Just to stir the pot… If you think the 500/1600 ton mate and the 3rd mate exams are the same… Well just study the 500/1600 ton mate exam and see what happens at the NMC. Don’t drink the kool-aide!! They ARE NOT the same exam!!!
Why not keep it simple and study for the exam you are approved to test for?
I was simply stating what I’ve heard for the past 2 years, “the 500/1600/3rd mates exams are all the same”, when in fact they are not. So if someone does not study the 3rd mate exam he will not pass it, if he thinks they are all the same
Since when are they not the same? Were last time I checked. Module numbers are different but there is really no difference in subject matter. They may no be “exact” but they’re really not different, otherwise they would not be treated equally.
Probably from someone (cheap) studying outdated materials from before the exams were consolidated. Someone sad they failed?
I don’t have the capacity to show pages of the CFR’s on here, I guess I’d have to scan them or something, but at any rate I would just like to share with anyone interested in this topic that the citation for the matter at hand here is 46 CFR 11.910-2, which outlines exactly what the examination equivalencies are between any two deck licenses.
Here’s a link:
TNAV questions on 500/1600 azimuth question only deals with the sun, 3rd mate could have sun, moon, stars, Polaris. The tide and flood questions are not simply the depth of tide at a certain time. Just observations.
If you spend anytime with Ken Bruce (yoda of the uscg exam) he will just shake his head and say they are totally different
[QUOTE=z-drive;120870]Since when are they not the same? Were last time I checked. Module numbers are different but there is really no difference in subject matter. They may no be “exact” but they’re really not different, otherwise they would not be treated equally.
Probably from someone (cheap) studying outdated materials from before the exams were consolidated. Someone sad they failed?[/QUOTE]
The module numbers are different. The “module structure file” the coding that determines which groups of questions and how many from each group to select are the same, Originally, (2002) the module numbers were the same. But our stone-age computer software didn’t allow to query exam data based on the license the applicant was sitting for. So I had the modules numbers changed for data segregation and statistical purposes. Different numbers, same exams.
-
-
- Updated - - -
-
[QUOTE=papermate;120872]TNAV questions on 500/1600 azimuth question only deals with the sun, 3rd mate could have sun, moon, stars, Polaris. The tide and flood questions are not simply the depth of tide at a certain time. Just observations.
If you spend anytime with Ken Bruce (yoda of the uscg exam) he will just shake his head and say they are totally different[/QUOTE]
The don’t study that stuff. Let us know how it works out and when you are sitting for the re-takes.
Also, if you take the “new” exam for Mate 500 or 1600, you don’t test if you later go for 3rd or 2nd Mate. Why would we do that if the exams were not the same? If you’re right, there’s a huge backdoor around that celestial stuff – go for Mate 1600, pass then test, then use the same sea time to get 3rd Mate without an exam.
Finally, go back not too long ago on here and recall/find the several complaints about Mate 500/1600 guys getting an exam that said “3rd Mate” on the cover sheet. When we “created” the different module number exams, we just copied the combined exam with a single module number and forgot to change the cover sheet.
I was being facetious, I encourage anyone sitting for any exam to study with Ken Bruce before he retires (haha) pick a licenses and study for that licenses. Spend the bucks and see an instructor that can answer questions.
[QUOTE=PaddyWest2012;120871]I don’t have the capacity to show pages of the CFR’s on here, I guess I’d have to scan them or something, but at any rate I would just like to share with anyone interested in this topic that the citation for the matter at hand here is 46 CFR 11.910-2, which outlines exactly what the examination equivalencies are between any two deck licenses.
Here’s a link:
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2010-title46-vol1/pdf/CFR-2010-title46-vol1-sec11-910.pdf[/QUOTE]
That is the section of the CFRs that I used when I self studied for Master 500, and really got burned. There was a lot in the test from the unlimited level that did not show up there. Went back 3 weeks later and passed the mods I failed the first time around, this time using other study guides.
Can’t tell you at this time what the items were, but the NMC does not follow that information.
I didn’t challenge it, as they write the rules. Just plugged ahead to complete the upgrade.
Get your exam codes. Get lapware. Use it as you are told to do so. You will pass if you take it seriously and study hard. End of story!
I agree, it’s most likely the best out there, and if you get stuck capt Bruce is a great source
[QUOTE=papermate;120919]I agree, it’s most likely the best out there, and if you get stuck capt Bruce is a great source[/QUOTE]
So the point of your thread is that Capt Bruce is a great instructor. 'Nuff said. But don’t feed people a line of crap because you may, or may not, have had difficulty with a few pieces of the exam.
Training program was for 500/1600 Ton Mate. Tested for 3rd Mate. Failed 3 modules the first go around, but it did’t have diddly squat to do with different content. It had to do with the fact that I could not find anyone that could tell me if the exams were different so I took 5 modules in one day and the 6th the following to see for myself. Day 3 I started the round again and by Day 5 had passed all.
That was the one difference between the two. Fail 3 modules when testing for a 500/1600 Ton and you retake those 3 modules. Fail 3 when testing for Third Mate and you get to repeat all 6…
The point is: 500/1600 mate exam is not the same as 3rd mate exam. From the questions to the “being locked in” it’s just information for guys that are being told they are the same test, when in fact they are not
[QUOTE=“Cal”]
So the point of your thread is that Capt Bruce is a great instructor. 'Nuff said. But don’t feed people a line of crap because you may, or may not, have had difficulty with a few pieces of the exam.
I did not have difficulty passing the exam, and I have not “feed anyone crap” as you put it.
From the mate AGT checklist:
" Per Policy Letter 11-07, applicants who tested for and received Mate 500/1600 OC/NC or Mate (OSV) OC/NC after February 1, 2002 do not require any additional testing unless also increasing scope from near coastal to oceans"
This would infer to me the tests are the same.
[QUOTE=“papermate;121062”]The point is: 500/1600 mate exam is not the same as 3rd mate exam. From the questions to the “being locked in” it’s just information for guys that are being told they are the same test, when in fact they are not[/QUOTE]
The guy who combined the tests already told you they are IDENTICAL. The test code is different but the questions are exactly the same. Stop feeding people bullshit.
Yes!!! Enough of us have broken it down, detail by detail.
Bottom line is study for the exam codes you get, nothing else.
If you go from AB to 3rd mate, the exam is NOT the same as 500/1600 mate exam. That’s all I’m trying to say.
THE 3rd MATE EXAM IS NOT THE SAME AS 500/1600 MATE EXAM. People who think they are the same are living in a fantasy world.
Some/most people study before they are approved to test and are unaware of the test modules