Time to STUDY!!

If it is your first time up or maybe you are on your 5th try this the list of helpful study ideas should help get you that next Pay-grade (Lets face it that is why we wanna make rank the Money)

The difference between E3 and E4 is about $200 more a month and from E5 to E6 depending on your location you can make as much as $700-$800 more with dependents.  Even if you are planning on getting out you should want to make rank the average pay between a E3 getting out and working as a Civilian and an E5 is about 25K a year!  So check out these tips on taking the test now worth 45% of your FMS E4-E5 Exam, 35% E6  and 40% E7.

Know your BIBS-  Did you study one book and NOTHING from it was in the test?  ever wonder where the Questions for the exam come from?  The Navy tells you exactly where it will pull all the questions from these are your BIBS.    This makes the BIBS the single most important thing when studying for the Exam.  You can find your BIBS on NKO under Career Management, Navy Advancement Center then it is the top link under ADVANCEMENT INFORMATION,  Select the proper exam a window will pop up just select your rate and there you have it every PUB they pull from for your advancement . Some of the BIBS even have tests in the back that they copy and paste the questions into the EXAM.

PMK-  Professional Military Knowledge is 25%+ of your test so this can be an easy section.  Study the BMR and get to understand the Navy idea behind things PMK questions include stuff like;

“YNSN has been showing up late recently, in the past YNSN   has always shown up early.  His work ethic has started to linger and he has not been his normal self. what should you do”

“As your training petty officer IT2 Winner tells you that he has been having issues with IT1 Bigdick ignoring his assignments for training saying he is not a subordinate to a 2nd class.  What steps should you take to fix this problem?”

Also you may have some history and stuff like that.  

Over all PMK should be an easy section to get your test score up .

Make a Schedule and set Goals-  Not only will having a schedule help you make time to study but a well planned  out study schedule with planned goals will help you finish all the material needed to ACE the next Exam.   If you have a planned study time your LPO should even give you the some time during working hours to study(If they are any good).

Have Study Mates-  They don’t have to be your rank or even your rating,  just having someone to read out flash cards or keep you focused can really help accomplish your goals.  Remember PMK is in every rank and rating so you could study that with them and some rating have some of the same BIBS (Like IT and ET have some of the same).

Flash Cards-  You can make your own or pull from a site like Quizlet.com or cram.com either way Flash cards really help engrave the subject you are studying.   Most of the time if you search your BIBS in Quizlet.com or cram.com you can find already made cards (Weather they are right or not is another story).

Music- Studies show that listening to music helps you memory when you study.   It can’t be just any music soft and easy listening music is best and if it is something you know it is even better.  What listening to music does is it connects what you are studying to something you already know.  So the trick is to remember what you listened to when taking the test and you will start to remember the answers.

Finally no one study method works for everyone.  Find one that works for you and keep with it persistence will pay out in the end.  

 If you have some study hints or methods that you like please share them in the comments below and please if you have any questions or subjects you would like me to cover please leave a comment below.