Pre employment test

[Sberry]

My design and build skills are hi, the wireman stuff,,, I fundamentally dont know much anything about electricity. I would fail miserably on technical aspects which are over my head, would take me a bit to come up to bending much, just don't do it enuf to be consistent and if I was hired in a specific slot would have trouble. Put me on a lineman truck, all the rigging fastening drilling welding that can go with installs and would easly slide in to a crew and find a spot where I would shine. Not all that scared to grab a shovel,,, in fact would much rather do that instead of at a control panel with a gob of fussy wires.

 

[Tulsa Electrician]

Ask them if the know how to calculate Diameter, Circumference and Radius. This comes in handy for many situations.
Basic Residential/Commercial question as you would install every day.

An example of this would be when you have Coil of wire come to site. Measure the mean dia (center to center) 36".
Count the number of wraps 44
How long is the cable in Feet?
Approximated length.
Double check, what does the tag say compared to what the P.O. (order) says to what you calculate pre-install

Concentric bending.
Need 36" inside Radius on 3/4" RMC
How many bends@ what distance between mark.
Use 5 degrees

How many units out of one 10' stick starting first bend @12" and 18" after your last mark.

These are real install and pre-install questions field related.

After all most like, Pie. (3.14)
whats better? 2- pie (6.28)
Not so hungry! 1/2- pie (1.57)

How many degrees allowed per NEC with out a pull box.
Four quarter (90 degree) bends equal how many degree.
How many degree equals a full circle ?
A quarter bend (90) equals a_____ angle.
If A is 12"and B is 12", what angle is C
What is an Obtuse angle
What is an Acute angle
If a circle was divided into three equal part how many degree would each part be at its center.
What formula do you use to calculate a multiplier for bending offsets based on degrees of bend.
What is the multiplier for a 12 degree bend.
Based on the above 12 degree bend calculated multiplier what would the center to center marks be for a 7.5" offset.

What does NM stand for
What code section covers NM cable
Can NM cable be used in wet locations
What is the default temperature rating of an NM cable for ampacity.
What code section cover box fill requirements
Generally what type of cable is used for service entrance to a 200 amp Main breaker interior panel from the 200 amp Main disconnect located outside.
If there is no UFER ( concrete encase electrode) what type of electrode is generally used that is 8' long
Related to above question. If two are required what is the minimum spacing between them.
In a single family dwelling that is 1500 sf feet. What is the general purpose Branch Circuits VA.
What table in the NEC will this be found in.
Based on the total VA calculated for the 1500 sf single family dwelling using 15 Amp 120 volt circuits, how many circuits would be the minimum required
What does GFCI stand for?
What does AFCI stand for?
What does MCA stand for on a AC condenser unit stand for.
If the calculated VA is 50,000, How many KVA is this.
With 50,000 VA at 240 volts single phase. How many amps is this.
What is the sq root of 3

Do you have a code book?
What chapter can grounding be found in.

 

[Amps]

First question: Who's in Grant's tomb?

 

[PaulMmn]

First question: Who's in Grant's tomb?

I believe the answer is "Grant and his wife."

 

[PaulMmn]

Ask them if the know how to calculate Diameter, Circumference and Radius. This comes in handy for many situations.
Basic Residential/Commercial question as you would install every day.

An example of this would be when you have Coil of wire come to site. Measure the mean dia (center to center) 36".
Count the number of wraps 44
How long is the cable in Feet?
Approximated length.
Double check, what does the tag say compared to what the P.O. (order) says to what you calculate pre-install

Look at the insulation at both ends. Subtract the numbers at each end from each other. Answer = feet (or negative feet, if they subtract 'wrong way')

 

[Amps]

I believe the answer is "Grant and his wife."

My wife is a high school teacher and she has asked her classes that question on quizzes. About half get it correct.

 

[petersonra]

I had a professor once that would take points off if you did not write your full name down on the test sheet on the lines labeled first name, middle initial, and last name.

 

[drcampbell]

One takeaway from all of the comments is that whatever set of test questions or practical problems used, the result will be far better if you look at all of the individual answers rather than just looking at an overall score.

I wasted a year because somebody didn't embrace this idea.

As an incoming freshman, I took a placement exam. I didn't score well because my expertise in trigonometry was weak. The college looked only at the overall score, assumed that everybody took the same classes in the same sequence, and placed me in college algebra, which was a redundant waste of everybody's time. Next quarter, Calculus I, in which I just squeaked by. Next quarter, failed Calculus II. Finally took trig the second quarter of my second year and got back on track.

I like job-interview exams. Every time I've been given an exam, I've gotten the job.

 

[Tulsa Electrician]

Look at the insulation at both ends. Subtract the numbers at each end from each other. Answer = feet (or negative feet, if they subtract 'wrong way')

Marked wire, Nice one.
What if no marks?

"An example of this would be when you have Coil of wire come to site. Measure the mean dia (center to center) 36".
Count the number of wraps 44
How long is the cable in Feet?"

In reality the supply house reel set up is usually a 22" to 24" dia.
So use 23 mean dia and 24 wraps. Feet?

These are fun work questions. Get them thinking.

 

[AC\DC]

These test are not that accurate though. You may pass a gem that just has not used your set of skills you ask him for. You may have a some One that only been doing one field but, when he goes to something new he askes question and is a quick learner.
I would rather have a quick and competent leaner than some one that knows the given test question.

 

[Joethemechanic]

Ask them if the know how to calculate Diameter, Circumference and Radius. This comes in handy for many situations.
Basic Residential/Commercial question as you would install every day.

An example of this would be when you have Coil of wire come to site. Measure the mean dia (center to center) 36".
Count the number of wraps 44
How long is the cable in Feet?
Approximated length.
Double check, what does the tag say compared to what the P.O. (order) says to what you calculate pre-install

Concentric bending.
Need 36" inside Radius on 3/4" RMC
How many bends@ what distance between mark.
Use 5 degrees

How many units out of one 10' stick starting first bend @12" and 18" after your last mark.

These are real install and pre-install questions field related.

After all most like, Pie. (3.14)
whats better? 2- pie (6.28)
Not so hungry! 1/2- pie (1.57)

How many degrees allowed per NEC with out a pull box.
Four quarter (90 degree) bends equal how many degree.
How many degree equals a full circle ?
A quarter bend (90) equals a_____ angle.
If A is 12"and B is 12", what angle is C
What is an Obtuse angle
What is an Acute angle
If a circle was divided into three equal part how many degree would each part be at its center.
What formula do you use to calculate a multiplier for bending offsets based on degrees of bend.
What is the multiplier for a 12 degree bend.
Based on the above 12 degree bend calculated multiplier what would the center to center marks be for a 7.5" offset.

What does NM stand for
What code section covers NM cable
Can NM cable be used in wet locations
What is the default temperature rating of an NM cable for ampacity.
What code section cover box fill requirements
Generally what type of cable is used for service entrance to a 200 amp Main breaker interior panel from the 200 amp Main disconnect located outside.
If there is no UFER ( concrete encase electrode) what type of electrode is generally used that is 8' long
Related to above question. If two are required what is the minimum spacing between them.
In a single family dwelling that is 1500 sf feet. What is the general purpose Branch Circuits VA.
What table in the NEC will this be found in.
Based on the total VA calculated for the 1500 sf single family dwelling using 15 Amp 120 volt circuits, how many circuits would be the minimum required
What does GFCI stand for?
What does AFCI stand for?
What does MCA stand for on a AC condenser unit stand for.
If the calculated VA is 50,000, How many KVA is this.
With 50,000 VA at 240 volts single phase. How many amps is this.
What is the sq root of 3

Do you have a code book?
What chapter can grounding be found in.

Oh God no. I wouldn't want to give then a test like that. I sleep better at night not knowing how stupid they are

 

[jmellc]

Various code questions are good starters if hiring experienced people. For green helpers, give about a 25 question test with questions about reading a tape measure, adding measurements, subtracting, etc. . How many 100 foot bundles of conduit should be provided for a 230 foot run? How many 10 foot sticks of conduit for a 90 foot run? These questions give an idea how well a person might learn.

 

[zbang]

I've always liked-
"The fence is 100' long with posts every 10'. How many posts are there?"

It's astounding how many people answer both quickly and incorrectly.

 

[drcampbell]

The "Fencepost Error" is a classic in computer science, further confounded by some languages beginning array indexing with one; other languages with zero.

 

[PaulMmn]

The "Fencepost Error" is a classic in computer science, further confounded by some languages beginning array indexing with one; other languages with zero.

Indexing starting at 1 is counting each entry.
Indexing starting at 0 is the offset from the starting point to the start of each entry. First entry is 0 away from the start. 2nd is 1xentry length away. 3rd is 2xentry length away...

 

[jmellc]

My design and build skills are hi, the wireman stuff,,, I fundamentally dont know much anything about electricity. I would fail miserably on technical aspects which are over my head, would take me a bit to come up to bending much, just don't do it enuf to be consistent and if I was hired in a specific slot would have trouble. Put me on a lineman truck, all the rigging fastening drilling welding that can go with installs and would easly slide in to a crew and find a spot where I would shine. Not all that scared to grab a shovel,,, in fact would much rather do that instead of at a control panel with a gob of fussy wires.

This field is as deep and wide as it gets IMHO. We get to know the parts we deal with every day. Very few people ever come close to "knowing it all".

 

[LarryFine]

I've always liked-
"The fence is 100' long with posts every 10'. How many posts are there?"

It's astounding how many people answer both quickly and incorrectly.

You learn that quickly when counting construction materials, like wall studs. Start counting with zero.

 

[hillbilly1]

With your work being 50% commercial, and 50% residential, it will be hard to find an all around guy, if you put a residential guy on commercial work, you will lose money, if you put a commercial guy on residential, you will lose money.

 

[petersonra]

You learn that quickly when counting construction materials, like wall studs. Start counting with zero.

In Chicago you have to add about 25% to the count. This helps to account for the under the table payments to the building officials and politicians.

 

[Sea Nile]

I'm thinking about going back to work, currently enjoying some time off. But I only have 11 months of actual experience doing electrical work. Anyone here near Evans, GA need a dependable employee?