Ha is anybody else just waiting with crazy anticipation for the first person to post about the new CBT exam... I take my test on Dec 7 and feel greatly like I am a Guinea pig, but not as much as anyone that took it today. Good luck to anyone taking it soon!
PE Power New CBT Exam
- Thread starter bufalita
- Start date
Help Support Professional Engineer & PE Exam Forum:
DilutedAr18_PE
PE, not quite PI, but I’ll take it.
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2019
- Messages
- 116
- Reaction score
- 74
Well, that wasn’t pleasant, but it’s done. Hopeful on passing, but we will see.
I’ve got a few thoughts on the testing procedures and the test without giving anything away in terms of exam questions to keep in the good graces of NCEES, even though everyone will likely get a large majority of questions different than I did.
Testing procedures: The testing center was a lot more comfy than the event center the FE and PE events used to be held here. It was nice and quiet except for the toilet flushing noises I could hear from the floor above. The seats are not spectacular, but better than a folding chair. Negative is the small computer screen. It isn’t big enough for a full PDF of reference at a readable scale and the exam questions. I had to spend too much time IMO zooming in and out by clicking a button. You can’t use the scroll wheel and a keyboard command that I could find. The different references are on different tabs, so you can flip back and forth. The one nice thing is that it does keep your word searches per tab, so it doesn’t clear out until you delete it for that tab. The line tool is clunky, but somewhat usable for using as a straightedge for reading tables. The flagging of questions is helpful and the timer is nice. The weird thing was with the amount of time per half. Mine was 42 questions for the first half and 38 questions for the second half. I did not get a 15 minute warning and the timer did not do the yellow warning of 5 minutes left in the morning if we were to have 4 hours. I wasn’t sure how this would work and I was just trying to check work and see if I could solve a few that I wasn’t sure on, so I took my break with 4 hours and 4 minutes left to see if I would get to keep all that time or just a certain amount of time. Turns out it I only got 4 hours after the break, so I assume it would have kicked me out at 4 hours, but it didn’t give me a warning or anything, so beware. The second half did give me the 15 minute warning and 5 minutes, so I’m not sure if that’s how it is supposed to work.
Test/Handbook: My biggest disappointment was the quantity of theory questions. My test was pretty theory heavy, which is disappointing considering we can no longer bring references with us and the handbook is lacking in theory in most topics. There were multiple questions where I knew exactly where the info was in a reference book that I have, but couldn’t bring with me. I believe I was able to guess/remember a couple of them, but I was much less certain than I could have been if I had my references. This led to a good chunk of questions that you either know it or you don’t. It made time less of a concern, because I tried to logic my way through if I knew some things about the topic and completely guessed on a few.
There are still some topics that have problems in the NCEES sample exam where the formulas are not in the handbook. That is frustrating. We shouldn’t have to memorize formulas like that. It is nothing like school or professional practice.
There was one where I am 99.9% certain that there were two equally correct answers (unless I was somehow misreading it over and over again), but it was not a multiple answer choice type of questions. There was one where I am fairly certain that it couldn’t be solved as it needed one additional given to make it so, maybe I’m wrong, but I tried that one for about 15 minutes total.
Keys: Unfortunately, memorize. Memorize theory and formulas or how to derive formulas from ones they give you. Read a lot of the books/guides/handbooks that people have put out and put it to memory. With that many theory questions, it is hard to see how to pass without lots of reading. Do lots of practice tests. I think there were similar problems from just about any exam out there. I had NCEES 2020 preview, 2017 version, 2011 version, Graffeo book and exam, SpinUp Exams 1-5, Cram Handbook, Exam 1, and Exam 2. I also did the free preview of ElectricalPEReview and YouTube videos. Even the ones people look down on for being older and a little off topic (SpinUp and Graffeo mostly) had a couple problems that were very similar to questions on the exam.
That’s all my brain can handle for now after a long day. Any questions on testing procedures, let me know.
I’ve got a few thoughts on the testing procedures and the test without giving anything away in terms of exam questions to keep in the good graces of NCEES, even though everyone will likely get a large majority of questions different than I did.
Testing procedures: The testing center was a lot more comfy than the event center the FE and PE events used to be held here. It was nice and quiet except for the toilet flushing noises I could hear from the floor above. The seats are not spectacular, but better than a folding chair. Negative is the small computer screen. It isn’t big enough for a full PDF of reference at a readable scale and the exam questions. I had to spend too much time IMO zooming in and out by clicking a button. You can’t use the scroll wheel and a keyboard command that I could find. The different references are on different tabs, so you can flip back and forth. The one nice thing is that it does keep your word searches per tab, so it doesn’t clear out until you delete it for that tab. The line tool is clunky, but somewhat usable for using as a straightedge for reading tables. The flagging of questions is helpful and the timer is nice. The weird thing was with the amount of time per half. Mine was 42 questions for the first half and 38 questions for the second half. I did not get a 15 minute warning and the timer did not do the yellow warning of 5 minutes left in the morning if we were to have 4 hours. I wasn’t sure how this would work and I was just trying to check work and see if I could solve a few that I wasn’t sure on, so I took my break with 4 hours and 4 minutes left to see if I would get to keep all that time or just a certain amount of time. Turns out it I only got 4 hours after the break, so I assume it would have kicked me out at 4 hours, but it didn’t give me a warning or anything, so beware. The second half did give me the 15 minute warning and 5 minutes, so I’m not sure if that’s how it is supposed to work.
Test/Handbook: My biggest disappointment was the quantity of theory questions. My test was pretty theory heavy, which is disappointing considering we can no longer bring references with us and the handbook is lacking in theory in most topics. There were multiple questions where I knew exactly where the info was in a reference book that I have, but couldn’t bring with me. I believe I was able to guess/remember a couple of them, but I was much less certain than I could have been if I had my references. This led to a good chunk of questions that you either know it or you don’t. It made time less of a concern, because I tried to logic my way through if I knew some things about the topic and completely guessed on a few.
There are still some topics that have problems in the NCEES sample exam where the formulas are not in the handbook. That is frustrating. We shouldn’t have to memorize formulas like that. It is nothing like school or professional practice.
There was one where I am 99.9% certain that there were two equally correct answers (unless I was somehow misreading it over and over again), but it was not a multiple answer choice type of questions. There was one where I am fairly certain that it couldn’t be solved as it needed one additional given to make it so, maybe I’m wrong, but I tried that one for about 15 minutes total.
Keys: Unfortunately, memorize. Memorize theory and formulas or how to derive formulas from ones they give you. Read a lot of the books/guides/handbooks that people have put out and put it to memory. With that many theory questions, it is hard to see how to pass without lots of reading. Do lots of practice tests. I think there were similar problems from just about any exam out there. I had NCEES 2020 preview, 2017 version, 2011 version, Graffeo book and exam, SpinUp Exams 1-5, Cram Handbook, Exam 1, and Exam 2. I also did the free preview of ElectricalPEReview and YouTube videos. Even the ones people look down on for being older and a little off topic (SpinUp and Graffeo mostly) had a couple problems that were very similar to questions on the exam.
That’s all my brain can handle for now after a long day. Any questions on testing procedures, let me know.
My thoughts:
Most of my experience echoed what @DilutedAr18 said above. Maybe a few minor differences:
Environment:
The test center was a small office-type space on the 4th floor of a commercial building. When you go in, you take a number and wait while they process people one at a time. When your name comes up, they have an electronic device which scans both your hands (I resisted the temptation to ask if they could use my palm-reading to predict pass/fail). They take your ID and give you a key to a small locker. You put EVERYTHING in this locker, except your ID, glasses, MASK (please bring one in case they don't have extras), ear plugs and locker key. Yes, you may not take your wallet, watch (even if it's not a smart watch), car keys, or anything except what I mentioned above into the test room. The test room has individual desks with computers and it was so quiet, ear plugs were not necessary. There were maybe 6-8 other people in the room when I went. The proctor logs you in, you follow some instructions on how to navigate through the test and online references, and then a few clicks and the exam starts. The timer starts when you start the exam. The test room was COLD (I had on a t-shirt, mock turtleneck and sweater - 3 layers, and I was STILL COLD!), but I tried not to let it bother me. After 42 questions, the exam prompts you to review any questions you have flagged or unanswered (however you can still review any question you want), and when you're finished, it logs you out and you're allowed a 50 minute break. During this time, you're allowed access to your locker and you're free to go about wherever you wish. You're not allowed to look at any exam related material (although if you go back to your car during lunch I don't know how they would enforce this), and they scan your hand every time you exit and re-enter the exam room. The proctors were all very friendly and thorough.
The Exam:
The CBT was simple to navigate and the reference PDFs are simple to access. I tried using "CNTRL-F" to search, but it doesn't work. You must click on the magnifying glass icon at the top left to search PDFs. Simple enough though. I like how you can flag questions to go back to later, and the computer lets you know if you have any unanswered problems, which is nice.
My biggest gripe was with the NEC. You have to use the right "search words" to get to the right sections of what you're trying to find. A few times the same exact word would bring up different results. Fortunately, I grasped the feel of it quickly so I was able to navigate it fairly well. In hindsight, I wish I had memorized a few tabs from my NEC, such as 430.248 for motor FLC for example. At first I had a difficult time finding the conductor ampacity table I wanted, but eventually I got the hang of it. I strongly recommend purchasing an online PDF version of the code books, if such a thing is available.
You're only allowed to bring a calculator (leave the cover behind), so they give you a vinyl/laminated "scratch" pad with several sheets and a black marker. It was kind of cumbersome to use, and at one point I had to ask for more scratch pads, but it worked ok I guess. It was just weird writing notes with a marker.
The exam was very different than the previous pencil/paper I took in October 2019. Some of the differences:
1. There seemed be more "qualitative" type problems vs "quantitative" as @DilutedAr18 elaborated earlier.
2. There were a few "fill in the blank" type questions, or maybe you're given a diagram of an incomplete circuit or arrangement and you have to fill in the missing items.
3. The qualitative problems ranged from very simple (almost common sense) to very complex (you either know it or you don't, based on how extensive you read different reference books and how much you remembered from all that). Most of these can not be found in the NCEES online reference.
4. However, there were questions and subtopics I either never studied for or came across and yet I could answer easily from the NCEES reference, so there was a balance there. There were a couple of math-type (quantitative) problems I never studied for, but were basically "plug and chug" by simply searching the reference guide.
5. Many problems seemed "simpler" (NOT EASIER, just simpler, as in they required less steps) than many of the PE sample tests I took. The NCEES sample exam comes closest. Other exams such as Eng Pro Guides @justin-hawaii and Electrical PE Review @Zach Stone, P.E.'s exams are much more in-depth and do a great job teaching you concepts, but the NCEES practice exam is simply much closer in representation to the wording and style of the actual problems. This is difficult to elaborate on, because without violating the agreement and describing a problem, it's impossible for instructors to know how to help you prepare.
6. I came across more "easy" problems than the previous exam, but I don't know if that's because I have more experience, or the problems were more straightforward this time.
7. There seemed to be a TON of code problems. During the first half, I was thinking, "Maybe they put all the code questions in the first half." But then were a few more in the second half. I would say the NCEES put the correct % of representative topics according to their exam specifications (including protection), but it just seemed like there was an overabundance of code questions.
If I were studying for this exam with a few months to prepare, I would know the NCEES practice exam inside and out. I would recommend taking Eng Pro Guides and Electrical PE Review for practice and learning the concepts, and maybe even a couple more like Graffeo and Complex Imaginary and go through those and try to find as many qualitative type problems as you can. Those are going to be the tough ones where you either know them or you don't and it will depend on how much reading you've done on certain topics.
Yes, you WILL have to memorize some formulas and know your phasor diagrams, phase angles (leading, lagging, etc.). Hopefully after enough practice exams you will have memorized those anyway.
Good luck all!
Most of my experience echoed what @DilutedAr18 said above. Maybe a few minor differences:
Environment:
The test center was a small office-type space on the 4th floor of a commercial building. When you go in, you take a number and wait while they process people one at a time. When your name comes up, they have an electronic device which scans both your hands (I resisted the temptation to ask if they could use my palm-reading to predict pass/fail). They take your ID and give you a key to a small locker. You put EVERYTHING in this locker, except your ID, glasses, MASK (please bring one in case they don't have extras), ear plugs and locker key. Yes, you may not take your wallet, watch (even if it's not a smart watch), car keys, or anything except what I mentioned above into the test room. The test room has individual desks with computers and it was so quiet, ear plugs were not necessary. There were maybe 6-8 other people in the room when I went. The proctor logs you in, you follow some instructions on how to navigate through the test and online references, and then a few clicks and the exam starts. The timer starts when you start the exam. The test room was COLD (I had on a t-shirt, mock turtleneck and sweater - 3 layers, and I was STILL COLD!), but I tried not to let it bother me. After 42 questions, the exam prompts you to review any questions you have flagged or unanswered (however you can still review any question you want), and when you're finished, it logs you out and you're allowed a 50 minute break. During this time, you're allowed access to your locker and you're free to go about wherever you wish. You're not allowed to look at any exam related material (although if you go back to your car during lunch I don't know how they would enforce this), and they scan your hand every time you exit and re-enter the exam room. The proctors were all very friendly and thorough.
The Exam:
The CBT was simple to navigate and the reference PDFs are simple to access. I tried using "CNTRL-F" to search, but it doesn't work. You must click on the magnifying glass icon at the top left to search PDFs. Simple enough though. I like how you can flag questions to go back to later, and the computer lets you know if you have any unanswered problems, which is nice.
My biggest gripe was with the NEC. You have to use the right "search words" to get to the right sections of what you're trying to find. A few times the same exact word would bring up different results. Fortunately, I grasped the feel of it quickly so I was able to navigate it fairly well. In hindsight, I wish I had memorized a few tabs from my NEC, such as 430.248 for motor FLC for example. At first I had a difficult time finding the conductor ampacity table I wanted, but eventually I got the hang of it. I strongly recommend purchasing an online PDF version of the code books, if such a thing is available.
You're only allowed to bring a calculator (leave the cover behind), so they give you a vinyl/laminated "scratch" pad with several sheets and a black marker. It was kind of cumbersome to use, and at one point I had to ask for more scratch pads, but it worked ok I guess. It was just weird writing notes with a marker.
The exam was very different than the previous pencil/paper I took in October 2019. Some of the differences:
1. There seemed be more "qualitative" type problems vs "quantitative" as @DilutedAr18 elaborated earlier.
2. There were a few "fill in the blank" type questions, or maybe you're given a diagram of an incomplete circuit or arrangement and you have to fill in the missing items.
3. The qualitative problems ranged from very simple (almost common sense) to very complex (you either know it or you don't, based on how extensive you read different reference books and how much you remembered from all that). Most of these can not be found in the NCEES online reference.
4. However, there were questions and subtopics I either never studied for or came across and yet I could answer easily from the NCEES reference, so there was a balance there. There were a couple of math-type (quantitative) problems I never studied for, but were basically "plug and chug" by simply searching the reference guide.
5. Many problems seemed "simpler" (NOT EASIER, just simpler, as in they required less steps) than many of the PE sample tests I took. The NCEES sample exam comes closest. Other exams such as Eng Pro Guides @justin-hawaii and Electrical PE Review @Zach Stone, P.E.'s exams are much more in-depth and do a great job teaching you concepts, but the NCEES practice exam is simply much closer in representation to the wording and style of the actual problems. This is difficult to elaborate on, because without violating the agreement and describing a problem, it's impossible for instructors to know how to help you prepare.
6. I came across more "easy" problems than the previous exam, but I don't know if that's because I have more experience, or the problems were more straightforward this time.
7. There seemed to be a TON of code problems. During the first half, I was thinking, "Maybe they put all the code questions in the first half." But then were a few more in the second half. I would say the NCEES put the correct % of representative topics according to their exam specifications (including protection), but it just seemed like there was an overabundance of code questions.
If I were studying for this exam with a few months to prepare, I would know the NCEES practice exam inside and out. I would recommend taking Eng Pro Guides and Electrical PE Review for practice and learning the concepts, and maybe even a couple more like Graffeo and Complex Imaginary and go through those and try to find as many qualitative type problems as you can. Those are going to be the tough ones where you either know them or you don't and it will depend on how much reading you've done on certain topics.
Yes, you WILL have to memorize some formulas and know your phasor diagrams, phase angles (leading, lagging, etc.). Hopefully after enough practice exams you will have memorized those anyway.
Good luck all!
Last edited by a moderator:
Zach Stone P.E.
Well-known member
Great feedback from everyone in this thread. So far the CBT exam is sounding to be exactly what we expected it to be. Excited to see how everyone did once results start coming out in a week or two!
DuranDuran and DilutedAr,
Thank you very much for posting your thoughts. I have about one month left to go before I take my exam (the earliest available for me was mid-Jan), and I was going to use this month to just outright repetitively practice different practice exams and questions to drill the qualitative and quantitative stuff I need to know in my head. Looks like I'll definitely have to do that.
Really hope you guys passed.
Does anyone know a source or link where I can find searchable PDFs of the NEC, NFPA, NESC? I remember Zach Stone once referred me to the NFPA website, but the PDFs over there are not searchable and instead are very hard to navigate. I'm hoping I'm allowed to ask this question...
Thank you very much for posting your thoughts. I have about one month left to go before I take my exam (the earliest available for me was mid-Jan), and I was going to use this month to just outright repetitively practice different practice exams and questions to drill the qualitative and quantitative stuff I need to know in my head. Looks like I'll definitely have to do that.
Really hope you guys passed.
Does anyone know a source or link where I can find searchable PDFs of the NEC, NFPA, NESC? I remember Zach Stone once referred me to the NFPA website, but the PDFs over there are not searchable and instead are very hard to navigate. I'm hoping I'm allowed to ask this question...
speakeelsy PE
Well-known member
My experience seemed much the same as @DilutedAr18 and @DuranDuran - except my exam room was hot, and there was a varying amount of construction sounds so I used the provided noise cancelling headphones. I do wish I had been able to have a drink or chew some gum in the test room.
I super recommend going through the software demo before test day: https://wsr.pearsonvue.com/demo/ The demo is exactly like what you'll see on the screen.
The codes and reference book have a really great table of contents/shortcut links and search tab so navigation was pretty easy if you're somewhat familiar with the pdf copies. I did find that the lag in loading pages while scrolling EXTREMELY annoying, and I don't know why they split the screen exactly in half when they could have allotted a bit more space on the references side so you could look at the entire width of the document at one time. - I'll give pearson/ncees feedback on that cause it was frustrating and time consuming to constantly readjust the reference window parts.
I filled up the provided scratch pad, and my first marker didn't work, so I had to raise my hand and get a new one... It wasn't too hard to use, but they could definitely use more pages.
The time allowed for the exam was weird. I don't remember if the timer started at 8 or 9hrs, but i completed the AM session and review with a little less than 5hrs left and then took 30 minutes of my 50 minute break, and i think it gave me the extra time for the PM session - which i finished with almost 2hrs left on the clock. I took another hour to second guess the crap out of every question, then turned it in.
I don't want to say much about the actual exam subject or questions, but I'll agree that most of the test was more inline with the NCEES practice exam. However after completing @justin-hawaii's exams and @Zach Stone, P.E.'s exam and course, I felt very prepared for most of the quantitative problems I encountered. Qualitative problems I thought were worded extremely strangely most of the time, and I would have felt WAY more confident on about 15 more problems if I had been able to bring references.
As far as NCEES's "you'll be fine with just the reference book", I encountered a few problems where the variables aren't defined well in the reference book, so that was frustrating. Plus most of the qualitative problems seemed to be pulled out of thin air - so also not in the reference book.
Overall, if I end up having to retake it, I'm definitely going to read through some more books and do some more in depth studies on the parts of the reference guide and other texts that they could ask qualitative questions about now that I know what types of questions to expect.
Good luck everyone!
I super recommend going through the software demo before test day: https://wsr.pearsonvue.com/demo/ The demo is exactly like what you'll see on the screen.
The codes and reference book have a really great table of contents/shortcut links and search tab so navigation was pretty easy if you're somewhat familiar with the pdf copies. I did find that the lag in loading pages while scrolling EXTREMELY annoying, and I don't know why they split the screen exactly in half when they could have allotted a bit more space on the references side so you could look at the entire width of the document at one time. - I'll give pearson/ncees feedback on that cause it was frustrating and time consuming to constantly readjust the reference window parts.
I filled up the provided scratch pad, and my first marker didn't work, so I had to raise my hand and get a new one... It wasn't too hard to use, but they could definitely use more pages.
The time allowed for the exam was weird. I don't remember if the timer started at 8 or 9hrs, but i completed the AM session and review with a little less than 5hrs left and then took 30 minutes of my 50 minute break, and i think it gave me the extra time for the PM session - which i finished with almost 2hrs left on the clock. I took another hour to second guess the crap out of every question, then turned it in.
I don't want to say much about the actual exam subject or questions, but I'll agree that most of the test was more inline with the NCEES practice exam. However after completing @justin-hawaii's exams and @Zach Stone, P.E.'s exam and course, I felt very prepared for most of the quantitative problems I encountered. Qualitative problems I thought were worded extremely strangely most of the time, and I would have felt WAY more confident on about 15 more problems if I had been able to bring references.
As far as NCEES's "you'll be fine with just the reference book", I encountered a few problems where the variables aren't defined well in the reference book, so that was frustrating. Plus most of the qualitative problems seemed to be pulled out of thin air - so also not in the reference book.
Overall, if I end up having to retake it, I'm definitely going to read through some more books and do some more in depth studies on the parts of the reference guide and other texts that they could ask qualitative questions about now that I know what types of questions to expect.
Good luck everyone!
Sparky Bill PE
Senior, Master, Professional, Licensed Electrical
So when you walked out of the testing center, did you have 2 hours or 1 hour left on the clock? Yeah I told the wifey I think everyone will have tons of time left. When I took the FE multiple times, it was 110 questions and only (I think) 5 hours and 20 minutes, not 8 hours. The PE problems in the white book are just as fast to solve as the FE book so that means you're really getting 2.5 hours more than they give you for the FE.
Paper and Pencil is another story, we had 40 books to flip thru on qualitative problems, but with this being CBT you either know an insane question or you don't.
BebeshKing PE
THIS IS THE WAY
@DuranDuran, regarding the eyeglasses, should it be wear at all time during the test? Or could it be put down into your desk as well?
After 10 or so questions into the 1st session, I realized I was going to have plenty of time. Therefore I didn't rush, and still had 30 mins to spare for each session. I had 4-6 problems per session I flagged if I had either narrowed the answer to 2 solutions or figured I could get it with more time. I ended up solving a couple of these with my extra time and guessing on a couple.
There were 2-4 problems each session which I had no clue on, and had to completely guess (after maybe eliminating one or two I figured couldn't be correct anyway), and I realized more time wouldn't do much good, so I didn't flag those.
That means I had 4-10 problems per session that I ranged from complete guessing to taking extra time to solve so my answers were "iffy". The rest I'm pretty confident I knew. This is better than my last attempt, so I'm feeling better about this exam than the last. I'm hoping if I'm not a terrible guesser that this one puts me over the top.
I wear contacts most of the time, but staring at a computer all day can put some strain on my eyes. Therefore, I wore my glasses to the exam. I was allowed to take them off and put down on the desk during the exam, which I did. I basically used my glasses to get to and from the exam site.
speakeelsy PE
Well-known member
@SparkyBill I had 1 hour left on the clock when I walked out of the testing center. Definitely could have given myself some more time in the AM.
I would have an idea on where to look for most of the qualitative questions that I would want to look at a reference for- or at least could check 3-4 indexes for key words. A big thing for me last April was skimming through the reference books looking for key words and getting familiar with indexes. I had all my references tabbed with important sections tabbed on top and chapters tabbed on the side.
Zach Stone P.E.
Well-known member
The only searchable digital copies of codebooks to my knoweldge are the actual PDFs. You have to purchase them or ask your employer to purchase them.
rburns18 PE
Active member
If you have access to IEEE Xplore either through work or school, you can download the NESC on there.
justin-hawaii
Justin PE
@DuranDuran, @speakeelsy, @DilutedAr18 thank you very much for your feedback, it is very helpful to me. It sounds like I need to add more conceptual questions and less calculation intensive problems to my practice exams. I can definitely see how my exams are more geared that way and with the switch to CBT, how a calculation intensive exam will be less likely. I will work on creating more of those types of problems.
justin-hawaii
Justin PE
This is something interesting about the CBT exam. As many of you know, the Mechanical PE exams transitioned to CBT in the beginning of 2020. Someone just failed recently and sent me their diagnostic report. He found that his score was out of 70 instead of 80 due to the pretest problems. This is what the NCEES CBT guide says about the pretest items.
Total = 4+4+7+6+3+4+7+16+16+3 = 70
Total = 4+4+7+6+3+4+7+16+16+3 = 70
DilutedAr18_PE
PE, not quite PI, but I’ll take it.
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2019
- Messages
- 116
- Reaction score
- 74
I concur with both @speakeelsy and @DuranDuran with having plenty of time. Without having resources to look through for qualitative questions, there was plenty of time. I did not hurry and still finished with 1-2 hours left in each session before going through and rechecking things and trying to solve problems I did not exactly know how to solve. There is no need to rush your way through.
DilutedAr18_PE
PE, not quite PI, but I’ll take it.
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2019
- Messages
- 116
- Reaction score
- 74
Sure hope most of the questions I didn’t know were pretest questions... Not a fan of not getting credit for questions I know how to solve.
Also, why a scale out of 15? That seems like a ridiculous scale. We have a 10 base numerical system and a 12 base measurement system. I guess we now have a 15 base NCEES scale.
Sparky Bill PE
Senior, Master, Professional, Licensed Electrical
They are so proud of their scale that they "don't want you to figure out".
I've seen it be such a joke you can't take it seriously at all. On the FE electrical math is the largest question. Say it's 15 questions. I've seen someone get 13 or 14 out of 15 and the "NCEES 15 point scale" Puts them "barely above average".
Solving differential equations and all kind of crap and the new "scale" is to get 14 or 15 out of 15.
One minor question I have about looking at the electronic versions of the NEC, NFPA, NESC, etc during the exam:
Does it feel more like looking at a PDF file through a browser rather than Adobe Acrobat or a typical PDF viewer program?
Does it feel more like looking at a PDF file through a browser rather than Adobe Acrobat or a typical PDF viewer program?
DilutedAr18_PE
PE, not quite PI, but I’ll take it.
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2019
- Messages
- 116
- Reaction score
- 74
Not sure exactly what you mean, but I would say more like a PDF viewer. You have a section to the left side with two tabs. One for the search feature and search results and the other tab for an outline with bookmarks at each article. So for the NEC, the outline bookmark has each article of the NEC, the Chapter 9 tables, etc. You can adjust the size of this side section to however small or large you would like or even hide it entirely. I did this on accident, but it acts similar in that fashion as Bluebeam Revu’s sidebar if you are familiar with that one.
Similar threads
