POSS (Power Plant Operator Selection System) Test

[needanukecareer]

I forgot to add...

I worked to answer at least 75% of the questions, 100% correct. I don't know if I actually met that goal, or even exceeded. But, the main objective  was attained. One small step at a time.

[MMM]

Here's how I studied for the POSS exam:
Printed out the practice exams (there are links on this site and most plant sites with login info).
Took one a day (changed the exam each day) until I could successfully complete each exam with >80% correct answers.

Personally, it wasn't really about studying, it was more for the test taking strategies, as some of the tests you have very little time on so you need to walk in with a plan to answer questions quickly with a lot of accuracy. The questions themselves weren't hard though.

The BMST (Exelon only) was a little different. Again, printed the practice exam, took it and then went online to figure out how to answer the questions I didn't know how to do. This was a lot less time intensive, but did require actually working out answers.

[needanukecareer]

I know that this is not exactly where this goes, but since it is in support of my prior responses, I thought I would add this. I took the POSS C test on a Thursday. I was informed that I had passed the test on Friday. Three days later, on Monday, I was offered an interview on  the Wednesday of that week. The following Friday, I received a phone call with an offer and a written offer. I accepted. I start the week after next. I'm looking forward to my start date and cannot wait to start a nuke career. I wish the best for those who read the wealth of information within the forums. If anyone is looking into a career in nuclear energy/power, I would suggest spending much time reading and less time posting. It's kind of like my dad telling me as a kid, "be quiet son. More listening, less talking. You might learn something".

[GLW]

..... You might learn something".

Came to talk about the after POSS.

They got a building down at the nuke site, it's called FFD, where you walk in, you get injected, inspected, detected, infected, neglected and selected.
I went down to get my physical examination one day, and I walked in, I sat down, got good and drunk the night before, so
I looked and felt my best when I went in that morning.
`Cause I wanted to look like the all-American kid from New York City, man I wanted, I wanted to feel like the all-, I wanted to be the all American kid from New York, and I walked in, sat down,
I was hung down, brung down, hung up, and all kinds o' mean nasty ugly things.
And I walked in and sat down and they gave me a piece of paper, and said,...

"Kid, see the Broadzilla, room 604."

And I went up there, I said, "Broad, I want to SCRAM.
I mean, I wanna, I wanna SCRAM.  SCRAM!
I wanna, I wanna see, I wanna see steam and ice and big fat cables in my teeth.
Eat dead burnt twinkies.
I mean SCRAM, SCRAM, SCRAM, SCRAM!"
And I started jumpin up and down yelling, "SCRAM, SCRAM," and the Broadzilla started jumpin up and down with me and we was both jumping up and down yelling, "SCRAM, SCRAM."
And the VP came over, pinned a red badge on me, sent me down the hall and said,.......... "You're our boy."

congratulations,...

[needanukecareer]

GLW, I haven't gotten to that point yet. I don't drink, I've never been to New York City. I've been a farm kid my whole life. But, thanks to your post, I'm invigorated. I had an idea of what SCRAM meant, but now I know a bit more. Thanks for the unbelievable story telling ability and the foreshadowing of the days ahead. And thanks for the congratulations!

[GLW]

GLW, I haven't gotten to that point yet. I don't drink, I've never been to New York City.....

Was 1967 so long ago?!?!?!?

seems so,...

...I don't drink, I've never been to New York City. I've been a farm kid my whole life.....

it's all fine and dandy,...

you're a better poster child for nuke power today than many of the pre-FFD holdovers from 1967 would be nowadays anyways,...

.......And thanks for the congratulations!

your welcome,...

work hard,....

keep your head on a swivel,...

buy a fishing boat when you can,...

it's a great stress reliever (the fishing that is, the boat can make it worse if you let it),...

[needanukecareer]

GLW, thanks again for the input. Boats are fine, but they are better when they are someone else's responsibility.  I was always told boat stands for "break out another thousand"...but I've never had a boat. Come to think if it, I love to fish. Will a jon boat suffice?

I'm much more of a hunter than a fisherman. I love bowhunting.
And I don't know that '67 was so long ago, but it was prior to my hatching.

And yes sir, I will work hard, it's all I've ever known. If it's any consolation, my hands look as if they have been working hard since '67(roughly) so I'm told, but the rest of me looks a good deal younger.

Thankfully, I was born with a fair amount of intelligence, an iron will, and desire to succeed.
I was taught the value of a strong work ethic and how to best utilize the tools you had available. Now I'm ready to use those tools to provide for my family and provide them with a great opportunity and try and teach my child how to earn a good life and not expect things to be given to you.(That seems common today).

So, thanks again for the quality input.

Finally, I've never been to New York City. I've been across the Tappansee Bridge. I've seen the city from a distance. But, I've been a die-hard Yankees fan since I was a young pup. Thanks to Don Mattingly. Never got to see Thurmond Munson, but I can say that Brett Gardner was 0 for his high school career against me. Go Yankees!

(May have just ruffled some feathers)

[sandcw13]

Hey everyone this is my first time posting to the site and I just wanted to add my experience in case anyone else was like me and looking for help when it was too late. I recently took the POSS for ENW in Washington. This is their first time administering the test and they will continue to do it from now on when they hire operators from my understanding. Theirs was a little different because they interviewed everyone the day after they would take the exam before ever getting the results back so you would interview and then, if you failed, how you did on the interview wouldn't matter. Anyways! Ok so I had taken the test before in Maryland a few years ago and didn't remember it being difficult at all so I didn't study or anything and figured I would breeze through it. Wrong! Well I don't know exactly how I did but I know when I finished I was not confident. I only finished about 2/3 of the graphs section and didn't even finish 2/3 of the math section. After taking test is when I started searching for what it took to pass the test and reading the posts on here. Let me start by saying luckily I passed still so now I am waiting to hear if I get a job offer. So if you have taken it and are freaking out because you only finished about 2/3 of the math or graphs section, calm down, as long as your answers were accurate you should be fine. Here are my tips tho for the exam.

1. Study for it! There are plenty of post on here with links to study guides. The math section is pretty simple algebra (5x+3=13 find x) and conversions. What you really need to look at is mechanical because it is either you know it or you don't, and the assemblies. They will twist the pictures around making it harder to figure out which answer is correct. Make sure you time yourself when you study as well. Nothing on this exam is hard, its just hard to finish. You want to be able to answer as quick as possible.
2. When taking the math section, if you can't immediately answer it, move on to the next then go back. I didn't even get to the 3rd page because I answered 1 by 1 using scratch paper when needed. As I said I still passed so its not like you will fail if you do it this way, but the goal is to get as many correct answers as you can. Page 3 had a bunch of easy problems on it I could have answered quickly if I would have just skipped the ones I used scratch paper for.

As long as you do those two things you should be fine. Good luck to all of you and I hope this might ease the stress level of some of you who might be waiting results scared because of how much you left blank on the exam.

[EFD307]

I am scheduled to take the POSS in a little over a week. I was given two weeks notice and told I would be emailed study material 8 days before the test(today, have yet to receive them). I took the practice test allowing myself the posted times and got the following results.

math answered 30/38 and got 28/30 answered correct ~ 93% of answered questions
assembly 9/9 100% with a few seconds (~20) to spare.
reading comp answered all of them but got 21/23 correct (~91%)had ample time left over and I know what to look for in the future to make sure I get them all right.
Tables and graphs I only answered 15/24 on the first sections and 10/14 on the second section. On both sections all the ones I answered were correct.
Mechanical concepts I got 26/26 100% with like 10 mins to spare ( bachelors in physics helped a bit here  )

So now I'm trying to get my math and charts time down. I wasted a lot of time on the math section doing conversions, with the advice from forum posts I can probably squeeze a few more questions and with some practice on the graphs and charts I'm hoping I can get my time down.

My problem now is trying to find more practice exams all the links I have found have lead me to the EEI site. Are there additional free practice tests found online? I did buy a couple books(a barrons book and the POSS secrets book) which should come in the mail today, I want to prepare in any way I can.

[cheme09]

go get an ASVAB practice book. pretty much the same stuff.

[Rennhack]

Good study guides:

Master The Mechanical Aptitude and Spatial Relations Test

ARCO Mechanical Aptitude and Spatial Relations Tests

Arco Mechanical Aptitude and Spatial Relations Tests, Fifth Edition

Barron's Mechanical Aptitude and Spatial Relations Test

[gzeiger]

I know that this is not exactly where this goes, but since it is in support of my prior responses, I thought I would add this. I took the POSS C test on a Thursday. I was informed that I had passed the test on Friday. Three days later, on Monday, I was offered an interview on  the Wednesday of that week. The following Friday, I received a phone call with an offer and a written offer. I accepted. I start the week after next. I'm looking forward to my start date and cannot wait to start a nuke career.

Can anyone shed some light on this compressed schedule? This has been typical of the postings I've gotten calls for, and it effectively rules out some applicants who would need to relocate. Why not give a little more notice when you're asking people to buy plane tickets and take time off work? I had to turn down three opportunities to test because sometimes you just can't get a military leave request approved on two days' notice. Maybe you have tons of good applicants all the time, but surely some marginal improvement is still possible.

I did find a job, and don't want to sound like I'm complaining, but I'm really curious what the reasons are.

[HydroDave63]

I did find a job, and don't want to sound like I'm complaining, but I'm really curious what the reasons are.

Usually to fit the HR or Ops management calendars. There will always be enough warm bodies to show up on the schedule dates, take the tests, interview and process in. Someone didn't make the schedule, who is the next name on the list. Been this way forever, so why change now? 

[Bigmo6967]

On the flip side I was given a wide window over the course of a week and a half with several testing dates and locations to chose from. After the test it took almost a week to get the results back saying I passed. That was on December 17th and I really do not expect a offer for an interview (if I get one) until after the holidays.

[Laundry Man]

Happened to me once.  Got a call can you be in AZ Monday? (this was on a Friday).  Didn't make it.  Still wish I could have.
LM

[Willy]

I tested and interviewed the beginning of the month and on site three weeks later when I was hired.  I was given a week to prepare.   

[ozmon]

whats the difference between the POSS B and the POSS C test?

[ddickey]

whats the difference between the POSS B and the POSS C test?

I believe it has to do with the passing score. POSS C's passing score is set higher than B. I could have that backwards though.

[Lethological]

Hello all,

I've been reading these forums to prepare for the POSS exam I'm taking in two days.  I've done several practice tests, and the only section I'm having a hard time with is the math section.  Seems like the math is the hardest section for just about everyone due to time constraints.  This is the first practice exam in which I'm studying the answer key to figure out exactly how each answer was solved for.  I came across one question that isn't "adding up"...

"A pyramid with a square base has a volume of 4,800,000 cubic feet.  If its height is 160 feet, how long is each side of the base?
a. 100
b. 120
c. 150
d. 160
e. none

I came up with 300 after using the formula V=[(area base x height)]/3.  Since it didn't match any of the answers, I chose E.  The answer key says it's actually 100.  I call BS.  The way they solve for the answer is as follows:

"A: The formula for the volume of a pyramid is (base area x height)/3.  For a square base, this formula becomes [(side length)^2 x height]/3.  Plugging in the numbers from the questions gives us [(side length)^2 x 160]/3 = 4,800,000.  Multiply by 3 and divide by 160 to get s^2=10,000.  Take the square root of both sides to find the side length = 100ft."

Where I believe it's wrong is when it says "Multiply by 3 and divide by 160 to get s^2=10,000."  I get 90,000... not 10,000.  Either I'm missing something obvious, or they've provided an inaccurate answer to a practice POSS test question.  I would like some consensus before making a determination.  I know some people are going to say "you're wasting time analyzing these questions when you can be studying more", and touche.  What makes me really angry is the fact that there are practice POSS tests floating around that have wrong answers listed as, well, answers.  I was racking my brain trying to figure out how I got the question wrong.  Maybe it is wrong and I missed something obvious, like I said before...  I'll gladly be upgraded if that turns out to be the case.  What do you guys think?  Wrong answer in the answer key, or was something obvious missed?

[HydroDave63]

Key was wrong. You were right. Don't get wrapped around the axle, just verify and move on.

[Lethological]

Thanks.  Didn't want to obsess over minute details, but this brings up another point.  Not all of the practice POSS exams have the same amount of attention to detail dedicated to them whenever they are written.  For what it's worth, the practice exams made available on this forum have been spot-on. 

In any case, wrong answer key or not, I've gone from ~60% completion in the allotted time on the math portion to ~85% completion by taking several practice exams and studying the keys.  The practice exams are a great tool to prepare for the real thing, and I finally feel as if I can walk in there with no worries.  For anyone else trying to prepare, I would highly recommend simply taking the practice exams a few times and studying the keys.  If you learn how to get the answer, the method in which to do so isn't going to be drastically different on the real exam. 

[Lethological]

Well, I did the complete opposite of what I expected.  I did really well in the interview, but struggled a bit on the POSS.  The plant that I applied at interviewed everyone that was there; some people actually had their interviews before they took the POSS.

The POSS I took was the POSS-C.  From my understanding, there's an A, B and C.  Someone in these forums stated that the POSS-C had the highest score requirement.  I don't know if that's true or not, but I will say that the POSS-C was considerably more difficult than any practice exam I took.  I only completed 15/20 assembly questions, and I only completed 33/44 mechanical concepts questions.  The types of questions they were asking on mechanical concepts was almost nothing like what I saw on the practice tests.  There were a LOT of fluid flow questions... I was a nuke ET.  It seems as if mechanics would have a leg up on the competition here.  The rest of the sections weren't so bad; I completed all of the reading questions, 80% of tables, 80% of graphs, and 80% of the math.  The math was the long math portion.  Something I didn't consider was that the answers need to be bubbled in.  That in and of itself takes time, so if you're timing yourself on the practice tests, chances are you WILL complete fewer questions just due to the fact that you have to bubble in all of your answers. 

I have to wait until Friday to know my results.  I'm not 100% confident that I passed, but I know I got the majority of questions in each section right.  It depends on how many I needed to complete in each section, really.  I asked how long the results are good for, and the test supervisor told me that it's a "forever test".  If I wanted to apply at another plant 15 years down the road, I should be able to just fill out a release form so that the plant I'm applying at receives the results from the old plant.  I take it that different plants have different standards, since I remember reading some people having to re-take the POSS just because they were going to a different plant.

[Lethological]

Well, it's Friday, and still no word.  I've seen some people on here get their results in a couple of days, and for others it's taken over a week.  I was told the results would be ready "by the end of the week", and that was Monday.  I'm just a little impatient, it seems 

[MMM]

I recommend shooting the HR rep an email tomorrow as a reminder.

[Lethological]

Well, I received the results today...

I passed!  What a relief!  Now to wait and see if I get an offer or not.  My interview went extremely well, so I'm hoping that translates to an offer.

As a side note, I'd like to give a huge thanks to the users and the admins at nukeworker.  There are a lot of good resources here, and I may not have made it beyond the POSS had it not been for this forum.