What is passing on the exam?

The state requires you to earn a 70 on the exam to pass. The exam is broken up into three parts. Each part of the exam is graded individually.  This means that you can have a strategy of passing one day of the exam and going back and passing the other day on the next exam date.

I want you to consider working extra hard on either day one or day two of the exam to insure that you pass at least one day when you go to take the exam. That is your goal. Go though the study material and see which day seems more natural and familiar to you. Are you better on the business or the trade knowledge? Which ever day you choose, skim through all the books in that section.

First I want you to read the table of contents of each book, and then read all the headings, just the headings in each chapter. After you have done this a few times, begin to notice some material that seems interesting to you, read that material that interests you. After you have done this a number of times, begin to study the home study manual or the DVDs that comes with my home study program. Learn everything; memorize everything you can from the workbook, CDs and DVDs. Now, as you scan those chapter headings and the bold printed words in the books begin to see how much material you recognize. If you can make yourself do it, read through every book that you have time to read through. If nothing else you have to read the Contractor’s Manual and the Florida building code cover to cover.

When you attend the seminar I am going to take you through the books, and we are going to solve problems so that you become comfortable with the whole process, but you have to get familiar with the books and with the material before you come to the seminar OR you have to attend the seminar a few times.

Why should I choose Brevard Contractor’s School?

It’s number one in value. At $199.00 dollars everyone who wants to take the contractors exam can afford it. Most of the other schools charge $1000 to $3,000 dollars. Even if you have that kind of money, wouldn’t it be wise to invest $199.00 to see if that product solves your problem? If a $4.00 dollar shovel will dig a hole just as well as a $29 dollar shovel, why do you want to spend the extra money? 

I started out teaching this program at a junior college and over the last five years and many classes I watched how people learned. Some people learn by seeing, some learn by hearing, some learn with flash cards some learn while doing. So, I provided as many of these approaches as possible into my program. You get CDs to listen to, the workbook is read to you. You get the seminar on DVD so you can watch it over and over. You get Power Point flash cards so you can read and review the material in a quick format, you get a cliff notes type book, and finally a two day seminar. I expect you to do all your studying before you get to the seminar, but you can take the seminar as many times as you like. The purpose of the seminar is to put you through two days of problem solving that is pretty much like the exam. The big difference is that we solve problems as a group, so you can work with others to learn problem solving skills. As the instructor I will show you the formal way to solve the problem, and then usually two or three short cuts. If you stop and think about these problems, there are always many different ways to solve a problem. All we have to do is figure out which method fits you best.

Also, the problem I found in teaching this program is that most people who are best at doing construction have the hardest time passing the exam, so I made it my mission to design a program that would help trades people pass the exam. From the testimonials I get, my approach is working. Part of that approach is to make the program affordable. You get everything I know and a two day review seminar for $199.00. That is unheard of, most schools charge $1,000 to $2,000 dollars plus the books, which costs about $800 to $1,000 dollars. The theory is that if you spend that kind of money you will work hard to pass the exam. On the other hand, if you spend $199.00 and you study as hard as you can, and you don’t pass the exam, you will have learned more than you can imagine, and you can still take your family on a $2,000 vacation. Here’s what I would say to you, no matter how long it takes you to prepare for this exam just keep learning something new each week until you are ready. At $199.00 dollars everyone has a chance to get in the game.

Finally, you are going to need a set of books. I don’t sell books like the other schools do. I provide you with a web link so you can download the names of everyone who is currently signed up to take the exam. Find all the names that have GC, BC or RC listed beside them and begin calling the ones who live close to you. Offer them ½ price for their books when they pass the exam. Ask them for advice on passing the exam. The retail price for a set of books with tabs and shipping is about $850 to $1,000, so if you can get a current used set of books with tabs and highlighting for $450, You saved another $500 dollars. Take the family out to dinner. Pay a double payment on your Master Card.  This is definitely the economy tour you are on here. If you have the money to pay $1,000 or $,2000 dollars to take classes for this exam I would consider going to Cam-Tech, or the Contractor’s Institute or Palm Construction.

About your instructor

Everyone gets the same instructor, John Beasley. He holds a masters degree in business and a building contractor’s license CBC059864. He does accounting and property management.

Basically, in the seminar we are sitting around a conference table working one on one. The reason my classes are so small is because small works, but small does not pay well. I have taught 45 people at one time, and it is a worthless enterprise: It does not work. The closer you can get to one on one with your instructor the better chance you have of passing this exam. I know this, that if we reach out to help the next fellow up the ladder, we can make America a better place. If you’ve had problems passing this exam and you want a private seminar, let me see what we can arrange.

How long should I plan to study for the exam?

If you have a strong educational background figure on spending 20 to 40 hours a week for 60 to 90 days studying for this exam. If you don’t have that kind of time to spend, then for most people you are looking at 6 months to one year to adequately learn this material. Are there any shortcuts? Yes, that is what these seminars and home study programs are all about.

Having said that, some schools will just give you problems to solve and tell you to high-light the answers. They give you 1000 to 1500 problems. Then they tell you that 50% to 80% of the answers on the exam are going to come from these highlighted items. Ok, you are going to have about 200 questions on the exam, highlighting 1,500 areas of text in your books is not a good way to learn this material. I think the way to learn it is to use a construction management approach.

Get the big picture of what the advisory board for the State of Florida feels you need to know to be a successful building contractor. If you can find the time and money to attend a Construction Management program (put web links to Berkeley, UF, Seminole Junior College) either degree or certificate program, by all means do it either before or after you pass the contractors exam. If you do not have a strong background, listen to these CDs and DVDs until you memorize them.

What are the exams like?

The contractor’s exam is two days back to back, 9 hours a day. When was the last time you took an 18 hour exam? When was the last time you took a two day exam back to back? Probably never in your life: That gives you some idea what this exam is like. It is like a grueling marathon race. Have you ever driven from Florida to New York or Montana without stopping? That’s what this exam is like. 

The exam is open book, which means you need to find as many of these answers from the book as you possibly can. Forget everything you learned in the field and on the job site. If it is not in the books, forget it: It is not relevant for this exam. 

Now, the first thing you are going to do when you hit that exam room and open your test booklet is panic, and say, “my goodness, why am I doing this to myself” everyone panics, you take your mind of panicking by following your plan. You need to have a plan for taking this exam, and then you follow your plan just as you would in building a house: Plan your work, work your plan. When you get to that exam you do not want any surprises. You are going to be the best prepared person in the group you are sitting with. You are going to be a machine, an answer hunting machine, you are going to block out all the distractions and follow the plan I give you.

There are only two unknowns; how well you take tests and how much studying you are going to do before this exam. I will walk you through each step of the process of passing this exam. Also, you might notice people with cheat sheets, usually mathematics formulas, all the formulas are in the mensuration section of Walkers Estimating Guide; this is an open book exam. No you are not allowed to take any notes or cliff notes from any school into the exam with you.

So You Passed!

Congratulations, you earned it. What this means is that YOU worked your ass off, and you learned what the State of Florida expected you to learn. You are probably angry as heck because the State of Florida put you though so much stress. Do not call the State of Florida up and tell them what you think about their exam. Let it go: It’s their game. If you passed the exam they are letting you into their game.

It is not over yet: Now you have to go through a long and involved permitting process. You have a number of decisions to make, about setting up a corporation or LLC, about buying workman’s comp on yourself or obtaining an exemption. There are a number of companies that will help you though the permitting process for a fee between $250 and $1,000 dollars. If you have the money, again it is much faster and easier than the economy tour. Try API 1-800-947-6939 or email carol@apiprocessing.com. If you don’t have the money I will explain how to go through the permitting process on your own.