The lineworker CAST gives you about 7 minutes for 18 math questions, and spare time never carries over

The CAST has a Mechanical Concepts test of levers, pulleys, gears and rigging, which is what our mechanical practice test drills, picture by picture, on a single clock. Our IBEW-style test adds no-calculator algebra and timed reading, which lines up with the CAST's Mathematical Usage and Reading Comprehension parts.

We have no Graphic Arithmetic section, where you answer arithmetic questions built on a chart or drawing, and our sections are not timed the way the CAST's four tests are. EEI's own study material, where your utility gives you access, is the closer match for format.

The most important fact about the CAST is structural. Each of the four tests runs on its own timer, and prep guides say you cannot move leftover minutes from one test into another. Finishing Reading Comprehension early buys you nothing on the mechanical items that follow.

That changes how you pace. On a single-clock test you can bank time on easy items and spend it later. On the CAST each section is its own race, so you set a target pace for each one and hold it, and when a section ends you let it go completely.

The reported split for Mathematical Usage is 18 questions in 7 minutes. That works out at about 23 seconds per question, which leaves no room to set up long working. It rewards people who can do fractions, percentages, simple equations and unit changes almost automatically.

Because prep sites describe scoring as number correct with no penalty for wrong answers, never leave an item blank when the clock is about to end. Mark a best guess on every remaining question in the last few seconds. Our IBEW aptitude test practice is useful here because its algebra section is also done without a calculator.

At the other extreme, Graphic Arithmetic is reported as 16 questions in 30 minutes, built around two images. That is close to two minutes per question. The extra time exists because you have to pull the right numbers out of a drawing or chart before you calculate anything.

Most lost marks here come from reading the wrong value, not from bad arithmetic. Circle the numbers you are using, write the units beside them and reread the question before you pick an answer. Our WorkKeys Graphic Literacy practice trains the same habit of finding the one figure that matters in a busy picture.

This is the section most people mean when they call the CAST a lineworker aptitude test. Prep samples cover levers, pulleys, gears and rigging questions such as the mechanical advantage of a block and tackle, which ties directly to how line crews lift and pull. At 44 items in 20 minutes you have just over 27 seconds each.

Speed here comes from recognizing the type of problem at a glance. Learn the handful of rules that answer most items: a longer lever arm means less force, each supporting rope in a pulley shares the load, and meshed gears turn in opposite directions. Our mechanical aptitude test is built on those same principles.

Prep sites describe each test being scored by number correct and the results combined into an index from 1 to 10 that predicts success in construction and skilled trades work. EEI does not publish a pass rate, and each utility sets its own cutoff for the roles it is filling.

Treat that as encouraging. A weak reading score can be balanced by a strong mechanical score, so aim for steady performance across all four tests rather than perfection in one. If you miss the cutoff, ask the utility about its retest wait before you plan your next attempt.

These come from anonymous reviews, university careers pages and prep guides. They often disagree, and Lineworker (EEI CAST) has not confirmed them. Read them as leads, not rules.

• Prep sites describe the CAST as given on paper at some utilities, though other guides do not name a format, so check your invitation.
• Prep guides note that the reading section uses several passages with a set of questions on each.
• One prep site says the timed work of about 87 minutes sits inside a two-hour administration, which leaves room for instructions and breaks.