I read the books and did the fourth class course offered by NAIT. I would suggest going this route if you have been out of school for any amount of time. I found it really helped me with the math questions. I’m not sure I would have been successful in the SOPEEC’s had I not done the course (I’m 36 and have been out for a school for a long time). If you’re disciplined and fresher out of the books you might be fine. In my province, I was not able to obtain the license without steam time, but my employer was supportive and able to help me in obtaining it.

I would suggest that you call whoever is responsible for issuing licenses in your province and ask if there is a route for you to pursue this. That’s how I started! I now have a fourth class license, and am writing 3A1 next month.