Help Support Professional Engineer & PE Exam Forum:
I'm waiting CA results. I took water/enviro. I feel fairly good this time. I'm still not able to figure out what reference book is good for environmental section. CERM is just a crap. Metcalf and Eddy's is not that fully integrated for any specific exam. I also used some text from college. When i took it first time most of the questins were qualitative and I prepared myself accordingly. When I took second time, almost all questions were quantative.
RIP - VTEnviro
His Memory Eternal
I used Unit Ops by Reynolds and Richards for most of my water/ww treatment problems
http://www.amazon.com/Unit-Operations-Proc...g/dp/0534948847
Hydrology and Hydraulics by Gupta for pipe and channel flow, reservoirs, and some stowmater.
http://www.amazon.com/Hydrology-Hydraulic-...a/dp/1577664558
And Intro to Envl Eng by Masters for water quality and mass balance stuff.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_3...tal+engineering
Hope this is helpful.
http://www.amazon.com/Unit-Operations-Proc...g/dp/0534948847
Hydrology and Hydraulics by Gupta for pipe and channel flow, reservoirs, and some stowmater.
http://www.amazon.com/Hydrology-Hydraulic-...a/dp/1577664558
And Intro to Envl Eng by Masters for water quality and mass balance stuff.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_3...tal+engineering
Hope this is helpful.
Thanks for providing some good environ references! I feel good this time with 34 Qn made in the morning and 22 Qn in the afternoon. Hope i don't have to go through all these references again.
Are you talking about the civil exam, with the enviro afternoon? Or the 100-question enviro exam, covering air, water, haz/solid wastes, health & safety, etc.? I'm guessing the civil/enviro exam, since CA doesn't offer licensing in enviro (neanderthals!!!) There's some overlap with the civil enviro exam, but there is quite a bit more ground covered in the dedicated enviro exam. There's a subforum under the civil exam forum for that exam, if you want more advice specific to that one.
Good luck - I know how you are feeling right now!
Good luck - I know how you are feeling right now!
Last edited by a moderator:
RIP - VTEnviro
His Memory Eternal
I'd bring the same reference materials you'd usually bring. Doesn't look like the new exam spec is drastically different. I don't have the old one in front of me, but it seems like it's more of a re-allocation of problem distribution than a whole new exam.
If you have specific study reference questions, let me know.
If you have specific study reference questions, let me know.
I just took the PE Environmental exam for the first (and hopefully only!) time on April 11th. Here are my thoughts on this thread:
Test you took: PE Environmental Engineering
Where you took it: Raleigh, NC
What books you brought with you:
ENVRM by Lindeburg
School of PE materials
Introduction to Environmental Engineering by Davis and Cornwell (Really Useful!)
Hazardous Waste Management by La Grega
Wastewater Engineering by Metcalf & Eddy
Applied Hydrogeology by Fetter
Air Pollution Control by Cooper Alley
Environmental Law by Sullivan
29 CFR 1910 OSHA Regs
49 CFR DOT Hazardous Materials Regs
McCoy RCRA Reference Manual
NCEES practice test
What books you actually used: Everything except 49 CFR Hazardous Materials Regs and Applied Hydrogeology by Fetter. I found LaGrega and Davis and Cornwell the most useful references for me, and I leaned on them heavily for the non-quantitative problems. I was glad I had Metcalf & Eddy for some of the more obscure water questions. The ENVRM was useful for some things, but not as much as I'd hoped. Cooper Alley was almost useless for the Air Pollution Control section. I also didn't use the School of PE notes much either. I used the Environmental Law book for one problem, but it got me a point I wouldn't have had otherwise.
What books did you wish you brought: A reference on environmental sampling
General impression about exam and format: Format was just like the NCEES practice exam. I felt that the actual exam questions were less challenging than the compiled problems for the NCEES practice exam.
Advice for future test takers: Know your references! Know how to use your indices or tabs, whichever works for you. I tabbed the heck out of my references, but I really didn't use them. I've always done a better job working through indices, and that's mainly what I used once I was in the exam. I think the real issue is knowing how to read a problem, recognizing very quickly what you're being asked to do, and then weeding your way through the added information that lends nothing to the problem in order to solve it. From that perspective, you really need to work as many quantitative questions as possible. The quantitative questions can probably save you because I felt that the non-quantitative questions were rather obscure. I was able to find some answers in my references, but I did more guessing with non-quantitative questions from fields I had no background in than I did with quantitative questions.
Test you took: PE Environmental Engineering
Where you took it: Raleigh, NC
What books you brought with you:
ENVRM by Lindeburg
School of PE materials
Introduction to Environmental Engineering by Davis and Cornwell (Really Useful!)
Hazardous Waste Management by La Grega
Wastewater Engineering by Metcalf & Eddy
Applied Hydrogeology by Fetter
Air Pollution Control by Cooper Alley
Environmental Law by Sullivan
29 CFR 1910 OSHA Regs
49 CFR DOT Hazardous Materials Regs
McCoy RCRA Reference Manual
NCEES practice test
What books you actually used: Everything except 49 CFR Hazardous Materials Regs and Applied Hydrogeology by Fetter. I found LaGrega and Davis and Cornwell the most useful references for me, and I leaned on them heavily for the non-quantitative problems. I was glad I had Metcalf & Eddy for some of the more obscure water questions. The ENVRM was useful for some things, but not as much as I'd hoped. Cooper Alley was almost useless for the Air Pollution Control section. I also didn't use the School of PE notes much either. I used the Environmental Law book for one problem, but it got me a point I wouldn't have had otherwise.
What books did you wish you brought: A reference on environmental sampling
General impression about exam and format: Format was just like the NCEES practice exam. I felt that the actual exam questions were less challenging than the compiled problems for the NCEES practice exam.
Advice for future test takers: Know your references! Know how to use your indices or tabs, whichever works for you. I tabbed the heck out of my references, but I really didn't use them. I've always done a better job working through indices, and that's mainly what I used once I was in the exam. I think the real issue is knowing how to read a problem, recognizing very quickly what you're being asked to do, and then weeding your way through the added information that lends nothing to the problem in order to solve it. From that perspective, you really need to work as many quantitative questions as possible. The quantitative questions can probably save you because I felt that the non-quantitative questions were rather obscure. I was able to find some answers in my references, but I did more guessing with non-quantitative questions from fields I had no background in than I did with quantitative questions.
callowaygolf
New member
Hello all and thank you for the tips and guidance. I am new to this forum. I am planning to take the Env PE exam in April 2012.
To kjeads, did you pass your exam? Any other thoughts or guidance from your experience or reflecting back?
Thank you for your time.
To kjeads, did you pass your exam? Any other thoughts or guidance from your experience or reflecting back?
Thank you for your time.
pleasantliving
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All of the previously mentioned reference material generally aligns with what I took to the exam, but I also brought along the FE supplied-reference handbook. I reorganized the FE handbook (some sections removed) and found it to be very useful as a quick reference. But you really have to look through all of the sections as some topics appear in multiple places throughout the handbook. For example, reactor equations are found in both the chemical (126-128) and environmental (176) sections. If NCEES put this handbook together, they're probably fond of the material, equations, coefficients, etc. A majority of the equations in the NCEES practice exams can be found in the FE handbook and it’s free to download from NCEES. Who doesn’t like free reference material? http://www.ncees.org/Exams/Study_materials/Download_FE_Supplied-Reference_Handbook.php
Hopefully someone can use what I did to organize material (which worked rather well) and improve on it. I had one very large binder as my go to for the first attempt to answer a question. The binder enabled me to get a lot of problems done quickly without having to open another book. I then went back through the exam and completed the remaining problems with my other references. The binder was tabbed based on the knowledge area and problem content. Each overall knowledge area had a tab color (basic water: solid pink, potable water: striped pink, wastewater: striped red…). Each tabbed section included all of the study material collected (regulations, equations, tables, sample problems…). Around 40 sections were generated based on the content of the NCEES sample problems. Another 10 sections were a result of leftover PPT slides, PPI problems, and other seemingly useful material.
As an example, one of my post-it tabs was blue (which corresponded to air) and read "Stacks." It included pages 170-172 of the FE handbook followed by relevant NC State PPT slides and the NCEES sample questions/answers (3 problems) that had to do with downwind/centerline/ground-level concentrations for exhaust stacks. Some of the figures in the sample exams are identical to the FE handbook figures (FE handbook 171-172 and NCEES 2011 Environmental sample problems 504 & 505).
Another tab was for dissolved oxygen in streams, labeled “DO.” This tab included pages 175-176 of the FE handbook, a copy of A-53 from Lindeburg (saturation values of DO in water), NC State PPT slides, and NCEES sample questions/answers (4 problems).
All of my NCEES problems came from the following sample exams: 2011 & 2004 Environmental, 2011 & 2004 Civil Water Resources and Environmental. I had around 220 NCEES sample questions after removing duplicates and unnecessary civil problems. Yes, it took a very long time to go through the sample problems and reorganize them by question content. I also highlighted what each question was solving for. In the end, it helped me a great deal and I was glad I put forth the effort. While studying I had multiple versions of similar questions to review all in one place. During the exam, two of the questions were extremely similar to sample problems and I located both in my binder within a few seconds. A surprising amount of other sample problems helped out with exam questions.
A second binder was used for material printed out that wasn’t deemed important enough for the main binder, such as the RCRA orientation manual. I included frequently referenced standards/regulations in the main binder (NAAQS, NPDWR). The NC State DVDs were very helpful and a great starting point. It was a nice overview of all of the material. I would recommend starting with the DVDs and then going over all of the NCEES sample problems. Then try the PPI problems. To save some time during the exam, tab the index of frequently used references. I cut post-it tabs into ¼” slices for individual letters: http://www.flickr.com/photos/69639135@N08/6326750188/
Well, I think that’s all the advice I have to give.
Hopefully someone can use what I did to organize material (which worked rather well) and improve on it. I had one very large binder as my go to for the first attempt to answer a question. The binder enabled me to get a lot of problems done quickly without having to open another book. I then went back through the exam and completed the remaining problems with my other references. The binder was tabbed based on the knowledge area and problem content. Each overall knowledge area had a tab color (basic water: solid pink, potable water: striped pink, wastewater: striped red…). Each tabbed section included all of the study material collected (regulations, equations, tables, sample problems…). Around 40 sections were generated based on the content of the NCEES sample problems. Another 10 sections were a result of leftover PPT slides, PPI problems, and other seemingly useful material.
As an example, one of my post-it tabs was blue (which corresponded to air) and read "Stacks." It included pages 170-172 of the FE handbook followed by relevant NC State PPT slides and the NCEES sample questions/answers (3 problems) that had to do with downwind/centerline/ground-level concentrations for exhaust stacks. Some of the figures in the sample exams are identical to the FE handbook figures (FE handbook 171-172 and NCEES 2011 Environmental sample problems 504 & 505).
Another tab was for dissolved oxygen in streams, labeled “DO.” This tab included pages 175-176 of the FE handbook, a copy of A-53 from Lindeburg (saturation values of DO in water), NC State PPT slides, and NCEES sample questions/answers (4 problems).
All of my NCEES problems came from the following sample exams: 2011 & 2004 Environmental, 2011 & 2004 Civil Water Resources and Environmental. I had around 220 NCEES sample questions after removing duplicates and unnecessary civil problems. Yes, it took a very long time to go through the sample problems and reorganize them by question content. I also highlighted what each question was solving for. In the end, it helped me a great deal and I was glad I put forth the effort. While studying I had multiple versions of similar questions to review all in one place. During the exam, two of the questions were extremely similar to sample problems and I located both in my binder within a few seconds. A surprising amount of other sample problems helped out with exam questions.
A second binder was used for material printed out that wasn’t deemed important enough for the main binder, such as the RCRA orientation manual. I included frequently referenced standards/regulations in the main binder (NAAQS, NPDWR). The NC State DVDs were very helpful and a great starting point. It was a nice overview of all of the material. I would recommend starting with the DVDs and then going over all of the NCEES sample problems. Then try the PPI problems. To save some time during the exam, tab the index of frequently used references. I cut post-it tabs into ¼” slices for individual letters: http://www.flickr.com/photos/69639135@N08/6326750188/
Well, I think that’s all the advice I have to give.
I just passed the Oct, 2011 PE exam and 1st time taker. Just share my experience:
Test you took: PE Environmental Engineering
What books you brought with you:
ENVRM by Lindeburg
Hazardous Waste Management by La Grega
Applied Hydrogeology by Fetter
Air Pollution Control by Cooper Alley
Wastewater Engineering by Metcalf & Eddy
NCEES practice test (old version, borrowed from my friend)
ENVRM practice problem, Lindeburg
drinking water standards
What books you actually used: I used first 3 books and drinking water standards but found out only 1st book and drinking water standards are useful to me (I should say probably book 2 and 3 are useful as well. However, I did not read these books ahead of time. So, when I took the exam, I was unable to find information I hoped to find. You probably want to spend some time read Hydrogeology. Manual does not cover this very well (but quite a few problems are covering this). I wished I could read this ahead of time.
What books did you wish you brought: none
General impression about exam and format: Format was just like the NCEES practice exam. ENVRM practice problem, Lindeburg is too difficult. Exam itself is okay. Morning sections are most water, waste water and hydrology. Afternoon section are air, remediation, exposure, etc. To myself, morning section is much harder. Afternoon section is easy.
Advice for future test takers: get familiar with units. Maybe list all the common ones in a seperate sheet. Read Remediation and hydrogelogy in addition to the manual. Another important thing is to manage your exam time wisely! skip those questions you have no clue how to answer and finish the whole exam before you start to search your books (it is easy to say but hard to follow in reality). I wasted a lot of time in the morning section because I tried to solve one problem. I was unable to finish all 50 questions due to that stupid question (& the other 3 or 4 in the same subject). I leaned the lesson and did very well in the afternoon. I think afternoon section helped me to pass the exam.
Hope it helps.
Test you took: PE Environmental Engineering
What books you brought with you:
ENVRM by Lindeburg
Hazardous Waste Management by La Grega
Applied Hydrogeology by Fetter
Air Pollution Control by Cooper Alley
Wastewater Engineering by Metcalf & Eddy
NCEES practice test (old version, borrowed from my friend)
ENVRM practice problem, Lindeburg
drinking water standards
What books you actually used: I used first 3 books and drinking water standards but found out only 1st book and drinking water standards are useful to me (I should say probably book 2 and 3 are useful as well. However, I did not read these books ahead of time. So, when I took the exam, I was unable to find information I hoped to find. You probably want to spend some time read Hydrogeology. Manual does not cover this very well (but quite a few problems are covering this). I wished I could read this ahead of time.
What books did you wish you brought: none
General impression about exam and format: Format was just like the NCEES practice exam. ENVRM practice problem, Lindeburg is too difficult. Exam itself is okay. Morning sections are most water, waste water and hydrology. Afternoon section are air, remediation, exposure, etc. To myself, morning section is much harder. Afternoon section is easy.
Advice for future test takers: get familiar with units. Maybe list all the common ones in a seperate sheet. Read Remediation and hydrogelogy in addition to the manual. Another important thing is to manage your exam time wisely! skip those questions you have no clue how to answer and finish the whole exam before you start to search your books (it is easy to say but hard to follow in reality). I wasted a lot of time in the morning section because I tried to solve one problem. I was unable to finish all 50 questions due to that stupid question (& the other 3 or 4 in the same subject). I leaned the lesson and did very well in the afternoon. I think afternoon section helped me to pass the exam.
Hope it helps.
pleasantliving
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I passed the October 2011 exam (first attempt).... so the binder method worked for me!
pleasantliving
New member
- Joined
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I have received a few messages asking for the list of sections tabbed, so here they are. I've also listed the FE Handbook pages included with each section.
http://www.flickr.co...N08/7113039797/
http://www.flickr.co...N08/7113039835/
http://www.flickr.co...N08/7113039797/
http://www.flickr.co...N08/7113039835/
I passed the April 2012 exam on my first try. Here's my experience:
Test you took: PE Environmental Engineering
What books you brought with you:
What books you actually used: I used everything on the list through the 10 State Standards at least once. I used the first 8 books multiple times and was glad to have all of them. My binder of random fact sheets and guides was helpful although I think I only used the NAPL info and DO sag curves from it. Nathanson was useful for several qualitative questions, and Metcalf & Eddy helped me answer a handful of wastewater questions I wouldn't have known otherwise. I found some remediation, risk assessment, and radiation information in Salvato and LaGrega. Two questions were direct variations on problems from the latest NCEES practice exam. I had to look up chemical compatibility in the Emergency Response Guidebook, so it was worth the $4 from Amazon.
What books did you wish you brought: An air pollution controls book - I didn't have anything that covered this nearly well enough. I needed something that covered how to select appropriate devices, specific properties of devices, definitions, etc.
General impression about exam and format: The morning covered all the water topics and solid waste. The afternoon was air, remediation, health and safety, and general engineering principles (economics, statistics, project management, general math questions on logs/kinetics). I thought the morning was straight-forward; the water problems were generally pretty clear and similar to practice problems and I had references that covered almost all of the qualitative questions. Solid waste was okay, since a lot of the problems were basic math problems for a solid waste situation, like recycling or garbage trucks for example. Most of the hazardous and medical waste questions were qualitative and I thought were common-sense, although I deal with that at work. Air was a killer. I was okay on the basic principles portion like regulations, fate and transport, and emissions sources, but the air controls section was hard. Some of the questions were just definitions for air control components and I didn't have a good reference. A couple radiation and cancer problems, some EH&S regulation questions too.
Advice for future test takers: I spent five minutes going through the exam at the start and ranking the problems that I knew or could do really quickly, ones I thought I could solve, and ones I knew I wouldn't get, would need a lot of time, or didn't understand at first glance. Then I started going through all the easy ones (I actually started at the end and worked forward since I was at the back of the booklet anyways). I marked everything on the answer sheet as I answered. Anything I had to come back to, I circled the number. Then I worked my way though all the middle-tier problems, then had about 45 minutes at the end to address the handful I had ranked the hardest. I attempted all of them and made educated guesses. This worked out really well for me.
I really liked the NC State review course. I didn't have time to go through the air section and I wish I had, although the air questions on the exam that I didn't know seemed too obscure to have been included in the class anyways. My main studying was NC State; a sort-of-helpful local review course that covered water, wastewater, air, and economics; 101 Solved Problems; and the NCEES practice exam.
Test you took: PE Environmental Engineering
What books you brought with you:
- EnvERM by Lindeburg with separate bound index
- NCEES practice test (current version)
- Environmental Engineering by Salvato (older edition, one volume)
- Hazardous Waste Management by LaGrega
- Wastewater Engineering by Metcalf & Eddy (3rd edition)
- Basic Environmental Technology by Nathanson
- Environmental Engineering Dictionary by Lee (2nd edition)
- NC State PDFs
- Drinking water standards (summary tables and specifics on things like lead but I didn't need the specifics)
- A binder with the Plain Text Clean Air Act, EPA injection well classes, an EPCRA summary, radon info, NAPL info, landfill gas generation curve, DO sag curves, Activated Sludge Study Guide, etc.
- 2008 Emergency Response Guidebook
- RCRA and CERCLA Orientation Manuals
- 10 State Standards
- 101 Solved Problems by Schneiter
- EnvERM practice problems by Lindeburg
- NIOSH pocket guide
- A binder of review class notes
- Introduction to Environmental Engineering by Masters
- An engineering economics text
What books you actually used: I used everything on the list through the 10 State Standards at least once. I used the first 8 books multiple times and was glad to have all of them. My binder of random fact sheets and guides was helpful although I think I only used the NAPL info and DO sag curves from it. Nathanson was useful for several qualitative questions, and Metcalf & Eddy helped me answer a handful of wastewater questions I wouldn't have known otherwise. I found some remediation, risk assessment, and radiation information in Salvato and LaGrega. Two questions were direct variations on problems from the latest NCEES practice exam. I had to look up chemical compatibility in the Emergency Response Guidebook, so it was worth the $4 from Amazon.
What books did you wish you brought: An air pollution controls book - I didn't have anything that covered this nearly well enough. I needed something that covered how to select appropriate devices, specific properties of devices, definitions, etc.
General impression about exam and format: The morning covered all the water topics and solid waste. The afternoon was air, remediation, health and safety, and general engineering principles (economics, statistics, project management, general math questions on logs/kinetics). I thought the morning was straight-forward; the water problems were generally pretty clear and similar to practice problems and I had references that covered almost all of the qualitative questions. Solid waste was okay, since a lot of the problems were basic math problems for a solid waste situation, like recycling or garbage trucks for example. Most of the hazardous and medical waste questions were qualitative and I thought were common-sense, although I deal with that at work. Air was a killer. I was okay on the basic principles portion like regulations, fate and transport, and emissions sources, but the air controls section was hard. Some of the questions were just definitions for air control components and I didn't have a good reference. A couple radiation and cancer problems, some EH&S regulation questions too.
Advice for future test takers: I spent five minutes going through the exam at the start and ranking the problems that I knew or could do really quickly, ones I thought I could solve, and ones I knew I wouldn't get, would need a lot of time, or didn't understand at first glance. Then I started going through all the easy ones (I actually started at the end and worked forward since I was at the back of the booklet anyways). I marked everything on the answer sheet as I answered. Anything I had to come back to, I circled the number. Then I worked my way though all the middle-tier problems, then had about 45 minutes at the end to address the handful I had ranked the hardest. I attempted all of them and made educated guesses. This worked out really well for me.
I really liked the NC State review course. I didn't have time to go through the air section and I wish I had, although the air questions on the exam that I didn't know seemed too obscure to have been included in the class anyways. My main studying was NC State; a sort-of-helpful local review course that covered water, wastewater, air, and economics; 101 Solved Problems; and the NCEES practice exam.
VT-Matt
Member
Passed on first attempt April 2012 Environmental PE. Below is a summary of my experiences.
Test you took: PE Environmental Engineering
What books you brought with you:
What books you actually used: I probably used everything on this list but I would say I mostly used the top 5. I was able to use my main binder for solving 60-70% of the problems. Having that binder well organized saved me a ton of time. If given more time to prepare I would have refined this binder even more by breaking out problems more specifically. For example it would have been nice to have all my Dissolved Oxygen problems together, softening problems, combustion problems, etc. By using the ref book so much for my preparation I was able to remember where a lot of those specific problems were.
What books did you wish you brought: I think everything I needed was in my reference books, however, that doesn’t mean I was always able to find it. Knowing your references well is so important. No joke, but reading salvato during bathroom breaks, before bed, etc helped me answer some qualitative problems that I don’t think I would have found in time by searching through the indexes. If your having trouble sleeping just read a chapter from any of those books above.
General impression about exam and format: I thought the morning was reasonable. Mostly water treatment, waste water, solid waste, some remediation, etc. The afternoon was a completely different story. I wanted to pull my hair out anytime I saw a combustion type problem, etc. The EH&S and Engineering ECON were reasonable but the air…mostly the qualitative type problems were crazy.
Advice for future test takers: Don’t waste your time on a review course if you are disciplined. I honestly thought the Univ. of Del course wasted some valuable time that I could have spent elsewhere. If you still believe a review course is what’s needed…then I would recommend the NC State course. The outline for their course seemed to match up better with the 100 question Environmental Exam. I think some of these other courses are regurgitated versions of chemical/mechanical/civil and not geared towards the pure Environmental Exam…just my thoughts.
The Environmental Exam is just so freaking broad that there is no way you will ever know everything. With that said I think the absolute best way to prepare for this exam is to do hundreds if not thousands of problems and as your doing these problems organize the heck out of your references. Time management is so important on this exam.
The last and most important thing is to read every bit of advice you can on this forum. The help and guidance I received from folks on this forum was the greatest asset to passing this test on my first try. The PPI forum is worthless compared to Engineer boards. Hope this rambling helps future test takers some. Best of luck!
Test you took: PE Environmental Engineering
What books you brought with you:
- EnvERM by Lindeburg
- Metcalf and Eddy WW Treatment
- Air Pollution Control Cooper and Alley
- Haz Waste Lagrega
- Environmental Engineering Salvato 6th edition
- CDC NIOSH pocket guide (free)
- DOT Emergency Response book (little book)
- Univ. of Del notes
- A consolidated binder broken into ww, wt, wr, air, HW, and EH&S (In this book I had a copy of the indexes for the top 5 books, key eqns pulled from doing problems and from the FE eqn sheet, class notes, and organized example problems from Schneiter, NCEES practice exam, and some problems from the course.
- I also had separate binders for any regulation, fact sheet, handout, etc that I came across as useful information during the course of solving hundreds of problems.
- Fundamentals of Industrial Hygiene
- Introduction to Environmental Engineering Davis and Cromwell
What books you actually used: I probably used everything on this list but I would say I mostly used the top 5. I was able to use my main binder for solving 60-70% of the problems. Having that binder well organized saved me a ton of time. If given more time to prepare I would have refined this binder even more by breaking out problems more specifically. For example it would have been nice to have all my Dissolved Oxygen problems together, softening problems, combustion problems, etc. By using the ref book so much for my preparation I was able to remember where a lot of those specific problems were.
What books did you wish you brought: I think everything I needed was in my reference books, however, that doesn’t mean I was always able to find it. Knowing your references well is so important. No joke, but reading salvato during bathroom breaks, before bed, etc helped me answer some qualitative problems that I don’t think I would have found in time by searching through the indexes. If your having trouble sleeping just read a chapter from any of those books above.
General impression about exam and format: I thought the morning was reasonable. Mostly water treatment, waste water, solid waste, some remediation, etc. The afternoon was a completely different story. I wanted to pull my hair out anytime I saw a combustion type problem, etc. The EH&S and Engineering ECON were reasonable but the air…mostly the qualitative type problems were crazy.
Advice for future test takers: Don’t waste your time on a review course if you are disciplined. I honestly thought the Univ. of Del course wasted some valuable time that I could have spent elsewhere. If you still believe a review course is what’s needed…then I would recommend the NC State course. The outline for their course seemed to match up better with the 100 question Environmental Exam. I think some of these other courses are regurgitated versions of chemical/mechanical/civil and not geared towards the pure Environmental Exam…just my thoughts.
The Environmental Exam is just so freaking broad that there is no way you will ever know everything. With that said I think the absolute best way to prepare for this exam is to do hundreds if not thousands of problems and as your doing these problems organize the heck out of your references. Time management is so important on this exam.
The last and most important thing is to read every bit of advice you can on this forum. The help and guidance I received from folks on this forum was the greatest asset to passing this test on my first try. The PPI forum is worthless compared to Engineer boards. Hope this rambling helps future test takers some. Best of luck!
Test you took: PE Environmental Engineering, Passed October 2012 (3rd Attempt)
What books you brought with you:
What books you actually used: Mentioned earlier, everything except the dictionary.
What books did you wish you brought: Now that I passed nothing. Thanks to other members in this forum whose suggestions worked for me especially with the books needed during the exam.
General impression about exam and format: Previous posters covered this topic well.
Advice for future test takers: I started the exam from the end and it helped as the questions were easier I felt at the end than at the beginning. First two times, I spent so much time on the first questions and still couldn't do it that it completely disheartened me and I screwed up the exam. Also I didn't spend much time if I knew I will have to search for the solution (rather than knowing exactly where to look and in which book) in my references, I would just circle the number and move forward and then come back at the end. This helped me a lot this time as my confident was building from question to question and didn't loose heart. I think I had about 10 questions circled in the both the sessions and I had about 40-45 minutes left to do them which was as it turns out sufficient.
I would go through these forums there are some very good advises for the test takers.
All the best to future PE’s.
What books you brought with you:
- Introduction to Environmental Engineering by Mackenzie Davis and David Cornwell - Found this book very useful during preparation and also in the exam this was very helpful.
- Practical Design Calculations for Groundwater and Soil Remediation, Jeff Kuo- Covered this book from beginning to end during my third attempt preparation and in my opinion this book is absolutely must for any Environ test takers.
- Environmental Engineering and Sanitation, J.A. Salvato (older edition, one volume) - Was useful in the exam, was able to answer couple of questions with the help of this book.
- Hazardous Waste Management, M.D. LeGrega -Was useful in the exam, was able to answer couple of questions with the help of this book.
- Wastewater Engineering: Treatment, Disposal, and Reuse (Metcalf & Eddy) - MUST for Wastewater
- Air Pollution Control: A Design Approach, C.D. Cooper and F.C. Alley - Covered front to end page during preparation, wasn't that useful in the exam. Still I would have it.
- EERM - Covered well during my first and second attempt, didn't use much during preparation but was useful in the exam. Finally in my 3rd attempt I was able to find information out of it, probably saved me.
- NCEES Problems, and other problem books available at PPI - NCEES Problems is a MUST and I did all the problems couple of times before exam. Schneiter books are good especially for preparing for Environmental Health and Safety questions.
- NCSU Review DVD Course - found this very useful for Air and Solid/Haz waste section. Covers the exam problems on these topics very well. Didn't use much for other topics.
- FE Reference Manual -another useful book to have during the exam.
- Two binders with notes for morning and afternoon sessions. These included materials that I downloaded from net regarding various topics, test masters material for hydrology, groundwater, waste water that I borrowed from a colleague, and other personal notes that I kept during preparation time, important unit conversions (especially for air topics, remediation topics; I took 4-5 copies of these and kept in each binder so I didn't have to spend too much time looking for units)
- Environmental dictionary. Purchased this time, as in April there were 2-3 questions which I had no idea what they were about and later found out had I known the meaning the answers were pretty straight forward. But had no use this time in the exam.
What books you actually used: Mentioned earlier, everything except the dictionary.
What books did you wish you brought: Now that I passed nothing. Thanks to other members in this forum whose suggestions worked for me especially with the books needed during the exam.
General impression about exam and format: Previous posters covered this topic well.
Advice for future test takers: I started the exam from the end and it helped as the questions were easier I felt at the end than at the beginning. First two times, I spent so much time on the first questions and still couldn't do it that it completely disheartened me and I screwed up the exam. Also I didn't spend much time if I knew I will have to search for the solution (rather than knowing exactly where to look and in which book) in my references, I would just circle the number and move forward and then come back at the end. This helped me a lot this time as my confident was building from question to question and didn't loose heart. I think I had about 10 questions circled in the both the sessions and I had about 40-45 minutes left to do them which was as it turns out sufficient.
I would go through these forums there are some very good advises for the test takers.
All the best to future PE’s.
depolarization
Active member
Test you took: PE Environmental Engineering, Passed October 2012 (1st Attempt)
What books you brought with you:.
What books you actually used: I used most everthing except the solved problems...it took too long to look them up for me...but it was reassuring to have them there. Nearly have the exam was look-up and qualitative so the references really help to cover the broad basis. Note that all the references to regulations can be found in the textbooks and are better digested than looking at the regulations themselves, verbatim.
What books did you wish you brought: Since I passed, I guess I am fine. I didn't feel like I was deficient in an area.
General impression about exam and format: It is SUPER BROAD. Make sure you know your references well. You cannot really neglect any of the subject-matter areas...fortunate many of the chemical, hydraulic, air-pollution, health & safety, and remediation questions tie in together, as is the case with anything interdisciplinary.
Advice for future test takers: Try your best to manage your time. There are questions that seem vague but can actually be solved quickly with a look-up. If it's the last hour and you have 30 questions left, get efficient and use your intuition based on the best available information. Try to look at every questions and nail those quickly answered look-up questions, then tackle those tricky vague-quantitative ones last. You'll notice the hardest questions make the least % of the exam. It's about passing, not getting 100%!
What books you brought with you:.
- Practical Design Calculations for Groundwater and Soil Remediation, Jeff Kuo- Did not use it much as LaGrega contained most of the answers I needed. Kuo's book is awesome in my field of remediation though
- Environmental Engineering and Sanitation, J.A. Salvato (3 volume edition) - I didn't like it very much...as it seemed redundant with Metcalf & Eddy, as well as LaGrega
- Hazardous Waste Management, M.D. LeGrega - My greatest resource outside of a binder of notes and the FE manual. So many of the qualitative and quantitative problems are answered efficiently in here. Even Lindberg's EVRM
- Wastewater Engineering: Treatment, Disposal, and Reuse (Metcalf & Eddy) - Best Wastewater treatment book there is. Didn't really open it as most of the questions weren't that in depth. But I do like this book a lot!
- Water Supply and Pollution Control 8th Ed. (Viessman et al) - When in a pinch, this book is wonderful for the water-treatment side of things as well as drainage basin modelling. I only thought to bring this because the guy from NC State review course kept referencing it.
- Air Pollution Control: A Design Approach, C.D. Cooper and F.C. Alley - A great resource. But like Metcalf & Eddy, the questions didn't need in depth control tech, most Gaussian plume modeling references and design questions were covered enough by the NC State Review.
- EVRM, Lindberg - Great resource, and if you can focus and read through the tome, you're about 90% done with what you need. However, most of us that work and have families don't have the time required. I recommend a review course.
- NCEES Problems - is easily the most accurate practice problem set. I also brought lindberg and schneiter's review. Warning, the Schneiter questions are really in depth and way harder than anything on the PE exam. Lindberg's book is good enough for more practice. Although if you can master Schneiter's problems, you will probably win the engineering game.
- NCSU Review Online Course - I bought the online course. It was good...but I wish it drilled more and that the lecture notes were better organized. The binder I made out of the notes helped a lot during the exam. Make sure you use pen to make notes. The transformations of the Hazen-Williams Equations save A LOT of time when solving hydraulics questions...just a pro tip.
- FE Reference Manual -another useful book to have during the exam.
What books you actually used: I used most everthing except the solved problems...it took too long to look them up for me...but it was reassuring to have them there. Nearly have the exam was look-up and qualitative so the references really help to cover the broad basis. Note that all the references to regulations can be found in the textbooks and are better digested than looking at the regulations themselves, verbatim.
What books did you wish you brought: Since I passed, I guess I am fine. I didn't feel like I was deficient in an area.
General impression about exam and format: It is SUPER BROAD. Make sure you know your references well. You cannot really neglect any of the subject-matter areas...fortunate many of the chemical, hydraulic, air-pollution, health & safety, and remediation questions tie in together, as is the case with anything interdisciplinary.
Advice for future test takers: Try your best to manage your time. There are questions that seem vague but can actually be solved quickly with a look-up. If it's the last hour and you have 30 questions left, get efficient and use your intuition based on the best available information. Try to look at every questions and nail those quickly answered look-up questions, then tackle those tricky vague-quantitative ones last. You'll notice the hardest questions make the least % of the exam. It's about passing, not getting 100%!
DavidPE
Active member
I was going to wait and post here after my results came, but I better post now while it's fresh. So keep in mind that this advice comes from someone who may or may not have passed!
Test you took:
PE Environmental Engineering, April 2013.
Where you took it:
Syracuse, NY.
The exam was held in the Driver's Village Conference Center, which is a really nice facility. (Much better than the basement of the War Memorial, under the ice arena!) It's very easy to get to, right off of 81 & 481, and there's lots of free parking.
The test was held in a single room, 18 or 20 long tables, with 4 test takers at each table. I got an end spot, which was awesome, but even in the middle there was plenty of room to have your test plus two or three open references. The chairs were lightly padded and comfortable. There was no clock in the room, and food and drink was not allowed. Despite the cold weather outside, I was comfortable (slightly warm) in just a short-sleeve t-shirt.
There's a place to eat right in Driver's Village, and there is fast food and a grocery store within a very short distance of the facility. Since Driver's Village is an old mall, there is lots of room inside to walk around during lunch, which I thought was really nice after sitting for 4 hours.
What books you brought with you:
1. Environmental Engineering Reference Manual, Lindeburg*
2. Wastewater Engineering, Metcalf & Eddy*
3. Hydrology & Hydraulic Systems, Gupta*
4. Hazardous Waste Management, LaGrega*
5. Air Pollution Control, Cooper & Alley*
6. McCoy's RCRA Unraveled
7. Practical Design Calculations for Groundwater and Soil Remediation, Kuo
8. Environmental Engineering, Davis & Cornwell*
9. Emergency Response Handbook*
10. NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards
11. TLVs and BEIs, ACGIH
12. Practice Problems for the Environmental Engineering PE Exam, Lindeburg
13. Environmental Engineering Solved Problems, Schneiter
14. Environmental Engineering Practice PE Exams, Schneiter
15. Environmental Sample Questions & Solutions, NCEES
16. Homemade Binder #1* - NC State review notes, copies of all tables/charts I used while studying, summaries of various regulatory items, and selected chapters of the NCEES FE formula book.
17. Homemade Binder #2* - copies of the indices from each of the above references.
18. Homemade Quick Reference Booklet* - This was something I made to save time on the exam. The cover page is a list of conversions, units, factors, etc. I included a lot of things I know off the top of my head, just in case I drew a blank due to stress or whatever.
Next were summary pages for stormwater, groundwater, open channel, pipes/pumps, water treatment, wastewater, air, solid/hazardous waste, remediation, toxicology, and health & safety. Each topic was one side of one page or less. I included simple formulas, more complex formulas that I thought were high probability or that I could use without further reference, definitions (including formula variables), reminders, etc. A big part of it was simply listing my preferred reference for each topic (for example, I liked the air stripping section of the FE formula book better than the EERM).
After that I included my favorite tables: the periodic table, an awesome table with every possible variation of the universal gas constant, properties of air, and properties of water.
Finally I included 8 or 10 soved problems. These were problems that I struggle with (chemistry) or tend to make mistakes on (river/wastewater mixing) or that require a lot of steps (Hardy Cross).
What books you actually used:
Everything with an asterisk. I used the EERM, binder #1, and my quick reference booklet for the majority of the test. The other references were used for between 1 and 3 questions each. I knew I wouldn't use the practice problem books, but I couldn't bring myself to leave them at home.
My homemade quick reference was SUPER valueable. I bet I answered 30+ questions with that alone, and I looked at it while solving probably 70 or 80 questions. The binder of indices was also real handy for those questions that weren't in my main references.
What books did you wish you brought:
I don't have any suggestions for other references.
General impression about exam and format:
If you want to know about the format, get the NCEES practice exam. I would say the real test was identical in terms of format/layout/complexity.
I did all of the problems in the Lindeburg, both Schneiter, and NCEES books, and there were still a good number of questions that I had never seen before. I was able to come up with an answer that matched one of the choices on most of them, so hopefully I got a bunch right.
I think it could go either way for me. Right now, I'm just happy it's over and that I didn't totally bomb.
Advice for future test takers:
1. Starting to study is the hardest part. I've been out of school for more than 10 years and was pretty discouraged. I tried jumping right in to the EERM, and that only made me more discouraged. I ended up taking the NC State DVD course. There's a lot (A LOT!!) that the course doesn't cover, but I think it's a good starting point. The water and wastewater lectures are pretty good, and there's a bunch of really good stuff in the notes that aren't in the EERM. If you take it, pay attention to what the instructors say, because I wrote down a few things not in the notes that came in handy on the test.
2. I started studying in January. I tried to study during lunch at work, two hours a night after work, and 6-8 hours each day every weekend. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but it still REALLY sucked. I have a full time job and two young kids (2 and 3-years old), so if I can put in the time, so can you. You have to make it a priority.
3. Do a lot of problems.
4. After you've done a lot of problems, do them all again. This time, do them without looking at the solutions.
5. You will need to work fast on the test, so you really need to know where to find things in your references. The EERM should be your main resource, and you should know it especially well. Learning your references should be among your highest priorities while studying.
6. Tab your resources well. I probably went a little overboard (I bet I spent $30 just on tabs), but it really did save me time.
7. Don't be afraid to write in your reference materials. Circle important things. Write yourself reminders. Cross-reference other material.
8. Buy used references if you can. A lot of the notes other people made in my books were very helpful. (True story: there was one question on the exam that said to use a particular equation that I've never heard of before. I found the equation in one of my used textbooks, and someone had written in a simplified form of the equation and made some notes on its use. It saved me a bunch of time.)
9. Know how to work in both english and metric units. A lot of the practice problmes are in metric, but much of the test in in english.
10. Take the NCEES practice exam under test conditions, twice if you can. I barely broke 50% the first time I took it because I wasted so much time. The second time was much better, and the real exam was even better than that. I wouldn't have stood a chance if I hadn't practiced this way.
11. Get lots of sleep the night before the test. (If your wife is snoring, don't be afraid to move to the sofa if it means getting more sleep.)
12. Bring a lunch. A friend of mine took the test in Vermont a few years ago, and the proctor showed up really late. To make up the time, he only gave everyone 15 minutes between the morning and afternoon sessions.
13. If you wear contact lenses, bring your glasses just in case. By 11am, my contacts and eyes were so dry that I could barely read the exam. I don't know what I would have done if I didn't have my glasses for the afternoon.
14. Bring some ibuprofen.
15. During the test, keep track of the time.
16. Read each question very carefully. In fact, read each question very carefully again. Understand what the question is asking. Cross-out the information you don't need (there will be lots of it). Circle key words.
17. There will be questions that you will expect to be one thing (based on a diagram or chart or something), but actually ask you something different. Don't pass on a question because you THINK you know what it's asking. Take the time to read it first.
18. Keep track of the time.
19. Don't be sloppy. Write out your formulas and your units. Cancel your units.
20. Relax, don't get discouraged, and keep working. Skip questions that you're not sure about or that are taking you too long to solve. You'll be surprised how many of them you'll be able to answer when you come back later.
21. Keep track of the time.
22. If you have time left at the end, check your answers. I found three mistakes, including one where I marked the wrong answer on the scantron sheet.
Test you took:
PE Environmental Engineering, April 2013.
Where you took it:
Syracuse, NY.
The exam was held in the Driver's Village Conference Center, which is a really nice facility. (Much better than the basement of the War Memorial, under the ice arena!) It's very easy to get to, right off of 81 & 481, and there's lots of free parking.
The test was held in a single room, 18 or 20 long tables, with 4 test takers at each table. I got an end spot, which was awesome, but even in the middle there was plenty of room to have your test plus two or three open references. The chairs were lightly padded and comfortable. There was no clock in the room, and food and drink was not allowed. Despite the cold weather outside, I was comfortable (slightly warm) in just a short-sleeve t-shirt.
There's a place to eat right in Driver's Village, and there is fast food and a grocery store within a very short distance of the facility. Since Driver's Village is an old mall, there is lots of room inside to walk around during lunch, which I thought was really nice after sitting for 4 hours.
What books you brought with you:
1. Environmental Engineering Reference Manual, Lindeburg*
2. Wastewater Engineering, Metcalf & Eddy*
3. Hydrology & Hydraulic Systems, Gupta*
4. Hazardous Waste Management, LaGrega*
5. Air Pollution Control, Cooper & Alley*
6. McCoy's RCRA Unraveled
7. Practical Design Calculations for Groundwater and Soil Remediation, Kuo
8. Environmental Engineering, Davis & Cornwell*
9. Emergency Response Handbook*
10. NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards
11. TLVs and BEIs, ACGIH
12. Practice Problems for the Environmental Engineering PE Exam, Lindeburg
13. Environmental Engineering Solved Problems, Schneiter
14. Environmental Engineering Practice PE Exams, Schneiter
15. Environmental Sample Questions & Solutions, NCEES
16. Homemade Binder #1* - NC State review notes, copies of all tables/charts I used while studying, summaries of various regulatory items, and selected chapters of the NCEES FE formula book.
17. Homemade Binder #2* - copies of the indices from each of the above references.
18. Homemade Quick Reference Booklet* - This was something I made to save time on the exam. The cover page is a list of conversions, units, factors, etc. I included a lot of things I know off the top of my head, just in case I drew a blank due to stress or whatever.
Next were summary pages for stormwater, groundwater, open channel, pipes/pumps, water treatment, wastewater, air, solid/hazardous waste, remediation, toxicology, and health & safety. Each topic was one side of one page or less. I included simple formulas, more complex formulas that I thought were high probability or that I could use without further reference, definitions (including formula variables), reminders, etc. A big part of it was simply listing my preferred reference for each topic (for example, I liked the air stripping section of the FE formula book better than the EERM).
After that I included my favorite tables: the periodic table, an awesome table with every possible variation of the universal gas constant, properties of air, and properties of water.
Finally I included 8 or 10 soved problems. These were problems that I struggle with (chemistry) or tend to make mistakes on (river/wastewater mixing) or that require a lot of steps (Hardy Cross).
What books you actually used:
Everything with an asterisk. I used the EERM, binder #1, and my quick reference booklet for the majority of the test. The other references were used for between 1 and 3 questions each. I knew I wouldn't use the practice problem books, but I couldn't bring myself to leave them at home.
My homemade quick reference was SUPER valueable. I bet I answered 30+ questions with that alone, and I looked at it while solving probably 70 or 80 questions. The binder of indices was also real handy for those questions that weren't in my main references.
What books did you wish you brought:
I don't have any suggestions for other references.
General impression about exam and format:
If you want to know about the format, get the NCEES practice exam. I would say the real test was identical in terms of format/layout/complexity.
I did all of the problems in the Lindeburg, both Schneiter, and NCEES books, and there were still a good number of questions that I had never seen before. I was able to come up with an answer that matched one of the choices on most of them, so hopefully I got a bunch right.
I think it could go either way for me. Right now, I'm just happy it's over and that I didn't totally bomb.
Advice for future test takers:
1. Starting to study is the hardest part. I've been out of school for more than 10 years and was pretty discouraged. I tried jumping right in to the EERM, and that only made me more discouraged. I ended up taking the NC State DVD course. There's a lot (A LOT!!) that the course doesn't cover, but I think it's a good starting point. The water and wastewater lectures are pretty good, and there's a bunch of really good stuff in the notes that aren't in the EERM. If you take it, pay attention to what the instructors say, because I wrote down a few things not in the notes that came in handy on the test.
2. I started studying in January. I tried to study during lunch at work, two hours a night after work, and 6-8 hours each day every weekend. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but it still REALLY sucked. I have a full time job and two young kids (2 and 3-years old), so if I can put in the time, so can you. You have to make it a priority.
3. Do a lot of problems.
4. After you've done a lot of problems, do them all again. This time, do them without looking at the solutions.
5. You will need to work fast on the test, so you really need to know where to find things in your references. The EERM should be your main resource, and you should know it especially well. Learning your references should be among your highest priorities while studying.
6. Tab your resources well. I probably went a little overboard (I bet I spent $30 just on tabs), but it really did save me time.
7. Don't be afraid to write in your reference materials. Circle important things. Write yourself reminders. Cross-reference other material.
8. Buy used references if you can. A lot of the notes other people made in my books were very helpful. (True story: there was one question on the exam that said to use a particular equation that I've never heard of before. I found the equation in one of my used textbooks, and someone had written in a simplified form of the equation and made some notes on its use. It saved me a bunch of time.)
9. Know how to work in both english and metric units. A lot of the practice problmes are in metric, but much of the test in in english.
10. Take the NCEES practice exam under test conditions, twice if you can. I barely broke 50% the first time I took it because I wasted so much time. The second time was much better, and the real exam was even better than that. I wouldn't have stood a chance if I hadn't practiced this way.
11. Get lots of sleep the night before the test. (If your wife is snoring, don't be afraid to move to the sofa if it means getting more sleep.)
12. Bring a lunch. A friend of mine took the test in Vermont a few years ago, and the proctor showed up really late. To make up the time, he only gave everyone 15 minutes between the morning and afternoon sessions.
13. If you wear contact lenses, bring your glasses just in case. By 11am, my contacts and eyes were so dry that I could barely read the exam. I don't know what I would have done if I didn't have my glasses for the afternoon.
14. Bring some ibuprofen.
15. During the test, keep track of the time.
16. Read each question very carefully. In fact, read each question very carefully again. Understand what the question is asking. Cross-out the information you don't need (there will be lots of it). Circle key words.
17. There will be questions that you will expect to be one thing (based on a diagram or chart or something), but actually ask you something different. Don't pass on a question because you THINK you know what it's asking. Take the time to read it first.
18. Keep track of the time.
19. Don't be sloppy. Write out your formulas and your units. Cancel your units.
20. Relax, don't get discouraged, and keep working. Skip questions that you're not sure about or that are taking you too long to solve. You'll be surprised how many of them you'll be able to answer when you come back later.
21. Keep track of the time.
22. If you have time left at the end, check your answers. I found three mistakes, including one where I marked the wrong answer on the scantron sheet.
Excellent summary, David! Actually brought back memories of when I took the exam..... ugh... But I saw several strategies of yours that matched mine - mostly along the lines of assuring you truly understand the basic principles. I'll bet you passed!
