NYCProjectEngineer PE PMP
Out in the Field
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- Aug 23, 2015
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My Background: I have been working in the construction industry for over six years; a majority of my career I have spent in the field as a Project Engineer and Project Manager. I have a BE in Civil Engineering and MS in Construction Management. My project experience ranges from new vertical construction, rehab work in existing buildings, to heavy civil site work. As part of my job I manage the project schedule, estimate change orders, review/approve submittals, respond to RFIs, perform quality control inspections, and verify safety requirements are followed, among other duties.
Getting Approved to Sit for the PE Exam (Civil-Construction):
If you are reading this thread you likely have been approved by your State Board to site for the PE exam. If not then you can read a few tips I have for making sure your experience is approved and you can site for the exam. This applies for Civil-Construction.
Here is a list of action verbs you can use in your record to get you started:
• Designed
• Analyzed
• Specified
• Programmed
• Planned
• Evaluated
• Problem Solved
• Produced
• Created
• Implemented
Example: “I designed Scopes of Work for various change orders on the Project including re-design of pile layouts for building foundation, design of concrete expansion joint detail, etc.”
Some other design examples, notice how specific the examples are:
• Performed troubleshooting on air handling unit during commissioning.
• Calculated construction loads for scaffolding to be used for concrete placement.
• Calculated the loading on new concrete foundations to verify it was acceptable to backfill and place construction equipment on top of the foundations.
• Specified foundation detail requirements
• Designed storm water drainage plans
• Designed formwork for concrete.
• Calculated equipment fleet productivity rates and scheduled project to optimize equipment and manpower resources.
• Designed temporary excavations support systems.
• Designed construction haul roads.
• Design of rigging systems.
• Design of crane safety and operation plans.
• Design of storage and lay-down facilities.
• Design and inspection of site drainage and sedimentation controls.
Other engineering duties can include:
• Inspection of construction to verify conformance with design documents.
• Perform value engineering analyses
• Perform constructability reviews; provide design input based on reviews to the engineer of record.
• Perform materials testing (concrete, steel, soils) and generate reports of results for use during construction (i.e., took soil samples and performed standard proctor).
• Design and optimization of construction project schedule
• Review shop drawings and submittals
• Review and answer Requests for Information (RFIs)
• Generate engineering cost estimates
• Perform engineering economic analyses of construction plant and generate findings (i.e., buy or lease analysis, amortization schedule, maintenance costs over life of equipment, etc).
• Performed safety inspections to verify compliance with OSHA requirements.
• Generated (or reviewed) safety plans to ensure engineering controls were properly implemented (i.e., shoring for excavation, steel erection plans, critical lift plans, rigging, noise/light control plans, etc).
The key is to say what YOU did on the project. Do not say you “managed” other people doing the work; you have to have actually done the work to get credit for it. You need to properly and completely explain your design experience which, depending on your state, is required in conjunction with your general engineering experience.
If you do not do any of the work activities I mention (or similar type), then you likely are not qualified to sit for the PE exam. I also do not recommend you take the PE exam if you do not have the right experience; the exam is designed for engineers who do this kind of work on a regular basis. Also, if you do not have the proper experience and somehow are permitted to sit for the exam (and pass), the P.E. after your name will mean very little if you do not know what is going on around the construction site or with the design. You will end up becoming one of the people which the real construction engineers make fun of behind their back. Sorry to be so blunt but this is just the way it is and anybody who has spent time on a construction site knows this is true.
Getting Ready to Start Studying (Six Months Out from Exam Date):
NCEES Exam Specification
Well congratulations on getting approved to sit for the PE exam. Now the fun part starts! The first thing you need to do is get familiar with the NCEES exam specifications which can be downloaded off the NCEES website. Make sure you have the most current specifications. The exam specifications could be compared to construction specs… they are your guide for how to properly study for the PE exam. NCEES is nice enough to say what they will be testing us on and this helps you because it allows you to focus on certain topics and not waste time on topics which will not be on the exam. There are many examinees who read the Civil Engineering Reference Manual (CERM) from cover to cover and wonder why they fail. By limiting your studying to the NCEES specifications you are optimizing your time.
NCEES Construction Design Standards
The last page of the specifications will have the “Construction Design Standards” for the exam you are signed up to sit for. YOU MUST ACQUIRE EVERY SINGLE REFERENCE! This is not the time to be cheap. I guarantee you will hate yourself for not buying a reference while you are taking the exam.
Here is the list of design standards for the April 2016 exam. I have included in the table if the standard is available for free (legally), the cost, and a link to where to acquire the standard:
Standard
Description
Available for Free?
Cost?
Link
ASCE 37-14
Design Loads on Structures During Construction, 2014
No
$ 80.00
http://tinyurl.com/hfk3cv2
NDS-12
National Design Specification for Wood Construction w/ Supplement, 2012
No
$ 150.00
http://tinyurl.com/purr773
CMWB-12
Standard Practice for Bracing Masonry Walls Under Construction, 2012
No
$ 85.00
http://tinyurl.com/px7a72b
AISC 14th
Steel Construction Manual, 14th ed., 2011
Already Own 13th Edition
ACI 318-14
Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete, 2014
No
$ 249.50
http://tinyurl.com/pn39wlk
ACI 347-14
Guide to Formwork for Concrete, 2014
Do Not Buy -- Part of ACI SP-4
ACI SP-4-14
Formwork for Concrete, 8th ed., 2014
No
$ 249.50
http://tinyurl.com/hg7k88p
OSHA 1926
Occupational Safety and Health Standards for the Construction Industry, 29 CFR Part 1926
Yes
$ -
http://tinyurl.com/pgpdcle
MUTCD Pt6-09
Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices—Part 6 Temporary Traffic Control, 200
Yes
$ -
http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/pdfs/2009/part6.pdf
$ 814.00
From my experience during studying, you do not need to own the AISC Steel Construction Manual 14th Edition; the 13th Edition was totally adequate for the types of questions asked on the Civil-Construction exam. I imagine earlier editions would prove adequate but I cannot confirm this.
Even though OSHA 1926 is available for free download, I highly recommend you purchase the ManComm 2015 Edition of OSHA 1926. It is a paperback book and is available on Amazon for about $40. The book is organized very well and includes every bit of information you will need to answer any OSHA question. If you work in the field, you should own a hard copy of OSHA 1926… it is the law after all.
As you can see, the references cost $814 total (updated 28-Dec-2015). Note: you will not need to purchase ACI 347 if you buy ACI SP-4; the ACI SP-4 book has ACI 347 (2014) included as an appendix in the book.
The key is to acquire all your design references first thing so you have all the tools required to answer questions related to these references while you study. One of the most important parts of the PE exam is knowing your references and being able to access information quickly. The references are also good to have if you are a construction engineer and will help you at work. I actually have found ACI SP-4 to be very useful at work.
Here is a quick rundown of what types of questions you will need the design references for:
• ASCE 37: Construction loads on temporary structures, factors for various scenarios (i.e., use of concrete buggy, work on sloped roof). Know where all the little details and caveats are in this Code.
• NDS: Fastener pull-out, design of temporary wood structures. This Code is not user friendly and I did not encounter much study material which used this Code. This is a big gap in the exam prep material and I hope somebody (PPI, School of PE, EET) publishes practice problems which utilize NDS for construction engineers. You may find more practice material for wood design out of Structural books.
• CMWB: Design of temporary bracing for masonry walls during construction, allowable exposure of walls during construction. School of PE has an extensive review of this Code; you may be able to get away without buying this Code if you take the School of PE construction depth review. There is not a lot of practice material out there for this Code.
• AISC SCM: Interpreting weld symbols, quantity take-off weights of steel members. You could probably get away without buying this Code if you print out reference material specific to what will be tested on the exam for construction; we do not have to do any steel design like the structural guys have to in their Depth section (PM part of the exam). With that said, I personally think the Steel Construction Manual is one of the most important books a construction engineer should own.
• ACI 318: This is the concrete bible. Purchase this Code and keep it on your desk and become familiar with the layout of the Code. Update: The NCEES April 2016 Exam Specifications now require the new edition (2014). You will use this Code for anything concrete related such as anchor pullout strength, concrete cylinder strength calculation, rebar cover requirements, etc. Rebar cover requirements are key in performing a proper estimate of concrete construction costs (those two inches the rebar needs to end before the form face adds up over a 100’ long footing!)
• ACI 347: This is the concrete formwork standard that you will use to calculate formwork concrete pressures. These are very common questions you will encounter during your studies; there is plenty of study material out there to get you comfortable with ACI 347. This is a must own for sure. Update: The NCEES April 2016 Exam Specifications now require the new edition (2014).
• ACI SP-4: The “Special Publication #4” is the go-to for concrete formwork design. It also includes a section on shoring/re-shoring which you will use to answer those types of problems. Since this has ACI 347 as an appendix you can save yourself $64 and not buy ACI 347 separately. Update: The NCEES April 2016 Exam Specifications now require the new edition (2014) but the same advice still applies (do not buy ACI 347 separately if you buy ACI SP-4).
• OSHA 1926: This is a must own for any construction engineer. Since OSHA is federal law, you ought to know how to find requirements in the book and what everything means. There are design elements in OSHA for excavation sloping/shoring, scaffold design, concrete strength requirements, etc. There is a good bit of study material out there which utilizes OSHA. You will find these questions to be “gimmies” during the exam; do not be the idiot who doesn’t bring his OSHA 1926 book to the exam.
• MUTCD Part 6: You will find that printing and binding MUTCD is sufficient. You will use this Code for relatively simple “look-up” questions.
Civil Engineering Reference Manual (CERM)
This is also a good time to purchase the civil engineering “bible” aka the Civil Engineering Reference Manual (CERM) by Michael Lindburgh, PE. This is a big purchase ($275) but you will absolutely use this book more than anything else during your studying. Buy it now so you can start thumbing thru the book and get familiar with the layout. I also recommend reading the introductory sections of the book. Mr. Lindburgh has some good insights on studying and the exam which you will find useful. I do not recommend you follow his study schedule; there are many many sections in the CERM which you will absolutely never need to use during studying and the exam. The key is to focus on the sections which you will be tested on and being able to quickly get to that information. It’s nice that he includes more information that necessary (in case NCEES throws a curve ball on the exam) but you should be focusing on the relevant topics based on the NCEES exam specifications. Think of the CERM as another one of your design references like ACI 318; you will not read ACI 318 from cover to cover so why would you do that with the CERM?
I do not recommend you borrow an older edition from a co-worker. You will want to start with a fresh CERM so you can make it your own. The idea is that you become so familiar with the CERM that you can look at an exam question and within seconds be to the right page in the CERM. Tabbing and highlighting your CERM is a PE exam ritual and you should be proud of how well you organized your CERM prior to exam day. If you use somebody else’s tabs and highlights you are robbing yourself of valuable learning. Also, older editions are woefully inadequate for all the construction topics which have been added to the whole exam (AM and PM parts).
Calculator
NCEES has a strict calculator policy which allows for only certain calculators to be used on the exam. This website is where NCEES lists the approved calculators:
http://ncees.org/exams/calculator-policy/
I had great success using the Casio fx-115 ES Plus during studying and on the exam. You will want to acquire your NCEES-approved calculator as soon as possible so you can start using it at work and become familiar with the functions and way the calculator works. I used the “SOLVE” function on the Casio fx-115 ES Plus quite a bit during studying and on the exam; this function uses Newton’s Method to solve for an unknown variable. You will find that this is a common mathematic exercise on most problems which will save you the time/effort of re-arranging the equation to solve for ‘x’. It also has a useful Polar-Rectangular coordinate function which is useful for certain surveying questions; you can use the Polar function to solve for the hypotenuse of a right triangle.
The key is to only use the NCEES-approved calculator during studying so that you becoming comfortable with the calculator. I bought a second Casio fx-115 ES Plus (did not take it out of the plastic) to the PE exam with me in case my primary calculator broke. I ended up returning it after the exam to get my money back but the peace of mind is worth the initial investment.
Some states have additional restrictions of calculators so make sure you check with your State Board.
NCEES Practice Exam
NCEES offers a practice exam which closely mirrors the scope/difficulty of the actual PE exam. When signing up for the exam on the NCEES website they offer you the chance to purchase this book… do it. If you did not purchase it initially, then you can buy it off the NCEES website at any time. You will use this practice exam to gauge your studying progress and to help simulate an exam during your studies. Here is the link to purchase the book for your exam; the AM questions are the same for every Civil practice exam. You may find older exams on eBay but they are not necessary to purchase; NCEES does not change the questions that much over the years.
https://account.ncees.org/exam-prep/store/category/PE
School of PE
I knew going into studying that I wanted to pass the exam on the first attempt; failure simply was not an option for me. I credit the School of PE as being a major reason why I passed the exam in one attempt. Apart from the extremely useful reference material and practice problems they provide you, taking classes will force you to study. I highly recommend you opt for the in-person classroom setting if it is available to you; this really forces you to study and removes any distractions you have at home. If you sign up early (six months before exam day) then you will get an “early bird discount” of a few hundred dollars. I have also read many people say EET is also excellent; I have no experience with EET so I cannot comment on them.
Summary:
1. Download NCEES exam specification from NCEES website (to ensure you have the most current specification). Become familiar with the specifications.
2. Purchase all required design standards per the NCEES exam specification.
3. Purchase the NCEES Practice Exam
4. Purchase the Civil Engineering Reference Manual (latest edition).
5. Purchase your NCEES-approved calculator (verify State Board requirements as well).
6. Sign up for School of PE (or EET)
Preparing to Start Studying (Maximum 3 Months from Exam Date)
You may be asking “why max three months before the exam date?” Well the reason is, I believe that you can easily over-study just as much as you can under-study for the PE exam. There is A LOT of information to cover during studying even if you are properly focused per the NCEES exam specification. If you over-study, you are at risk of “burning out” and your mind turning to proverbial mush during the exam. You want to peak right before the exam and go into the exam feeling confident and full of energy.
I assume that you are a competent engineer who is reasonably familiar with the industry (if not, how did you get approved to sit for the exam?). This is called the “Principles & Practice” (Part P) exam. Let’s break that down because I think many people do not appreciate what NCEES is doing with this exam:
Principle: a law or fact of nature that explains how something works or why something happens
Practice: to do (something) regularly or constantly as an ordinary part of your life
When breaking down the formal title of the exam, it is clear that NCEES wants you to deeply understand the how/why of civil engineering and to have the knowledge which is only gained by doing civil engineering on a regular basis.
Principles
With that in mind, one of the keys to being successful at the PE exam is to actually understand the concepts and theories behind the questions. Simply cramming practice problems will only get you so far. For example, statics-type problems are staples of the PE exam in their various forms. If you are proficient at breaking down a statics problem into a free-body diagram then you will be able to answer any type of statics problem NCEES puts on the exam. If you only practice one type of statics related problem without understanding the theory/principles of statics, you will not be able to answer a question which while may be related to that problem, asks for a different variable or adds another force on the body to throw off your pre-set solution steps. I find it impossible to predict every type of problem NCEES could ask and to have a solved problem ready to be applied during the exam.
In fact, I did not use even one “solved problem” during the exam. Some people here recommend bringing a binder of solved problems to the exam. To me, this is a crutch which will give you a false sense of security. You do not want to have to rely on a solved problem to help you answer any exam questions. In doing so, this signals that you do not know the material.
If you understand the principles of engineering being tested, you will be confident that you can answer any type of question NCEES throws at you.
Practice
There are a lot of people who sit for the PE exam who in my opinion do not possess the necessary experience to be deemed competent enough to acquire licensure. This is only my opinion but I believe is shared with many other engineers. There are many questions on the PE exam which test your work experience. These questions are usually the most difficult to study for. Some people try to overcome this by bringing a ton of reference books (which is OK). You need to be honest with yourself and if you do not possess enough relevant work experience in the depth section you are taking, start acquiring additional reference material to supplement you work experience. This is especially true for construction since the scope of knowledge a construction engineer needs to possess is quite vast. I pride myself on working as a construction engineer and having to know structures, geotech, water resources, and some traffic engineering.
This is probably why the construction depth pass rate is historically low; many people assume construction is easy and that they can pass it without much effort. This is a false assumption. If you work exclusively in the home office, use this as an opportunity to pressure your supervisor to let you spend time out in the field. I guarantee you will be amazed at the things you learn while working in a construction field office and walking the site.
Now that we have a good understanding of the point of the PE exam, and what the NCEES is trying to test us on, we need to craft our study strategy and study schedule.
Study Schedule
If you are an engineer who is worth one’s salt, you will know how important it is to plan out a schedule and stick to it. Here is the study schedule I followed; you will want to tailor the study schedule to fit your life but the goal is to get to hit milestones on certain weeks to make sure you have adequate time to strengthen your weak topics.
· Week 1: Start becoming with the NCEES Exam Specifications (AM Breadth) and go through the CERM Appendix to locate where in the CERM certain topics (i.e., slop stability) are located in the CERM. Start reading these sections and becoming familiar with the topics in case you have forgotten the information. I used this week to remind myself of all the engineering knowledge I have lost/forgotten since college. I found it useful to start working a few problems in certain sections just to start easing into studying.
· Week 2: Same as Week 1. You are trying to get back into study-mode in preparation for the School of PE or EET. The first two weeks should not be intense studying or working problems, you want to start re-familiarizing yourself with the topics and work on a few problems.
School of PE (or EET) should start at this point.
· Week 3-6: Review class notes and practice problems you did in class. Do all homework assignments (very important!). Review CERM topics which were covered in class and do CERM practice problems related to these topics. I was studying at least 2-3 days during the work week for 3 hours/day and Saturday/Sunday was spent doing School of PE for 8 hours/day. You should have plenty of material to review and problems to work.
· Week 7: Five weeks until the exam. At this point the class should have covered all the morning breadth topics (structures, geotech, water resources, traffic, construction) and you should start looking to get into your practice exam books. Now would be the best time to work through Mike’s Civil PE Exam Guide and the NCEES Practice Exam (AM) to gauge where your weaknesses are. Try to work through these two exams without looking at the solutions so that you can really gauge where you are at and what topics you need to study more.
Note on Taking Practice Exams During Studying: Nobody cares what you score on your practice exams. I have read posts on the forums where people swear they are scoring 80% and higher on practice exams but failed the PE Exam. I call BS on that. Do not look at the solutions until you finish working through the exam! You are not doing yourself any favors by cheating on practice exams and you will never be able to gauge your studying progress unless you actually work through full exams.
At this point you should start having a good grasp on the Breath/AM material. The exam is a month away and you need to start focusing on your Depth/PM material. Note where your weaknesses are by NCEES exam specification topic (i.e., Structural Mechanics – Trusses) and know that you need to do more practice problems and theory review on those topics. If you are strong in a certain topic, don’t waste precious time reviewing that topic but you do want to stay sharp by periodically doing practice problems in that topic.
· Week 8: Start really getting into your Depth/PM. Having reviewed all the Breadth/AM material has given you a solid base for a lot of the construction engineering topics. School of PE had a very comprehensive construction PM review which was done via webinar on weekends. During the week I was reviewing the class notes and doing practice problems. During my studying I was working through the PPI construction depth books (Construction Depth Practice Exams for the Civil PE Exam and Six-Minute Solutions for Civil PE Exam Construction Problems) to give me more practice. If you find you are having difficulty understanding the theory behind a problem, look into acquiring topic-specific reference material which will allow you to really learn the topic. For me, I was weak on crane stability and rigging. I went and bought the Shapiro Cranes and Derricks textbook and bought the Rigging Handbook; I used these references to really learn these topics. I ended up becoming very good at crane stability questions.
· Week 9: You are only a few weeks away from test day. Continue working your PM/Depth review as your focus but do not forget to keep sharp on your AM/Breadth review. Practice problems are your friend! Remember: If you are having difficulty with certain problems, take a step back and re-learn the theory behind the problem (i.e., review statics if you are having trouble with rigging questions). Do not think practice problems will force you to learn something you do not have a theory-based understanding of.
· Week 10: At the end of Week 10, you should have gone through most of your PM/Depth practice problems and now need to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses. This is the perfect time to set aside four hours and work through the DeSantis Construction Depth Practice Exam and Assessment Guide. Follow the author’s advice and work through the practice exam in a simulated setting and only allow yourself four hours to take the exam; have all your references handy, in their crates, to simulate the real exam. After the four hours, take an hour off and then come back to score your exam and review where you messed up. I found the Construction Depth Practice Exam and Assessment Guide to be the most accurate representation of the PE Exam (next to the NCEES Practice Exam) and it will give you a good sense of where you are at. I believe I scored 32/40 on the practice exam at this point in my studying.
o I also took the ASCE Practice Exam which was offered by the local ASCE chapter. This was offered in a simulated setting and was timed. The exam ASCE offered was a compilation of different practice exam problems (mostly from PPI) but practicing in a simulated test environment is very helpful to learn how to set up your desk and how to organize your reference material.
· Week 11: Two weeks away. Continue working your practice problems for PM/Depth and AM/Breadth. At the end of this week, I took the full NCEES Practice Exam in a simulated setting (started at 8am, had lunch from noon-2, finished the PM/Depth at 6pm). Take an hour or two after your finish the exam and then score/review the results. I also took the full Goswami Practice Exam for the Civil PE Exam: Construction Depth in a simulated setting this week.
· Week 12: Week of the exam. I took this whole week off from work to just study 8-10 hours per day. At this point I knew I was still weak on certain topics like shoring/reshoring, complex rigging systems, temporary shoring for excavations. I did not study estimating, productivity, scheduling, earthwork calculations, health/safety anymore because I knew these topics well; if there were practice problems in the books I was using I would still do them for practice but did not make them my focus. By this week you should have completed at least four practice exams:
o NCEES Practice Exam (AM + PM)
o Mike’s Civil PE Exam Guide (AM)
o DeSantis Construction Depth Practice Exam and Assessment Guide (PM)
o Goswami Practice Exam for the Civil PE Exam: Construction Depth (PM)
Use the last week to keep your mind sharp on AM topics but the main focus should be on PM studying. As Mr. DeSantis points out in his book, construction topics account for more than 60% of the exam if your Depth is construction; it is crucial that you know all the NCEES exam specification construction topics.
Some people recommend taking the day before the exam off from studying. I continued to work problems in my weak areas and didn’t take the day off from studying; your mileage may vary but I like to study right up until the exam. I actually finally figured out the shoring/reshoring methodology on the day before the exam; for some reason this topic was eluding me but I kept working it using ACI SP-4 and was able to figure out how to solve these types of problems.
Tips
Here are some tips which will help you during your studies:
· Acquire your NCEES-approved calculator early and only use this calculator during studying. Verify your State Board allows the calculator.
· Designate a table or room in your house as your study space. If you can keep a section of a table about 6-8 SF as your study space, this will simulate the amount of space you get during the actual exam.
o Ideally you will leave all your materials, references, etc at your designated study space so that you have everything readily available during studying.
o If you need to go to a library to study, buy a big backpack and keep it filled with your materials.
· Purchase a “countdown timer” and use it during your practice exams. The timer I used was the “MeasuPro Digital Clock, Timer, and Stopwatch with Three Alert Type Settings - Buzz, Beep, and LED” which was purchase on Amazon. Here is the link: http://tinyurl.com/panag4d
o During the actual exam I utilized this timer (set to LED alert) to help pace myself. You absolutely should confirm with the exam proctor if you are allowed to use the timer during the exam BEFORE the exam starts; the proctor said I could use it so long as it did not beep and was not kept on the desk.
§ Many examinees note that time is an issue since you are usually only given a 15, 5 and 1 minute warning. It was comforting to be able to see exactly how much time I had left anytime I wanted during the exam.
· When taking practice/simulated exams, do not “cheat” and look at the solutions UNTIL you have finished the full exam. Nobody cares about your practice exam scores and by cheating you will only be hurting yourself.
· Set aside the full four (4) hours for each part of a practice exam. Use the full four hours as if you are actually taking the real PE exam.
· Have all your references at your side when taking a practice/simulated exams; the goal is to simulate exam conditions and figure out the best way to arrange your references for ease of access. If you find one topic keeps tripping you up, purchase a supplementary reference for this topic.
· Figure out what your main references will be during studying; these will be the references you leave on the desk during the PE exam. For me it was:
o CERM
o School of PE Notes
Everything else stayed in the plastic crates unless I was using the book for that specific problem.
· Figure out how you want to organize and haul your references to the actual PE exam in advance. One mistake I made was going to Walmart the day before the exam to purchase plastic crates and the folding hand truck. This was unnecessary stress. I do recommend you utilize plastic crates and a folding hand truck to bring your materials; you will find a benefit to organizing your references into crates (one AM crate, one PM crate) and keeping the crates on your side during the exam for easy access. I do not recommend bringing wheeled luggage since it is not possible to keep the books organized in luggage. One benefit of buying your crates in advance is you can optimize the organization of the references and get accustomed to working with the system you will use during the PE exam. Check with your State Board to make sure these are permitted in the exam room… some States may have restrictions.
o Magna Cart Personal 150 lb Capacity Aluminum Folding Hand Truc
§ $40 on Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/p4adj7n
o Milk Crates
§ $9.50 on Amazon (buy at least two)
§ http://tinyurl.com/jhrb9xz
· Look at the NCEES Practice Examination PM/Depth solutions. You will see they reference different texts. These are very useful references to own.
· Amazon sells a lot of used textbooks at reasonable prices. Look to purchase older editions of books (this does not apply to the NCEES required design standards!) to save a lot of money.
· Bring a bagged lunch on exam day. Do not waste time driving to get lunch. I ate my lunch outside the building and relaxed in the sun. I also brought a few Nature Valley Protein Bars which I ate during the exam.
NCEES PM Exam References (Additional)
When reviewing the NCEES Practice Examination PM/Depth solutions, you will see they reference different texts with the solution. As I recommended before, it is useful to purchase some of these texts (especially in areas of weakness) to supplement your knowledge and gain more insight into the principles behind the problems. For me, earthwork productivity was something I was not fully accustomed to; NCEES earthwork problems are based on large scale cut/fill projects like roadway embankments and large site developments. For example: productivity balancing of multiple graders, excavators, and trucks is something I don’t do at work every day so I needed to learn how this is done (efficiently). The Peurifoy Construction Planning, Equipment, and Methods book was very useful for this.
Here is a crude list of the texts the NCEES used to develop the PM/Depth practice exam:
Author
Title
Peurifoy
Construction Planning, Equipment, and Methods
Nunnally
Constructions Methods & Management
Anderson
Surveying - Theory & Practice
Kavanagh
Surveying with Construction Application
Schexnayder
Construction Management Fundamentals
Peurifoy
Estimating Construction Costs
Walker
Walker's Builiding Estimator's Reference Book
Collier
Engineering Cost Analysis
Newnan
Engineering Economic Analysis
Meriam
Engineering Mechanics
Shapiro
Cranes and Derricks
Merritt
Standard Handbook for Civil Engineers
Allen
Fundamentlas of Building Construction Materials and Methods
Gould
Managing the Construction Process
Oberlender
Project Management for Engineering and Construction
Hinez
Construction Planning and Scheduling
Bowles
Foundation Analysis and Design
Gere
Mechanics of Materials
ACI
ACI 315-99 "Details and Detailing of Concrete Reinforcement"
PCA
Design and Control of Concrete Mixtures
Hibbeler
Engineering Mechanics
The yellow highlighted books I purchased and used during studying. I had already owned the PCA Design and Control of Concrete Mixtures since I work with concrete a lot on my projects; this is a great book for any construction engineer to own. It is very useful for studying since there are a lot of practice problems on concrete mix design and also supplementary cementicious materials (slag, flyash, silica fume, etc).
Exam References I Purchased
Other than the NCEES required design standards (see earlier discussion) and the NCEES Practice Exam, I purchased the following books. You can see that some books I purchase at a deep discount because they were older editions or used:
Author
Book
Cost
Lindburgh
Civil Engineering Reference Manual (14th Edition)
$ 275.00
Hartmann
Construction Depth Practice Exams for the Civil PE Exam
$ 95.00
Huang
Six-Minute Solutions for Civil PE Exam Construction Problems
$ 90.00
Peurifoy
Construction Planning, Equipment, and Methods
$ 41.50
Peurifoy
Estimating Construction Costs
$ 55.00
Nunnally
Constructions Methods & Management
$ 35.00
Somayaji
Civil Engineering Materials
$ 9.18
Shapiro
Cranes and Derricks
$ 0.68
Goswami
Practice Exam for the Civil PE Exam: Construction Depth
$ 29.95
DeSantis
Construction Depth Practice Exam and Assessment Guide
$ 49.95
Hansen
Mike's Civil PE Exam Guide: Morning Session
$ 38.00
Lindburgh
Engineering Unit Conversions
$ 25.00
Klinke
Rigging Handbook 4th Edition
$ 16.00
PCA
Design and Control of Concrete Mixtures
Day
Geotechnical Engineer's Portable Handbook (2nd Edition)
$ 60.00
$ 820.26
So overall, including the CERM, I spent over $800 on supplementary reference material. While this may seem like a lot, you will be able to sell your books when you pass and recover some of this money. The NCEES Practice Exam is not included in the table above even though I bought it; this book is $40 from NCEES plus shipping. The books I highlighted yellow were the most useful during studying. The Harmann and Huang books were good for additional practice problems but are not critical to own.
The exam specifications allow NCEES great latitude in the questions they can ask on the exam. I find it useful to “cover your bases” by having supplementary references in certain topics such as “Site and Subsurface Investigations” or “Material Properties and Testing.” For the site/subsurface investigations, the Geotechnical Engineer's Portable Handbook (2nd Edition) has a ton of information on this topic. For material properties, purchasing a good construction/civil engineering materials text will help save you trouble when there are curveball problems. During your studying you will realize some of these topics are quite broad and that you will have difficulty finding references or practice problems; purchasing a good text book in that topic will allow you to look-up an answer during the PE exam. I found the CERM was not fully adequate for this and should not be relied on for board topics such as “Site and Subsurface Investigations” or “Impact of Construction on Adjacent Facilities.”
Some of the broad topics you really just need to have practical experience to get unless you can have the right references at your side. I find it amusing that many engineers struggle with simple safety questions (even during the AM!) but as somebody who works in construction and needs to enforce OSHA on a daily basis, these are obviously going to be simple questions. On the flip side, since I am not a geotechnical engineer who has experience doing site investigations, I needed to supplement my lack of knowledge with references that I could use during the exam (and studying). Be honest with yourself… I do not know any engineers who know everything on the PE exam (nor should they).
Tabbing & Highlighting References
There are different schools of thought for tabbing. Some people I have seen ask successful examinees what they tabbed in the CERM (for example). This is the wrong approach. You as the examinee want to tab and highlight your references during your studies. The ritual of tabbing your references is a crucial part of studying and makes you become very familiar with your references. You will need to find a system that works for you personally… my system may not work best for you. Here are some of the tips I have for tabbing:
[COLOR= black]· [/COLOR]Use a color coding system. For me:
o Green = Geotech
o Red = Structures
o Blue = Water Resources
o Yellow = Traffic, Construction, Economics
[COLOR= black]· [/COLOR]Tab topics in the CERM based on the NCEES exam specifications. For example: CERM (14th Edition) page 20-16 is tabbed “NRCS Method” (used a blue flag).
[COLOR= black]· [/COLOR]Tab formulas you use a lot during studying. For example: CERM (14th Edition) page 48-5 is tabbed “f’c formula” (used a yellow flag) for the concrete compressive strength formula.
[COLOR= black]· [/COLOR]Tab appendices which you use frequently. For example: CERM (14th Edition) page A-127 is tabbed “Struct. Steel Properties” (used a red flag) for the structural steel properties and types. For example: CERM (14th Edition) page A-99 is tabbed “Beam V&M Diagrams” (used a red flag) for shear and moment diagrams (along with deflections).
[COLOR= black]· [/COLOR]Do not go crazy highlighting everything… you will defeat the benefit if your highlight every other word. Only highlight key formulas and words which you need to have “pop” out at your when you flip to the page.
[COLOR= black]· [/COLOR]Here are the tabs I purchased:
o http://tinyurl.com/zk28trt
o http://tinyurl.com/py8qod4
[COLOR= black]· [/COLOR]I found it useful to write constants or the units of the formula output in red pen next to the formula in the CERM. For example: When calculating the compressive strength of a concrete cylinder you will need to use the area of the cylinder in the formula. The common 6x12 cylinder has an area of 28.27 square inches; write this in red pen next to the formula so you don’t have to look it up ever again.
[COLOR= black]· [/COLOR]Do not overtab. You should be able to see every tab clearly when looking at the side of your CERM. If tabs overlap and you can’t easily see them, then what good are they?
My Thoughts on Solved Problems
Personally, I did not use “solved problems” during the actual PE exam. I feel there is an over-reliance on having a binder of solved problems and using it as a crutch during the exam; this allows the examinee to have a false sense of security. In the event one of your solved problems is identical to an exam question, then good for you. More than likely 79/80 of the exam problems will NOT be identical to one of your solved problems and you will be stuck trying to learn something during the exam! Not good. Working practice problems during studying is vital to your success on the real exam but leave the solved problems at home. If you studied properly then you will not need them.
Summary
1. Develop your study schedule and stick to it.
2. Sign up for School of PE or EET.
3. Understand the theory/principles behind the problems.
4. Work as many practice problems as you can.
5. Take simulated exams during your studying. Simulate the actual exam environment as much as possible.
6. Purchase all NCEES required design standards (and use them during studying).
7. Purchase your NCEES-approved calculator before your start studying and only use that calculator. Verify your State Board permits the calculator too.
8. Purchase your CERM (latest edition) and use it throughout your whole study campaign.
9. Purchase your reference book storage early. I recommend milk crates and a folding hand truck.
10. Leave your cell phone away from you during studying.
11. Do not rely on “solved problems” to get you through the real exam.
12. Tab your own references but do not go overboard; selective tabbing is key.
13. Purchase supplementary references to cover your weak areas (and use them during studying).
Getting Approved to Sit for the PE Exam (Civil-Construction):
If you are reading this thread you likely have been approved by your State Board to site for the PE exam. If not then you can read a few tips I have for making sure your experience is approved and you can site for the exam. This applies for Civil-Construction.
Here is a list of action verbs you can use in your record to get you started:
• Designed
• Analyzed
• Specified
• Programmed
• Planned
• Evaluated
• Problem Solved
• Produced
• Created
• Implemented
Example: “I designed Scopes of Work for various change orders on the Project including re-design of pile layouts for building foundation, design of concrete expansion joint detail, etc.”
Some other design examples, notice how specific the examples are:
• Performed troubleshooting on air handling unit during commissioning.
• Calculated construction loads for scaffolding to be used for concrete placement.
• Calculated the loading on new concrete foundations to verify it was acceptable to backfill and place construction equipment on top of the foundations.
• Specified foundation detail requirements
• Designed storm water drainage plans
• Designed formwork for concrete.
• Calculated equipment fleet productivity rates and scheduled project to optimize equipment and manpower resources.
• Designed temporary excavations support systems.
• Designed construction haul roads.
• Design of rigging systems.
• Design of crane safety and operation plans.
• Design of storage and lay-down facilities.
• Design and inspection of site drainage and sedimentation controls.
Other engineering duties can include:
• Inspection of construction to verify conformance with design documents.
• Perform value engineering analyses
• Perform constructability reviews; provide design input based on reviews to the engineer of record.
• Perform materials testing (concrete, steel, soils) and generate reports of results for use during construction (i.e., took soil samples and performed standard proctor).
• Design and optimization of construction project schedule
• Review shop drawings and submittals
• Review and answer Requests for Information (RFIs)
• Generate engineering cost estimates
• Perform engineering economic analyses of construction plant and generate findings (i.e., buy or lease analysis, amortization schedule, maintenance costs over life of equipment, etc).
• Performed safety inspections to verify compliance with OSHA requirements.
• Generated (or reviewed) safety plans to ensure engineering controls were properly implemented (i.e., shoring for excavation, steel erection plans, critical lift plans, rigging, noise/light control plans, etc).
The key is to say what YOU did on the project. Do not say you “managed” other people doing the work; you have to have actually done the work to get credit for it. You need to properly and completely explain your design experience which, depending on your state, is required in conjunction with your general engineering experience.
If you do not do any of the work activities I mention (or similar type), then you likely are not qualified to sit for the PE exam. I also do not recommend you take the PE exam if you do not have the right experience; the exam is designed for engineers who do this kind of work on a regular basis. Also, if you do not have the proper experience and somehow are permitted to sit for the exam (and pass), the P.E. after your name will mean very little if you do not know what is going on around the construction site or with the design. You will end up becoming one of the people which the real construction engineers make fun of behind their back. Sorry to be so blunt but this is just the way it is and anybody who has spent time on a construction site knows this is true.
Getting Ready to Start Studying (Six Months Out from Exam Date):
NCEES Exam Specification
Well congratulations on getting approved to sit for the PE exam. Now the fun part starts! The first thing you need to do is get familiar with the NCEES exam specifications which can be downloaded off the NCEES website. Make sure you have the most current specifications. The exam specifications could be compared to construction specs… they are your guide for how to properly study for the PE exam. NCEES is nice enough to say what they will be testing us on and this helps you because it allows you to focus on certain topics and not waste time on topics which will not be on the exam. There are many examinees who read the Civil Engineering Reference Manual (CERM) from cover to cover and wonder why they fail. By limiting your studying to the NCEES specifications you are optimizing your time.
NCEES Construction Design Standards
The last page of the specifications will have the “Construction Design Standards” for the exam you are signed up to sit for. YOU MUST ACQUIRE EVERY SINGLE REFERENCE! This is not the time to be cheap. I guarantee you will hate yourself for not buying a reference while you are taking the exam.
Here is the list of design standards for the April 2016 exam. I have included in the table if the standard is available for free (legally), the cost, and a link to where to acquire the standard:
Standard
Description
Available for Free?
Cost?
Link
ASCE 37-14
Design Loads on Structures During Construction, 2014
No
$ 80.00
http://tinyurl.com/hfk3cv2
NDS-12
National Design Specification for Wood Construction w/ Supplement, 2012
No
$ 150.00
http://tinyurl.com/purr773
CMWB-12
Standard Practice for Bracing Masonry Walls Under Construction, 2012
No
$ 85.00
http://tinyurl.com/px7a72b
AISC 14th
Steel Construction Manual, 14th ed., 2011
Already Own 13th Edition
ACI 318-14
Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete, 2014
No
$ 249.50
http://tinyurl.com/pn39wlk
ACI 347-14
Guide to Formwork for Concrete, 2014
Do Not Buy -- Part of ACI SP-4
ACI SP-4-14
Formwork for Concrete, 8th ed., 2014
No
$ 249.50
http://tinyurl.com/hg7k88p
OSHA 1926
Occupational Safety and Health Standards for the Construction Industry, 29 CFR Part 1926
Yes
$ -
http://tinyurl.com/pgpdcle
MUTCD Pt6-09
Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices—Part 6 Temporary Traffic Control, 200
Yes
$ -
http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/pdfs/2009/part6.pdf
$ 814.00
From my experience during studying, you do not need to own the AISC Steel Construction Manual 14th Edition; the 13th Edition was totally adequate for the types of questions asked on the Civil-Construction exam. I imagine earlier editions would prove adequate but I cannot confirm this.
Even though OSHA 1926 is available for free download, I highly recommend you purchase the ManComm 2015 Edition of OSHA 1926. It is a paperback book and is available on Amazon for about $40. The book is organized very well and includes every bit of information you will need to answer any OSHA question. If you work in the field, you should own a hard copy of OSHA 1926… it is the law after all.
As you can see, the references cost $814 total (updated 28-Dec-2015). Note: you will not need to purchase ACI 347 if you buy ACI SP-4; the ACI SP-4 book has ACI 347 (2014) included as an appendix in the book.
The key is to acquire all your design references first thing so you have all the tools required to answer questions related to these references while you study. One of the most important parts of the PE exam is knowing your references and being able to access information quickly. The references are also good to have if you are a construction engineer and will help you at work. I actually have found ACI SP-4 to be very useful at work.
Here is a quick rundown of what types of questions you will need the design references for:
• ASCE 37: Construction loads on temporary structures, factors for various scenarios (i.e., use of concrete buggy, work on sloped roof). Know where all the little details and caveats are in this Code.
• NDS: Fastener pull-out, design of temporary wood structures. This Code is not user friendly and I did not encounter much study material which used this Code. This is a big gap in the exam prep material and I hope somebody (PPI, School of PE, EET) publishes practice problems which utilize NDS for construction engineers. You may find more practice material for wood design out of Structural books.
• CMWB: Design of temporary bracing for masonry walls during construction, allowable exposure of walls during construction. School of PE has an extensive review of this Code; you may be able to get away without buying this Code if you take the School of PE construction depth review. There is not a lot of practice material out there for this Code.
• AISC SCM: Interpreting weld symbols, quantity take-off weights of steel members. You could probably get away without buying this Code if you print out reference material specific to what will be tested on the exam for construction; we do not have to do any steel design like the structural guys have to in their Depth section (PM part of the exam). With that said, I personally think the Steel Construction Manual is one of the most important books a construction engineer should own.
• ACI 318: This is the concrete bible. Purchase this Code and keep it on your desk and become familiar with the layout of the Code. Update: The NCEES April 2016 Exam Specifications now require the new edition (2014). You will use this Code for anything concrete related such as anchor pullout strength, concrete cylinder strength calculation, rebar cover requirements, etc. Rebar cover requirements are key in performing a proper estimate of concrete construction costs (those two inches the rebar needs to end before the form face adds up over a 100’ long footing!)
• ACI 347: This is the concrete formwork standard that you will use to calculate formwork concrete pressures. These are very common questions you will encounter during your studies; there is plenty of study material out there to get you comfortable with ACI 347. This is a must own for sure. Update: The NCEES April 2016 Exam Specifications now require the new edition (2014).
• ACI SP-4: The “Special Publication #4” is the go-to for concrete formwork design. It also includes a section on shoring/re-shoring which you will use to answer those types of problems. Since this has ACI 347 as an appendix you can save yourself $64 and not buy ACI 347 separately. Update: The NCEES April 2016 Exam Specifications now require the new edition (2014) but the same advice still applies (do not buy ACI 347 separately if you buy ACI SP-4).
• OSHA 1926: This is a must own for any construction engineer. Since OSHA is federal law, you ought to know how to find requirements in the book and what everything means. There are design elements in OSHA for excavation sloping/shoring, scaffold design, concrete strength requirements, etc. There is a good bit of study material out there which utilizes OSHA. You will find these questions to be “gimmies” during the exam; do not be the idiot who doesn’t bring his OSHA 1926 book to the exam.
• MUTCD Part 6: You will find that printing and binding MUTCD is sufficient. You will use this Code for relatively simple “look-up” questions.
Civil Engineering Reference Manual (CERM)
This is also a good time to purchase the civil engineering “bible” aka the Civil Engineering Reference Manual (CERM) by Michael Lindburgh, PE. This is a big purchase ($275) but you will absolutely use this book more than anything else during your studying. Buy it now so you can start thumbing thru the book and get familiar with the layout. I also recommend reading the introductory sections of the book. Mr. Lindburgh has some good insights on studying and the exam which you will find useful. I do not recommend you follow his study schedule; there are many many sections in the CERM which you will absolutely never need to use during studying and the exam. The key is to focus on the sections which you will be tested on and being able to quickly get to that information. It’s nice that he includes more information that necessary (in case NCEES throws a curve ball on the exam) but you should be focusing on the relevant topics based on the NCEES exam specifications. Think of the CERM as another one of your design references like ACI 318; you will not read ACI 318 from cover to cover so why would you do that with the CERM?
I do not recommend you borrow an older edition from a co-worker. You will want to start with a fresh CERM so you can make it your own. The idea is that you become so familiar with the CERM that you can look at an exam question and within seconds be to the right page in the CERM. Tabbing and highlighting your CERM is a PE exam ritual and you should be proud of how well you organized your CERM prior to exam day. If you use somebody else’s tabs and highlights you are robbing yourself of valuable learning. Also, older editions are woefully inadequate for all the construction topics which have been added to the whole exam (AM and PM parts).
Calculator
NCEES has a strict calculator policy which allows for only certain calculators to be used on the exam. This website is where NCEES lists the approved calculators:
http://ncees.org/exams/calculator-policy/
I had great success using the Casio fx-115 ES Plus during studying and on the exam. You will want to acquire your NCEES-approved calculator as soon as possible so you can start using it at work and become familiar with the functions and way the calculator works. I used the “SOLVE” function on the Casio fx-115 ES Plus quite a bit during studying and on the exam; this function uses Newton’s Method to solve for an unknown variable. You will find that this is a common mathematic exercise on most problems which will save you the time/effort of re-arranging the equation to solve for ‘x’. It also has a useful Polar-Rectangular coordinate function which is useful for certain surveying questions; you can use the Polar function to solve for the hypotenuse of a right triangle.
The key is to only use the NCEES-approved calculator during studying so that you becoming comfortable with the calculator. I bought a second Casio fx-115 ES Plus (did not take it out of the plastic) to the PE exam with me in case my primary calculator broke. I ended up returning it after the exam to get my money back but the peace of mind is worth the initial investment.
Some states have additional restrictions of calculators so make sure you check with your State Board.
NCEES Practice Exam
NCEES offers a practice exam which closely mirrors the scope/difficulty of the actual PE exam. When signing up for the exam on the NCEES website they offer you the chance to purchase this book… do it. If you did not purchase it initially, then you can buy it off the NCEES website at any time. You will use this practice exam to gauge your studying progress and to help simulate an exam during your studies. Here is the link to purchase the book for your exam; the AM questions are the same for every Civil practice exam. You may find older exams on eBay but they are not necessary to purchase; NCEES does not change the questions that much over the years.
https://account.ncees.org/exam-prep/store/category/PE
School of PE
I knew going into studying that I wanted to pass the exam on the first attempt; failure simply was not an option for me. I credit the School of PE as being a major reason why I passed the exam in one attempt. Apart from the extremely useful reference material and practice problems they provide you, taking classes will force you to study. I highly recommend you opt for the in-person classroom setting if it is available to you; this really forces you to study and removes any distractions you have at home. If you sign up early (six months before exam day) then you will get an “early bird discount” of a few hundred dollars. I have also read many people say EET is also excellent; I have no experience with EET so I cannot comment on them.
Summary:
1. Download NCEES exam specification from NCEES website (to ensure you have the most current specification). Become familiar with the specifications.
2. Purchase all required design standards per the NCEES exam specification.
3. Purchase the NCEES Practice Exam
4. Purchase the Civil Engineering Reference Manual (latest edition).
5. Purchase your NCEES-approved calculator (verify State Board requirements as well).
6. Sign up for School of PE (or EET)
Preparing to Start Studying (Maximum 3 Months from Exam Date)
You may be asking “why max three months before the exam date?” Well the reason is, I believe that you can easily over-study just as much as you can under-study for the PE exam. There is A LOT of information to cover during studying even if you are properly focused per the NCEES exam specification. If you over-study, you are at risk of “burning out” and your mind turning to proverbial mush during the exam. You want to peak right before the exam and go into the exam feeling confident and full of energy.
I assume that you are a competent engineer who is reasonably familiar with the industry (if not, how did you get approved to sit for the exam?). This is called the “Principles & Practice” (Part P) exam. Let’s break that down because I think many people do not appreciate what NCEES is doing with this exam:
Principle: a law or fact of nature that explains how something works or why something happens
Practice: to do (something) regularly or constantly as an ordinary part of your life
When breaking down the formal title of the exam, it is clear that NCEES wants you to deeply understand the how/why of civil engineering and to have the knowledge which is only gained by doing civil engineering on a regular basis.
Principles
With that in mind, one of the keys to being successful at the PE exam is to actually understand the concepts and theories behind the questions. Simply cramming practice problems will only get you so far. For example, statics-type problems are staples of the PE exam in their various forms. If you are proficient at breaking down a statics problem into a free-body diagram then you will be able to answer any type of statics problem NCEES puts on the exam. If you only practice one type of statics related problem without understanding the theory/principles of statics, you will not be able to answer a question which while may be related to that problem, asks for a different variable or adds another force on the body to throw off your pre-set solution steps. I find it impossible to predict every type of problem NCEES could ask and to have a solved problem ready to be applied during the exam.
In fact, I did not use even one “solved problem” during the exam. Some people here recommend bringing a binder of solved problems to the exam. To me, this is a crutch which will give you a false sense of security. You do not want to have to rely on a solved problem to help you answer any exam questions. In doing so, this signals that you do not know the material.
If you understand the principles of engineering being tested, you will be confident that you can answer any type of question NCEES throws at you.
Practice
There are a lot of people who sit for the PE exam who in my opinion do not possess the necessary experience to be deemed competent enough to acquire licensure. This is only my opinion but I believe is shared with many other engineers. There are many questions on the PE exam which test your work experience. These questions are usually the most difficult to study for. Some people try to overcome this by bringing a ton of reference books (which is OK). You need to be honest with yourself and if you do not possess enough relevant work experience in the depth section you are taking, start acquiring additional reference material to supplement you work experience. This is especially true for construction since the scope of knowledge a construction engineer needs to possess is quite vast. I pride myself on working as a construction engineer and having to know structures, geotech, water resources, and some traffic engineering.
This is probably why the construction depth pass rate is historically low; many people assume construction is easy and that they can pass it without much effort. This is a false assumption. If you work exclusively in the home office, use this as an opportunity to pressure your supervisor to let you spend time out in the field. I guarantee you will be amazed at the things you learn while working in a construction field office and walking the site.
Now that we have a good understanding of the point of the PE exam, and what the NCEES is trying to test us on, we need to craft our study strategy and study schedule.
Study Schedule
If you are an engineer who is worth one’s salt, you will know how important it is to plan out a schedule and stick to it. Here is the study schedule I followed; you will want to tailor the study schedule to fit your life but the goal is to get to hit milestones on certain weeks to make sure you have adequate time to strengthen your weak topics.
· Week 1: Start becoming with the NCEES Exam Specifications (AM Breadth) and go through the CERM Appendix to locate where in the CERM certain topics (i.e., slop stability) are located in the CERM. Start reading these sections and becoming familiar with the topics in case you have forgotten the information. I used this week to remind myself of all the engineering knowledge I have lost/forgotten since college. I found it useful to start working a few problems in certain sections just to start easing into studying.
· Week 2: Same as Week 1. You are trying to get back into study-mode in preparation for the School of PE or EET. The first two weeks should not be intense studying or working problems, you want to start re-familiarizing yourself with the topics and work on a few problems.
School of PE (or EET) should start at this point.
· Week 3-6: Review class notes and practice problems you did in class. Do all homework assignments (very important!). Review CERM topics which were covered in class and do CERM practice problems related to these topics. I was studying at least 2-3 days during the work week for 3 hours/day and Saturday/Sunday was spent doing School of PE for 8 hours/day. You should have plenty of material to review and problems to work.
· Week 7: Five weeks until the exam. At this point the class should have covered all the morning breadth topics (structures, geotech, water resources, traffic, construction) and you should start looking to get into your practice exam books. Now would be the best time to work through Mike’s Civil PE Exam Guide and the NCEES Practice Exam (AM) to gauge where your weaknesses are. Try to work through these two exams without looking at the solutions so that you can really gauge where you are at and what topics you need to study more.
Note on Taking Practice Exams During Studying: Nobody cares what you score on your practice exams. I have read posts on the forums where people swear they are scoring 80% and higher on practice exams but failed the PE Exam. I call BS on that. Do not look at the solutions until you finish working through the exam! You are not doing yourself any favors by cheating on practice exams and you will never be able to gauge your studying progress unless you actually work through full exams.
At this point you should start having a good grasp on the Breath/AM material. The exam is a month away and you need to start focusing on your Depth/PM material. Note where your weaknesses are by NCEES exam specification topic (i.e., Structural Mechanics – Trusses) and know that you need to do more practice problems and theory review on those topics. If you are strong in a certain topic, don’t waste precious time reviewing that topic but you do want to stay sharp by periodically doing practice problems in that topic.
· Week 8: Start really getting into your Depth/PM. Having reviewed all the Breadth/AM material has given you a solid base for a lot of the construction engineering topics. School of PE had a very comprehensive construction PM review which was done via webinar on weekends. During the week I was reviewing the class notes and doing practice problems. During my studying I was working through the PPI construction depth books (Construction Depth Practice Exams for the Civil PE Exam and Six-Minute Solutions for Civil PE Exam Construction Problems) to give me more practice. If you find you are having difficulty understanding the theory behind a problem, look into acquiring topic-specific reference material which will allow you to really learn the topic. For me, I was weak on crane stability and rigging. I went and bought the Shapiro Cranes and Derricks textbook and bought the Rigging Handbook; I used these references to really learn these topics. I ended up becoming very good at crane stability questions.
· Week 9: You are only a few weeks away from test day. Continue working your PM/Depth review as your focus but do not forget to keep sharp on your AM/Breadth review. Practice problems are your friend! Remember: If you are having difficulty with certain problems, take a step back and re-learn the theory behind the problem (i.e., review statics if you are having trouble with rigging questions). Do not think practice problems will force you to learn something you do not have a theory-based understanding of.
· Week 10: At the end of Week 10, you should have gone through most of your PM/Depth practice problems and now need to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses. This is the perfect time to set aside four hours and work through the DeSantis Construction Depth Practice Exam and Assessment Guide. Follow the author’s advice and work through the practice exam in a simulated setting and only allow yourself four hours to take the exam; have all your references handy, in their crates, to simulate the real exam. After the four hours, take an hour off and then come back to score your exam and review where you messed up. I found the Construction Depth Practice Exam and Assessment Guide to be the most accurate representation of the PE Exam (next to the NCEES Practice Exam) and it will give you a good sense of where you are at. I believe I scored 32/40 on the practice exam at this point in my studying.
o I also took the ASCE Practice Exam which was offered by the local ASCE chapter. This was offered in a simulated setting and was timed. The exam ASCE offered was a compilation of different practice exam problems (mostly from PPI) but practicing in a simulated test environment is very helpful to learn how to set up your desk and how to organize your reference material.
· Week 11: Two weeks away. Continue working your practice problems for PM/Depth and AM/Breadth. At the end of this week, I took the full NCEES Practice Exam in a simulated setting (started at 8am, had lunch from noon-2, finished the PM/Depth at 6pm). Take an hour or two after your finish the exam and then score/review the results. I also took the full Goswami Practice Exam for the Civil PE Exam: Construction Depth in a simulated setting this week.
· Week 12: Week of the exam. I took this whole week off from work to just study 8-10 hours per day. At this point I knew I was still weak on certain topics like shoring/reshoring, complex rigging systems, temporary shoring for excavations. I did not study estimating, productivity, scheduling, earthwork calculations, health/safety anymore because I knew these topics well; if there were practice problems in the books I was using I would still do them for practice but did not make them my focus. By this week you should have completed at least four practice exams:
o NCEES Practice Exam (AM + PM)
o Mike’s Civil PE Exam Guide (AM)
o DeSantis Construction Depth Practice Exam and Assessment Guide (PM)
o Goswami Practice Exam for the Civil PE Exam: Construction Depth (PM)
Use the last week to keep your mind sharp on AM topics but the main focus should be on PM studying. As Mr. DeSantis points out in his book, construction topics account for more than 60% of the exam if your Depth is construction; it is crucial that you know all the NCEES exam specification construction topics.
Some people recommend taking the day before the exam off from studying. I continued to work problems in my weak areas and didn’t take the day off from studying; your mileage may vary but I like to study right up until the exam. I actually finally figured out the shoring/reshoring methodology on the day before the exam; for some reason this topic was eluding me but I kept working it using ACI SP-4 and was able to figure out how to solve these types of problems.
Tips
Here are some tips which will help you during your studies:
· Acquire your NCEES-approved calculator early and only use this calculator during studying. Verify your State Board allows the calculator.
· Designate a table or room in your house as your study space. If you can keep a section of a table about 6-8 SF as your study space, this will simulate the amount of space you get during the actual exam.
o Ideally you will leave all your materials, references, etc at your designated study space so that you have everything readily available during studying.
o If you need to go to a library to study, buy a big backpack and keep it filled with your materials.
· Purchase a “countdown timer” and use it during your practice exams. The timer I used was the “MeasuPro Digital Clock, Timer, and Stopwatch with Three Alert Type Settings - Buzz, Beep, and LED” which was purchase on Amazon. Here is the link: http://tinyurl.com/panag4d
o During the actual exam I utilized this timer (set to LED alert) to help pace myself. You absolutely should confirm with the exam proctor if you are allowed to use the timer during the exam BEFORE the exam starts; the proctor said I could use it so long as it did not beep and was not kept on the desk.
§ Many examinees note that time is an issue since you are usually only given a 15, 5 and 1 minute warning. It was comforting to be able to see exactly how much time I had left anytime I wanted during the exam.
· When taking practice/simulated exams, do not “cheat” and look at the solutions UNTIL you have finished the full exam. Nobody cares about your practice exam scores and by cheating you will only be hurting yourself.
· Set aside the full four (4) hours for each part of a practice exam. Use the full four hours as if you are actually taking the real PE exam.
· Have all your references at your side when taking a practice/simulated exams; the goal is to simulate exam conditions and figure out the best way to arrange your references for ease of access. If you find one topic keeps tripping you up, purchase a supplementary reference for this topic.
· Figure out what your main references will be during studying; these will be the references you leave on the desk during the PE exam. For me it was:
o CERM
o School of PE Notes
Everything else stayed in the plastic crates unless I was using the book for that specific problem.
· Figure out how you want to organize and haul your references to the actual PE exam in advance. One mistake I made was going to Walmart the day before the exam to purchase plastic crates and the folding hand truck. This was unnecessary stress. I do recommend you utilize plastic crates and a folding hand truck to bring your materials; you will find a benefit to organizing your references into crates (one AM crate, one PM crate) and keeping the crates on your side during the exam for easy access. I do not recommend bringing wheeled luggage since it is not possible to keep the books organized in luggage. One benefit of buying your crates in advance is you can optimize the organization of the references and get accustomed to working with the system you will use during the PE exam. Check with your State Board to make sure these are permitted in the exam room… some States may have restrictions.
o Magna Cart Personal 150 lb Capacity Aluminum Folding Hand Truc
§ $40 on Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/p4adj7n
o Milk Crates
§ $9.50 on Amazon (buy at least two)
§ http://tinyurl.com/jhrb9xz
· Look at the NCEES Practice Examination PM/Depth solutions. You will see they reference different texts. These are very useful references to own.
· Amazon sells a lot of used textbooks at reasonable prices. Look to purchase older editions of books (this does not apply to the NCEES required design standards!) to save a lot of money.
· Bring a bagged lunch on exam day. Do not waste time driving to get lunch. I ate my lunch outside the building and relaxed in the sun. I also brought a few Nature Valley Protein Bars which I ate during the exam.
NCEES PM Exam References (Additional)
When reviewing the NCEES Practice Examination PM/Depth solutions, you will see they reference different texts with the solution. As I recommended before, it is useful to purchase some of these texts (especially in areas of weakness) to supplement your knowledge and gain more insight into the principles behind the problems. For me, earthwork productivity was something I was not fully accustomed to; NCEES earthwork problems are based on large scale cut/fill projects like roadway embankments and large site developments. For example: productivity balancing of multiple graders, excavators, and trucks is something I don’t do at work every day so I needed to learn how this is done (efficiently). The Peurifoy Construction Planning, Equipment, and Methods book was very useful for this.
Here is a crude list of the texts the NCEES used to develop the PM/Depth practice exam:
Author
Title
Peurifoy
Construction Planning, Equipment, and Methods
Nunnally
Constructions Methods & Management
Anderson
Surveying - Theory & Practice
Kavanagh
Surveying with Construction Application
Schexnayder
Construction Management Fundamentals
Peurifoy
Estimating Construction Costs
Walker
Walker's Builiding Estimator's Reference Book
Collier
Engineering Cost Analysis
Newnan
Engineering Economic Analysis
Meriam
Engineering Mechanics
Shapiro
Cranes and Derricks
Merritt
Standard Handbook for Civil Engineers
Allen
Fundamentlas of Building Construction Materials and Methods
Gould
Managing the Construction Process
Oberlender
Project Management for Engineering and Construction
Hinez
Construction Planning and Scheduling
Bowles
Foundation Analysis and Design
Gere
Mechanics of Materials
ACI
ACI 315-99 "Details and Detailing of Concrete Reinforcement"
PCA
Design and Control of Concrete Mixtures
Hibbeler
Engineering Mechanics
The yellow highlighted books I purchased and used during studying. I had already owned the PCA Design and Control of Concrete Mixtures since I work with concrete a lot on my projects; this is a great book for any construction engineer to own. It is very useful for studying since there are a lot of practice problems on concrete mix design and also supplementary cementicious materials (slag, flyash, silica fume, etc).
Exam References I Purchased
Other than the NCEES required design standards (see earlier discussion) and the NCEES Practice Exam, I purchased the following books. You can see that some books I purchase at a deep discount because they were older editions or used:
Author
Book
Cost
Lindburgh
Civil Engineering Reference Manual (14th Edition)
$ 275.00
Hartmann
Construction Depth Practice Exams for the Civil PE Exam
$ 95.00
Huang
Six-Minute Solutions for Civil PE Exam Construction Problems
$ 90.00
Peurifoy
Construction Planning, Equipment, and Methods
$ 41.50
Peurifoy
Estimating Construction Costs
$ 55.00
Nunnally
Constructions Methods & Management
$ 35.00
Somayaji
Civil Engineering Materials
$ 9.18
Shapiro
Cranes and Derricks
$ 0.68
Goswami
Practice Exam for the Civil PE Exam: Construction Depth
$ 29.95
DeSantis
Construction Depth Practice Exam and Assessment Guide
$ 49.95
Hansen
Mike's Civil PE Exam Guide: Morning Session
$ 38.00
Lindburgh
Engineering Unit Conversions
$ 25.00
Klinke
Rigging Handbook 4th Edition
$ 16.00
PCA
Design and Control of Concrete Mixtures
Day
Geotechnical Engineer's Portable Handbook (2nd Edition)
$ 60.00
$ 820.26
So overall, including the CERM, I spent over $800 on supplementary reference material. While this may seem like a lot, you will be able to sell your books when you pass and recover some of this money. The NCEES Practice Exam is not included in the table above even though I bought it; this book is $40 from NCEES plus shipping. The books I highlighted yellow were the most useful during studying. The Harmann and Huang books were good for additional practice problems but are not critical to own.
The exam specifications allow NCEES great latitude in the questions they can ask on the exam. I find it useful to “cover your bases” by having supplementary references in certain topics such as “Site and Subsurface Investigations” or “Material Properties and Testing.” For the site/subsurface investigations, the Geotechnical Engineer's Portable Handbook (2nd Edition) has a ton of information on this topic. For material properties, purchasing a good construction/civil engineering materials text will help save you trouble when there are curveball problems. During your studying you will realize some of these topics are quite broad and that you will have difficulty finding references or practice problems; purchasing a good text book in that topic will allow you to look-up an answer during the PE exam. I found the CERM was not fully adequate for this and should not be relied on for board topics such as “Site and Subsurface Investigations” or “Impact of Construction on Adjacent Facilities.”
Some of the broad topics you really just need to have practical experience to get unless you can have the right references at your side. I find it amusing that many engineers struggle with simple safety questions (even during the AM!) but as somebody who works in construction and needs to enforce OSHA on a daily basis, these are obviously going to be simple questions. On the flip side, since I am not a geotechnical engineer who has experience doing site investigations, I needed to supplement my lack of knowledge with references that I could use during the exam (and studying). Be honest with yourself… I do not know any engineers who know everything on the PE exam (nor should they).
Tabbing & Highlighting References
There are different schools of thought for tabbing. Some people I have seen ask successful examinees what they tabbed in the CERM (for example). This is the wrong approach. You as the examinee want to tab and highlight your references during your studies. The ritual of tabbing your references is a crucial part of studying and makes you become very familiar with your references. You will need to find a system that works for you personally… my system may not work best for you. Here are some of the tips I have for tabbing:
[COLOR= black]· [/COLOR]Use a color coding system. For me:
o Green = Geotech
o Red = Structures
o Blue = Water Resources
o Yellow = Traffic, Construction, Economics
[COLOR= black]· [/COLOR]Tab topics in the CERM based on the NCEES exam specifications. For example: CERM (14th Edition) page 20-16 is tabbed “NRCS Method” (used a blue flag).
[COLOR= black]· [/COLOR]Tab formulas you use a lot during studying. For example: CERM (14th Edition) page 48-5 is tabbed “f’c formula” (used a yellow flag) for the concrete compressive strength formula.
[COLOR= black]· [/COLOR]Tab appendices which you use frequently. For example: CERM (14th Edition) page A-127 is tabbed “Struct. Steel Properties” (used a red flag) for the structural steel properties and types. For example: CERM (14th Edition) page A-99 is tabbed “Beam V&M Diagrams” (used a red flag) for shear and moment diagrams (along with deflections).
[COLOR= black]· [/COLOR]Do not go crazy highlighting everything… you will defeat the benefit if your highlight every other word. Only highlight key formulas and words which you need to have “pop” out at your when you flip to the page.
[COLOR= black]· [/COLOR]Here are the tabs I purchased:
o http://tinyurl.com/zk28trt
o http://tinyurl.com/py8qod4
[COLOR= black]· [/COLOR]I found it useful to write constants or the units of the formula output in red pen next to the formula in the CERM. For example: When calculating the compressive strength of a concrete cylinder you will need to use the area of the cylinder in the formula. The common 6x12 cylinder has an area of 28.27 square inches; write this in red pen next to the formula so you don’t have to look it up ever again.
[COLOR= black]· [/COLOR]Do not overtab. You should be able to see every tab clearly when looking at the side of your CERM. If tabs overlap and you can’t easily see them, then what good are they?
My Thoughts on Solved Problems
Personally, I did not use “solved problems” during the actual PE exam. I feel there is an over-reliance on having a binder of solved problems and using it as a crutch during the exam; this allows the examinee to have a false sense of security. In the event one of your solved problems is identical to an exam question, then good for you. More than likely 79/80 of the exam problems will NOT be identical to one of your solved problems and you will be stuck trying to learn something during the exam! Not good. Working practice problems during studying is vital to your success on the real exam but leave the solved problems at home. If you studied properly then you will not need them.
Summary
1. Develop your study schedule and stick to it.
2. Sign up for School of PE or EET.
3. Understand the theory/principles behind the problems.
4. Work as many practice problems as you can.
5. Take simulated exams during your studying. Simulate the actual exam environment as much as possible.
6. Purchase all NCEES required design standards (and use them during studying).
7. Purchase your NCEES-approved calculator before your start studying and only use that calculator. Verify your State Board permits the calculator too.
8. Purchase your CERM (latest edition) and use it throughout your whole study campaign.
9. Purchase your reference book storage early. I recommend milk crates and a folding hand truck.
10. Leave your cell phone away from you during studying.
11. Do not rely on “solved problems” to get you through the real exam.
12. Tab your own references but do not go overboard; selective tabbing is key.
13. Purchase supplementary references to cover your weak areas (and use them during studying).
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