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Failed the lineman apprenticeship exam twice — what finally worked for me

by Hannah K. 4 views3 replies
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Hannah K.OP
May 27, 2026

So I've been trying to get into the IBEW apprenticeship program for about 14 months now and failed the entrance exam twice. The math section absolutely destroyed me both times — I hadn't touched algebra since high school and it showed. After my second failure I basically wanted to give up, but my uncle works for the utility company and told me to take three more months and actually study this time instead of just "reviewing."

I found a LINEMAN practice test online that matched the format pretty closely and started doing timed sections every single day. The electrical theory questions were actually easier than I expected once I understood Ohm's law properly — it's everywhere on that exam. I also picked up a study guide that broke down the mechanical aptitude section, which I'd been totally ignoring.

Just got my results last week — passed with a 78. If anyone else is prepping for this, I'm happy to share what resources I used and some exam tips that actually made a difference for me.

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Chris D.
May 28, 2026
Congrats on passing! I'm in the same boat right now, scheduled for my first attempt in six weeks. The mechanical aptitude part worries me most — I've never worked with my hands professionally so a lot of those spatial reasoning questions feel like guessing. How much time per day were you putting into it? I'm doing maybe 45 minutes but wondering if I need to ramp that up significantly.
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Sofia R.
May 28, 2026
The math really is the make-or-break section for most people. I passed on my first try but I spent two solid months on nothing but fractions, percentages, and basic algebra before I even looked at anything else. A lot of guys underestimate it because they think it's just basic stuff, but the test moves fast and you can't use a calculator. Timed practice is non-negotiable — seriously.
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Brian Y.
May 28, 2026
78 is a solid score, well done. For anyone reading this — don't sleep on the reading comprehension section either. It counts more than people expect and you can pick up easy points there without much prep time.

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