Electrical PE Exam - Apr. 2016

[knight1fox3]

For those taking the PE Exam, GOOD LUCK!  Also, as a friendly reminder, please be aware that you signed an agreement with NCEES not to discuss any specific content on the exam. NCEES monitors this forum regularly and especially around exam time. Note the previous post below where one test-taker was close to revealing too much information. Don't let that happen to you. When in doubt, keep it to yourself. :thumbs:

As a reminder, when you took the NCEES examination you signed an agreement that included the statement that you agreed you will not reveal in whole or part any exam questions, answers, problems, or solutions to anyone during or after the exam, whether orally, in writing, or any internet chat rooms, or otherwise. This agreement also stated that failure to comply with this could invalidate your exam results.

I was just reviewing a borderline post from this website with my Manager of Compliance and Security when it was edited by the poster. Please do not share exam content - we do not wish to invalidate your results.

That said, in order to take your mind off the results waiting game, feel free to join us in the games sub-forum of the shoot the breeze section for a memorial 10k (or however long it needs to go). Or get involved and tell us about your family or discuss your favorite movies or TV shows. We'd love to get to know you now that the studying is either over or delayed until next time.

And finally, the test is over, you either passed or failed. You can't deduce the cut score and you can't make the results come any faster, so not that me saying that is going to make you feel any less anxious, but it still MUST be said.

 

[TWJ PE]

Breaking: results have been released!! Contact your Board ASAP if yours isn't posted. No? Too soon? Ok.

Seriously, good luck everyone!

I'll see you all on the other side.

Volts and VARS (capacitive),

TWJ

 

[Ken PE 3.1]

ELI the ICE man.

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

 

[Ken PE 3.1]

Breaking: results have been released!! Contact your Board ASAP if yours isn't posted. No? Too soon? Ok.Seriously, good luck everyone!

I'll see you all on the other side.

Volts and VARS (capacitive),

TWJ

They have to actually take the test before that song gets sung.

 

[TWJ PE]

They have to actually take the test before that song gets sung.

Yabut, I just wanted to be the first. Does that count?

Either way, rookie mistake...it's my first time taking it.

 

[TWJ PE]

Can't fade this image right now.

 

[Ken PE 3.1]

14 minutes ago, Ken PE 3.0 said: They have to actually take the test before that song gets sung.

Yabut, I just wanted to be the first. Does that count?Either way, rookie mistake...it's my first time taking it.

First timer? BIG rookie mistake. lol

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

 

[TWJ PE]

What time does the forum close? Reopen?

 

[knight1fox3]

What time does the forum close? Reopen?

Will likely be closed tomorrow morning and re-open Monday morning.

 

[TWJ PE]

Well the other side is here...

What did ya'll think of the exam?

 

[Ken PE 3.1]

Well the other side is here...

What did ya'll think of the exam?

Welcome to the edge of the abyss.

 

[jmooney5115]

The analytical questions were tougher than I expected. However, since I concentrated my studying on practice exams I did good on the analysis questions. 

The end of May can't get here quick enough.

 

[matt267 PE]

The end of May June can't get here quick enough.

fixt

 

[TWJ PE]

Ha Ha... I did see last year Texas released their results on May 22nd.

I can tell you that my NCEES account changed to.... "Result Pending."

Tick tock...

 

[knight1fox3]

Would like to hear feedback on how the exam went for everyone, specifically the Power PE exam.  And to keep the mood somewhat light-hearted, here's one of my favorite Power PE exam recaps that I usually post each cycle to add some humor:

[quote name="bingcrosbyb" post="6876328" timestamp="1302551498"]
EE - Power. "You sunk my battleship."

Preparation Time/Materials: 250 total hours. 5 textbooks, prep coursework notebook, 2 notebooks of graduate class material, calculators, snacks, rolling suitcase.

Money: ~$1,550.

General Observations: Arrived at my site 30 minutes prior to report time. Noticed that many others had literally libraries and libraries of books. Someone had a giant wagon with bungie cords holding all of the books together. Others just had a single piece of paper. Wild. I randomly started thinking of a national geographic special with narration by Morgan Freeman on PE test taking habits. I needed that laugh to clear my head.

AM Session: Felt the AM session was great. Only ended up with 6-7 that I didn't have a single solid answer or couldn't find it in my reference. I finished slightly early and checked only some of my work.

PM Session: Total unadulterated bloodbath. Couldn't seem to concentrate enough to find the equations I needed. Calculator was spitting out answers that were out of this world. Saw stuff that I barely covered in droves. About 2-3 hours into the afternoon, my brain felt like it had been through a dishwasher and I started hopping around from question to question. Not good. I will be lucky if I got a quarter to half right. I might as well have taken another discipline in the afternoon or gone to work. A monkey may have been able to do better.

Final Thoughts: As I left the exam area, I felt numb, dumb, and a little crushed. I felt like I blew the morning session out of the water. Then the PE got off a torpedo as I was heading to collect my stamp, promotion, and better life. I'm not very good at guessing and doing the math in my head all weekend I kept envisioning a percentage score in the upper 60s with an afternoon diagnostic that simply says "monkey". 6 months of neglecting my wife and family might be for nothing in the end except doing it all over again. I know the pass rate for repeaters is low, but what is the divorce rate?

Oh well. If I recall from a coworker, last years results were released in around 45-50 days following the exam. I think he got his in late May. We shall see. I guess the ultimate decision is now do I crack open another book....or another beer?

 

 

[H_Town_Power]

I keep second guessing myself about the questions. Now I'm not certain I fully remember the questions to know if I answered them correctly or not. I figure I can miss 24ish questions and still pass. It was a brutal test. My friend and I both felt the test was tougher than the NCEES Practice Exam. What got me were the conceptual questions. The morning section was a lot more difficult than I expected. The afternoon was easy and tough at the same time. It is easy to psych yourself out. I've been told that in the past the morning section was the easier section and afternoon was more difficult. I easily studied over 200 hours for the exam and passed the NCES practice exam when I took it but feel iffy about the exam from this past weekend. If I passed, it wasn't by much and if I failed, I don't think it was by much. All I can do now is wait and pray. I hope I am fortunate enough to only take this exam once. I'm just trying to decide if I should keep studying a little every now and then, in case I don't pass. That way I don't have to start from near ground zero again. On the positive side, if I do fail, I know what I need to study to help pass the exam in the future.

 

[Ken PE 3.1]

I keep second guessing myself about the questions. Now I'm not certain I fully remember the questions to know if I answered them correctly or not. I figure I can miss 24ish questions and still pass. It was a brutal test. My friend and I both felt the test was tougher than the NCEES Practice Exam. What got me were the conceptual questions. The morning section was a lot more difficult than I expected. The afternoon was easy and tough at the same time. It is easy to psych yourself out. I've been told that in the past the morning section was the easier section and afternoon was more difficult. I easily studied over 200 hours for the exam and passed the NCES practice exam when I took it but feel iffy about the exam from this past weekend. If I passed, it wasn't by much and if I failed, I don't think it was by much. All I can do now is wait and pray. I hope I am fortunate enough to only take this exam once. I'm just trying to decide if I should keep studying a little every now and then, in case I don't pass. That way I don't have to start from near ground zero again. On the positive side, if I do fail, I know what I need to study to help pass the exam in the future.

Take a break and wait for the results. If it doesn't go your way, the diagnostics will give you the areas you need to improve on.

Enjoy the time to get out and smell the crisp spring air. With any luck, you will be selling books instead of reading them!

 

[TWJ PE]

Well I was hoping some other folks would chime in first but I'll post my thoughts.

1) At my exam site, the "Chief Proctor" was a complete dick and unprofessional. I can excuse/understand the dick part; however, I'm having a hard time overlooking the unprofessional part. Especially after we were read messages from both NCEES and TBPE regarding ethics and professionalism.  I will likely write a letter after my results are posted.

Now... about the exam. Pencil was black. I remember waiting outside to get admitted into the room wondering what the heck it was going to be. As soon as I took my sit I wanted to post on here, but obviously couldn't. I also spoke to several other folks while waiting. Some of them were telling war stories from previous exams that folks had got kicked out for doing X, Y, and Z. I remember thinking WTF for most of the stuff they got booted for.

Honestly, I thought the exam was pretty fair. There were certainly things I wasn't that familiar with (and I assume that's probably par for the course comparing to a lot of people's day-to-day).

Pre-Exam
I stayed a block away from where the testing site was. I'm glad I did that so I didn't have to worry about traffic and everything else that could have went wrong on my commute. When I left the house, I was probably 20 minutes out when I realized I forgot my watch. I ended up finding a Wal-Mart and buying a little one to place on the floor. Arrived at my hotel and prepared for the morning. After that, I jumped on here, web surfed, and watched playoff hockey. I felt fairly relaxed. As night turned to morning, I slept like shit (as expected - I did for the FE too). I hit up the buffet at the hotel for my morning fuel. Then packed up and headed to the site.

AM
I feel pretty good overall about it. My first pass through I was probably able to get 65% of the questions (not including the questions I intentionally skipped as part of my strategy). At the end there were probably 6-8 questions I had to really dig for. Most of them I was able to come up with an answer while one question I was just completely unprepared for. With this being my first time, I didn't really know what to expect and feel pretty good on how I prepared. I can tell you one thing, the 4 hours flew by. I think that's a good thing and showed me how focused and locked in I was. I also didn't really feel panicked.

Lunch
Lunch flew by too. I was able to relax and eat my sandwich in peace. I was worried that my lack of sleep would likely catch up to me in the afternoon - so I took a good line of cocaine to solve that problem. Folks, I'm just kidding - I'm just seeing if people are actually reading this. Before I knew it, it was time to head back into the war room.

PM
Overall, I felt the AM and PM were equal. If I had to pick one being harder, I would choose the PM (just barely). My first pass wasn't as successful as the AM, but I knew I had the resources to knock out a good portion of them. These 4 hours went by fast too. I don't really remember a whole a lot about the PM

Post Exam
Walking out I felt like I am on the good side, but only time will tell. I do think I was over prepared. I probably only used 8 books of the many I took (that's another thread when results are posted). As I drove off, my only regret was not packing a cold brew to enjoy in the parking lot. As I drove home, I was certainly replaying some of the questions in my mind and some doubt began to sit in. Did I fall for a hidden trap, etc.?

Only time will tell, which at this point we have plenty of...

Here's to waiting...cheers!

 

[Ken PE 3.1]

glad someone else remembered to snort coke relax during lunch! 

 

[MM2]

I'm really stressed ...I prepared for this test since August and did around 11 practice exams but unfortunately I Know that I missed more than 24 questions in the actual test...is the cut off score always 56??