October 2018 Exam Study Progress

[PEforWin]

Hey @PEforWin I'll look through my books when I get home and offer some suggestions.  Off the top of my head, don't even waste time studying all the intro calculus sections in Lindeberg.  I wasted time on that the first time around. 

Thanks, I appreciate your help.

 

[PEforWin]

Try out the advice thread pinned at the top of this forum - it contains advice on the first few pages, for sure, from people who took the exam without a course.  I know my advice thread in there contained advice on how to use the Lindberg book to study. My advice was based on a 3 month study period, but you can just compress...

Will check it out, thanks!

 

[timmer1026]

...Does anyone know which practice question resources (PPI, NCEES practice) most closely resembles the actual test in terms of question structure and difficulty? <<<I can ask that question right? (if not....disregard, not trying to get in trouble)

@kncumber @PEforWin

-      NCEES practice exam

-      NCEES Handbook- tab the Exposure Equations for Various Pathways and the Hazardous Waste Compatibility Chart

-      Environmental Engineering Solved Problems, Third Edition (R. Wane Schneiter, PhD, PE)

-      EERM

-      For Air/ Solid Waste- tab the combustion equations and R values in the EERM.  Combustion/Emissions, Incineration/DRE, Stoichiometry/Material balance, Gaussian Distribution Equation/Plume Rise, Ideal Gas Law, Air Stripping, Particulate Matter control devices (baghouses, cyclones, scrubbers, ESP), Sorption/GAC, Landfills, Darcy’s Law, and Solid Waste Collection 

 

[vee043324]

another person here studying for the enviro PE for the 3rd time.. taking PPI's review course this time. I really want to organize my **** better.. it wasn't necessarily bad during previous exams (I failed by about 3-5 questions both times) but i think it could have been a lot better.  my diagnostics from my past two attempts aren't consistent at all which makes it more difficult to figure out what I need to focus on this time around

 

[squaretaper LIT AF PE]

another person here studying for the enviro PE for the 3rd time.. taking PPI's review course this time. I really want to organize my **** better.. it wasn't necessarily bad during previous exams (I failed by about 3-5 questions both times) but i think it could have been a lot better.  my diagnostics from my past two attempts aren't consistent at all which makes it more difficult to figure out what I need to focus on this time around

Vee! SPAM buddy! You can do it!!!

Yes, I'm organizing my reference binders again, too. I would suggest getting numbered dividers from your local stationary shop and create your own index for your worked out problems. It makes a world of a difference to quickly zero in on the topic area and look for similar problems. Good luck everybody! I'm stuDYING with you.

 

[kncumber]

What practice questions/books is everyone using? I have the NCEES Practice Exam. Everyone always says work as many problems as possible. That being said, can anyone recommend any other good question resources?

 

[vee043324]

Practice Problems for the Environmental Engineering PE Exam (ENVPP3) . has like 600+ practice problems in all areas!

 

[DoctorWho-PE]

@vee043324 & @txjennah you guys GOT THIS!  <<ok back to your exam prep discussion>>

 

[In/PE/Out]

This October will be my third attempt at the Enviro exam. As has been recommended by some other repeat takers, I am mainly working problems. In my case, any book of problems, solved problems, or similar guides that I can get my hands on has been my main study material.   I think I have had the same problem that @txjennah has had: spending too much time reading and not enough time looking at problems. 

I’ve narrowed my references down to a few books (list to follow) and accepted that if none of my reference books address a particular conceptual question on the exam, then so be it. I’ll make up for it by getting a tricky calculation correct. I will point out that the reference books recommended by other users on this board have been helpful. 

My day-to-day study books consist of books of sample problems and questions. Even if it’s working a problem alongside a solution, it helps greatly, especially for understanding how the solution was arrived at.  I’ve run into several problems where the given solution is far too complicated, and a “quicker” solution exists.  I make sure to have problems like that written down both the “difficult” way, and the “quicker” way. 

My core references are (and from my experience on previous exams, these were my go-to’s):

Environmental Engineering Reference Manual (3rd Ed, Lindeburg)

Introduction to Environmental Engineering (5th Ed, Davis & Cornwell)

Air Pollition Control: A Design Approach (4th Ed, Cooper & Alley) [I don’t know why so many test takers didn’t find this book useful. This book is fantastic, but perhaps I am biased since I work in air pollution control]

Hazardous Waste Management (2nd Ed, LaGrega, et al)

Engineering Unit Conversions (4th Ed, Lindeburg) [This book is a must-have]

My study materials (for practice problems) include:

NCEES Practice Exam (The newest edition from 2017 is formatted in the 80 question format. If you can get an older version of the practice exam, the questions are about 95% the same as the new). I’ve been using multiple coloured pencils when I work through these problems, using a different colour for useful info, useless info, the solution, and other notes/tips for solving the problem. I also write down the specific reference(s) and page numbers for each problem, as needed.

Practice Exams for the Environmental PE (2017, Schneiter). [Again, a new publication that has 2 sample exams in the 80 question format] 

EDIT: The 2017 Schneiter practice exam book relies heavily on the NCEES Environmental PE Reference manual. Still useful for preparing for the 2018 exam, but may be more useful starting 2019, when the exam goes computer-based.

Books that cover advanced mathematics for wastewater treatment plant operators. These books cover the concepts and the type of math that would be used to solve almost any WWTP related problem. 

EDIT: Two of the wastewater books I’m studying from are:

Sanitary Engineering Problems and Calculations for the Professional Engineer (1979, Harry S. Harbold).  Old as **** book, but the core concepts are still valid in 2018. The problems in this book follow the old format of how the PE exam was administered (e.g., given 8 problems, the examinee solves 4). The problems presented are quite long and can take over an hour to solve  

Applied Math for Wastewater Plant Operators (1991, Joanne Kirkpatrick Price). Lots of examples of WWTP mathematics concepts, presented in plain English.  If nothing else, it reinforces the basics and unit conversions.

Handbook of Chemical and Environmental Engineering Calculations (2002, Reynolds, Jeris, Theodore). Broad book of sample problems calculations, many of which appear exam-worthy.  

Edit: I hand-copied and worked what I thought would be relevant problems from the above book into a notebook for practice...and possible use as a reference on the exam.

Handbook of Civil Engineering Calculations (2nd Ed, Hicks). The chapters on water supply, stormwater system design, and wastewater treatment and control all appear to have concepts that could be covered by the exam. 

Environmental Engineers Handbook (1999, Liu and Liptak). A broad handbook that appears to cover bits and pieces my other references don’t, such as soil and groundwater remediation methods. 

EDIT: I forgot one additional reference:

Handbook of Environmental Engineering Calculations, 2nd Ed (2007, Lee and Lin). Covers water, solid waste and air pollution. Pretty solid examples of concepts that could be covered on the exam. Likely, the examples in this book are more complicated than the exam problems. Reviews I’ve seen on this book peg it as a good reference for the Environmental PE. 

 

[vee043324]

EVERYONE - QUESTION 

how do you plan on organizing your class notes (assuming you're taking some kind of prep class) for the exam? I'm in PPI right now and theere are soooo many handouts/slides, and while they're all useful, I'm trying to figure out how to best organize them. At first I was thinking a binder for each subject would be overkill but now I'm thinking maybe not? Maybe a binder for all water (that will be a big one), another for air, combining EH&S and site remediation, + one misc? is that crazy? 

reposting in general exam prep forum too. 

 

[txjennah PE]

@vee043324, I don't think that's crazy at all. I have a binder each for water resources/water treatment, air/solid waste, remediation/safety, and one with indices and the FE reference manual (to be replaced with the PE Env. manual).

 

[In/PE/Out]

@vee043324 I think that’s a good plan. I’ve got all my notes/references that I’ve collected and printed grouped by subject/topic, following the format of the exam given by NCEES. 

 I’d take some time to prepare an index for or tab off each binder, so you could quickly jump to a specific sub-area of that topic. Example: for a water binder, tab off the sections for water treatment, drinking water, hydraulics, etc.

Also, if you have access to a comb-ring binder, use it. Binding materials in this manner saves a significant amount of space, when compared to a 3-ring binder. 

 

[vee043324]

@vee043324, I don't think that's crazy at all. I have a binder each for water resources/water treatment, air/solid waste, remediation/safety, and one with indices and the FE reference manual (to be replaced with the PE Env. manual).

i was planning on just using the PE env. manual but my professor in PPI said it's worth having both on hand... some of the PE ref equations are not as nicely spelled out compared to the FE reference. Plus FE has an index! ugh just so much material..

 

[vee043324]

@vee043324 I think that’s a good plan. I’ve got all my notes/references that I’ve collected and printed grouped by subject/topic, following the format of the exam given by NCEES. 

 I’d take some time to prepare an index for or tab off each binder, so you could quickly jump to a specific sub-area of that topic. Example: for a water binder, tab off the sections for water treatment, drinking water, hydraulics, etc.

Also, if you have access to a comb-ring binder, use it. Binding materials in this manner saves a significant amount of space, when compared to a 3-ring binder. 

was definitely planning on tabbing the subsections for sure! 

i was also considering comb rings or even getting certain materials bound so it'll feel like i just have a bunch of small books.. no idea what that costs though.

 

[txjennah PE]

i was planning on just using the PE env. manual but my professor in PPI said it's worth having both on hand... some of the PE ref equations are not as nicely spelled out compared to the FE reference. Plus FE has an index! ugh just so much material..

Ah good to know, thanks!  Here's to hoping this is the last hurrah for us both!   I'm soooo over studying.

 

[JayKay PE]

I've just started getting into my heavy-duty study schedule (I kinda started on weekend in August, but then had a long vacation that set me back).  I took the Civil/Construction exam the past 2 times and missed it by only a few questions, so I decided that I would switch to the Environmental PE exam since I'm not going to be moving the CA anytime soon.  As I'm starting to go through the questions/problems and general class info (SoPE) I'm realizing I know a lot of this stuff already since my master's was in environmental/waste water treatment processes and my current occupation is an environmental consultant in the NYC-area (aka; brownfields, CWA, USACE nonsense are a semi-normal aspect of my daily life).  It doesn't make me more comfortable, per se, but it does make me a little easier going into the exam because I'm not learning entirely new concepts like some of the Civil stuff was.

Now I'm getting into the tab-solve questions in my SoPE notes after I took the weekly class (to confirm I actually know the concepts) and working on extra problems on the weekends.  I don't think it'll be easy going, but I do feel a little more confident.  Also helps that my new company is very "failure does not mean you're not smart" mentality, which does help since my last company was very "you better pass, everyone who takes it in this company passes on the first time".  Still getting nervous as the day gets closer.

Sucks because I'm missing out on some great pumpkin picking out here.

 

[txjennah PE]

Hey @Jaykay0914, welcome!  I think having a masters in the topic and having general job experience will definitely help you.  I think there are a lot of third timers in this thread.  Really glad to hear that you have a supportive company like that.  

I'm sooo done with studying but knowing that the test is nearly here soon (gulp) helps me through it!  Here's to hoping this is our final attempt and we'll pass!

 

[vee043324]

yup i'm starting to freak the **** out here.

 

[vee043324]

have been v intense about tabbing/color coordinating though and I have to say my references are so beautiful that I get a little happy looking at them. nice upgrade from last exam cycle. whatever helps, right?

EDIT: currently ordering more tabs and using the EB amazon link to do it woooooo 

EDIT #2: cc @Road Guy

 

[kncumber]

I still come across questions that i'm like "huh?" when I read them. I have a notion that the people who will be successful are consistently answering every question they find and attempt? Struggle topics: Applied Ideal Gas Law,  Sludge Management, Water Resources