Prepare for the Engineering Civil Service Exam
Are you taking the Engineer Civil Service Exam? With JobTestPrep’s comprehensive preparation package which includes test content and details, practice engineering tests, and sample questions, you will be able to ace the test and be on your way to a career as a government engineer employee. Start preparing for success today.
- 16 Math practice tests: From word problems to arithmetic as well as tables and graphs, get high-quality practice tests to boost your speed and accuracy.
- Full solutions: Each question comes with a detailed explanation of the methods used to reach the answer, so you can learn useful techniques.
- 3 Study guides: Get back-to-basics guides to relearn the skills used in the exam.
Engineering Exams
- 16 Math tests: word problems, numerical reasoning, and more
- 21 Reading Comprehension tests
- 9 Written Communication tests
- 2 Vocabulary tests
- 2 Logical Reasoning tests
- 3 Study Guides
Test Format and Content
The civil service engineering entrance exam is offered for entry-level and higher level positions in various engineering fields for employment in federal, state, and local governments. Each civil service authority administering the exam may offer an exam with a different number of questions or time limit; however, generally there are between 100 – 200 questions with an allotted time of 3 – 4 hours. The engineering civil service exam announcement for the job vacancy will contain a list of the subjects found on your particular exam.
Engineering Exam Sample Questions
Basic Math Sample Question
How much is 8% of 116?
A. 3.9
B. 6.1
C. 9.28
D. 11.2
Solution
We know that 10% of 116 is 11.6. This already indicates that the two feasible options are 9.28 and 11.2. However, since the question asks how much is 8% rather than 10% this means that the solution has to be lower and therefore the correct answer is 9.28.
The correct answer is 9.28
Logical Reasoning Sample Question
Even though the minimum age for obtaining a driving license has increased in recent years a substantial increase in car sales over the corresponding years has resulted in a staggering rise in fatal car accident numbers. As the latest figures show, fatal car accidents are especially prevalent among young drivers who have less than five years of driving experience. Last winter 50 per cent of all fatal road accidents involved drivers with up to five years driving experience and an additional 15 percent were drivers who had between six to eight years of experience. The interim figures of the current year show that the massive advertisement campaign "fighting accidents" has resulted in some improvements but the truth is that the number of younger drivers involved in fatal accidents is intolerably high.
Statement: The majority of fatal car accidents, according to last winter's figures, involved drivers with less than 9 years experience.
What is the truth value of the statement based on the text?
A. True
B. False
C. Cannot say
Solution
The statistics provided in the text indicate that 50% of car accidents involve drivers with up to five years experience, and 15% of car accidents involve drivers with 6-8 years of driving experience. This means that 65% of car accidents involve drivers with less than 9 years of experience, which is the majority.
The answer is True.
Math Word Problem Sample Question
The great city of "Yellow Breaks" has 10 parks which are attended by the city's gardeners. Towards the annual gardening competition between cities, the mayor was informed by his personal advisor that 4 gardeners with identical work-rate are allocated to each park for 1 hour per day. The mayor, pondering about ways to win the competition, asked his advisor how long will it take for the same amount of work to be done by 12 gardeners in each park?
A. 3/4 hour
B. 2/3 hour
C. 1/3 hour
D. 1/2 hour
Solution
The correct answer is 1/3 hour.
This is a unique type of work-rate questions we shall refer to as "workers questions". In these questions there are several workers with an identical work-rate and the trick is to replace the work-rate with the number of workers.
It is advised to solve these questions using a ratio-table that represents: work, time and the number of workers. The table will enable you to investigate the effect of a given factor on the others.
Inserting the information in a ratio- table:
Since the relationship between the "number of workers" and "time" is inverse (we know this simply by looking the basic formula: work-rate = numbers = work/time), if we need to multiply by 3 in order to move vertically, between the "number of workers" cells, then we need to multiply by the inverse value 1/3, in order to move in the same direction between the "time" cells. Thus, the missing value is: 1x1/3 = 1/3 hour.
What Is Included in the Practice Packs?
JobTestPrep offers tailor-made practice packs to fit your specific needs and budget. Each pack includes multiple practice units on all of the different subjects you will see on your exam. Detailed explanations accompany every question to allow you to understand your mistakes and useful shortcuts and solving tips are offered to help you solve questions easier and faster. Choose the right pack for you and start practicing immediately.
The engineering technician pack includes a total of 21 different practice tests in: Attention to detail, following directions, English usage, and problem solving. These questions were carefully made to mirror the type of questions you will see on the real test.
The engineering assistant pack includes a total of 26 different practice tests which include all of the subjects on the exam. It covers a range of subjects including: Filing, basic math, math word problems, fractions & percentages, reading comprehension, tabular comprehension, written communication and more.
Test Content
Attention to Detail: Candidates confronted with this subject on their government exam for engineers must be able to work quickly and efficiently in a very limited amount of time. This section generally contains a large amount of questions, each containing two items. These may be images, sets of numbers, or symbols. Candidates are required to compare the two figures and determine whether they are identical or not. Note as there are only a few minutes allotted for this section, candidates are not expected to answer all of the questions but answer as many as possible correctly.
Problem Solving: This section of the civil service engineering exam contains basic arithmetic and occasionally more advanced mathematical computations. Most government exams for engineers present these as math word problems, dealing with percentages, averages, and rate. Basic arithmetic questions include simple addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, and decimals. More complicated questions may cover topics such as geometry and figures, algebraic equations, and trigonometric functions. Most engineering civil service exams do allow a calculator.
Following Directions: As required routinely on the job, candidates must be able to read a set of rules and apply them in order to solve an engineering type problem. On most civil service exams for engineers, these sets of rules are either technical instructions, dimensional drawings, or both. Candidates must read, analyze and understand these rules and then perform the required computations or steps. No outside knowledge is necessary, only reading comprehension skills and the ability to follow procedure.
Written Communication: Certain government engineering services exams contain a section that measures the English proficiency of candidates. These questions may include identifying errors in punctuation, grammar, and word usage. Candidates may be required to identify the best option of the four answer choices that rewrites the sentence error-free but at the same time maintains the main idea of the statement.
Government Jobs in Engineering & Requirements
There are hundreds of federal, state, and local civil service job titles that fall under specific engineering classifications. Lists of open vacancies and their respective engineering civil service exam schedules can be found on the website of the government authority administering the exam. Government engineering careers include:
- Junior Engineer / Engineer Assistant
- Civil Engineer Trainee - A position that requires taking the FE Civil Engineering exam
- Civil Engineer- Bridges, Hydraulic, or Transportation
- Energy Management Engineer
- Electrical Engineer
- Environmental Engineering Technician / Specialist
- Engineering Technician
The exam announcement, beside for including information on the job title and test subjects, also contains the minimum qualifications candidates must meet in order to apply for the specific civil service engineering position. These are generally education or experience qualifications, requiring candidates to either possess a Bachelor’s or higher level degree in engineering, be receiving a degree within a certain time limit, have completed an appropriate training program, or have certain work experience.
Prepare with JobTestPrep
Are you apprehensive about taking the civil service exam for engineers? JobTestPrep is here to help refine your test-taking and time management skills as well as strengthen your knowledge in the various subjects found on the exam. Soon we will be offering a government engineering test pack, complete with full-length civil service engineering practice tests, study guides, and detailed explanations to help you better understand and improve your score.
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