Is the JOURNEYMAN exam different depending on which state you take it in?

I'm in basically the same boat right now, still grinding through the prep before I test. From what I've gathered, the answer is yes and no. The core stuff is the same everywhere because almost every state adopts the NEC, so the actual electrical theory, conductor sizing, box fill, those questions don't really change. What does change is the state and local amendments, plus how the exam itself is administered (open book vs closed, which code cycle they're on, whether they tack on business/law questions). So your theory studying transfers, but you'll want to check which NEC edition your new state is testing under because that bites people.

The part that's been killing me though is the calculation section. Conduit fill and voltage drop I can handle, but the load calc problems where you've got a service for a dwelling with all the optional method demand factors stacked up? Brutal under time pressure. For anyone who's already passed — was the hardest part for you the load calcs too, or was it more the random "find this one obscure article" code lookup questions? Trying to figure out where to dump most of my remaining study hours.