I received a note today from someone that has signed up for the Oct 5th CRE exam (about two weeks from today) and has not spent any time preparing. The request:
How should I prepare for the exam?
Reminds me of a quote about tree planting. The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, the second best time is now.
So, here is my response.
First off it’s rather late and you may need to spend significant time preparing – the amount of time needed relates to how well you know the full body of knowledge.
First, take the sample exam (attached) and take it as a timed test – 75 questions in two hours. Score it and look for areas of the body of knowledge you need to study.
A sample exam can be found on the ASQ site at:
Second – get a copy of the CRE Primer from Quality Council of Indiana and work all the examples and questions in the areas you need the most work.
Third – get a good night’s sleep, relax and during the test answer the questions you know and are quickly done. Skip problems that will take time till later. In short be aware it is a timed test and answering questions correctly counts. If you have to look up every answer, you will run out of time.
Fourth – use the knowledge from the studying to improve what you do as a reliability professional.
You can also find references, tutorials, and assistance at http://creprep.wordpress.com and the Linkedin group CRE Preparation.
If you know of a better way to prepare – please comment.
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