Need some advice.

Hello Everyone,

Background

I am trying to figure out if I have a good chance of passing the Transportation PE for the fall of 2016 and could really use some input from the experienced members here!

I was originally planning to take the Transportation PE Exam in April 2016 but I had to postpone due to some personal reasons.

I was about 40% into my EET course when I had to step back and take care of other priorities. Fortunately,  EET was willing to work with me and allowed me access to the lectures until the fall of 2016.

My Questions

1. There are about 70 days till the fall exam and I work full time. Realistically I wont be able to put in good quality hours every single day for the next 70 days. Is this enough time to get through all the EET course work and be able to answer most of these questions in about 6 minutes?

2. I am fairly new to the afternoon section since I work mostly with aviation and not highways/traffic. Is 1 month enough to prepare for the Transportation PM? (Assuming I would have approximately 1 month to work on the afternoon section after I finish the morning and still save some time for the over all review.I have most of the resources needed for the PM section)

3. I am mostly studying using the EET study materials. Will this be sufficient or should I look beyond the EET materials? I go through this roller coaster of confidence where one day I feel like I know the material I have studied really well and the next day it feels like I know very little. Can anyone relate? lol)

On a positive note, I am very motivated to pass this exam but if the time available is not reasonable then I feel like I would just be wasting money and time. If I don't take the exam in the fall then more than likely I will have to wait another year or more....having a baby later this winter.

I appreciate any input/insight/recommendations.

Sorry for the long post!. See attached, (At least you got to see a picture of a cute puppy?)

Beej

TYPO: Meant to say I was about 25% done with the EET course.

how do you feel about the AM section?  If you feel good about the AM then I would go for it. (like defin gonna get more than 30 right in AM)

For the PM hit up the main topics like horiz / vert curves / SE / and know how to work through the HCM and RDG (those things are really hard just need to have the manuals and run through a couple problems to get the basic..

Also those 6 minute solutions were very good for transportation "back in the day"

Beej,

To me, it sounds like you'll be too rushed if you shoot for Fall '16.  You didn't mention finances but, if money is no object, it will be a beneficial experience even if you do not pass so, sure, go for it.  But, realistically, I am guessing you won't make it this time.  If you need, let's say, another 150 - 200 more quality study hours, that'll require an average of about 2.5 hr/dy from this point forward on your part.  Is that feasible? 

I'd say don't rush yourself and make a realistic target of Spring 2017.  Form a serious game plan and stick to it to achieve that goal. 

1.)  Kinda answered above.

2.)  Kinda answered above.

3.)  Your EET material should likely be enough to pass if you know it inside and out.  It couldn't hurt to scoop up some sample problems from other sources too though.  Do you have the NCEES listed Transpo references? 

Best of luck.

I think it all depends on what you think.  While we can give you advice, everyone is different and will have different ideas of how much is the right study time.  I know people who put in 300+ hrs for the PE, there are several people in my company who didn't spend a single hour studying and passed, I personally started around this time studying (mid august of 2014 for the October 2014 exam)  and probably put in 40-50hrs total of study time.  Ultimately its going to come down to whether you feel comfortable with where you are at.  

If it were me, and I was having a baby soon, and knew it'd be at least another year until I could take it and studying is only going to get harder with the new baby, I'd push for this fall, give it a go, and see where the chips land.  

Hi Beej,

For what it's worth, I am also in the aviation industry and could've gone either way with taking the Construction or the Transportation exam due to my general relevance to both in the work I do. I took the Transpo exam in April and missed it but I was close, and I did not study much at all. This time around I am taking the EET review course and have sat through every lecture so far and have put in 2-4 hours a day outside of the lecture doing the practice problems and quizzes. I am feeling very confident so far and I think if I continue my study habits and routine throughout the length of the course, I will have all I need to pass the exam. With that said, the 2-4 hours I put in are not easy, I wake up 2 hours before I would need to for work so that I can study and then I come home from work and study more (my wife is not pleased!) so I am VERY tired by the end of the day but I am not expecting a baby or have many other commitments so I just take the punches and move on. Working full time and studying is not easy but it can be done and I think if you fully commit to it, you can do it! Like ptatohed said, if you can swing the cost to take the exam, why not continue doing the EET course, study your hardest and see what happens! Good luck with everything!