Just took the POSS/MASS/BMST, a reflection

[Homer S.]

Took the POSS/MASS test Wednesday and found out I passed last night. Just wanted to say thanks again to all who contributed great advice.

[UncaBuffalo]

Took the POSS/MASS test Wednesday and found out I passed last night. Just wanted to say thanks again to all who contributed great advice.

Congrats! 

[Kharyzma21]

I'm going to be taking the MASS version of this test soon.  I attempted once last year and didn't do so well.  It is definitely frustrating not knowing WHICH sections I faltered in but i think I rushed thru the Assembly section.  I also think paranoia got the best of me.  From what I've gathered it seems with the Nuke Industry, they'd like to see you only have correct answers marked. (i'm new to this site but i'm seeing 11 correct minimum).  I think my interpretation of only answering those you are positive about is "an unsure step can be more detrimental than taking the time to be completely positive of a correct step" Kind of a how likely are you to "Stop when unsure" type of measurement.  But again, that's my opinion.  I hope you did well.  Best of luck to you. I'm praying that I do well this go round!

[Buddy]

Congrats!!!

[ceefroe]

Nicely Done, bb.  I have been lurking around this site too, and have definitely found some useful info in prepping for the POSS.  My mentality in taking this test was to work as fast as possible and skip anything that I could not do nearly instantly.  With respect to individual sections, these are my comments:

Assembly:

I had difficulty visualizing about 4 of the questions.  The particular issues I had with said questions were that the shapes were very irregular and the orientation of the finished assembly was dissimilar to the way the individual pieces were displayed.  One tactic I found useful was to isolate a particular piece that had to be placed in a certain place/fashion.  This strategy was useful for the questions that had 2 or 3 answer choices that were similar.

Mechanical:

Common sense physics with a twist.  Some were difficult; most were very straightforward.  I ran through this section and answered all but about 3 on my first pass.  The others I had to think about because I lack both the hands-on background and schooling in subjects like fluid mechanics.  My advice on this section is to know how much time you have per question and budget accordingly.  You should be able to tell within about 2 seconds if you understand the concept or not.  Move on to a question you know and  backtrack if time permits.

Tables/Graphs:

The answers are in front of you.  Spot them quickly and fill in as fast as you can.  The graph section required some care because some of the graphs overlapped near the question value on the x-axis.  Although I didn't use one, maybe using your scratch paper as a straight edge would help.  I would not recommend a straight edge on the table section as IMO you will sacrifice too much time.  I answered about 45/60 in the table section and about 70-80% of the graphs.

Reading:

I had to reread to answer a few, but crossed the finish line with about 5 minutes to spare.  The longest passage we had was about 4 paragraphs, and the passages are well-organized so it is fairly simple to locate the ones you don't remember.

Math:

My strategy:
Do all single conversions and only doubles(+) that are nice and clean.  I got bogged down on converting bushels to the speed of light or some such nonsense for a second, but dodged the bullet by moving on to the algebra section.  There were only 2 or 3 conversions that required a lot of work.  I finished all of the algebra questions and did about half of the word problems. In retrospect I wish I had done these 2 sections first, because I killed my time on one of the conversions (wasted about 25 seconds and didn't even answer it).

I prepped for the test by reviewing the suggested EEI practice material. I did the tests and checked my answers when I was first notified that I would be taking the test.  About 3 days before the test date I did the practice tests again.  I did not time myself either time (which I think would've helped me in the sections I did not finish).  I would recommend it to get yourself adjusted to the hustle.  The majority of the questions are not hard, but some require a little more thought/scratchwork than you would expect from the relative ease of the practice material.  If one were inclined to time themselves taking the practice tests it might be beneficial to deliberately short yourself on time to figure in the extra 10-15 seconds for the tricky questions.

I also passed and am hoping to hear back soon for an interview. Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this site- I am a prospective newcomer to the industry, and I feel that the stories posted on this site will reduce the shellshock when I (hopefully) make the leap from commercial electrical engineering to the world of the nuke.

Also, go Pacquiao!

[Cycoticpenguin]

very good post imo. Extremely accurate  

I finished every section except the math section. I Was FURIOUS when the lady called time that  I didnt have it finished   turned out ok though haha

[Tigervision]

I took the POSS test yesterday for Entergy. There is no doubt in my mind that I did great on all parts except for the math!! I started on unit conversions. I did a few until I got to one that need a double conversion. Then I skipped the rest of the unit conversion and went to algebra. I completed all the algebra but that's it. The time expired! I was pissed! I know for the most part that the problems I did complete was pretty much right. I've been reading that I need to get 11 correct and if that's the case I should have no problem but I think I didn't answer enough to get my test graded. Can you guys please let me know what you think! By the way I'll found out tomorrow how I did!! 

[JustinHEMI05]

Don't sweat the time expiring. I don't think you are meant to actually finish it. I didn't the first time I took one, and I am an SRO. YMMV. 

[Fermi2]

I took the POSS test yesterday for Entergy. There is no doubt in my mind that I did great on all parts except for the math!! I started on unit conversions. I did a few until I got to one that need a double conversion. Then I skipped the rest of the unit conversion and went to algebra. I completed all the algebra but that's it. The time expired! I was pissed! I know for the most part that the problems I did complete was pretty much right. I've been reading that I need to get 11 correct and if that's the case I should have no problem but I think I didn't answer enough to get my test graded. Can you guys please let me know what you think! By the way I'll found out tomorrow how I did!! 

Were did this mythical number 11 come from?

[Tigervision]

but I'm worried if i answered enough question??

[Fermi2]

First: 11 is not necessarily the number.

Second: If you did get enough correct and didn't complete enough questions it's a moot point.

Third: No one here knows the answer to your question.

[JustinHEMI05]

I have no idea. I guess you have to sweat until tomorrow.   good luck and keep us posted!

[Tigervision]

hahaha Will do! 

[2004blackwrx]

Maybe this will help give you a little better idea of how you did. I took the POSS a couple of weeks ago for Entergy and passed. I was also concerned about whether I answered enough. Apparently, I did since I found out I passed. In the math section I answered all the easy conversions like you described. I also did all the algebra except maybe one or two. Lastly, I got about 1/3 of the word problems done. I can not be positive but I believe the ones I did answer were right. Hopefully, this helps you get a better idea of how you did before actually finding out. Goodluck, and do yourself a favor try not to think about it because at this point everything is out of your control.

[Tigervision]

Thanks, that does make me feel a little better. Thank you guys for your input. I'll update tomorrow and let you guys know how I made out!

[Homer S.]

I can't remember how many I finished on the long math but I know it felt like not very many and I passed, so don't sweat it. 

First: 11 is not necessarily the number.

Second: If you did get enough correct and didn't complete enough questions it's a moot point.

Third: No one here knows the answer to your question.

OMG!  BZ doesn't know the answer?  Hell must be frozen over 

[Tigervision]

Here's an update! I guess I was recommend because I have an interview scheduled next week!! I'm one step closer! Now I have to nail the interview!! Thanks for all you guys input!!

[JustinHEMI05]

Congratulations and good luck!

[Cycoticpenguin]

Here's an update! I guess I was recommend because I have an interview scheduled next week!! I'm one step closer! Now I have to nail the interview!! Thanks for all you guys input!!

Did you apply to river bend or waterford?  I just got hired at Riverbend, and Waterford wanted  to interview me on the 13th so you are going for one of the two.

This is how my interview went, lasted about 20 minutes. They didnt show me anything, and it was pretty simple really.
http://www.nukeworker.com/forum/index.php/topic,26272.msg134794.html#msg134794

Good luck, and if you are going to Riverbend, hope to see you on the 4th!

[MeMike4611]

I took the Mass and Poss last week. I feel like I actually did too much studying. I reviewed old math books, took a look at the asvab book and just stressed this test. I feel like the asvab helped me brush up on my math skills, but the math section of the mass and poss are not as hard at the asvab, well atleast what i can tell from studying the asvab book.

What I recommend for people who are going to take the Mass and Poss test to do is, study the practice tests and the concepts behind the answers. If you know the reasons behind the mechanical concepts, you should be fine. Definetly work on your conversions, well atleast the timing. Make sure you read the question thoroughly because they do try to trick you.

Now I do have a question, the people running the test said they do not know how it is graded. I took the approach of if I don't know the answer, dont answer at all, instead of guessing. Does anyone know if thats how it works?

Also, I was told that you need a certain score to get Nuclear and another certain score to get into everything else. The people said that you either are recomended or not recommended, it doesnt matter if its nuke or say coal. Is this true?

Thanks!

[Rock Chalk Jayhawk]

There have been a lot of posts on here from those trying to figure out exactly how it's graded.  I treated it like:  attack the test, don't waste time on involved questions, and be accurate.  I'm guessing this is how you took the test as well.  There was nothing "hard" about the exam, but I found that I was constantly pushing myself to answer faster and faster.  I didn't feel I was sacrificing accuracy for speed, but I didn't second guess myself on it, either...I passed.

The answer I've concluded is that the only people who really know how it's graded are the people who administrate and grade the test.  So far as I can tell:  they ain't saying.  No worries, I'm sure you did fine.

RCJ

[timothymcf]

What I recommend for people who are going to take the Mass and Poss test to do is, study the practice tests and the concepts behind the answers. If you know the reasons behind the mechanical concepts, you should be fine. Definetly work on your conversions, well atleast the timing. Make sure you read the question thoroughly because they do try to trick you.

Thanks a lot for your informative post. I now know what I should do when I take the test. Thanks again.

[ceefroe]

Update: I have an AO interview with Entergy on January 4th!

[Willy]

Good luck to both of you guys.  Thank you for your post.  I took the POSS and MASS about a year ago.  I did not do so well.  I made the fatal flaw of spending too much time on questions that I did not know the answer to.  I read a lot of post, studied like crazy, and thought I had a good game plan.  I basically choked.  Hopefully I will get another opportunity to redeem myself.  Thank you again for your post it is very helpful for guys like myself.   

[ceefroe]

I have another interview for later on that day with an engineering firm. I sure hope something finally happens. "It can't rain all the time." It's a bit discouraging to graduate in May, and still not have a new job by the first of the year. Be patient and prepare yourself, Willy. I'm sure your time will come very soon if you put the work in to pass the tests.