I'm an average guy and I passed the first time around. I didn't get stellar grades in school nor did I work in jobs where I was consistently calculating crane loads, lateral earth pressure, and bending moments. Most of my professional career has been centered around using tried and true methods to obtain a goal the cheapest, easiest way possible. Very few times in the past five years have I had to pull out a text book to solve a "PE exam" type question. This is how I prepared. First, reference materials: Obviously the CERM, tab the bejesus out of it using some sort of method that has meaning to you including the appendices. I used different colors for the disciplines. I answered all of the morning questions using this one reference book. The afternoon session is a different story. I picked the construction module. However, I could have just as easily went with transportation or geotechnical and would have been in the same position. For construction you will definitely need OSHA so you might as well buy or borrow it now. You will also need reference material concerning heavy equipment, and retaining structures. I bought Ruwan Raja.. books and hated them. They are terrible and I don't recommend them to anyone....ever. However, I did get a lot of questions in the afternoon about earth retention and heavy equipment operations so I'd advise you get something. I wish I could tell you what. Although for the most part Ruwan's books were disorganized and full of mistakes, they did have a lot of scheduling questions in them which I found helpful. Unfortunately I got very few CPM problems on the exam. Finally, I did the online School of PE course. The binder they provided was just as helpful as the CERM if not more. Couple of notes on that though. School of PE only covers morning type problems and the course is a bit pricey. I didn't open ASHTO or MUTCD once. I didn't bring any IBC stuff and didn't need it. I also didn't have any structural design references nor did I need them. Second, practice problems: The PPI sample exam and sample questions are harder than what you will see on the exam. Do them anyway. Even if you're not getting them correct, you are familiarizing yourself with different terminology, units and approaches. I did the PPI sample exam under test conditions about 2 months prior to the exam and scored a 53%. NCEES practice problems are about the level of difficulty you will see so if you're getting any of those wrong with no time pressure or test anxiety to accompany them, you better study more. Third, amount of time. I studied for 5 months. I spent two hours a day at the library at a big table where it was quiet and I could spread out. I believe the suggested amount of study time is 300 hours. That is about what I spent and I'm pretty sure I didn't knock that exam out of the park. Finally weight on the disciplines; I spent about 3/5 of my time on morning stuff and 2/5 on afternoon. I should have spent half and half. The morning portion wasn't too hard in my opinion but the afternoon was no joke. I spent every last second of the 4 hours allotted working feverishly without taking a single break. Simply put, the questions are hard and take a long time to calculate. Anyway, that's what I did so take it for what you think it's worth. Good luck on your exam!
I'm an average guy and passed the first time
- Thread starter tlloyd70
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