April 2011 Exam - How was the Geo Section of the exam for you?

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Andros

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I thought the morning was ok,

however the second half appeared to be tougher!

Your thoughts!

 
Morning was good. Finished with enough time to review, which helped me catch several mistakes.

Afternoon was ok. I did the NCEES sample exam the weekend prior and didn't get to finish the afternoon portion in time, so I knew I had to skip questions and come back to them at the end. I did that and actually finished the afternoon with about 45 minutes to spare. Reviewing didn't help much, maybe because my brain was fried by that point. I think the afternoon section was very reasonable. Only a few, about 5 questions, left me wondering after the test.

I'm glad I chose Geotech. I was unsure since I deal mostly with construction, but I chose Geotech because code books weren't needed and I had a lot of material to study from.

Hope we pass.

 
Morning was good. Finished with enough time to review, which helped me catch several mistakes.
Afternoon was ok. I did the NCEES sample exam the weekend prior and didn't get to finish the afternoon portion in time, so I knew I had to skip questions and come back to them at the end. I did that and actually finished the afternoon with about 45 minutes to spare. Reviewing didn't help much, maybe because my brain was fried by that point. I think the afternoon section was very reasonable. Only a few, about 5 questions, left me wondering after the test.

I'm glad I chose Geotech. I was unsure since I deal mostly with construction, but I chose Geotech because code books weren't needed and I had a lot of material to study from.

Hope we pass.

Thank you for the response hope we both pass as well!Good luck!

 
Morning was good. Finished with enough time to review, which helped me catch several mistakes.
Afternoon was ok. I did the NCEES sample exam the weekend prior and didn't get to finish the afternoon portion in time, so I knew I had to skip questions and come back to them at the end. I did that and actually finished the afternoon with about 45 minutes to spare. Reviewing didn't help much, maybe because my brain was fried by that point. I think the afternoon section was very reasonable. Only a few, about 5 questions, left me wondering after the test.

I'm glad I chose Geotech. I was unsure since I deal mostly with construction, but I chose Geotech because code books weren't needed and I had a lot of material to study from.

Hope we pass.

Thank you for the response hope we both pass as well!Good luck!

I got my email yesterday and i failed, I feel so discouraged! Anyone else who did the Civil Geotech Exam and passed would you kindly provide your method of studying and what you used as studying materials.

 
I got my email yesterday and i failed, I feel so discouraged! Anyone else who did the Civil Geotech Exam and passed would you kindly provide your method of studying and what you used as studying materials.

Andros,

Sorry to hear that it didn’t work out for you this time. Don’t be discouraged. Use what you just experienced to your advantage now that you have a better idea of what to expect on the exam in terms of content and level of difficulty.

So, here are some tips and resource recommendations that helped me get through it. This may go long, and some of this I’m sure you already know:

1. Be sure you have a recent edition of Lindeburg’s CERM. I used the 11th, and it along with Goswami’s All-In-One book were all I needed for most of the AM.

2. Pick one of these references, read through and work example problems on all the sections that match the content description on the NCEES outline. I started out with CERM, but found it a little hard to stick with. I found that Goswami’s book was much easier to digest. It seems to cover just enough but not more than you need. It was easy for me to get lost in the weeds trying to relearn from CERM, but Goswami’s book was spot on.

3. Get the 6-minute solutions book(s). At least get the Geotechnical edition, and work every problem breadth & depth. Some of the PM problems are obscure and difficult, but I found that the same was true for the actual exam. These problems are challenging enough to make you think and help you refine your approach, but not so difficult as to be discouraging. I think the practice problems book that accompanies CERM was much harder than it needed to be, and I didn’t work with it too much. If you can find a deal on ebay or from someone who is ready to get rid of them, it doesn’t hurt to have the whole set to help prepare for the AM. I brought these into the exam thinking it might help if I get a familiar problem. I never touched them during the exam, but working the problems in preparation was a big help.

4. Get the NCEES sample exam. I had the older 2008 edition, and used it as a first dry run for the test. I also bought the 2011 edition which is formatted just like the actual exam. It has 40 AM and 40 PM problems, and it doesn’t include material that won’t be on the exam like some older sample tests. I didn’t touch the 2011 edition until I was ready to sit down and do a full 8 hour mock exam. That really helped me learn how to pace myself and gave me a good idea of my progress to that point. I did the same for Lindeburg’s sample exam. It was tougher, but still good practice.

5. Pull together a good library of resources for the PM (ebay and google are your friends). I took the following to the exam:

• Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, Das, 5th ed.

• Principles of Foundation Engineering, Das, 4th ed.

• Geotechnical Engineering Calculations and Rules of Thumb, Rajapakse

• Geotechnical Engineer’s Portable Handbook, Day

• NAVFAC 7.1,2 & 3. The 1986 version is better than the newer version. The format is a little rough but it is packed with information. I downloaded a PDF of it.

• Print out the OSHA section on excavations (Sec. 29 p. 362-402). That helped me with a couple of look-ups.

6. Put together a notebook with some basic resources you might need for look-ups during the AM. I downloaded some older versions of ACI-318, The Green Book, Sections from the Civil portion of the FE manual, just anything that I thought might possibly help for look-ups. I did not bring ACI-318 into the exam, but it would have helped me with at least 1 look-up question. These are not necessary for the AM, but if you have them bring them. I purchased a small laser printer that could print on two sides for about $100. This allowed me to print out a lot of resources like NAVFAC that I otherwise probably wouldn’t have bothered with.

7. Take a review course if one is available to you. I would have had to drive several hours each way to attend one. I found out about Dr. Goswami’s online review course after I bought his book, and signed up for it. Well worth it in every way.

8. Do your best to score high on the AM portion. It is not that bad if you are prepared, and the best way to prepare is by working problems. Be sure to tab pertinent sections of your references as you work problems. Obviously if you can do well on the AM, it will give you more freeboard to make mistakes on difficult problems in the PM. Expect that there will be PM problems that are unlike anything you have worked in 6-Min. or sample tests. Save the worst ones for the end of the exam. Be prepared to dig deep into your texts to find anything that might help solve those or at least narrow down the possible selections, but don’t get bogged down by these early on.

9. Qualitative problems (AM & PM) were the ones that gave me the greatest heartburn. That’s where having resources you may not have thought you would need comes in handy. If you can’t find the answers on paper, use your engineer’s intuition to take a best guess. I signed up for the PPI exam café for the month just before the exam. It has a good number of qualitative questions that you can work using your laptop, ipad, etc. It’s probably the best way to practice qualitative problems that I found.

10. Commit as much time to studying and working problems as you can afford. For me, taking the exam in April has advantages over October. It was much easier for me to put the time into studying over the winter than over the summer.

11. The engineerboards.com forum is also a great resource while preparing. I did a lot of searches here, and found a lot of good advice.

Best of luck next time. I think you should stay with the Geotechnical depth if you feel most comfortable with it. You’ll get there, and it will have been worth all of the time and effort you put into it.

 
I got my email yesterday and i failed, I feel so discouraged! Anyone else who did the Civil Geotech Exam and passed would you kindly provide your method of studying and what you used as studying materials.

Andros,

Sorry to hear that it didn’t work out for you this time. Don’t be discouraged. Use what you just experienced to your advantage now that you have a better idea of what to expect on the exam in terms of content and level of difficulty.

So, here are some tips and resource recommendations that helped me get through it. This may go long, and some of this I’m sure you already know:

1. Be sure you have a recent edition of Lindeburg’s CERM. I used the 11th, and it along with Goswami’s All-In-One book were all I needed for most of the AM.

2. Pick one of these references, read through and work example problems on all the sections that match the content description on the NCEES outline. I started out with CERM, but found it a little hard to stick with. I found that Goswami’s book was much easier to digest. It seems to cover just enough but not more than you need. It was easy for me to get lost in the weeds trying to relearn from CERM, but Goswami’s book was spot on.

3. Get the 6-minute solutions book(s). At least get the Geotechnical edition, and work every problem breadth & depth. Some of the PM problems are obscure and difficult, but I found that the same was true for the actual exam. These problems are challenging enough to make you think and help you refine your approach, but not so difficult as to be discouraging. I think the practice problems book that accompanies CERM was much harder than it needed to be, and I didn’t work with it too much. If you can find a deal on ebay or from someone who is ready to get rid of them, it doesn’t hurt to have the whole set to help prepare for the AM. I brought these into the exam thinking it might help if I get a familiar problem. I never touched them during the exam, but working the problems in preparation was a big help.

4. Get the NCEES sample exam. I had the older 2008 edition, and used it as a first dry run for the test. I also bought the 2011 edition which is formatted just like the actual exam. It has 40 AM and 40 PM problems, and it doesn’t include material that won’t be on the exam like some older sample tests. I didn’t touch the 2011 edition until I was ready to sit down and do a full 8 hour mock exam. That really helped me learn how to pace myself and gave me a good idea of my progress to that point. I did the same for Lindeburg’s sample exam. It was tougher, but still good practice.

5. Pull together a good library of resources for the PM (ebay and google are your friends). I took the following to the exam:

• Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, Das, 5th ed.

• Principles of Foundation Engineering, Das, 4th ed.

• Geotechnical Engineering Calculations and Rules of Thumb, Rajapakse

• Geotechnical Engineer’s Portable Handbook, Day

• NAVFAC 7.1,2 & 3. The 1986 version is better than the newer version. The format is a little rough but it is packed with information. I downloaded a PDF of it.

• Print out the OSHA section on excavations (Sec. 29 p. 362-402). That helped me with a couple of look-ups.

6. Put together a notebook with some basic resources you might need for look-ups during the AM. I downloaded some older versions of ACI-318, The Green Book, Sections from the Civil portion of the FE manual, just anything that I thought might possibly help for look-ups. I did not bring ACI-318 into the exam, but it would have helped me with at least 1 look-up question. These are not necessary for the AM, but if you have them bring them. I purchased a small laser printer that could print on two sides for about $100. This allowed me to print out a lot of resources like NAVFAC that I otherwise probably wouldn’t have bothered with.

7. Take a review course if one is available to you. I would have had to drive several hours each way to attend one. I found out about Dr. Goswami’s online review course after I bought his book, and signed up for it. Well worth it in every way.

8. Do your best to score high on the AM portion. It is not that bad if you are prepared, and the best way to prepare is by working problems. Be sure to tab pertinent sections of your references as you work problems. Obviously if you can do well on the AM, it will give you more freeboard to make mistakes on difficult problems in the PM. Expect that there will be PM problems that are unlike anything you have worked in 6-Min. or sample tests. Save the worst ones for the end of the exam. Be prepared to dig deep into your texts to find anything that might help solve those or at least narrow down the possible selections, but don’t get bogged down by these early on.

9. Qualitative problems (AM & PM) were the ones that gave me the greatest heartburn. That’s where having resources you may not have thought you would need comes in handy. If you can’t find the answers on paper, use your engineer’s intuition to take a best guess. I signed up for the PPI exam café for the month just before the exam. It has a good number of qualitative questions that you can work using your laptop, ipad, etc. It’s probably the best way to practice qualitative problems that I found.

10. Commit as much time to studying and working problems as you can afford. For me, taking the exam in April has advantages over October. It was much easier for me to put the time into studying over the winter than over the summer.

11. The engineerboards.com forum is also a great resource while preparing. I did a lot of searches here, and found a lot of good advice.

Best of luck next time. I think you should stay with the Geotechnical depth if you feel most comfortable with it. You’ll get there, and it will have been worth all of the time and effort you put into it.

I Thank you, I feel like there is still hope and will try some of the things you are suggesting.

All the Best to you the New PE!

Andros

 
I got my email yesterday and i failed, I feel so discouraged! Anyone else who did the Civil Geotech Exam and passed would you kindly provide your method of studying and what you used as studying materials.

Andros,

Sorry to hear that it didn’t work out for you this time. Don’t be discouraged. Use what you just experienced to your advantage now that you have a better idea of what to expect on the exam in terms of content and level of difficulty.

So, here are some tips and resource recommendations that helped me get through it. This may go long, and some of this I’m sure you already know:

1. Be sure you have a recent edition of Lindeburg’s CERM. I used the 11th, and it along with Goswami’s All-In-One book were all I needed for most of the AM.

2. Pick one of these references, read through and work example problems on all the sections that match the content description on the NCEES outline. I started out with CERM, but found it a little hard to stick with. I found that Goswami’s book was much easier to digest. It seems to cover just enough but not more than you need. It was easy for me to get lost in the weeds trying to relearn from CERM, but Goswami’s book was spot on.

3. Get the 6-minute solutions book(s). At least get the Geotechnical edition, and work every problem breadth & depth. Some of the PM problems are obscure and difficult, but I found that the same was true for the actual exam. These problems are challenging enough to make you think and help you refine your approach, but not so difficult as to be discouraging. I think the practice problems book that accompanies CERM was much harder than it needed to be, and I didn’t work with it too much. If you can find a deal on ebay or from someone who is ready to get rid of them, it doesn’t hurt to have the whole set to help prepare for the AM. I brought these into the exam thinking it might help if I get a familiar problem. I never touched them during the exam, but working the problems in preparation was a big help.

4. Get the NCEES sample exam. I had the older 2008 edition, and used it as a first dry run for the test. I also bought the 2011 edition which is formatted just like the actual exam. It has 40 AM and 40 PM problems, and it doesn’t include material that won’t be on the exam like some older sample tests. I didn’t touch the 2011 edition until I was ready to sit down and do a full 8 hour mock exam. That really helped me learn how to pace myself and gave me a good idea of my progress to that point. I did the same for Lindeburg’s sample exam. It was tougher, but still good practice.

5. Pull together a good library of resources for the PM (ebay and google are your friends). I took the following to the exam:

• Principles of Geotechnical Engineering, Das, 5th ed.

• Principles of Foundation Engineering, Das, 4th ed.

• Geotechnical Engineering Calculations and Rules of Thumb, Rajapakse

• Geotechnical Engineer’s Portable Handbook, Day

• NAVFAC 7.1,2 & 3. The 1986 version is better than the newer version. The format is a little rough but it is packed with information. I downloaded a PDF of it.

• Print out the OSHA section on excavations (Sec. 29 p. 362-402). That helped me with a couple of look-ups.

6. Put together a notebook with some basic resources you might need for look-ups during the AM. I downloaded some older versions of ACI-318, The Green Book, Sections from the Civil portion of the FE manual, just anything that I thought might possibly help for look-ups. I did not bring ACI-318 into the exam, but it would have helped me with at least 1 look-up question. These are not necessary for the AM, but if you have them bring them. I purchased a small laser printer that could print on two sides for about $100. This allowed me to print out a lot of resources like NAVFAC that I otherwise probably wouldn’t have bothered with.

7. Take a review course if one is available to you. I would have had to drive several hours each way to attend one. I found out about Dr. Goswami’s online review course after I bought his book, and signed up for it. Well worth it in every way.

8. Do your best to score high on the AM portion. It is not that bad if you are prepared, and the best way to prepare is by working problems. Be sure to tab pertinent sections of your references as you work problems. Obviously if you can do well on the AM, it will give you more freeboard to make mistakes on difficult problems in the PM. Expect that there will be PM problems that are unlike anything you have worked in 6-Min. or sample tests. Save the worst ones for the end of the exam. Be prepared to dig deep into your texts to find anything that might help solve those or at least narrow down the possible selections, but don’t get bogged down by these early on.

9. Qualitative problems (AM & PM) were the ones that gave me the greatest heartburn. That’s where having resources you may not have thought you would need comes in handy. If you can’t find the answers on paper, use your engineer’s intuition to take a best guess. I signed up for the PPI exam café for the month just before the exam. It has a good number of qualitative questions that you can work using your laptop, ipad, etc. It’s probably the best way to practice qualitative problems that I found.

10. Commit as much time to studying and working problems as you can afford. For me, taking the exam in April has advantages over October. It was much easier for me to put the time into studying over the winter than over the summer.

11. The engineerboards.com forum is also a great resource while preparing. I did a lot of searches here, and found a lot of good advice.

Best of luck next time. I think you should stay with the Geotechnical depth if you feel most comfortable with it. You’ll get there, and it will have been worth all of the time and effort you put into it.

Would you like to sell some of the geotech books you mentioned, I need the following:

Principles of Foundation Engineering, Das, 4th ed.

• Geotechnical Engineering Calculations and Rules of Thumb, Rajapakse

• Geotechnical Engineer’s Portable Handbook, Day

• NAVFAC 7.1,2 & 3. The 1986 version is better than the newer version. The format is a little rough but it is packed with information. I downloaded a PDF of it.

If you do please let me know your contact info. Thanks.

 
Would you like to sell some of the geotech books you mentioned, I need the following:
Principles of Foundation Engineering, Das, 4th ed.

• Geotechnical Engineering Calculations and Rules of Thumb, Rajapakse

• Geotechnical Engineer’s Portable Handbook, Day

• NAVFAC 7.1,2 & 3. The 1986 version is better than the newer version. The format is a little rough but it is packed with information. I downloaded a PDF of it.

If you do please let me know your contact info. Thanks.
I am just beginning to think about which references I want to keep and which I would like to hold on to. I'd like to hold onto the Das texts, and I'm on the fence about keeping the Day handbook. The others were downloads that I printed out. The Rajapakse book was helpful while preparing, but I don't remember using it much during the exam.

Check ebay, and I'm sure you will find used copies of Das and probably Day's handbook. I bought the Das foundation book used, and it was very helpful. The Day book consolidates a lot of the information included in NAVFAC and other sources. I bought my copy new for about $50. It was useful for a couple of questions on the exam. The Rajapakse book is harder to find. I downloaded a copy in PDF format from scribd or some other file sharing site.

The old version of the NAVFAC is pretty hard to study, but it contains a large amount of useful information. I used it while working practice problems to help me get familiar with the content and how it is organized. It is good to have during the exam as sort of a last resort if you can't find what you are looking for in your other resources.

The 1986 version has been superseded by a newer version, but the replacement does not contain the depth of content in terms of figures, tables, etc. For example, there are tables in 7.01 that describe boring depth requirements, common sampling practices for soil & rock cores, standard soil test procedures, procedures which may affect measured "N" values, etc. Lot's of information that is hard to find anywhere else. Sections 7.01 and 7.02 were the most useful to me. 7.03 covers soil dynamics and seismic.

I found some working links for the 3 sections of NAVFAC below:

http://geotechref.coppernorthern.com/wiki/...s.pdf#filelinks

http://www.ce.sc.edu/deptinfo/members/facu...0330/Dm7_02.pdf

http://www.geotechnicalinfo.com/navfac_soi...ign_aspects.pdf

You can have these printed at staples or office depot, or buy a cheap laser printer that can print on two sides (for about $100) and print what you need at home.

Be sure to pick up the newest (2010) NCEES Sample Problems for Geotechnical if you don't have it already.

Good Luck.

 
Sorry for the late response, I was waiting to hear whether my method worked or not, and apparently it did!

Crogmobulon gives a good detailed breakdown.

I did pretty much the same thing. I started studying for it in February. I signed up for the School of PE class. I bought the CERM and the CERM problems/solutions. I started reviewing the CERM but quickly found it to be too exhaustive. Over the rest of my time studying, I did review more of the CERM but it was selective and I chose the problems I worked on carefully. Most of my time spent studying at home was doing Geotechnical problems from Dr. Prieto-Portar. He posted online around 300 problems/solutions, though I'm not sure if they're posted online anymore. Towards the end, I purchased the NCEES sample exam and did a mock test the Saturday prior to the exam.

I believe the School of PE helps preparing your for the morning, as I didn't do much for the morning portion except during my time at School of PE.

My sources for the exam were the NAVFAC downloads, School of PE notes, several textbooks and all the problems/solutions I accumulated. I organized my problems accordingly. They helped when I was unsure about a few problems.

Good luck to you next time.

 
Everyone has good comments on material and approach. I took the exam 5 times, finally passed this time. I took the School of PE online review course but the key for me was bringing a scientific dictionary. It helped me on at least 4 questions in the afternoon. Also study lots of seismic questions and charts. I never had any of it in school but the test had a lot of seismic questions, I thought.

 
Would you like to sell some of the geotech books you mentioned, I need the following:
Principles of Foundation Engineering, Das, 4th ed.

• Geotechnical Engineering Calculations and Rules of Thumb, Rajapakse

• Geotechnical Engineer’s Portable Handbook, Day

• NAVFAC 7.1,2 & 3. The 1986 version is better than the newer version. The format is a little rough but it is packed with information. I downloaded a PDF of it.

If you do please let me know your contact info. Thanks.
I am just beginning to think about which references I want to keep and which I would like to hold on to. I'd like to hold onto the Das texts, and I'm on the fence about keeping the Day handbook. The others were downloads that I printed out. The Rajapakse book was helpful while preparing, but I don't remember using it much during the exam.

Check ebay, and I'm sure you will find used copies of Das and probably Day's handbook. I bought the Das foundation book used, and it was very helpful. The Day book consolidates a lot of the information included in NAVFAC and other sources. I bought my copy new for about $50. It was useful for a couple of questions on the exam. The Rajapakse book is harder to find. I downloaded a copy in PDF format from scribd or some other file sharing site.

The old version of the NAVFAC is pretty hard to study, but it contains a large amount of useful information. I used it while working practice problems to help me get familiar with the content and how it is organized. It is good to have during the exam as sort of a last resort if you can't find what you are looking for in your other resources.

The 1986 version has been superseded by a newer version, but the replacement does not contain the depth of content in terms of figures, tables, etc. For example, there are tables in 7.01 that describe boring depth requirements, common sampling practices for soil & rock cores, standard soil test procedures, procedures which may affect measured "N" values, etc. Lot's of information that is hard to find anywhere else. Sections 7.01 and 7.02 were the most useful to me. 7.03 covers soil dynamics and seismic.

I found some working links for the 3 sections of NAVFAC below:

http://geotechref.coppernorthern.com/wiki/...s.pdf#filelinks

http://www.ce.sc.edu/deptinfo/members/facu...0330/Dm7_02.pdf

http://www.geotechnicalinfo.com/navfac_soi...ign_aspects.pdf

You can have these printed at staples or office depot, or buy a cheap laser printer that can print on two sides (for about $100) and print what you need at home.

Be sure to pick up the newest (2010) NCEES Sample Problems for Geotechnical if you don't have it already.

Good Luck.

Thank you for the info. This will help. I know I was close this time (52/80) and I plan to nail this sucker in fall. Starting to study from next week. This week I will gather all the references I don't have.

 
Everyone has good comments on material and approach. I took the exam 5 times, finally passed this time. I took the School of PE online review course but the key for me was bringing a scientific dictionary. It helped me on at least 4 questions in the afternoon. Also study lots of seismic questions and charts. I never had any of it in school but the test had a lot of seismic questions, I thought.
I agree with you 'Chick Eng Chick'...congrats.....for me I did verywell in the AM, however in the PM the ecentricity in foundation and the seismic problems throw me off, really didn't know where and which reference will cover these topics, I have CERM, Das Principal of Geotechnical, Bowles for the Foundation, NCEES, and the School of PE notes still didn't help me with the seismic/Earthquake problems during the exam, any susgestions ?

 
I have CERM, Das Principal of Geotechnical, Bowles for the Foundation, NCEES, and the School of PE notes still didn't help me with the seismic/Earthquake problems during the exam, any susgestions ?
While you still remember the tone of those questions, take a look at NAVFAC design manual 7.03 and see if that would have helped.

 
Everyone has good comments on material and approach. I took the exam 5 times, finally passed this time. I took the School of PE online review course but the key for me was bringing a scientific dictionary. It helped me on at least 4 questions in the afternoon. Also study lots of seismic questions and charts. I never had any of it in school but the test had a lot of seismic questions, I thought.
Thank you Civil Eng. Chick, Congratulations to you too! and by the way what was the name of the scientific dictionary you use.

 
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