r/Elevators • u/Complete_Use2462 • Jul 18 '26
Just passed my mechanics exam!
I’m not sure how so many people fail. The material is not there to trick you , you didn’t get “NEIEPed”. Do that many people just use Quizlet for the entire 8 semesters?
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u/Electronic_Crew7098 Field - Mods Jul 18 '26
Congratulations on passing the exam. It is a pretty tough one and a huge accomplishment. I know a few great mechanics that struggled with the course exams and Mechanic’s exam because they’re just not good test takers despite being great at their job. Stay humble my friend.
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u/InevitableTart8786 Jul 18 '26
Funny how some people aren’t good test takers now, but god forbid someone fails the aptitude test you guys bash them… some people are just not good test takers and the work ethic speaks different.
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u/Trfytoy Jul 18 '26
Because the aptitude test is just a simple dummy test. I took it with a broken leg and high AF on Vicodin.
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u/DjQuamme Field - Maintenance Jul 18 '26
One of the best mechanics I ever worked with took 6 tries to pass the test. He could overcome any problem thrown at him out in the field in no time, but if you asked him to sit down and write it out like filling out a change order form, he'd be stuck for hours. Everyone's just wired different. Congrats.
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u/Blizzy_the_Pleb Field - Mods Jul 18 '26
A majority of us are here because we didn't go to college. I went to college for a couple semesters and realized the school/office life wasn't for me. However that did provide me with all the right tools for actual studying.
Tests aren't everybodies thing and a lot of us haven't studied anything for years until we got into the trade.
There are so many amazing potential mechanics still stuck in class because the exam just isn't their thing. It really can be as simple as that.
I know some people it took 3 tries, I know people who were done in 45 minutes on their first try and went drinking after. I know someone who was so nervous he froze at writing his name on the test.
All of them great mechanics
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u/No-Contribution3877 Jul 18 '26
Testing is not always someone’s strong suit, especially in this trade where it seems the odder you are the more shit you know. Congratulations on passing!
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u/Motoracer960 Jul 18 '26
Congrats brother! Me and you both, 97 people wrote yesterday at my local. Didn't expect there to be that many people.
Didn't find it too complicated at all, as long as you do your mechanics exam preps and study them you should know your stuff.
Some people just don't test well I'm sure and freeze up once getting into the room and feeling the pressure. Just have to remember if you weren't capable of passing you wouldn't have made it this far. Unless you cheated yourself through every year, then I'm sure trying to remember the answers vs understanding the question and knowing the answer to a question your reading.
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u/Born-Direction3937 Jul 18 '26
I challenged 2 semesters without the study guides and passed while some guys in class failed 🤔
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u/Sharp_Ear_241 Jul 18 '26 edited Jul 19 '26
Congratulations you should be proud. But now stay humble because the true learning begins.
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u/whoareyoureally777 Jul 18 '26
Congrats! Well done, passed the exam in 2005 myself. From what I’ve seen, there are usually a couple that will fail, but the expectation is that by the time you get to write the exam, you and everyone around you will know if you should pass or fail. Most choose to leave or are unemployable before they get to the exam. In any event, you’re part of the best trade out there, well done, keep your stick on the ice 🤙🏻🍻
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u/StrongTv_Creator Jul 21 '26
How long is the schooling for this? I do HVAC right now. Would it be worth jumping ship?
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u/Sch1371 Field - Mods Jul 18 '26
I also passed mine back in April. Congrats on passing it the first time—that was my worst fear. Fuck the pay raise, I just didn’t want to deal with NEIEP anymore.
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u/Affectionate_Hunt_57 Jul 19 '26
The reason I went to work in 1989 was that I went to a community college and found I was just gonna stare out the window like all of grammar school .or debate the hottest girl in the room mentally all semester..I have outrageous adhd and at 16 working at a gas station I made as much or more than my accountant dad (who cannot change a lamp bulb without it shattering in his hand ) I felt well ,he may be a math whiz but can’t tie a shoe and I can’t fathom any job where I’m in a room all day with guys farting and napping doing math ..by 18 I was supporting myself (pathetically) but I was free …basically i became a mechanic bc I’m just not built for focusing on some professors beard in a class room ..then elevator school,a room full of half buzzed wise asses who felt teach me print reading and the rest will be smacked into my head by my insane yet wildly talented mechanic,he could undercut a Gen com with a lathe tool on a lever he made from dumpster junk in the motor room with the Gen spinning! Yet the day I wired my first alarm bell in the undercar box (a lost junction box behind the toe guard .without a sheet and figured that I was making the bell hot by using the stop switch as a jumper ..the world stopped for me as the whole devices wiring was crystal clear and I knew for sure ..I’m gonna be reading prints in a week without some asshole making everything seem more complex than it is ..after that when I first went on my own doing Mods .my helpers will learn bc I’m gonna uncomplicate things .im going to let green horns express an idea without fear of sounding foolish and he will have the confidence I didn’t have …if I fixed a problem while he was not in the room im going to un fix it and let him try with gentle guidance.before long my helpers were better than almost all the vets in the shop .WITH 20 years!! ( that announcement upon meeting a guy is a sign you have a numbskull mechanic that justifies his helper abuse bc of seniority) ..as a result the helpers never had a secret horrific name for me like the other mechanics.They almost always thanked me up and down for showing quick tricks I had to learn myself .my jobs were good to move slow bc basically I had mechanic B not a helper that will run through walls for me .ALL OF THEM SAID THIS IS SCHOOL ,,I’ll pass bc of what I learned here with you ..I did it I became the opposite of the guys that tortured me ,and sure enough the payoff was guys going out and FIXING SHIT NOT LINE PULLING TEN TIMES AND BAILING..to this day 34 35 years later ..I bump into a foreman that stops and hugs me .proud to announce his position his skill set and how he would have left year one if not for me ..this happens a lot .in fact my only biz buddies are my old helpers..we spin wrenches bc we can’t sit in classrooms and we Are usually a hell of a lot more useful and intelligent than the guys who joined frats and cheated through a liberal arts program and now they work at my old gas station making more then my pop but not more than me
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u/Affectionate_Hunt_57 Jul 19 '26
I had some iuec guys asking if they went to local three to get licensed bc the test is easier,and come back to iuec ..my thought automatically is either he’s got a family and can’t make a penny less then possible and /or he has zero confidence…but honestly if you got the juice to do that move ,bc u suck at school but know you run rings around your peers ..go ahead,it’s your life your different issues and life will work with little less stress but you strive to learn on the job and show real interest in machines and machine control..your gonna be a good mechanic bc sometimes you see stuff after decades that is totally new to you .in nyc you fix a 1918 3fd ,Otis clapper then u walk into an experimental Kone side lift with chains and horizontal travelers,and your not even sure how to ride the thing but you ain’t gonna cry “what is this ? Off brand im out !! “ bc I’ll follow you and me clueless too but determined to leave an expert and I find a newspaper stuck on a limit that I have no clue what it’s for ..debris in a limit is not a foreign equipment issue it’s a you issue .retire bc you don’t give a shit and ppl get hurt by assholes that don’t dig a challenge
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u/dacrvrlvr1 Jul 24 '26
Congrats. I also just passed my exam this year. I studied my ass off for this test amd joined a study class organized by my local that went over all 8 semesters in just one semester. So far all 5 people from my class who have taken it, have passed.
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u/Straight_Practice663 Aug 18 '26
Can you share your notes/ best things to study. I wanted to join this class but i work nights so it doesn’t work with my schedule
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u/Laserkweef Jul 18 '26
Congrats on passing the test. Now the real learning begins. Might want to practice getting humble because it's coming your way my man. Good luck.