Maybe it's just me...

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kec

Senior Member
Location
CT
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
Think about what your test was based on. Interpretation can lead some of us confused.I recall when I started out as a Licensed contractor with a partner, he missed his first E-1 test by one point. He passed the second time. He knew electrical like no other but just wasn't book smart.
Comes down to what you can do in the field.
 

Amps

Electrical Contractor
Location
New Jersey
Occupation
Electrical, Security, Networks and Everything Else.
I passed my Masters with a 95%. IDR if they told me which questions I missed.
No way would I attempt that test today without at least a year of intense study. I might be happy with a Pass/Fail today

I am at that point in my life of dropping both my license and insurance.
License renewal and required CEU will hit close to $500 for something I most likely won't need.
Nice to know there are a few other retired guys on here. I'm not 100% there yet but hope to be in a year or two. Want to fish more.
 

gadfly56

Senior Member
Location
New Jersey
Occupation
Professional Engineer, Fire & Life Safety
I took my professional engineer's exams a long time ago. They were graded pass/fail then, long before anybody ever heard the word "wokeness", least of all the state licensing boards.
(one exception: At the time, they would let you know if you failed by 5 points or fewer and qualified for an appeal to the grading. I have no idea whether that's still the case.)

I never asked about exam scores (or school grade-point averages) when hiring people; I've never been asked about them when being hired, and I'm a little suspicious of anybody who puts a lot of emphasis on theirs.

I'm also an effective test-taker. (not that it has much value in the real world) Due to an administrative wrinkle, (taking Part 1 and Part 2 in different states) I had to appear at the office in person and walk my paperwork through by hand. They still wouldn't tell me my score, but upon examining my file, the clerk let out a spontaneous "Oh, my!", saying that they almost never saw scores that high.
Interesting. I always received my exam scores. You could always appeal, but you had to do it in person. My successful attempt was the result of being over focused. I completed only 7 of the 8 questions on the Principles and Practices exam, but managed a 70, which wasn't too bad considering my base was 87.5.
 
A further thought on this-
In times past, exams were given by a person, often one who knows the subject, so it was possible to immediately appeal a wrong answer or get an explanation of the score. With computer-administered exams, often done at testing-only locations, there are no printouts of the answers and usually the attendants don't have access to the results at all.

On the one hand, knowing what you missed lets you correct that and improves learning.
On the other hand, a Pass is a Pass.
 

winnie

Senior Member
Location
Springfield, MA, USA
Occupation
Electric motor research
What do you call the person who graduates medical school at the bottom of their class?

Doctor.

You didn't get a "participation trophy". You passed a basic hurdle to be licensed to do the job.

The test score is irrelevant to your ability to do the job, and based on your experience I bet you could run circuits around a young guy heavy on theory and testing skills.

Jon
 

VirutalElectrician

Senior Member
Location
Mpls, MN
Occupation
Sparky - Trying to be retired
As you get on in your career, most people tend to specialize in something, rather than be more general like in your learning years, therefore if you had to go back and take the general tests again, most people who are aged in their careers would likely fail it, if they went in cold.

When I had to help my first kid with highschool math, I had to stop and think about a few things...Some of that stuff I hadn't needed to do in 3 decades.
 

jap

Senior Member
Occupation
Electrician
As you get on in your career, most people tend to specialize in something, rather than be more general like in your learning years, therefore if you had to go back and take the general tests again, most people who are aged in their careers would likely fail it, if they went in cold.

When I had to help my first kid with highschool math, I had to stop and think about a few things...Some of that stuff I hadn't needed to do in 3 decades.

Some of my kid's high school math problems look like that "calculated landing area mathematics" that was used in that movie Hidden Figures,,,,
I can get fairly close with my answers,,,, give or take 20 miles or so,,, :)

JAP>
 

steve66

Senior Member
Location
Illinois
Occupation
Engineer
I'd suspect a 10 watt resistor would be pretty safe at 5-10 times its standard rating when cooled by liquid nitrogen.
I would agree.

And its amazing what a fan will do. Not as much as liquid nitrogen, I'm sure, but it makes a big difference.
 

drcampbell

Senior Member
Location
The Motor City, Michigan USA
Occupation
Registered Professional Engineer
I'd suspect a 10 watt resistor would be pretty safe at 5-10 times its standard rating when cooled by [boiling] liquid nitrogen.
You can reasonably expect 10x in still water, and 100x if it's boiling.

... And its amazing what a fan will do. ...
Yes, with a fan you can expect about two or three times the power dissipation with the same temperature rise.
 

VirutalElectrician

Senior Member
Location
Mpls, MN
Occupation
Sparky - Trying to be retired
Some of my kid's high school math problems look like that "calculated landing area mathematics" that was used in that movie Hidden Figures,,,,
I can get fairly close with my answers,,,, give or take 20 miles or so,,, :)

JAP>
Well, if it was a 100megaton nuke, you'd hit the bullseye! Or at least, you wouldn't be able to tell where the bullseye was anymore.
 
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sdbob

Senior Member
and I'm a little suspicious of anybody who puts a lot of emphasis on theirs.

I took my professional engineer's exams a long time ago. They were graded pass/fail then, long before anybody ever heard the word "wokeness", least of all the state licensing boards.
(one exception: At the time, they would let you know if you failed by 5 points or fewer and qualified for an appeal to the grading. I have no idea whether that's still the case.)

I never asked about exam scores (or school grade-point averages) when hiring people; I've never been asked about them when being hired, and I'm a little suspicious of anybody who puts a lot of emphasis on theirs.

I'm also an effective test-taker. (not that it has much value in the real world) Due to an administrative wrinkle, (taking Part 1 and Part 2 in different states) I had to appear at the office in person and walk my paperwork through by hand. They still wouldn't tell me my score, but upon examining my file, the clerk let out a spontaneous "Oh, my!", saying that they almost never saw scores that high.
I can tell you with absolute certainty there's an entire universe between a passing score of 70 and anything north of 95. I'm curious why you would be suspicious why I or anyone else would want to know how well we did? I assure you that I, and probably most that frequent this forum, could score 70+ in 15 minutes. I spent 4.5 hours to do the best that I could do, profoundly disappointed with the questions that were CLEARLY written wrong.

4.5 hours and I could have ripped through it like an old t-shirt, like I did the first time, late and hung-over, 17 years ago. I've matured since then... Of course I wanted my score. Strive for excellence. Always. And always keep score.
 

retirede

Senior Member
Location
Illinois
If you attend the #1 law school in the US (Yale), you either pass or you don’t. Actually, if you make it to the end, you pass. No one doesn’t pass.
No grades, no GPA, no class rank. Just “congratulations, here’s your degree.”
 

Hv&Lv

Senior Member
Location
-
Occupation
Engineer/Technician
If you attend the #1 law school in the US (Yale), you either pass or you don’t. Actually, if you make it to the end, you pass. No one doesn’t pass.
No grades, no GPA, no class rank. Just “congratulations, here’s your degree.”
Well…
Actually it’s an honors, pass, low pass grading system
 
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