Best TDLR Journeyman Exam Prep Options (Compared)
Five established TDLR prep options compared honestly. We're one of them, and we'll be transparent about that. The bottom line: there's no single best option. The right pick depends on where you're starting and how much time you have.
Last reviewed May 2026
The five options at a glance
| Option | Format | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Mike Holt | Books + video library + practice tests | $200-600 depending on bundle |
| Tom Henry | Calculation workbooks (print) | $40-80 per workbook |
| BuildForce / similar online courses | Self-paced video course + practice tests | $150-400 per course |
| Ray Holder | Texas-specific prep books + workbooks | $50-150 per book |
| JourneymanIQ | Adaptive practice + 4 calculators + 170 drills + Wave Mock + 30-day plan | $49/month or $129/3-months |
The detail on each
Mike Holt
Format: Books + video library + practice tests
Price: $200-600 depending on bundle
Strongest: Foundational NEC video library. Massive depth.
Weakness: Static. No adaptive engine. Volume can overwhelm.
Best for: Apprentices and candidates with 90+ days who learn best from video.
Tom Henry
Format: Calculation workbooks (print)
Price: $40-80 per workbook
Strongest: Hand-calculation drill methodology. Plain-electrician voice.
Weakness: Calculations only. No coverage of non-calc domains.
Best for: Anyone with weak calculation skills. Pair with another tool for full coverage.
BuildForce / similar online courses
Format: Self-paced video course + practice tests
Price: $150-400 per course
Strongest: Texas-specific. Streaming access.
Weakness: Static practice tests. Limited adaptive features.
Best for: Candidates who want a structured course but don’t need a full Mike Holt library.
Ray Holder
Format: Texas-specific prep books + workbooks
Price: $50-150 per book
Strongest: Texas-specific. Long-running brand authority for TDLR prep.
Weakness: Older code editions in some print runs. Verify before purchase.
Best for: Candidates who want a Texas-specific print resource.
JourneymanIQ
Format: Adaptive practice + 4 calculators + 170 drills + Wave Mock + 30-day plan
Price: $49/month or $129/3-months
Strongest: Adaptive engine surfaces your weakest topics first. Index keyword drills (no other platform has these). The Wave Mock 5-pass exam-strategy simulator. Mobile-first. Free diagnostic shows weak topics in 90 seconds.
Weakness: Built for the focused 30 to 60-day window. Apprentices with 6+ months and zero NEC knowledge benefit from pairing with a foundational video library.
Best for: Working electricians prepping for their licensing exam: apprentices on their first attempt, retakers fixing what cost them last time, master candidates building on existing knowledge.
How to pick
If you have 6+ months and are starting from zero
Mike Holt foundational set. Watch the videos. Take notes. Build understanding before you build speed.
If you have 30-60 days and have studied before
JourneymanIQ for the daily structure and adaptive surfacing. Tom Henry workbook on the side if calculations are your weak area.
If you failed the exam before
Read your TDLR score report. The bottom-2 domains are your target. Build a retake plan around them. JourneymanIQ’s adaptive engine is built for this case; Mike Holt is overkill if you already know most of the material; Tom Henry helps if calculations are the problem.
If budget is tight
Tom Henry workbook ($40) plus JourneymanIQ’s free diagnostic covers a lot of ground for under $50. If you don’t need full-platform features, the diagnostic alone tells you where you stand.
What we don’t recommend
- Free PDFs from random websites. Most are based on old NEC editions and contain rule changes that don’t apply to current exams.
- YouTube lectures from unverified instructors. Quality varies wildly. Mike Holt’s YouTube is fine; random channel #47 may be teaching outdated rules.
- Brain dumps and 'real exam questions' sites. These are typically inaccurate, sometimes copyright violations of the actual exam.
Take the diagnostic before deciding
The 90-second diagnostic shows your weak topics. From there you can choose foundational learning, calculation drilling, or adaptive practice, depending on what the gap looks like.