Public Safety Testing, WA

[nnfra200302]

Hello, I've considered putting in an application to test. I've checked out the website and am interested in the king county area. Am interested in the regional consortium which consist of Bellevue, Eastside, Kirkland and Mercer Island. Am also interested in Kent. Does anyone have any experience with this testing process? Any info is appreciated.

Thank you,

Robert

[DblBlack26]

I've taken it a couple times and scored a 94 with few calls. You will probably need a 97 or higher to move on with a dept. I would try ordering the practice test from fireprep.com. The first 100 questions or so are really easy, I think the last 50 (personality questions) are the difference makers and I believe the practice test has some of those in it. Good luck!

[ktcan]

[QUOTE=nnfra200302;1281314]Hello, I've considered putting in application to test. I've checked out the website and am interested in the king county area. Am interested in the regional consortium which consist of Bellevue, Eastside, Kirkland and Mercer Island. Am also interested in Kent. Does anyone have any experience with this testing process? Any info is appreciated.

I'm taking the written test for PST in late July. I'm interested in a lot of the same departments. I've never tested with them before, but I can say that their customer service is out of this world...I'm from out of state, and they have nearly bent over backwards to try to get me through everything in one trip.

Are you taking the King County paramedic test as well?

[nnfra200302]

[QUOTE=ktcan;1281322]

Hello, I've considered putting in application to test. I've checked out the website and am interested in the king county area. Am interested in the regional consortium which consist of Bellevue, Eastside, Kirkland and Mercer Island. Am also interested in Kent. Does anyone have any experience with this testing process? Any info is appreciated.

I'm taking the written test for PST in late July. I'm interested in a lot of the same departments. I've never tested with them before, but I can say that their customer service is out of this world...I'm from out of state, and they have nearly bent over backwards to try to get me through everything in one trip.

Are you taking the King County paramedic test as well?

It is always good to hear that their is still good customer service out their. I would be coming from Reno, NV. I hear that the king county area is a great place to work. By the way, I am not a paramedic. I've already got the study guide for the written exam from a previous test that I took.

[Hopeful_FF]

What was the slogan the new recruits got welcomed with when getting off the chopper in Vietnam?

"Welcome to the sh**!"

The math/reading/spelling questions aren't difficult - assuming you're competent in those areas. However, you'll spend 3 years figuring out how to answer the "personality" questions. At $100 per test, IO solutions has quite a business model going for them with plenty of repeat customers. They're lucky aspiring firefighters are type A personalities who will spend the time and money to get perfect scores.

That's what you're up against. Anything less than a 97 and you probably won't hear from a department.

Just remember that we're all frustrated when questions like "do you consider yourself friendly?" can eliminate you from getting an interview.

/bitter

[ktcan]

[QUOTE=nnfra200302;1281331]

It is always good to hear that their is still good customer service out their. I would be coming from Reno, NV. I hear that the king county area is a great place to work. By the way, I am not a paramedic. I've already got the study guide for the written exam from a previous test that I took.

I'm not a paramedic either. King County tests EMTs to be hired and go through their paramedic program. It's single function, but it can lead to great things in fire or EMS or both.

Send them an email or call them, and they should be able to get you through a CPAT and a written in one trip. They've been more than accommodating with me!

Where did you get your study guide?

[ktcan]

The math/reading/spelling questions aren't difficult - assuming you're competent in those areas. However, you'll spend 3 years figuring out how to answer the "personality" questions. At $100 per test, IO solutions has quite a business model going for them with plenty of repeat customers. They're lucky aspiring firefighters are type A personalities who will spend the time and money to get perfect scores.

Is this "enhanced edition" study guide from IO solutions worthwhile for the PST test?

[nnfra200302]

I ordered the study guide directly from publicsafetyrecruitment.com. If I were you, I'd get the enhanced version.

[nnfra200302]

What was the slogan the new recruits got welcomed with when getting off the chopper in Vietnam?

"Welcome to the sh**!"

The math/reading/spelling questions aren't difficult - assuming you're competent in those areas. However, you'll spend 3 years figuring out how to answer the "personality" questions. At $100 per test, IO solutions has quite a business model going for them with plenty of repeat customers. They're lucky aspiring firefighters are type A personalities who will spend the time and money to get perfect scores.

That's what you're up against. Anything less than a 97 and you probably won't hear from a department.

Just remember that we're all frustrated when questions like "do you consider yourself friendly?" can eliminate you from getting an interview.

/bitter

You could say the same thing about the fireteam test, it is what it is. It's out of our control. It is frustrating, but all I can say is, keep trying if your willing to take tests like these.

[GaiusPaul]

Definitely get the practice test. It'll give you an idea of what you'll see. If you're good with taking tests it's not a hard test at all, though. Given that, you really need to score high on the test beacuse lots of other score high on it as well.

I got around a 98 or 99 on it both times I took it and it got my scores sent to every department that requested them. Got me a couple interviews as well.

[philk2511]

... Am interested in the regional consortium which consist of Bellevue, Eastside, Kirkland and Mercer Island ...

I just went up there to take their CPAT, because I wanted to get my score in with the consortium. They requested scores end of June.

[Hopeful_FF]

You could say the same thing about the fireteam test, it is what it is. It's out of our control. It is frustrating, but all I can say is, keep trying if your willing to take tests like these.

I actually prefer the fireteam test quite a bit more. It doesn't feel like as much of a stab in the dark.

And I'll keep trying, every 6 months...