How the plan builder works
The PSI candidate information bulletin lists ten subject areas for the journeyman exam and says how many scored items each carries across the NEC Knowledge and Calculations portions. The two portions are scored separately, but the areas run through both, so the builder merges them: each area's weight is its scored items out of 80. It uses those weights as each area's share of your study time, inside the window from your start date to the day before the exam:
- Scored items out of 80: Branch Circuits and Conductors 14; Electrical Wiring Methods and Electrical Materials 12; Electrical Equipment and Devices 12; Electrical Services, Service Equipment, and Separately Derived Systems 10; Special Occupancies, Equipment, and Conditions 9; Motors and Generators 7; Electrical Feeders 6; Definitions, Theory, and Plans 5; Renewable Energy Technologies 3; Electrical Control Devices and Disconnecting Means 2. They total 80, so no rescaling is needed.
- Weeks = days from start date to exam date ÷ 7, rounded up. A short last week still counts as a week.
- With 3 or more weeks, the last week is a final review across all ten areas at the same shares.
- With at least as many study weeks as areas, the weeks go to the areas one at a time, heaviest first. Each area gets share × study weeks, rounded by the largest-remainder method: everyone gets the whole-number part, then spare weeks go to the largest fractions. Every area gets at least one week.
- With fewer study weeks than areas, neighbouring areas share a week, grouped so the weeks carry about equal weight.
- Time is allocated in whole weeks, so a plan's actual shares can differ from the published weights. The table under your plan shows both side by side. Short plans can differ a lot: an area worth 2 of 80 items still needs at least a week, or a part of a shared week.
- Within an area's weeks, its topics are spread in order, so each week has at least one topic. Each focus week links one guide or tool per area, rotating through the ones that fit that area.
- If you pick a weakest area, its weight is multiplied by 1.5 and the ten are rescaled to total 100% before any of the steps above, so it gets more weeks and the others get slightly fewer.
- Each week splits the hours you entered: half on learning new material, three tenths on practice questions and a fifth on reviewing what you missed. The review week is practice and review only. A short week is scaled to its days.
- The free 10-question check opens week 1 and week (weeks ÷ 2, rounded down) + 1.
The plan runs up to 52 weeks and covers the journeyman written exam only. The master exam is not covered. The subject area names and item counts come from the bulletin; the topic labels are our own, and this page does not reproduce the bulletin's sub-topic lists or any NEC text. The exam is open book, so the plan also leaves room to learn your own copy: see the NEC book rules for what you may bring.
Worked example 1: 20 weeks at 6 hours a week
A candidate starts on Monday 2 November 2026 and sits the exam on 22 March 2027, studying 6 hours a week, with no weakest area chosen. These dates are an example only.
- Days: 140, so 20 weeks. Week 20 is the final review, leaving 19 study weeks.
- Exact week counts: 19 × 14 ÷ 80 = 3.325 for Branch Circuits and Conductors, 2.85 for Wiring Methods and for Equipment and Devices, 2.375 for Services, 2.1375 for Special Occupancies, 1.6625 for Motors, 1.425 for Feeders, 1.1875 for Definitions, 0.7125 for Renewable Energy and 0.475 for Control Devices. Whole parts give 3, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1, 0 and 0, which is 14 weeks.
- The five spare weeks go to the largest fractions: 0.85 and 0.85 (Wiring Methods, Equipment and Devices), 0.7125 (Renewable Energy), 0.6625 (Motors) and 0.475 (Control Devices). The counts are 3, 3, 3, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1 and 1.
- Weeks 1 to 3 are Branch Circuits and Conductors, 4 to 6 Wiring Methods, 7 to 9 Equipment and Devices, 10 and 11 Services, 12 and 13 Special Occupancies, 14 and 15 Motors and Generators, then one week each for Feeders (16), Definitions (17), Renewable Energy (18) and Control Devices (19).
- Every study week is 6 hours: 3 hours learning, 1 hour 50 minutes of practice questions and 1 hour 10 minutes reviewing misses. The review week is 3 hours 35 minutes of practice and 2 hours 25 minutes of review.
- Share actually given: Branch Circuits and Conductors gets (3 + 0.175) ÷ 20 = 15.875%, against 17.5% published. Renewable Energy gets (1 + 0.0375) ÷ 20 = 5.19%, against 3.75%, and Control Devices gets (1 + 0.025) ÷ 20 = 5.125%, against 2.5%. The lightest areas end up well above their weights because each needs a whole week.
- The free check opens week 1 and week 20 ÷ 2 + 1 = week 11.
Worked example 2: three weeks at 8 hours a week
A candidate starts on 2 November 2026 and sits the exam on 23 November 2026, with 8 hours a week.
- Days: 21, so 3 weeks. Week 3 is review, leaving 2 study weeks for 10 areas.
- Two weeks cannot give ten areas a week each, so neighbours pair up in heaviest-first order. Branch Circuits and Conductors (14), Wiring Methods (12) and Equipment and Devices (12) sit at 38 of 80 items; the other seven sit at 42. That is the closest split into two runs, so week 1 is the first three areas and week 2 the other seven.
- Each study week is 8 hours: 4 hours learning, 2 hours 25 minutes of practice and 1 hour 35 minutes reviewing. The review week is 4 hours 50 minutes of practice and 3 hours 10 minutes of review.
- Week 1 splits its time 14 : 12 : 12 across its three areas, and week 2 splits across its seven by their item counts. Branch Circuits and Conductors ends with (14 ÷ 38 + 14 ÷ 80) ÷ 3 = 18.1% of the plan against 17.5% published. Renewable Energy ends with (3 ÷ 42 + 3 ÷ 80) ÷ 3 = 3.6% against 3.75%. Each area's share is close but not exact.
- The free check opens week 1 and week 3 ÷ 2 rounded down, plus 1, which is week 2.
Using the plan and the checks
The free 10-question check shows which subject areas are weakest. Take it at the start, choose your weakest area above so it gets a larger share, and compare at the midpoint. The item counts tell you where the points are, and your own scores tell you where you lose them. For the Calculations portion, read the Calculations portion guide first, then use the Ohm's law, voltage drop, transformer and series and parallel resistance calculators the plan links. For the terms, start from the electrical terms glossary. For the exam outline itself, see the journeyman exam outline.
What the planner does not do
It does not say how long anyone should study, and it does not predict a result. The hours are yours; the plan only splits them. It does not cover the master exam. Equal weight on the page does not mean equal difficulty for you, so adjust after each check. The current PSI bulletin controls what the exam covers, and PSI can change it.
Texas journeyman study plan questions
How many weeks should I study for the Texas journeyman exam?
That depends on your exam date, the hours you can give each week and how much of the work you already know, so the builder starts from your dates and your hours instead of a fixed number. Enter both and it spreads your own time across the ten subject areas, then ends with a review week.
Does this plan cover the master electrician exam?
No. It covers the journeyman exam only. The master exam has its own outline and item counts, and this planner does not build weeks for it.
Which subject area should I study first?
The builder starts with Branch Circuits and Conductors, because it is the largest area at 14 of the 80 scored items across both portions. If your free check shows another area scoring much lower, pick it as your weakest and the builder gives it a larger share. The item counts show where the points are, and your score shows where you lose them.