Civil PE Questions

[Last Shadow]

Hello all,

I graduated with a General Engineering (core was Civil) degree and just passed my EIT in General.

Looking for advise as to what module i should take. From what i gathered, the PE exam is kind of like the FE exam with a General morning session and a module specific afternoon session. Correct? So if i were to register for a PE exam, i would have to declare what PM module i'd be taking?

What sort of questions are asked on the morning portion of the test? Are they similar to the questions asked on the PM section of the FE exam?

Also, please advise on the study material / books to buy. I am leaning towards taking the Transportation module and would appreciate if anyone could tell me what specific books would come in handy for this module

PS. I am really getting a head start with the whole PE preparation but i don't want to make the same mistakes i made when i took my FE.

THANKS!!!

EDIT: crap! posted it in the wrong forum. Mods can you please move the thread to Civil Engineering PE Exam

 

[owillis28]

Just a quick reply to add my :2cents: .

Congrats on passing the FE exam. I am guessing that you are either looking for a job or already are working in the industry. I would recommend that as you work towards getting your 4 years of experience, make certain that a registered PE is willing to sign off on your time. This means that 4 years from now you are going to contact this person and get he/she to review the type of work that you did under his/her supervision. Any PE that you work under, you should maintain contact with this person. You may find that you will work for this person for the next 4 years. In this business, people come and go from firm to firm. It's just that simple. I would recommend that you also keep record of the projects that you worked on, the type of work performed and categorize it. Print off the application to sit for the PE exam in the state that you are working in to better understand the amount of information that you will have to describe and document.

You don't need to worry about which "module" to take right now. I have seen people wait until the are sitting at the exam and opening the test packet to review the questions before the determine which module they are going to attempt. I don't recommend this personally but it does happen. I bought a PE review manual (CERM) and had it at my desk during my 4 years after college. It is a great book to have handy as it can help you understand the types of designs and formulas you will need to apply to actual projects. See if you can purchase some sample exams that other co-workers just used in studying for the PE exam. This will give you a better understanding of the material you will need to know if all areas for the morning PE exam and a better idea of the more defined afternoon modules. A friend of mine that I went to college with hated water resources and took transportation classes in college. He ended up passing his PE exam taking the water resource afternoon module because of the fact that this encompassed the type of work that he was doing on a daily basis. You will never know what avenues and direction your career will take after college. You just have to do what you like and like what you do.

I would research this site a little more and that should answer your questions regarding the study materials needed for each afternoon module. I would list the references that I used but I have had my PE for 2 years now and by the time you site for your exam, references will be updated & added as our industry changes and evolves.

That's all for now. Hope this helped.

Matt

 

[Walker D]

There are a lot of resources out there that can help you prepare for the PE Exam. The simple breakdown for the Civil PE is as follows:

Morning (40 Problems)

20% Construction

20% Geotechnical

20% Structures

20% Traffic

20% Water Resources

Afternoon (40 Problems)

All problems from specific topic you select.

Here are the only resources you will need for the Morning Problems. The Afternoon Problems will require additional resources.

http://pe-exam.com/peexamstore.html

 

[Last Shadow]

thanks Owillis and Walker!

guess i'll start with CERM first!

 

[teammike]

Just a quick reply to add my :2cents: .
Congrats on passing the FE exam. I am guessing that you are either looking for a job or already are working in the industry. I would recommend that as you work towards getting your 4 years of experience, make certain that a registered PE is willing to sign off on your time. This means that 4 years from now you are going to contact this person and get he/she to review the type of work that you did under his/her supervision. Any PE that you work under, you should maintain contact with this person. You may find that you will work for this person for the next 4 years. In this business, people come and go from firm to firm. It's just that simple. I would recommend that you also keep record of the projects that you worked on, the type of work performed and categorize it. Print off the application to sit for the PE exam in the state that you are working in to better understand the amount of information that you will have to describe and document.

You don't need to worry about which "module" to take right now. I have seen people wait until the are sitting at the exam and opening the test packet to review the questions before the determine which module they are going to attempt. I don't recommend this personally but it does happen. I bought a PE review manual (CERM) and had it at my desk during my 4 years after college. It is a great book to have handy as it can help you understand the types of designs and formulas you will need to apply to actual projects. See if you can purchase some sample exams that other co-workers just used in studying for the PE exam. This will give you a better understanding of the material you will need to know if all areas for the morning PE exam and a better idea of the more defined afternoon modules. A friend of mine that I went to college with hated water resources and took transportation classes in college. He ended up passing his PE exam taking the water resource afternoon module because of the fact that this encompassed the type of work that he was doing on a daily basis. You will never know what avenues and direction your career will take after college. You just have to do what you like and like what you do.

I would research this site a little more and that should answer your questions regarding the study materials needed for each afternoon module. I would list the references that I used but I have had my PE for 2 years now and by the time you site for your exam, references will be updated & added as our industry changes and evolves.

That's all for now. Hope this helped.

Matt

You no longer get all of the afternoon sections with the test. You have to decide your PM module months in advance and register for it now. Just FYI.