Apprenticeship test guides
Plain-English guides to the Elevator Industry Aptitude Test (EIAT) and the route into an elevator apprenticeship, and to the aptitude tests UA locals use for plumber, pipefitter, steamfitter, sprinkler fitter and HVAC-R apprenticeships — what's on them, how applicants are ranked, and how to prepare. Facts are checked against NEIEP, BLS and the locals' own notices, with sources listed on each guide.
EIAT basics
The Elevator Industry Aptitude Test (EIAT) explained
The EIAT is 100 multiple-choice questions on paper: reading, mechanical aptitude and math, with a 70% pass mark. What NEIEP says about each part.
7 min read
EIAT passing score: what the 70% pass mark means
The EIAT passing score is 70%, scored pass/fail. Why the interview, not your test score, sets your place on the hiring list, and what a near miss costs.
5 min read
Free EIAT sample questions with answers
16 free EIAT-style practice questions covering reading comprehension, math, mechanical aptitude and tools, each with a worked answer and explanation.
15 min read
Preparing
EIAT study guide: the official topics, worked examples and a four-week plan
What NEIEP's official EIAT study guide covers, how to work its example questions step by step, and a four-week plan to prepare on paper.
10 min read
How hard is the EIAT, really?
The EIAT's content is school-level math, basic mechanics and reading. What makes it hard is the paper format, the pace and a 70% bar. How to clear it.
6 min read
How to read a tape measure to a sixteenth of an inch
Reading an imperial tape to a sixteenth, quickly: what each length of mark means, converting sixteenths, and the mistakes that cost marks.
6 min read
Section guides
EIAT reading comprehension: the gap-fill format explained
The EIAT reading comprehension section is 35 questions. NEIEP's example is a gap-fill (cloze) passage. How the format works and how to answer quickly.
6 min read
EIAT mechanical aptitude: levers, pulleys, gears and hydraulics
The EIAT mechanical aptitude section is 35 questions on levers, pulleys, gears and hydraulics, judged from diagrams. The rules that answer most of them.
7 min read
EIAT math section: decimals, fractions and algebra by hand
The EIAT math section is 30 questions on fractions, decimals, percentages and algebra. What NEIEP's examples look like and what 'No answer' is for.
7 min read
The elevator tool assessment: hand tools and measuring to know
NEIEP says tool assessment answers count toward your interview score. The hand tools, measuring instruments and tape-measure reading worth knowing.
8 min read
Mechanical basics
Gears and gear ratios explained for aptitude tests
How meshed gears turn, why the direction flips, how tooth counts set speed, and the idler-gear trick that decides most mechanical test questions.
7 min read
Levers explained: moments, balance and the three classes
How levers work, how to tell whether a beam balances, the three classes of lever, and how mechanical advantage lets a small force lift a big load.
7 min read
Pulleys explained: how to count the ropes and find the effort
Fixed pulleys, movable pulleys and block and tackle: the rope-counting rule for mechanical advantage, with worked examples.
6 min read
Hydraulics explained: pressure, piston size and force
Why a small push on a narrow piston lifts a heavy load on a wide one, the diameter trap in hydraulics questions, and how far each piston moves.
6 min read
Math refreshers
Fractions and decimals without a calculator
A refresher on adding, multiplying and dividing fractions and mixed numbers, and on decimal multiplication and division — worked by hand.
8 min read
Order of operations (PEMDAS) and the traps tests use
The order to work out an expression, the left-to-right rule most people forget, and the traps aptitude tests use.
5 min read
Getting in
How to become an elevator mechanic
The IUEC route to becoming an elevator mechanic: entry requirements, the EIAT, the interview and hiring list, the paid apprenticeship and what it pays.
8 min read
How to apply for an IUEC elevator apprenticeship
IUEC locals recruit apprentices periodically through NEIEP, and windows can fill fast. When recruitments open, what to have ready, and what happens next.
6 min read
The elevator apprenticeship interview: how it is scored and how to prepare
After the EIAT, a JAC interview sets your rank on the hiring list. Who interviews you, how NEIEP says it is scored, and how to prepare your answers.
6 min read
Elevator mechanic salary and apprentice pay
Elevator mechanics earned a median $109,910 in May 2025 (BLS). What apprentices earn while training, how pay rises, and a real local's rates.
5 min read
Inside the elevator apprenticeship: probation, NEIEP classes and the Mechanic Exam
What happens after you are hired as an IUEC apprentice: the 12-month probation, eight NEIEP semesters, 8,000 hours on the job and the Mechanic Exam.
8 min read
Pipe trades (UA)
The UA apprenticeship aptitude test explained
What the UA plumber and pipefitter apprenticeship aptitude test covers, how it varies by local, the pass marks locals publish, and what happens after it.
8 min read
Plumber and pipefitter apprenticeship test practice questions
16 free practice questions for UA plumber, pipefitter and steamfitter apprenticeship aptitude tests — math, reading, mechanical and spatial — with answers.
14 min read
Pipefitter, steamfitter and sprinkler fitter apprenticeship tests
Do pipefitters, steamfitters, plumbers, sprinkler fitters and HVAC-R techs sit different apprenticeship tests? What UA locals publish, trade by trade.
6 min read
How to pass the UA apprenticeship aptitude test
A four-week plan for the UA plumber and pipefitter apprenticeship aptitude test: find your local's format, rebuild hand math, and practise against a clock.
7 min read
Spatial reasoning for pipe trades aptitude tests: folding, rotation and cubes
How to answer the spatial questions on pipe trades apprenticeship tests: paper folding, rotated shapes, counting cubes and cube nets, with worked examples.
7 min read
Pipe offset math explained: set, run, travel and the 1.414 rule
How pipe offsets are worked out: set, run and travel, the multipliers for 45°, 60°, 30° and 22½° fittings, and rolling offsets, with worked examples.
7 min read