Just how tough is the CA test

[Electrogrunt]

Hi,
I am preparing to take the CA journeyman test for the third time, and would like to know just how tough the new format is. I understand that it has about a 30 percent pass rate. The first two times I took this test it was way too easy, and now I understand that it is very tough. I know several very good electricians who just missed passing, and their only advice was learn to look up very obscure parts of the code for this test. Anyone have any advice. Thank you.

 

[Ponchik]

It is easy test as long as you know how to use the code book and know how to find keywords.
You can't learn that overnight and memorizing answers won't get you anywhere. Find a local class
That offers a one or two day test prep seminar.

 

[Electrogrunt]

Thanks Edward,
I will be reviewing the code, and when I get a test date go to a weekend crash course. I hope to pass first go around.

 

[Ponchik]

Thanks Edward,
I will be reviewing the code, and when I get a test date go to a weekend crash course. I hope to pass first go around.

You can't just open the code book and start reading. You have to practice on some kind of a practice book that has questions. You need to learn how find key words of the questions in the index then go to the code section.

99% of the time reading just the code book will not get you anywhere.

 

[norcal]

Buy a Mike Holt's exam prep book it will help plus the advice given above, when I took it it was fairly easy but then it was based on the 99 code, have heard it's tougher now.

 

[Electrogrunt]

Thanks as well Norcal. I do have a study guide, although I don't know how well it reflects the CA test. It does recommend becomming familiar with all areas of the code, and that is what I meant by reviewing the code, i.e., the layout. There is no way I am going to read the NEC and think I will learn much by doing so. I know some people can, but I am not one of them. Anyhow, I hope to hear back from the state, and get a test date in the next month.

 

[Stevareno]

You can't read the NEC like a book (unless you have a photographic memory). It is only a reference medium much like an encyclopedia or a dictionary. You didn't say where you got your study guide from, but it is probably sufficient. All jurisdictions have to follow the basic rules of the NEC.

From my understanding, jurisdictions can adopt codes that enhance what is required in the NEC, but I wouldn't think they would test on those specifics.

OTOH, maybe they would.
They might expect that you have been working in the area and should already know those specifics.

Having said that, I would also recommend the MH exam prep book.
I'm currently studying for my Masters license and it is very thorough and easy to understand (based on the stuff I already knew).

 

[Electrogrunt]

I might just have to look into the MH guide Stevareno. Good luck on you Master test.

 

[james067]

its not too much tough..dont be scared

 

[Electrogrunt]

its not too much tough..dont be scared

You just hit the nail james067. This test has created a bit of fear in everyone I know of who has yet to take it, because of its low pass rate. About 14 years ago I took the Colorado state journeman exam, and it was a very well rounded evaluation of what an electrician should know regarding theory and code. Hopefully Californias will be similar. I will post again when I take the test. Thanks again for all of the responses.

 

[Fulthrotl]

You just hit the nail james067. This test has created a bit of fear in everyone I know of who has yet to take it, because of its low pass rate. About 14 years ago I took the Colorado state journeman exam, and it was a very well rounded evaluation of what an electrician should know regarding theory and code. Hopefully Californias will be similar. I will post again when I take the test. Thanks again for all of the responses.

took it a few years ago, it wasn't that hard....

signed up with a service that you could log on and run sample questions till
you got your percentage correct high enough to pass.

it was around $75 or so... google away.... and mike holt's workbooks are
an excellent solution... i'd a used them, but didn't know about MH when
i tested.....

 

[captainwireman]

I took and passed the test in January 2012.

I tend to be obsessive about such things and I found every question I could find in any and every book I could get and practiced in the morning and evening after my instrumentation schooling I was taking during the day.

It was all in the NEC, no weird stuff. All questions could be found. It was much more inclusive then when I took the contractors test in the 80's but that was a lot of beers ago.

I was more about finding the specific code section for every question because I began to guess the correct answer from memory. When questions get deeply buried, this technique will make your test taking easier because you probably read it looking up some simple code section. So, never answer a practice question without writing down proof (code section). I would suggest investing in this. Both time and instructional material. Mike Holt has excellent material.

It's up to you. I think being worried a bit is healthy. No time is waisted studying the code. It should go on for a lifetime and when your bones start getting old, it will be a valuable asset.

Best of luck and knock it out of the ball park :happyyes:

 

[Electrogrunt]

Well I passed, and the test is much more obscure than the previous edition, and like the previous one, it is weak in all but one area. It only tests your ability to look up answers in the code book within the time limit. No real theory, no motor hook up questions, no motor control questions, no residential load calculations, etc. It was tougher than before, but still not a real journeymans exam in my opinion. Thank you to all who had encouragement, now I can study for the job, not for the exam. If anyone is taking this test, and want to know more about it, just send a message. Thanks again to all, and to the MH forum.

 

[dana1028]

Well I passed, and the test is much more obscure than the previous edition, and like the previous one, it is weak in all but one area. It only tests your ability to look up answers in the code book within the time limit. No real theory, no motor hook up questions, no motor control questions, no residential load calculations, etc. It was tougher than before, but still not a real journeymans exam in my opinion.

I agree, it's not a real journeyman's exam; I think it is prob. the easiest journeyman exam in the U.S. I've taken it and the ICC Electrical Inspector Cert....the ICC Cert for an inspector is at least 4x harder than the CA journeyman cert. I had a student who could barely speak English, was in the union, was getting grades of 25% in my class initially....ended the course with a final exam of 50%....I did give him a passing grade because he had improved so much and was starting to pick up the matl. better....his main problem was his difficulty in reading English.....I encountered him in an electrical supply house a couple of months later...he shook my hand and thanked for for my class...he had just taken the CA jouneyman cert and passed it with a 97% ! Good for him, he really did study hard and his English was improving. I think he'll be a good electrician...not because he passed his cert, but because he did want to learn.... and yes, the exam is about the code book, no theory, very little about motors, meters, etc.