Exam Preparation

Water utility operators are criticized for being “dumb” blue-collar workers. This is not true. They use chemistry, physics, biology and math every day.

They are also engineers without the credentials or the license, but they do have to earn their own license.

Licensing is an important part of being an operator. It is required by law in most states to show that operators are efficient and knowledgeable in their duties and proper stewards of the environment. Testing provides confidence of an operator's abilities by measuring his knowledge.

Exams are not easy, but they are not impossible. They require preparation and study. These pages provide resources to help you prepare for your exam and ease anxiety.

Most operators share similar stressors. They have a family that depends on them. They work at least a 40-hour work week and people don't stop running the faucet or using the bathroom just because it's a weekend or a holiday. A lot of operators hate math even though they use it every day whether they realize it or not, and have testing anxiety.

Combine all of that with the paperwork, classes and testing to get a license and the stress can be overwhelming, and they 'think' they will fail. Paperwork, the application and other requirements for licensing, is not something we can control, but we can give guidance to get you through the paperwork and help develop good study habits to lessen the stress.

Remember, you are not alone. Many operators have been in your shoes and have passed their exams.

Exam preparation is nothing more than paperwork and studying.