Just took the POSS/MASS/BMST, a reflection

[nukesquirrel]

Just wanted to give my experience with the POSS. I took the POSS last Friday and found out today that I passed. I spent quite a bit of time here researching the test, and had about a week and a half to prepare. As it has been said before the practice tests found online are a good idea of what the test is about, but really do no prepare you for the real thing. I went ahead and ponied up the $40 for an online set of practice tests (I'm not sure if I can post the site here so PM if you want the details). These practice tests were much better preparation for the test. Obviously the material is not that difficult, other than possibly the mechanical concepts section, but it's the time that is the real challenge. Preparing for the test I would take the practice tests with the TV on after work for maximum distraction. I found I would not be able to complete about 10 of the tables and graphs section and 7 or 8 of the math section. When it came time for the test I completed all but 1 of the tables and graphs and 2 of the math. If you are not strong on the mechanical concepts I recommended studying the basic concepts which can be found in a number of study guides. What I did was any questions on the practice exams I missed I would go back and thoroughly study and understand that concept, seems pretty common sense, but thought I would put it out there. Good luck to those of you taking the test.

[gzeiger]

I may have taken that same test. I'm not sure why everyone is making the issue of guessing out to be a big mystery. The test instructions spell it out (the instructions provided by EEI, not "some proctor told me"). If you can eliminate one choice, there is a positive expected value to guessing. I would speculate that this is similar to the SAT, where a wrong answer is fractionally penalized such that blind guessing is neutral and any informed guess is positive.

That said, Broadzilla is correct several pages back - because of the time constraint, you really are putting yourself behind by guessing. Guessing is for times where you can't figure out the actual correct answer, and that should literally never happen on this test.

Practice is definitely necessary, but I think you can get a solid benefit from just using the EEI versions, especially if you wait a few days in between. Mostly I found I needed to develop a solid system for the tables and graphs section, and instantly understand the rules for each type of question. I also needed a system for the assembly problems. If your weakness is reading comprehension then having a variety of practice tests could be more important, but I found that section took less than half the allowed time.

N is definitely the correct answer several times.

[Radwraith]

I took it (And passed) just recently and had the same experience. The questions are not hard it's simply the time constraints. If you are taking it don't be put off by the "N" Answer not present choice. There are definitely a few of those!

[Mikeb3187]

Hey there everyone. New to the forum but have been browsing for a month or so. I just took the Mass/Poss for the Hope Creek Station in Jersey. I was selected to test for the operator position they have open. Pretty excited and even more excited because they have to be filled immediately. The test wasn't really that awful. This forum helped to prepare me for what I would see come test time. Math was the most challenging for me since I hate math but I feel confident I did well. Every other section was fairly easy. Waiting to hear what my results are and hopefully getting an interview. My current job is closing down soon so this came at a great time. The energy field just keeps growing so I'm hoping I can become a part of it. Oh and the money isn't too shabby either.

[Mikeb3187]

Good morning guys. I took my Mass/Poss on the 9th and just got my results in. The test was for an operator slot at the Salem/ Hope Creek Plant. I failed for the operator slot but it said I was qualified for mech, plant, and tech operator. Also qualified for nuclear tech mech and controls. I had just a couple of questions. My buddy took the test with me and received a fail email as well. Then on the same day received an email saying to disregard the first email and now he passed. I thought that was kind of odd. Maybe someone has had similar results? And for the jobs I qualified for, does that mean they will find me another position or do I just need to keep applying? Thanks for taking the time to read this.

[richlg202]

what did you use to study?

[Hokiepride]

Hey All, new to the site. Ex Naval Fire Controlman. Spent last 8yrs in the Energy sector. First as an I&C tech then onto Drilling. The industry tanked and I became unemployed. I recently was offered an opportunity to take a POSS TEST. I have to say I was looking I. The job market since February. In March I was sent info to study for the exam by the company. I spent all but an hour to go through each section. I then traveled to a Va Beach for a conference, returned to Pa for the POSS EXAM. A month later informed I passed. They had 200 people scheduled for the exam and only 25 agreed to test and I was only one who showed up. I had the interview and waiting for background check to clear to be given a start date. Been an awesome experience so far buttoning forward to interacting with many of you on this forum.

[mangiaste]

Good luck Guys!

[discofiend]

I could find it but POSS / BMST are hard copy exams not soft copy, is my assumption correct?

[Jeremywight]

Hi guys.  Just tested POSS and BMST for EO 2 Saturdays ago for Exelon.  Am still waiting to hear whether or not I am recommended.  Just 1 thing to point out about the tables section of the POSS....a flattened pencil tip helps fill in the bubbles quicker.  I flattened mine during the first assembly test to help me fill bubbles quicker in preparation for the tables test.  Sadly I kept turning my pencil in my hand 2hile following the table so sometimes I flipped to the sharp point side, which tooke linger to fill the bubble.  In all, I ended with 5 table questions I didn't get to, and finished all of the graph questions with time to spare.

[Jeremywight]

2.5 weeks later just received a call saying I passed both tests (not saying recommended or not recommended).  Now for the interview in 1.5 more weeks.

[Nuclear NASCAR]

2.5 weeks later just received a call saying I passed both tests (not saying recommended or not recommended).  Now for the interview in 1.5 more weeks.

I'm going to guess if you're getting an interview then you were recommended.

[Jeremywight]

I'm going to guess if you're getting an interview then you were recommended.

Yeah things were just a bit different than other experiences ive read about.  Took poss first then bmst without the poss being graded, along with being told I passed instead of recommended.

[bcfcflathead]

Hey Guys and Gals,
Im new to the forum.  I read all of the good info on this thread and just wanted to add my 2 cents.  I took the MASS/POSS C test and it was just as everyone else has previously described.  I would say to make sure you work on the math questions in the practice tests online. Others have said that the practice tests were nothing like the actual test but, the test I took was very similar to the practice tests for me at least. (maybe I just got lucky?!) The strategy others have mentioned about skipping the harder questions is ABSOLUTELY true.  There is almost no way the average person could complete EVERY question on EVERY section of this test in my opinion.

My question is, the grading, is it safe to say if you answer at least half or greater of the questions correct on EVERY section that you will pass? I know this has been mentioned in this thread but wasn't sure of the answer. 

[RefriedBeans]

I took the POSS recently and wanted to offer an opinion of my experience.  I felt the practice exam on the EEI website fairly represented what the test entailed overall.  I am a recently graduated student with an engineering degree.

The reading comprehension section required some critical thinking, as some of the passages required you to understand the concept they were teaching and then apply them to answering related questions.  They weren't strictly questions were you had to scan the passages to find where the statement was made.  I finished all the questions just a few minutes before time ran out.

The assembly section had a mix of simple and complex structures.  If I could not easily cross out 2 or 3 solutions right away I skipped them.  Altogether I think I skipped 4 or 5 of them.

The mechanical concepts had a few problems that were more complex in nature than what I had seen on the practice exam, but if you could understand the basic principles at work then they weren't much harder.  I skipped 5 at most.

The graphing section was pretty straightforward. I did not finish either section, but managed to get around 75% of the questions done in each part.

The information provided on this website in reference to the math section was very useful to working through this section.  I started with the algebra problems, which overall were very easy and got that section completed first.  Then I moved on to the conversions and finished the ones that I could do in my head.  Then onto the word problems where I skipped any questions that I could not immediately figure out the correct method to answer them.  I don't remember how many questions I didn't finish, but I know I completed all the algebra sections and all but 3 or 4 of the conversions.  In the word problems I think I got around half of them answered. 

I found out that day I had passed the POSS  .  Thanks to all those who provided information and test-taking strategies.

[rockyroad507]

Got my results back, and I PASSED! Whew, I was legit stressed after getting home. I was second guessing my self big time, and I lost some hours of sleep. However, it looks like I was able to get past the major hurdle to a great career path.

This site is the sh*t... Without it I would have been a sheep sent to slaughter. I was prepared and went in knowing what to expect and how I was going to attack it.

Final thoughts.. Stay positive and study. The eei practice test will prepare you for all parts except Mechanical Concepts. This part was the only part that truly concerned me with my accuracy, and it was quite a bit more difficult than the practice tests.. Work fast, accurately, and don't guess wildly. I was only able to answer 2/3 of the math and it was enough. So, there must be some credence to blank answers not "hurting" the score.

Thank you for this information. My situation was very similar to yours and I also passed. I will make a separate post similar to yours so others can also use this information who may be in the same boat as me.

[rockyroad507]

I want to share my results and experience with POSS exam that I recently passed.
New EEI POSS does not have Tables/Graphs, and assembly is now figural reasoning.
This is how I "think" I performed":
Figural reasoning: ran out of time, completed 14/20, was fairly confident that I did them all or most correctly of the ones attempted.
Mech Concepts: completed all 44/44. Was confident about most of them. Brush up on fluid mechanics.
Reading: Completed all 36/36, confident about most of them.
Math: Only completed 33-34/46. But knew got most of them correct of the ones completed.

As you can see in mine and Athletix experience - I was worried about figural reasoning and math since did not complete them all..especially math.

Fact that I passed, tells me:
1. I did really well on other sections
2. No of correct out of no completed matters...?What I mean to say is I completed only ones that I knew answers for and guessed on ZERO.

Use this for what its worth..I am not claiming that I know how they score this exam but giving you facts so you can use it as I did with Athletix example. Good luck. Math will require practice. Practice well and go and do your best. Good luck and thanks for all help from this forum.

[Tabby]

Great post. I have a week to prepare for the POSS, BMST and interview.

[TVA]

You have to pass all sections and you have to complete a minimum number in each section to get the section graded. Its better to guess

[Tabby]

about 3 questions on converting temperature from fahrenheit to celsius. I couldn't remember the conversion formula at all.

[MMM]

F=(9/5)*C+32
C=(5/9)*(F-32)

[Tabby]

Passed the BMST and failed the POSS C. Didn't finish enough questions in time....definitely practice taking the EEI test with a stop watch, and I would recommend to bring a watch to the exam to keep track of time. This way if you see you have less than 2 minutes left you can at least make some educated guesses instead of leaving no answers for the remaining questions.

[gb54123]

I wanted to weight in as it has been a minute since anyone has commented on their experience.

I was invited to take the BMST and POSS with Exelon with 2 weeks to study. They gave me access to several websites with practice exams, which I have found to be excellent representations of the actual exam. I bought The Peterson's book on "Master the Mechanical Aptitude and Spatial Relations Test" from Amazon as study material before the exam, because I had never studied spatial relations.

For your comparison;

Before taking and of the practice tests I felt very confident in every subject except for the spatial relations. This is because I was in the top ten for my Power School class, and I was very confident with my math skills. My first attempt on the EEI tests showed that my intuition was very close.

Reading comp. I got 100% correct with plenty of time to spare. This section was especially easy as everything was also technical in nature, and very basic, so even if you're not great at reading, you're often answering very basic science or math questions (like "does heat go from hot to cold or cold to hot?").

Mechanical concepts was also very easy for me. I had plenty of time left over, and I only missed one question on the practice exam. If you did well in thermodynamics, fluids and mechanical equipment in the Navy, you'll do well here.

Math was surprisingly a time crunch. I taught math for a long time, and I've always done extremely well in math, but I only completed about 32 of the questions in the practice exam. However, I did get them 100% correct. I brushed up on my decimal multiplication and long division to help make up time.

Figural reasoning was crazy hard, in my opinion. I didn't complete them all, and I got 9/15 right in my first attempt. The patterns ranged from stupid easy to insanely difficult (especially for 30 seconds per problem). I was very worried about this section going into my official testing.

I had a very difficult time finding out any information about the BMST before I went into it. From what I found, I re-learned the unit circle and read up on basic reactor physics and theory.

Post test;

I received results that I passed the BMST but the POSS is still being graded. I found the BMST to be very, very easy. I would learn how to use trig tables and how to do common science-related conversions from memory.

POSS: SPATIAL REASONING...... I completed every section of the POSS except for spatial reasoning. I am 100% confident in every other section, but I'm worried about spatial reasoning. I finished 14/20 questions and I was completely rushed. My one regret is that I forgot to skip difficult problems, and instead tried to solve everything in order. I would definitely practice spatial problems from every available resource if you're serious about passing this exam. Also, SKIP DIFFICULT PROBLEMS. The last question I had was very easy, but I ran out of time as I was filling in the bubble. I think it is best to finish all of the easy ones, then systematically attack the moderate ones. I don't think anyone can finish all of these with 100% accuracy with any sort of consistency. The problems can be very complicated.

I'll post an update on my final results. Good luck to everyone.
*update* I passed. I still recommend skipping the difficult ones immediately and coming back to them. I'm confident that you'll complete more questions and get more correct this way.

[TVA]

I completed and aced the POSS test twice. I am not the only one who completed every section.
Do not skip any problem unless you know you will complete enough problems to get it graded.
If you were 14/14 and you needed to complete 15 to get it graded you fail. The guy who got 13/15 goes on, you dont.

[Alacrytous]

Hey all, current Exelon employee taking the POSS/BMST at the end of the month for Exelon for entry-level EO, I assume this is the POSS B test that is a little easier if I'm understanding correctly, but can't be sure of that.

Bit of background about me: Took the ASVAB back in 2012 and scored a 93 with no practice whatsoever. Math was never my strongest subject but I'm picking it back up relatively quickly and feel my knowledge of Mechanical Systems is plenty strong, same with Reading Comprehension. Figural Reasoning will likely take some more practice on my part, but I'm still doing /alright/ on the practice from EEI.

I've taken the tests from EEI and frequently score above 85-90%. I have not been given study materials from HR as of yet despite my testing date being announced. This forum has been exceedingly helpful in what to expect but would like a little specific insight if possible. I've read in a few threads that simple calculators are being allowed on the test now, that said also seen recent comments that state long-division/decimal multiplication is necessary to succeed and would like some clarification from anyone that's taken it recently. Also there's no Graphs and Tables section in EEI but I assume this is still part of the test?

Either way, I intend to follow frequent advice and skip difficult questions in favor of easier ones and return to harder ones should time allow. I'd appreciate any further advice anyone could give me!