Tips on Preparing for Your NICET Exam
by Lisa Salzman, Fire Tech Productions
1. NICET exams are open book.
Specific Standards are recommended and allowed into the testing center.
2. Standards, Standards, Standards—Be very familiar with the referenced standards!
We (and NICET) highly recommend you take the exact edition referenced in your exam. For example, if you are testing in Water-Based Layout, study and take NFPA 13 2016 into the test with you. Do not take the NFPA 13 2010 or 2013 edition.
3. Be familiar with the Standards, each chapter, and where to find information in the Standards.
We recommend tabs—they must be permanent tabs, per NICET guidelines. As Robert Homer, one of our clients, said, “Referencing NFPA Standards is a real pain without your tabs!”
4. When your exam allows more than one Standard into the test, the importance of knowing the Standards and being familiar with where answers can be obtained is very important. You typically have an average of 90 seconds to answer any given question. Therefore, you need to know where to look, so you can spend your time reading the correct section to answer the question correctly.
5. Practice, Practice, Practice—We can’t emphasize this enough.
Go through lists of sample questions and look every question up in each of the Standards. You will achieve the highest chances of success by learning and understanding the training material. Do not attempt to solely memorize practice quiz questions. As in the case of Fire Tech Productions, the sample questions are examples only and do not reflect actual NICET test questions– this is compliant with NICET guidelines.
6. Pearson-Vue test centers provide an online calculator for the NICET exam. Spend time becoming familiar with how to use this online tool by taking the Pearson-Vue practice test. NICET provides calculator information which you can view here.
7. Certain Standards are available online during your exam. Be familiar with PDF navigation. Practice on your own computer prior to taking the exam.
8. Take time to review the NICET site. Read the outline for the exam you are taking.
9. When you sign up on the NICET site, you are given a three-month testing window. Schedule your exam, mark it on the calendar, and start studying.
10. Once you complete your study and exam, you should be more qualified—that is the final goal for everyone. The NICET certification was put in place to represent a highly knowledgeable technician.