try cold, to see what you remember. Although no reference is perfect, this is most representative of the actual exam. Then, put is away for a while, get some "the other board" books, especially problem books, and work a lot of problems. I don't know about MGI but I took a course and feel it helped me.

Good luck and post often!

shellbell500 said:

If you are taking the power depth exam, I recommend these books: Electrical Power Systems Technology and Electrical Systems Design, both by Theodore Bosela. I read both of these cover to cover and did the problems in them, probably did both of those things twice, and then used Schaum's outlines for additional practice problems, and I felt like I nailed the PM portion of the exam. (My degree is in electrical engineering (i.e. electronics and control systems) so I didn't know any of the power stuff from school.)
I started studying in February for the October exam, which was probably overkill, but I wanted to try to do 1 hour/night every day. In the beginning I probably studied like this 4x/week, and by the end I studied every day, 2 or 2.5 hours a night during the week and 4 hours each Saturday and Sunday. If you are a "typical" geeky engineer (!) you may actually kind of enjoy the studying - I did! Good luck.

Oh, and these boards rock! Great for motivation or a little study break.

Click to expand...

where did you find the power books? i can't seem to find them on amazon, books a million, or barnes & noble. i am thinking of attempting the power exam even though i'm a digital guy.

bgibson said:

where did you find the power books? i can't seem to find them on amazon, books a million, or barnes & noble. i am thinking of attempting the power exam even though i'm a digital guy.

Click to expand...

I got some of my books from http://www.constructionbook.com/.

The MGI course is good and I liked it. It gets you up to speed and with the mini exams you can evaluate yourself.

also the KAPLAN sample exam is a good review material.

The other important element is to solve as much as problems you can. get familiar with NCEES problem style because that what you expect at the exam.

I solved all the sample exams that I had and tried to score at lease 75-80%, which raised my level of confidents in me before attending the exam..... It took me more than one try to pass....I listened to a word of wisdom from my 6 years old “not to give up and keep trying until I pass”......I am glad I listened to her!

Good luck!

bgibson said:

where did you find the power books? i can't seem to find them on amazon, books a million, or barnes & noble. i am thinking of attempting the power exam even though i'm a digital guy.

Click to expand...

Google "theodore bosela" and some sellers should pop up. I come from an engineering family so one of the books was a christmas present years ago (yup - merry christmas to me!) and the other I must have found by googling bosela.