# Oklahoma contractor exam advice



## Grimmeute (May 8, 2012)

I have many clients I do work for through my current employer. They are tiered of dealing with him and his lack of management. The only reason they keep using him is because of me. These clients have millions and are building stuff all the time. The last 6 years of work have been just from these 2 clients.
Now they want me to go and just get my Contractors. Said they would pay for anything it would take to get it.
I was wondering if anyone had any advice or pointers to what exactly I need to study. Test is giving thru PSI testing, I hear a lot of bad things about them.
Thanks.


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## plbgbiz (Aug 27, 2010)

For the OK test, study definitions like it's your job. Get an IPC loose leaf version with tabs. That will speed up the answer process. The test is timed so that matters more than you would think.

On the biz side, you might well be walking into a gun fight with a nail clipper. There's a completely different side of facts you are not aware of. Your employer and his two clients have told you everything you know about the situation. I doubt they have shared everything THEY know.


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## Grimmeute (May 8, 2012)

I just know how my boss is.
For one, if our clients want him to come to the site and just check on us from time to time. He tells them, do I get paid for my time if I comes out?.... I'm like are you serious? You want extra money to just come out and and see how your job is going?
Its things like that, that really piss them off.
Our Conex box got broken into few months ago. All our personal tool like Rigid and DeWalt are gone and he replaces them with WalMart crap. Says they're all the same, its just a name. That pissed our clients off so they went out and replaced them with what we had and more.
I stay with him because the clients are good to us. Most of the time money is no big deal to them, they do things for their people that most don't do and treat us like family. Had one give my wife a iPad to have and use while she went through treatments for breast cancer and paid for travel and co-pays every time she had to go do treatments.


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## Grimmeute (May 8, 2012)

BTW thank you for your advice plbgbiz


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## Ghostmaker (Jan 12, 2013)

Is there anyone in your area that does code classes?


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## Grimmeute (May 8, 2012)

Well I'm looking online to see but there is so many I don't know who would be the best.


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

Study like you're going to college. Read and re-read your code books. Timed tests are not a gimme. The applicant has a lot of information to sift through in a limited amount of time.

If you can get your hands on questions from past exams, study those. I used practice exams at home to study. When I sat for my state exam, I saw a few questions that were exactly the same as my home study course. So I answered those quickly and moved on. You probably won't have enough time to look up each question. 

The better you prepare at home, the easier the exam will be in my opinion.


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## Will (Jun 6, 2010)

Green is always greener on the other side.........not really


The Oklahoma Test is not too bad, but you have to know code book well. If you have studied and made an effort to learn the trade, you shouldn't have a issue with this section of the test.

The Business side of the test, well good luck there, I aced the plumbing side, barely passed the business side


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## plumberkc (Jun 23, 2011)

Will said:


> Green is always greener on the other side.........not really



Nothing is green in Oklahoma.


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## Will (Jun 6, 2010)

plumberkc said:


> Nothing is green in Oklahoma.


 My yard is. That commit makes as much since as me saying this is no hill in Kansas, unless your on Mizzou side then there's one


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## Absaroka Joe (Mar 30, 2013)

There must be running water in OK now. When did that happen?


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## plumberkc (Jun 23, 2011)

Kansas is pretty flat, I can't argue with that. 

Think it was the time of year I went down, probably the beginning of fall. I just remember having a whole new appreciation for Kansas when I got home.


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## Grimmeute (May 8, 2012)

Talked to a inspector today. He said, he teaches at Tulsa tech. on the licenses. Wont be another class till fall. Told me he can do private tutor for $35hr. But basically, he says all he will go though is some of the code, business and OSHA a little. But mainly just shows you how to set up your books to make it easy to find the answers when taking the test.
Said that nobody can memorize the books, so make the books work for you.


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## Grimmeute (May 8, 2012)

Hey Will, is business doing pretty good with all the re-building going on there in Moore?
Hate that all that happen to them people there a few times or couple of times.


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## DesertOkie (Jul 15, 2011)

I thought the contractors test was easier than the j-man. Study venting, and total developed length heavy. You have time to double check every answer. 

You might get some prices for bond and insurance. You'll want a little more than the min. Keep in mind if you start your own thing and only have a few big customers your business can get screwed pretty easy.

Just my .02


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## Grimmeute (May 8, 2012)

plumberkc said:


> Kansas is pretty flat, I can't argue with that.
> 
> Think it was the time of year I went down, probably the beginning of fall. I just remember having a whole new appreciation for Kansas when I got home.


Yeah Okla. can be ugly at times. 2 weeks ago it was beautiful with all the Dogwood and Redbud blooming. I am originally from Colo. I miss that place. I go there on my vacations. Nothing like tent camping 11k feet up next to a reservoir with nothing but trout fishing to ease the mind.


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## plumberkc (Jun 23, 2011)

Grimmeute said:


> Yeah Okla. can be ugly at times. 2 weeks ago it was beautiful with all the Dogwood and Redbud blooming. I am originally from Colo. I miss that place. I go there on my vacations. Nothing like tent camping 11k feet up next to a reservoir with nothing but trout fishing to ease the mind.



I used to go to Waynoka once or twice a year. Pretty cool landscape with all the plateau's.


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## Grimmeute (May 8, 2012)

plumberkc said:


> I used to go to Waynoka once or twice a year. Pretty cool landscape with all the plateau's.


My kids been there a few times for church camp. it is a pretty area.


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## Grimmeute (May 8, 2012)

Ok does anyone know if these seminars are any good? It's called American Contractors Exam Services, Inc.


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## Green Country (Mar 6, 2009)

Find some practice tests and go through them looking EVERY ONE up in the book. Don't try to memorize questions or learn much of anything for that matter. Just learn where to look in the book for any answer. 

You have about 3 minutes per question if I remember right. That's plenty of time to look up every question IF you are familiar with the book. 

You do need to know how to apply what the book says though. For example, the test may ask something like "how many toilets can you set on a 6' wall?" You need to know where to look up toilet spacing and then apply what the code book says to figure out the answer. Most of the practice tests I've seen just ask what the book says and not how to figure something. 

Did you take your journeyman test in OK? The contractors is basically the jm over again plus the business part.


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## Grimmeute (May 8, 2012)

Green Country said:


> Did you take your journeyman test in OK? The contractors is basically the jm over again plus the business part.


Thanks for your advice.
I took the Journey like 15-18yrs ago so I don't remember much about the questions. I do remember two particular question on electrical, I think I will never forget. Why electrical on plumbing test? Maybe low volt devices? Water heaters possibly?
One question was, What do you use to measure voltage? Multiple choice gave me a few possible answers. One was, With a volt meter. Now being that I went to collage at IT for electronics before I got into plumbing, (other story), I knew what you use. End of test results said I got both questions wrong. I call BS on that. Never did find those in our code book, just wanted to see if they had some magic device for plumbers to measure voltage that wasn't a volt meter.


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