Shlomik, Amazon Test Expert at JobTestPrep.
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The Amazon Mechatronics and Robotics apprenticeship is a program offered by Amazon to FC employees and external applicants that wish to become Mechatronics Junior Technicians. The program includes a 12 weeks long course and a year of apprenticeship under a senior MJT, all paid for by Amazon.
After reading the test instructions, you'll have 102 minutes to finish the online proctored Ramsay test.
Basically, the test you take on the MRA program screening process helps to ensure that you have the basic skills to become a member of Amazon’s RME team (i.e., Reliability Maintenance Engineering). Those basics skills are – mathematical, verbal, and mechanical capabilities.
While both are referred to as a Ramsay test, unlike the Amazon Ramsay Test, used for maintenance positions, the MRA Ramsay Test does not require previous professional knowledge or vocational experience. However, it does not mean that it is a test you can show up to unprepared.
Here are some examples of the questions you’ll face on the Amazon mechatronics and robotics apprentice skills battery test:
Numerical Questions:
Basic arithmetic is essential for anyone who’s going to take a 12-week mechanical course. For that purpose alone, it’s important to brush up on basic concepts like fractions, percentages, and the 4 operations.
In the Arithmetic section, there is a variety of numerical questions. Some examples are fraction calculations (What is 38.40÷1.5 for example), graph questions, and questions regarding electrical theory.
Here’s an example of a graph question from the preparation pack included on this page. This simulates the questions you are going to face on the RME mechatronics & robotics apprenticeship test:
If each pageview is worth £0.02 in advertising to Cooking.net, what was its income from traffic in July, if that month's gain from donations was £250,000?
In the arithmetic section you'll get only 30 minutes to answer 20 of these. Without prior practice and getting to know the different types of questions, most will find answering all 30 questions rather difficult - Especially because you're not allowed to use a calculator.
If you haven't practiced mathematical questions since HS, it's no issue. The questions on the preparation pack on this page come with full answers and explanations, which makes practicing much easier.
Electricity Questions:
There are two kinds of Electrical questions on this test – Those regarding troubleshooting and those that require calculations based on basic electrical theory.
Check this basic question from the MRA program preparation pack:
What is the ratio of branch currents 1,2,3, respectively?
Getting to know basic electrical concepts like Ohm's law is crucial to passing these types of questions.
The people in charge of the Amazon mechatronics and robotics apprenticeship are counting on the applicants, at the very least, to master these basic concepts. Practicing them in advance can surely help standing out against the competition.
Mechanical Questions:
Even though the goal of the Mechatronics and Robotics apprenticeships is to make FC employees mechanical experts, they aren’t expected to begin the program as such.
That is why the mechanical questions on the assessment focus on the basics. In short - The goal of these questions is to check if you have a natural tendency of understanding mechanical concepts.
On some of the questions, you'll need to deal with spinning cogs and slopes. Here’s an example:
In which direction will the rack go?
If this doesn't seem that intuitive, don't worry. As you'll practice more and more of these questions, answering them will feel more natural.
Verbal Questions:
The verbal section on this test is quite different than the rest. Instead of calculating or scanning electrical boards, you need to go through long tedious texts and extract the right information. Here’s an example (brace yourself):
Throughout the history of political thought, strong disagreement has persisted between two competing political positions in particular. According to one school of thought dating back to the ancient Greeks–conservatism–political principles are arrived at by asking the question, "How can the power of the state best be used to deliver the good and virtuous life to the people?" Philosophers of this school agree that political values should be considered but means to higher ends and goals, and that we judge political arrangements by their contribution to bringing us closer to the ultimate moral ends of the good life.
In this way of thinking there can be no "rights" belonging to individuals that trump the power of politics to make people virtuous. For what is right in politics is explicable only when we directly ask and answer the question of what is good for human beings, what fulfills or realizes or perfects our nature. Unless we first know what fulfills our nature as fully functioning human beings, we cannot possibly have a standard or ideal against which to judge political choices.
In the opposing school of thought, commonly given the name of liberalism, political practice involves us in a paradox: on moral grounds of justice and fairness, the state must refrain from enforcing morality on the people. Instead, justice requires politics to bracket or put aside substantive moral issues, such as how people should conduct themselves religiously, sexually, or artistically.
The fact of the matter is that individuals give different answers to the question of what is good for them, answers that reflect first-order, ultimate commitments tied to differences in religion, tradition, family, and upbringing. It is not the mission of politics to resolve these strong moral disagreements by siding with the answers of some over others. This would be to treat persons unequally and deprive individuals of their equal capacity to "choose their own good in their own way." Thus a just state is a neutral state, devising procedures whose moral value derives precisely from the framework they provide for permitting persons to agree or disagree about their ultimate moral ideals.
The author asserts that conservatives believe political power should be used to ensure a goal of the state which is that:
A. The rights of the individual are protected.
B. At least two political parties will compete.
C. The political arrangements are just.
D. Its people live a good and moral life.
"But they agree that political values should be considered but means to higher ends and goals, and that we judge political arrangements by their contribution to bringing us closer to the ultimate moral ends of the good life" (Paragraph 1).
Note how key phrases in the question stem and answer choice are repeated or reworded in the passage quote, thus signaling that the answer is here:
"political power" = "political values"; "goal";
"live a good and moral life" = "moral ends of the good life."
Therefore, D is the correct answer.
These can be really exhausting, but there's no other way around it - they're a main part of the test; On the RME mechatronics & robotics apprenticeship test, you'll get 24 minutes to answer 24 of these, one minute per question (4 questions for each text).
After some practice, you'll see that you'll start getting used to them and that they'll become less overwhelming. In the end, finding the right info quickly between the text is, like many other things, acquired.
This test is not for everyone; only those who score high by presenting great capabilities all around, move on to the next step of the hiring process. So, basically, practicing can make the difference between making the cut and failing.
Note: Other topics included on the test are:
The key to passing the Amazon MRA Ramsay Test (Skills Battery) is to know what to expect. Only those with the best scores are likely to advance in the hiring process. It’s better to be one of those that come prepared.
The test is 102 minutes long and divided into four sections:
Verbal (Reading) Section – 24 minutes to answer 24 questions.
Arithmetic Section – 30 minutes to answer 20 questions.
Pre-Print Reading and Measurement – 20 minutes to answer 20 questions.
Multicraft Principles and Troubleshooting – 28 minutes to answer 20 questions.
The materials on this test require a sharp sense of mechanical aptitude and excellent math capabilities. Those that aren’t accustomed to solving these types of questions will most likely feel out of place and might answer fewer questions due to time mismanagement.
The Mechatronics Junior Technician position and the apprenticeship itself come with great benefits. You'll earn 16.5$/hour on the 12-week classroom course, which will increase to 21.30$/hour once you go back to the FC. You can expect an increase after the first year working as a MJT (depending on region).
All in all, the process takes 15 months. It includes 12 weeks of taking a course and a year of working alongside a senior technician.