# Does the CERM edition matter?



## onamission (Oct 28, 2010)

I have access to the CERM 9th edition set of books that I can borrow. I want to know if I should spend the money to buy the 11th edition of CERM that is out now? What kinds of differences are there between the two?


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## sac_engineer (Oct 28, 2010)

onamission said:


> I have access to the CERM 9th edition set of books that I can borrow. I want to know if I should spend the money to buy the 11th edition of CERM that is out now? What kinds of differences are there between the two?


I wouldn't buy the new edition if you have access to an older version. If possible, I would spend a couple of hours browsing through the new version and compare it with yours, especially if you know which discipline you've chosen for the exam. I would recommend looking at the appendices in the newer version to see if any new tables or charts have been added or modified. Erratas should be available for the version you have so that you can make any necessary corrections.


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## dastuff (Oct 28, 2010)

It all depends on your specialty... A new edition of CERM is much more important to a structural engineer than a water engineer. The codes will be up-to-date and the examples will correlate with the books you should be using.


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## jeb6294 (Dec 19, 2010)

dastuff said:


> It all depends on your specialty... A new edition of CERM is much more important to a structural engineer than a water engineer. The codes will be up-to-date and the examples will correlate with the books you should be using.


Like he said...the only thing that they probably change from edition to addition is the sample questions at the end of every section (just like they did in college so you can never sell your books back and always have to buy a new version).


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## roadwreck (Dec 19, 2010)

jeb6294 said:


> dastuff said:
> 
> 
> > It all depends on your specialty... A new edition of CERM is much more important to a structural engineer than a water engineer. The codes will be up-to-date and the examples will correlate with the books you should be using.
> ...


The new editions are released usually because the reference material which the books are based on have changed or the exam material covered has changed. When I was studying I had a current edition of the CERM, but an older edition of the accompanying practice problems. Many of the practice problems were the same as the current edition CERM, but because the references on which they were based had been updated the solutions to those problems had changed.

Using an older edition of a reference is a calculated risk. If you want to feel confident that you have the most up to date study material than get the current edition books. If you know what has been updated in an older edition and are willing to take the gamble that those deficiencies aren't going to trip you up in your studies or on the exam then you may want to save some money and use an out of date edition. Keep in mind, it's out of date for a reason though.

I know the new edition of the CERM was released due to the addition of the Construction section on the Civil exam. Older editions will not have construction sections. I took the exam before they added the Construction depth section, so I can't speak from experience about how useful those additional sections in the CERM are.


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## St_Kentucky (Dec 19, 2010)

I bought my own copy of the CERM so that I would have a fairly comprehensive reference manual throughout my career. Besides, it would really suck to fail because you used an old CERM!


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## kstatenupe (Dec 22, 2010)

St_Kentucky said:


> I bought my own copy of the CERM so that I would have a fairly comprehensive reference manual throughout my career. Besides, it would really suck to fail because you used an old CERM!


At least for transportation it didnt. I had 3 editions while I was studying, and they were basically the same thing.


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## ALBin517 (Dec 23, 2010)

I used an older version and passed (first time). But I could quickly and easily find everything in my older version because I had used it for years.


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## mpm1732 (Dec 23, 2010)

If you are studying on your own, than the edition shouldn't matter. If you are taking a review course it would be best to have the edition that they request you to have.

On the other hand, I took the School of PE review course and they said to have the 11th edition. The notes they gave referenced the pages from the 11th edition, but I could've gotten away with using an older version.


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## jeb6294 (Dec 26, 2010)

Just as an example...since the Manning formula hasn't changed in 143 years, I think you should be safe with an older version UNLESS you are going to be doing structural or the new Construction exam.


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