Electrical PE Exam - Apr. 2017

[knight1fox3]

For those who have just taken PE Exam, GOOD LUCK on your results!  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.

 

[knight1fox3]

Other than that, how'd it go overall? Each cycle I like to post a particular favorite exam recap from another EB member. It still makes me laugh.

And yes, despite the negative recap, he did in fact end up passing.

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?

 

[Owism]

Last night I kept dreaming about solving one problem in 10 different ways... 

Good relief the burden of the exam is behind.. now just the suspense of the results.

I bought myself an Indian tabla drum set to enjoy and had a grill over the weekend to relax. Now time to start the 5:2 Fast diet (aka Mohammad's fast) to help me come back to healthy standing after months of sitting and studying. Oh yeah and getting a desk cycle to burn any extra calories that remain after fasting

V:

 

[trainrider]

Morning exam was brutal, but afternoon was not bad. Good luck to everyone!

 

[Opisthenar PE]

After the exam, I really didn't have a feeling if I passed or failed. I didn't feel I bombed the exam, but I didn't feel as if I passed either. I was content on how I did.

Overall, I think I studied about 150 hours, mostly doing practice exams. I thought the effort was well spent, even though quite a few problems were things I hadn't seen before doing practice. Some of the problems were common sense, and some problems I just lucked out with the references I brought.

I found the morning easier than the afternoon. I used the full 8 hours for the exam and time to go back once to check the answers for the morning and afternoon section.

 

[Limamike]

I think over all the exam was tough, as I would have expected.  I didn't feel that there were as many conceptual questions this time around. However, the demand and reliability questions seem a bit off to me. That said, the second part had a lot of motor stuff which could have been brutal if you didn't have the right resources 

 

[justin-hawaii]

Hey everyone!  I put together a survey for the power PE exam to hopefully help the next set of test takers.  If you took the exam in April 2017, please take a few minutes to take the survey.  My hope is that the survey results could be given to a new test taker that shows how everyone studied and what references they used.  Thank you in advance!  

Power PE Exam Survey:  https://goo.gl/forms/7Gf8KShmaFQqjnGF3

Congratulations on taking the exam!  If you have any suggestions to the survey, I will gladly make any changes.  

 

[Princess Leia]

Without discussing or mentioning any specific details about exam questions, how do you feel about difficulty of the latest Power PE exam? How did you do? Do you think you have any chance to pass?

 

[knight1fox3]

The possibility of successfully navigating the Power PE exam is approximately 3,720 to 1.

 

[justin-hawaii]

Hi Princess Leia,

I put together a survey for the power PE exam to hopefully answer your question.  If you took the exam in April 2017, please take a few minutes to take the survey.  My hope is that the survey results could also be given to a new test taker that shows how everyone studied, how confident they felt and what references they used.  Thank you in advance!  

Power PE Exam Survey:  https://goo.gl/forms/7Gf8KShmaFQqjnGF3

Congratulations on taking the exam!  If you have any suggestions to the survey, I will gladly make any changes.  

 

[Owism]

The morning part was harder than the afternoon. This one had less theoretical questions than the Oct 2016.

I started studying early last year 7 months pre the October 2016, starting fresh slate never before learning Electric Power but do have knowledge of Electrical Engineering in the form of a B.S. 

After failing Oct 2016 I started ramping up my materials, purchasing and studying Chapman, Grainger, Wildi, Complex Imaginary from a nice fellow on this forum. Then I binded hundreds of other print outs from online depending on my weaknesses in understanding.  Best thing I feel helped me was just doing practice.

Now I wait in suspense.. 

 

[rg1]

It is very difficult to visualize how hard or easy was the question paper without comparing it with a known reference. Can the comparison be from the available references like from NCEES, CI, PPI question papers in public domain? 

 

[rg1]

The possibility of successfully navigating the Power PE exam is approximately 3,720 to 1.

Do you mean 1 in 3720? or 1 in 3.72, then what is 66-68% figures available on net?

 

[knight1fox3]

Do you mean 1 in 3720? or 1 in 3.72, then what is 66-68% figures available on net?

Clearly not a Star Wars fan.

 

[justin-hawaii]

Owism, It seems like people shared your experience.  The responses lead towards the AM session being slightly harder than the PM session.  I have 8 responses total, so hopefully we get more feedback.  

Power PE Exam Survey:  https://goo.gl/forms/7Gf8KShmaFQqjnGF3

 

[KatyLied P.E.]

 

[Ken PE 3.1]

The possibility of successfully navigating the Power PE exam is approximately 3,720 to 1.

Don't ever tell me the odds.

-Han

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

 

[BigWheel]

I felt like the afternoon session was harder than the morning. Either way, it was a brutal test, in my opinion. I honestly don't know if I passed or not, but I sure as hell hope I did so that I don't have to go through it again. Ugh...

 

[knight1fox3]

I felt like the afternoon session was harder than the morning. Either way, it was a brutal test, in my opinion. I honestly don't know if I passed or not, but I sure as hell hope I did so that I don't have to go through it again. Ugh...

So would this be a similar recap based on your experience? http://engineerboards.com/index.php?/topic/28387-electrical-pe-exam-apr-2017/&do=findComment&comment=7414560

 

[BigWheel]

I don't know if I passed or not, but I hope I did so that I don't have to sit through this again. I feel like someone took my brain out of my head, and did a ground-n-pound on it when I left the exam room.