E1 and E2 Certifications

[KLSRC]

I'm working on earning the residential and commercial electrical inspector certifications and I wanted to see how those that have passed these exams prepared...

What materials did you use to study?
How long did you prepare before taking the exam?
I'm using several Mike Holt books right now and just wondering if I'm doing overkill that is going to cloud my mind with too much information at test time...

-Basic Electrical Theory
-Understanding the National Electrical Code Vol 1
-Understanding the National Electrical Code Vol 2

What types of calculations do I need to know? What tables should I focus on?

Thank you - just want to make sure my focus is on the correct stuff.

 

[Sifu]

IMO, half (or more) the battle is knowing where to look and knowing what to look for. It has been a long time since I took any tests, but I learned to practice by quizzing myself on how quickly and accurately I could find the right section in the book, not remembering answers. Simple, but imagine a question on whether a receptacle is required in a dwelling kitchen island. If you remember the answer you would know according to the 2020 NEC, but might be wrong in the 2023 NEC. If you know where to look it didn't really change. (I only use that example because I just had this exact scenario. Made a comment on initial review from memory, went back to the book to check my code reference in the 2023 and found the change, which is similar to the way I took tests) Studying this way accomplishes both learning (remembering the code) and where to find it in case you don't. In my case, knowing where to look was more helpful than trying to remember.

I am not much good with electrical, and stay within my capabilities, so theory still mostly escapes me. I guess I passed by getting enough of the non-theory questions right. In practice, if it's over my head I give it to someone smarter.

 

[Joe.B]

IMO, half (or more) the battle is knowing where to look and knowing what to look for. It has been a long time since I took any tests, but I learned to practice by quizzing myself on how quickly and accurately I could find the right section in the book, not remembering answers. Simple, but imagine a question on whether a receptacle is required in a dwelling kitchen island. If you remember the answer you would know according to the 2020 NEC, but might be wrong in the 2023 NEC. If you know where to look it didn't really change. (I only use that example because I just had this exact scenario. Made a comment on initial review from memory, went back to the book to check my code reference in the 2023 and found the change, which is similar to the way I took tests) Studying this way accomplishes both learning (remembering the code) and where to find it in case you don't. In my case, knowing where to look was more helpful than trying to remember.

I am not much good with electrical, and stay within my capabilities, so theory still mostly escapes me. I guess I passed by getting enough of the non-theory questions right. In practice, if it's over my head I give it to someone smarter.

The other half is time management. The test is 80 questions in 210 minutes. That's 2.625 minutes per question.

As I recall, there's no need to be able to perform load calcs or have a firm understanding of theory.

My advice would be to read the question twice through and make a snap decision between these three choices:
1. You know the answer with at least 90% confidence: Answer and move on.
2. You know where to find the answer in 2 minutes or less: Find it, answer, and move on.
3. You don't know it, and you're not sure where to find it: Guess, flag it, and move on.

If you follow this advice you will get through the entire test with plenty of time to spare, ideally 45 minutes or more. I say guess and flag because the worst thing you can do is run out of time with blank questions. If you guess, at least you have a 25% chance of getting it right. Also, if you don't know where to find something, don't waste time trying, there's a good chance you might run across it while looking for something else. With 45 minutes you should be able to do some deeper digging on whatever you flagged.

Best of luck.

 

[BN4537]

I'm using several Mike Holt books right now and just wondering if I'm doing overkill that is going to cloud my mind with too much information at test time...

It might be overkill, but I doubt it will cloud your mind. I like overkill.

If you can pass the Mike Holt practice tests and you can size the kva for a house, you will blow the E1 away. For the E1, you should focus on NM cable, GFCI and AFCI locations, and sizing how much kva you need for a house. You don't have to refer to the IRC on that test if you know the NEC well (because the IRC is basically copied off of the NEC), but it's over the IRC sections.

I have not yet taken the E2, but I know someone took the Journeyman and Master test after going through the books you mentioned, and he blew the Journeyman test away and was well prepared for the Master test. He also scored 32 on the ACT, so factor that in... My guess is that the Master test is between the E2 and E3 in difficulty.

Mike Holt is the way to go for studying.