What Did Everyone Think About The FDNY Exam?

[Guest GFD543]

What did everyone think about the FDNY exam?

I think the format was different from other previous FDNY exams. I thought everything was pretty simple but the part where they asked you to pick whether the answer given for that scenario was either most desirable, desirable, neutral, undesirable, or most undesirable bugged me. I felt that it was unfair that I might lose a point because I picked "most undesirable" as my answer if in fact the correct answer was "undesirable". Other than that and waiting in the hallway for about an hour and a half, the classroom I was in was decently quiet and courteous.

Anyone else have a different story?

[Guest DFFD227]

Very true, this reasoning part made me feel very uneasy as well. I was always afraid I was going to pick something that was close, but not the right answer. The key is to think outside of the fire helmet, meaning don't think like a firefighter, think what a civilian would think...if that even makes sence?

[Guest GFD543]

The key is to think outside of the fire helmet, meaning don't think like a firefighter, think what a civilian would think...if that even makes sence?

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So I guess I shouldn't have put down "most desirable" with choice number 76) Chase away the adults with your tools. lol just kidding

While waiting in line, I heard a lot of people talking about how great it would be to only work 2 days a week. I'm thinking, I would love to work more than just 2 days!

[Guest partyrock]

Alot of us would love to work more than 2 days, but when the job is constantly plus 50, 60 even 100 citywide the only place you're getting OT is in SOC.

[CFD320 35]

Questions 6-110 in booklet #2 was a version of a classic psychological test commonly referred to as a "Personality Assessment Inventory"....

That portion of that exam was measuring the "big five" personality traits which are Neuroticism, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness to Experience. Each of the big five are broken down further into catagories such as; vulnerability to stress, assertiveness, feelings, compliance, deliberation etc. For example on questions where you had to answer a question relating to your core values if you consistently answer in the positive or negative but toward the middle of the scale that may signal a personality trait like "Conscientious-deliberating-compliant".

What really troubles me is how is the city going to assign a number grade to a personality profile? Maybe they don't plan to? It is quite possible they may only deduct if certain undesirable personality traits are present.....

Other than the psyc I thought the test was very very simple. Everyone I have spoken to that took left with that same impression.

[Guest]

I didnt mind the most desirable part because the instructions said that there are often more than one answer for each of the questions, depending on the situations.... the thing i was a little worried about while doing that section was the fact that i chose very undesirable for situations where the comradery within your company would be comprimised (ex. the question about you breaking the window before being approved by the DC which resulted in a fireifghter on an above fire escape to be badly burned) the options for the answer were like: ignore the firefighters, try to be transfered, quit work, or lash out on the firefighters screaming it was an accident..... for the last situation, lashing out, i said that would be very undesirable because that would further harm the relationship between you and your crew, which i think most def can lead to harm in the long run, i realized that maybe that wasnt the best answer for those type of situations of harm between your relationship between yourself and the rest of the crew, but again the instructions stated that there could be several different answers and since this is an opinion question, i dont see how they could mark either of those answer wrong (undesirable or very undesirable) becuase i could see both as being correct..... other than that i thought the test was pretty easy, especially the memorization section. I thought that they would for sure have many more questions on that picture, on my test there were only 5. I took the nypd test and we had a similar memorization section and if i remeber correctly, they had quite a few questions concerning the picture.

Also one part that people at my test site found ( health profession and human service high school in manhatten, afternoon test) was in the first section of the test where you had to match the addresses with the correct exact address in the answer bank, question 31, which i dont remeber the address exactly but i believe it was 29 diamond court apt 1 or something like that, the answer key did not have one that matched it, all the options were 9 or 19 for the house number, none at all had the number 29. i dont know if it was like that thoughout the burroughs but thats what we found and were told by the instructors to protest that question. other than that it was a good test.

[x635 4,066]

I've taken a test similar to this both for LA County and Montgomery County, MD.

Both used the same brand of tests, which a big part was establishing a "profile" that determines how well you fit into the criteria established by the department.

The best way to suceed at these tests is to be honest, and answer the questions with what you would actually do. Don't try and think into the questions and put down the answer they you think they want, because many times that's a trap.

[CFD320 35]

I've taken a test similar to this both for LA County and Montgomery County, MD.

Both used the same brand of tests, which a big part was establishing a "profile" that determines how well you fit into the criteria established by the department.

The best way to suceed at these tests is to be honest, and answer the questions with what you would actually do. Don't try and think into the questions and put down the answer they you think they want, because many times that's a trap.

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I knew what they were doing on that section of the exam (those profile are very accurate in 99% of cases), I am just wondering how they quantify the profile into a numeric score???

[x635 4,066]

I knew what they were doing on that section of the exam (those profile are very accurate in 99% of cases), I am just wondering how they quantify the profile into a numeric score???

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It is my understanding (having been through the process on similar tests) that what you answer is translated into a score based on your handling of the situations compared to the model the department set, PLUS the typical right/wrong anwers (reeading, writing, math, etc).

For many departments who administer this type of examination, the written test is only the first step in the application process. Other steps include CPAT, an Oral Board interview, background check, etc. Once all that is done, all that information is weighed and selections are made.

[Guest]

It is my understanding (having been through the process on similar tests) that what you answer is translated into a score based on your handling of the situations compared to the model the department set, PLUS the typical right/wrong anwers (reeading, writing, math, etc).

For many departments who administer this type of  examination, the written test is only the first step in the application process. Other steps include CPAT, an Oral Board interview, background check, etc. Once all that is done, all that information is weighed and selections are made.

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How are they going to weight each part (written physical test)..did they say on the job announcement? If they weight the written by your score and the physical test is pass/fail as they have repeatedly said at our union meetings then your written will give you your list number. If there is a tie they go by when you filed your application.

[Guest]

like firerescue77 said...the instructions said that there were more than 1 answer to each question, soi wouldnt stress that part. as long as you didnt say it was highly desirable to clob your superior officer in the head, i think you should be alright, lol.

how many ppl completed all 45 questions in the 10 mins.? when the bell rang, after what felt like 5 mins, haha...all ppl could hear was, "What the F^%$?!, that wasnt ten minutes!"

[Guest car2267]

hey fire rescue question 31 the addres was 9 pease rd..... allthe answers had 29 in front of them , i felt uneasy about that question, and i didnt care for the desirable questions, they really felt like it is a matter of opinion, not an actual factual answer.

[Guest DFFD227]

what if you didnt complete the 45 questions in 10 mins? Do they mark the incomplete ones wrong?

[Guest]

i'm pretty positive my choices all had 29 in front of them ( is it possible some of the tests were misprinted???) but if that is the case that there was no choice, i'm sure you can protest it...

also, according to the DCAS monitors, they dont take points off if you didnt finish all 45 questions. i have no idea what they do if thats the case. they said it was more a point of accuracy then anything else. i guess the more you complete the beter, but you dont lose points if you cant. i just remmber hearing alot ppl complaining that they didnt get even close....

[Guest]

i got to number 40 on the first part with 45 questions. i know other people though that werre able to finish that section and still had time to go over it in the "10 Mins" alotted. number 31, the one without the answer really threw me all off. over all i was not expecting the 100+ questions that were opinion based that also threw me off guard.

it was my first test though and i was not expecting to get hired from that test, alothough it would be nice. it was a learning expirience for me and i will now use what i have learned from that test to improve on my skills.

[Guest DFFD227]

And how about the infamous chain link dysfunction question? That was tough because the photo copy was CRAP!

[Guest]

quadrant A, lol!

stupid zerox!

but seriously, did everyone really not have the choice for question 31??? cause again, i could swear i did have it, and some other ppl i called up had it as well. also, i'd figure that if no one in my room had it, someone would've said something during the exam....so again, is it possible that some the tests were misprinted at certain sites??? either way, i suppose it shouldnt be a big deal, cause if that was the case for some ppl, if not all, it should def. be protested.

curious, huh?

[Guest]

i remember reading in the booklet how to protest but i didnt really pay too much attention to that part, so does anyone remeber the correct procedure for protesting a question. thanks in advance.

[Guest]

thanks for the correction car2267 yea i knew it was something like that..... everyone in my room and the room next door to ours had the problem and the dcas monitor just told us to protest it but it was odd. i left it blank and if i remeber correctly the instructions also said not to guess on that section because unanswered questions would not be counted against you where as incorrect answer were penalized. in regard to the chain link question, that was ridiculous. they should have had a better picture but i do believe it was in section a.

[GFD70 4]

hey fire rescue question 31 the addres was 9 pease rd..... allthe answers had 29 in front of them , i felt uneasy about that question, and i didnt care for the desirable questions, they really felt like it is a matter of opinion, not an actual factual answer.

I noticed that too. Actually, one guy in my room raised his hand to ask the proctor about it so he ended up not being able to finish in the 10 minutes. I'm sure there will be plenty of people complaining about that especially if they don't get the grade they were expecting.

[Guest]

quadrant A, lol!

stupid zerox!

but seriously, did everyone really not have the choice for question 31???  cause again, i could swear i did have it, and some other ppl i called up had it as well.  also, i'd figure that if no one in my room had it, someone would've said something during the exam....so again, is it possible that some the tests were misprinted at certain sites???  either way, i suppose it shouldnt be a big deal, cause if that was the case for some ppl, if not all, it should def. be protested. 

curious, huh?

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Truckie

I cannot speak specifically for this exam, but I do know that there have been mistakes such as this in past with other large departments. As you said, it could very well have been a misprint, especially if you say that you spoke to some others and they also stated that they never came across this problem. I too have asked some people, and they also recall seeing the correct answer in their choices. Maybe some boroughs recieved a bad copy??? Dont know....

In the end, whether or not some people had the correct choices or not, they would most likly discredit that question for everyone if so many claim that were never given the correct answer.

You'll just have to see what happens in the coming months.

[csf248 0]

on a whole, i thought the test itself was not hard. the waiting b4 hand, was definatly a mental test.

i was able to finish the first part in 7 minutes, because i know how to take those timed sections, and ive practiced in the past. i am very confident that i got 100% right.

the question that was missing the 2, i just viewed it as a typo, and looked @ all the answers, wich all had a 2, so i ignored it.

the chain sucked

not as much math as i thought, didnt need my calculator

there was allot of the reverse images

as far as the opinion question, i think that was sort of a waste on a test like this, although it is an efective hiring tool, i feel it was the wrong test to be a part of. it should join the psych test

altogether, not to sound like an a**hole, but i feel like i verry easily could get 100, depending on the opinion questions, and how they are scored. i took my time, even though if you were in the room with me, you know i was the first one to leave. i double checked my answers, and feel that i think i nailed it. not trying to sound overconfident.

on a side note, Does anyone know when the test results are due to come out, or when the physical is?

[CFD320 35]

We will be lucky to get our scores in 3 months....

[Guest]

Took your time and yet you were the first to leave, huh? Being the first to leave isn't always the best thing...and neither is over-confidence, especially on these exams.

[Guest]

I felt that other than the opinion questions, it was easy. After speaking with a few people after the test, there seemed to be some confusion over the instructions for that section. It actually made me nervous if I read them correctly. So just to clearify, were they asking us to rate the statements from "most desireable to least desireable" or was it acceptable to use the same responce to multiple statements in the same group? Several people that I talked to on the subway had differant ideas on how those questions were suppose to be answered.

So did anyone find the broken link in the picture?

The one thing that really P#$$ED ME OFF was that the proctor was not paying attention to what was going on in the class room. Durring the five minutes to study the picture, one of the other proctors came in the room and caught one of the people taking notes. He told the room proctor to change this persons scrap paper. A few seconds later, the bell rang. While the proctor was exchanging the scrap paper, the kid next to me started taking notes, and some of the people started talking about the test picture. I thought I read in the directions that if you get caught taking notes, you are disqualified. Mabee I'm wrong, Does anyone remember how that was supposed to work?

[Guest DFFD227]

I heard that the test results will be mailed to your house within 3-4 weeks.

[Guest]

ok, i got to ask now.

i was certain i knew what was going on, but after reading almost everyone's post about the "opinion" section of the exam, now i'm confused.

each scenario had about 5 responses (questions) . now, were you suppose to arrange those 5 in order from highly undesireable to highly desirable, so that each scenario had one of each rating, OR were you just suppose to read each one as a separate response, and give each one its own rating ( so that for each scenario, there could be 2 or even 3 responses that were highly desirable, desirable, neutral, etc???)

the directions did say that each response might have 2 differnt ratings.

like all of us seem to agree on, that section was really stupid and kinda confusing (easy, but confusing).

[sbvfd596 2]

if this was already mentioned before, sorry for restating it, if not even better

how come you werent allowed to copy down your answers on a seperate sheet?

the chain link problem got me too, i second guessed myself twice.

i didnt even come close to finishing the first 45.

at least the people at the exam site let me wait inside as opossed to outside in bitter cold.

[csf248 0]

Took your time and yet you were the first to leave, huh?  Being the first to leave isn't always the best thing...and neither is over-confidence, especially on these exams.

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i wasnt trying to sound over confident, and i have always been quick on tests like this, and at the same time preform just as well. its just how i am.

i was merly stating that fact not to boast, but just to inform that it could be done.

if it sounded the otherway i opologize

[Guest]

if this was already mentioned before, sorry for restating it, if not even better

how come you werent allowed to copy down your answers on a seperate sheet?

the chain link problem got me too, i second guessed myself twice.

i didnt even come close to finishing the first 45.

at least the people at the exam site let me wait inside as opossed to outside in bitter cold.

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i'm just guessing, but PROBABLY just to make sure you didnt hand out the paper to someone taking the exam later in the day?

supposedly the exams were exactly the same, maybe with the choices jumbled around (which then obviously copying the answers wouldnt help much).