2019 ATF Schedule B Hiring

[DetroitStyle2]

Just passed PTT, congrats to everyone. Recruiter mentioned interviews probably wouldn’t take place until after the holidays

[Lrs2247]

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[jberry811]

Is the ATF math really as difficult as the math in "Master the Special Agent Exam?"

[Kaleo3336]

The level of difficulty is pretty similar. I used that book and I thought it prepared me well.

[jberry811]

The level of difficulty is pretty similar. I used that book and I thought it prepared me well.

The level of difficulty is pretty similar. I used that book and I thought it prepared me well.

The book questions are 10 times harder than the two sample questions on the ATF site, really throwing me off here.

[Shadowtrain]

The book questions are 10 times harder than the two sample questions on the ATF site, really throwing me off here.

IMO, the math was pretty challenging and mind-numbing. I used the "Master the Special Agent Exam" book and HSI's test prep document - felt roughly confident going in and felt awful after the test. Ultimately got the "pass" but still... I wouldn't do the test again for fun. Work hard on the prep and good luck!

[jberry811]

So no need to try to get the test done early in the two week window right? Just prep and get it done within the allotted window.

[jberry811]

How soon after the written were you invited to the PT test?

[DetroitStyle2]

@jberry81, I took written on Aug 26th, received results on Sep 24th. Then received invite for PTT Nov 13th and tested Nov 19th.

[Shadowtrain]

About a month... But this was before the craziness with COVID.

[HSIApplicant]

I somehow passed ATF but couldn’t pass FBI or USSS.

[NYC1175]

Interesting! I hear the ATF has the hardest one. I haven't taken the ATF test but I failed the FBI P1 on my 1st try and passed on the 2nd.

[OCN_1]

I failed USSS but passed ATF. Can’t quite explain that either

[Redskins3]

How long after the interview are you notified if your moving on or not?

[Wojo7]

Haven't heard anything. No news is good news.

[WillB1smday]

I failed USSS but passed ATF. Can’t quite explain that either

I passed both ATF and FBI tests no problem. Didn’t pass USSS when I took it...weird...

[NYC1175]

Maybe they all have different passing score thresholds. Speculation, but who knows. As I was talking the SAEE, I didn't feel that it was particularly hard (maybe with exception of the memorization section) so when I got the fail notice the 1st time I took it, I was definitely shocked. The FBI test in my opinion is the most subjective of all of them. It's largely behavior based.

[WillB1smday]

Maybe they all have different passing score thresholds. Speculation, but who knows. As I was talking the SAEE, I didn't feel that it was particularly hard (maybe with exception of the memorization section) so when I got the fail notice the 1st time I took it, I was definitely shocked. The FBI test in my opinion is the most subjective of all of them. It's largely behavior based.

Pretty sure the memorization is what got me. Oh well, everything happens for a reason!

[Mandony]

Hope everyone is well. I am taking the entrance exam in a week. I purchased the book online. On a scale 1 to 10 how hard is the test? I do believe this is the most difficult part of the process! Since I’m here I’ll ask another question regarding the written sample during interview phase. Do they ask you to write something on paper?

[Lrs2247]

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[HSIApplicant]

As others have mentioned I bought Mastering the Special Agent exam. That helped.

[jberry811]

As others have mentioned I bought Mastering the Special Agent exam. That helped.

I've been using that book as well. I mentioned previously that the book exams are much more advanced than the questions on the ATF site. How do you feel the book compared to the actual exam?

[Caidoz]

I bought the book but ended up not using it. I used the ICE study guide and ended up passing the test. I don't think it was as easy as the person above said unless you are fresh out of school and still have all of that math fresh in your head.

[jberry811]

Caidoz are you referring to the ICE guide that has about 7 or 8 math questions?

[Caidoz]

Yes, this one:

https://www.ice.gov/doclib/careers/pdf/satestprep.pdf

[NYC1175]

Caidoz, this is good to know because I absolutely crushed the math in that ICE prep guide. Of course I won't get complacent and think it'll be easy, but the math in these 1811 exams is sort of like a sport. If you played it at one point but stopped for a bit, a little practice gets you back into it.