Water Resources or Transportation?

[cpc019]

I am trying to decide what civil depth to take in the afternoon, I have about even experience in both (maybe more water resources) but heard transportation is slightly easier from some co-workers. Any thoughts?

 

[tke899]

I am trying to decide what civil depth to take in the afternoon, I have about even experience in both (maybe more water resources) but heard transportation is slightly easier from some co-workers. Any thoughts?

It's only easier if you feel you have experience in one over the other or maybe in your instance Level of Comfort. I took transportation because I am a Highway Engineer. My old roommate took Waters/Enviro. We both studied a good amount and both passed. Both are passable even if you don't do them on a daily basis with enough studying. If you take transpo make sure you have access to most if not all the recommended reference materials as the test has a lot of codes and circumstance type questions.

Good luck to you.

 

[dmparri3]

It all depends on what you're comfortable with. I took WR/E and passed without knowing too much about environmental. The PM section of this exam is almost evenly split between water and environmental. It's possible to do well on the ENV problems if you are good at unit conversions. My advice is to focus on the AM section as the problems do not seem to be as in depth as the PM problems. This will allow you to relax on the PM regardless of which section you take.

 

[cpc019]

My concern is that I havent done any environmental since college, but I have a solid knowledge of water resources and that a significant portion of the transportation section as well.

 

[dmparri3]

It is my understanding that for the PM Transportation, you need to be familiar with the references (MUTCD, Roadside Design, etc...), so if you're familiar with these and have a good grasp on water resources, you should be okay. As I said before, I passed WR/E without knowing a lot about environmental. If you are comfortable with unit conversions, mass balancing, and calculating volumes, you should be okay here too. I recommend taking a look at the NCEES example problems for each depth area. Then you can decide which you feel most comfortable with. Of all the example problem books available, the NCEES books are the most similar to the actual exam problems as far as level of difficulty. If you are taking the Oct. exam you may be a little behind if you haven't selected a depth area yet and don't have the recommended references. The best thing to do is pick a depth area and stick with it. If you work enough example problems, after selecting your depth area, it shouldn't matter which one you choose.

 

[ptatohed]

Keep in mind that the Transpo syllabus includes a significant amount of hydraulics and hydrology (2 out of 5 of the 'other' topics which total 25%). So, if you choose Transpo, your water resources skills will help you. Good luck.