# PASS PE :) how did u do it.



## PEoct (Dec 18, 2014)

congratulations to all fresh new PE's

please share your thoughts about how u planned and reference material u used.

thank you for sharing and have a happy holidays.


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## knight1fox3 (Dec 18, 2014)

knight1fox3 said:


> Sorry to hear the news PEoct. Just remember to stay focused and determined. You can do this.
> 
> As for a review course, have you taken any of the more common ones yet? If no, then I recommend GA Tech PE power review course. I really liked the format and accompanying material. Everyone learns different so there are likely other opinions for other courses, but I found the GA Tech course to be extremely helpful. If you check the electrical sub-forum, you can find a lot of good feedback (including some from me). However, my advice to you (I know it sounds easy for me to say), but take the remainder of this year off to spend with family/friends/etc. It will do wonders for your mindset. I realize it's in an engineer's nature to power through a problem until it's solved, but take some time away to recharge. You'll study harder and better for it. Just be ready to hit hard again after the holidays. You'll get there next time. Best of luck! :thumbs:





PEoct said:


> thank you all so much.
> 
> yeah actually i have all the standard references but i dnt know where i am lagging. i know all the complex imaginary problems by heart for 4 months i was just focussed on exam away from everyone. but i dnt know what to do how to improve  , my only hope is taking up course but also i feel that in three month i time if i would be able to manage ,,,,,,,, !


The most important thing in my opinion is to change up your study habits. It's evident that the method you are using may not be the most optimal for you. I had to make the realization also. Try thinking about some alternatives that could help you really hammer on the core concepts (highlighting, tabbing, note cards, etc.). Also start researching review courses. See which one sounds best suited for your learning abilities without looking at the cost.


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## eksor_PE (Dec 19, 2014)

PEoct said:


> congratulations to all fresh new PE's
> 
> please share your thoughts about how u planned and reference material u used.
> 
> thank you for sharing and have a happy holidays.




Come back strong PEOct!

These are the references I used mostly:

- My notes and formula from references

- Power Systems Analysis and Design 5th ed. by Glover et. al

- Elements of Power System Analysis 4th ed. by Stevenson

- SPD Electrical Protection Handbook by Cooper Bussman

- Electrical Machines, Drives, and Power Systems 6th ed. by Wildi

- Earth Grounding Resistance by Fluke (Technical Article)

IMO, the PE-Power exam tests your basic knowledge/design. However, the way the questions asked were very tricky. Knowing the theoretical concepts eliminate the trick questions/answers. FWIW, this was my first attempt, so I don't have other scenarios of PE-Power exam to compare it with. Good luck next time!


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## PEoct (Dec 19, 2014)

eksor_PE said:


> PEoct said:
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thank you so much. i am planning to not go for classes i will do the thorough study and work more hard, i will get Glover book.


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## electricalPickles PE (Dec 20, 2014)

PEoct said:


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Hmm....It somewhat sounds like you're setting yourself up for failure. Don't completely reject the idea of a class. I took the GaTech class and passed. I don't know if that was what did it - but believe me I don't regret for a second spending the extra $1k at this point.


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## Ship Wreck PE (Dec 20, 2014)

I also took the Ga tech class, and I got my company to pay for it. I am pretty sure the class nailed about 5 questions for me, so I probably would not have passed without the class. When I took the class, it was prerecorded videos, and I manned up and went through the entire class (33 hrs).twice.


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## jagster (Dec 21, 2014)

I passed the PE exam on my first try. I just want to tell my story.

There are no shortcuts to pass the exam. The only thing to do is studying hard for the exam. I spent over 300 hours preparing for the exam. My suggestion to all of the people preparing for the exam is *Study hard and don't believe anyone who says they passed the exam by just preparing for a month or so (Either they are very lucky to get the questions they know or their guesses became right). *the more you prepare the more time you will have to spend on searching in your reference for the questions you have no idea of.

as I did lot of problems during preparations, I knocked off those problems very quickly. you would be amazed to see how much who would be left with after you are done with the problems you are confident on. don't feel shame in taking as many reference you can find. I found close to 5 answers just by searching my references. keep lot of books to carry to the exam and make some books as your favorite references.

the exam was not tough, but depends how you keep yourself cool in the exam. I have two of my friends who prepared with me for the exam failed after they lost confidence just by not getting the first 3 questions in the morning. I was also in the same situation for first 10 to 15 minutes and then decided to take restroom break and started doing problems from back after the break. this did wonders for me. `my two friends prepared a lot and they were just not lucky. they are very intelligent and hard workers. I know them for the past 12 years. so keep yourself calm and I am sure you guys will the pass the exam.

I cannot tell anything but to prepare hard and go to the exam, keep yourself calm and cool. by keeping cool you can find some answers which you have no idea of by searching the references.

Good luck to all in passing the exam.


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## Ken PE 3.1 (Dec 21, 2014)

I know a lot of people are looking for a secret formula from those of us who passed.

Take it from a guy who took 4 attempts to pass, it's not there.

I saw enough tests to tell you that each one is fairly unique.

I know everyone still wants answers, so here are mine.

Read through these forums and then find resources for those topics either in a book or print it out and bind it. I had a couple of binders with me.

Finally, and most importantly, I changed my approach. I did pretty much the same thing the first 3 times. That did not work.

I was way better organized this time and, thankfully, the outcome was different.

It is tough, but it can be done.


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## cupojoe PE PMP (Dec 21, 2014)

PEoct said:


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My 2-cents....if you have the Wildi book and Grainger/Stevenson book, you probably don't need to run out and buy another $150 text book. Everything in Glover is covered by Wildi and Grainger. My recommendation is to not buy this book because it sounds like it will be a waste of money and more importantly another reference will be a distraction from your studying.

Also a class such as School of PE will help you focus your studying on important topics. They are expensive, but ask yourself how much you will spend if you have to retake the test again. By the time you include test fees, application fees, transportation, hotel, food, a day off work, and all that time studying, $1k is easy to justify.


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## eksor_PE (Dec 21, 2014)

cupojoe PE said:


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That may be true in some aspects. However, I found that the Glover book has more examples and are easy to follow compared to my copy of 4th ed. Stevenson especially in Chapter 10. Additional references shouldn't make distraction from your studying; it should build your confidence and understanding of the concepts.

Well, it was way easier for me to justify spending $150 reference book than spending $1k for review class. To each his own.


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## cupojoe PE PMP (Dec 22, 2014)

eksor_PE said:


> cupojoe PE said:
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Understood. I actually bought the Wildi, Grainger, and Glover books plus took SoPE. I was initially on the fence over buying Glover, but it was the book we used in college for the power systems class, but couldn't find it. I thought having a book that I already have read and taken notes out of would make it easier. IMHO, the Wildi &amp; Grainger books explain concepts more clearly, where the Glover book has some better examples for working problems. I found the class combined with Wildi &amp; Grainger to be the most effective, so that would be my recommendation, but each person learns differently and is at a different stage in their academic &amp; professional learning, so each of these materials may be more or less helpful.


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## PEoct (Dec 22, 2014)

thank you guys

i will buy Glover book. and not going for classes this time around. with three months time will concentrate more and improve my approach.

thank you and have a happy holidays.


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## Submarine Guy (Dec 26, 2014)

I'll add some personal experiences to what others have already said. Some of it may be a repeat so I apologize in advance if you find yourself reading something that has already been discussed.

I passed the first time, though frankly after the exam I wasn't very confident that I did. I spent a lot of hours preparing, it's tough to say how many exactly but if I had to put a number on it, I would guess about 250-300 hours. I didn't take a review course. I've always been a self motivated, independent study kind of person. I feel like while a class would benefit some, it would just slow me down. I do wish that I had the Georgia Tech binder though, it sounds like it was pretty helpful.

In terms of my study approach, I mostly used the Complex Imaginary (CI) questions as a starting point. I would use my reference books for each question to find and read as much as I could about the topic (a decent amount of this was theory behind the concept; though I feel like I could have spent a little more time on theory).

If the answer wasn't in one of my reference books, I would use Google to search for the answer and print whatever reference material I was able to find. The first time through the CI exam questions, I wasn't really worried about how long it took or if I got the right answer, I was more concerned with learning the topic. I say learning because I finished college 16 years ago so I felt like a lot of the topics I had to completely re-learn.

As I looked at the CI questions, I tried to ask myself how they could change the question and ask it another way. I feel like this helped me a great deal during the exam since the test questions were obviously not much like the CI questions. After I went through all four CI exams, I started working the NCEES sample questions. I then went back and did all of the CI exams again, this time more like a timed exam. About a week before the exam I did the same thing with the NCEES sample questions using a clock for timing to try to simulate exam conditions.

I had a large (~3") binder with my own reference material that I found while studying the CI exams. Examples include lighting, using the MVA method, NEMA enclosures, ground fault detection, circulating currents in transformers, etc. With that said, I still feel like there were some topics that I didn't have enough information on when it came time for the exam (e.g. adjustable speed drives, resistance grounding).

I wish that I had spent more time working NEC code type problems. I was pretty good answering the code related questions in the CI and NCEES sample exams, however my experience was that this didn't really help me answer the code questions on the actual exam. In fact, some of the code questions on the exam I couldn't even find the answer for and had to make an educated guess.

A lot of people have said the Camara book isn't very helpful, but I used it quite a bit on the exam. I also used an old textbook from college by Yamayee which I found very helpful, and I used a relaying book by Blackburn which was fairly handy as well. I had the Grainger / Stevenson book but didn't find it nearly as useful as others have. I used the Wildi book quite a bit. A late edition to my reference list was a book by Alex Graffeo. It would have been helpful to have this earlier. It helped me answer at least a couple exam questions, which could have possibly meant the difference between pass and fail.

Whatever references you use, I would say to know them very well. Mark them with tabs for important topics. I only had my NEC code book marked and in hindsight realized I should have tabbed my other books as well. This cost me some valuable time looking through my references when I should have just been able to flip directly to a topic. I could have used that time to answer other questions that I really needed to look up.

I didn't realize I needed a copy of the NFPA 70E on the exam. There was a question directly from one of the tables that I don't think would have been possible to answer without this book unless you were familiar with arc flash requirements from practical experience. I also could have used a reference on fluorescent light requirements. I was glad I brought a full copy of the NESC and not just the index as this helped me answer a question.

I feel like even though I started studying in July for the October exam, I should have started earlier so I could really dig into the concepts more. It wasn't until two months before the exam that I was really studying every day. I felt confident going into the exam and felt like I timed my studying well, but in hindsight I could have dug into the theory a little more in the July / August time which probably would have helped answer some of the questions that I struggled with.

Hopefully this helps, and best of luck!


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## Chris Sutton (Dec 30, 2014)

My .02.

There are plenty of responses on what to study. I had to pass the FE/PE 18 years out of college. While I passed the PE on the first attempt the lessons on studying for the FE are what enabled me to pass on the first try.

First thing I had to do was acknowledge I couldn't just squeeze in the study time I needed. I really had to make sacrifices on activities and time that I spent elsewhere. In a typical year I would attend all of the college home football games. This year I did not go to any. Small example, but that was time I spent studying.

Second thing was to set me up an environment different than where I did other activities. I studied mostly at work after hours and weekends, but I had to set up a table away from my desk. No computer, no email, I even left my iPhone across the room to limit the distractions.

I did take a formal classroom class (Test-masters). There was a good bit of information presented that was helpful. They provide some test taking advice, that proved to be very helpful. Categorizing the types of questions on the test so you spend the amount of time on the answers you can get. Additionally their training schedule had me staying overnight in hotels which allowed me to get away from my real life to study.

Have a great formula sheet/sheets that you make yourself from the weeks of studying you do. The more you study the more you will add to it. There are multiple ways to solve many problems, but you want the formula that get you there quickly.

Ultimately you have to find your own way, but the hours of good study are proportional to the grade you make on the test.


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## EEgator PE (Dec 30, 2014)

Submarine Guy said:


> I'll add some personal experiences to what others have already said. Some of it may be a repeat so I apologize in advance if you find yourself reading something that has already been discussed.
> 
> I passed the first time, though frankly after the exam I wasn't very confident that I did. I spent a lot of hours preparing, it's tough to say how many exactly but if I had to put a number on it, I would guess about 250-300 hours. I didn't take a review course. I've always been a self motivated, independent study kind of person. I feel like while a class would benefit some, it would just slow me down. I do wish that I had the Georgia Tech binder though, it sounds like it was pretty helpful.
> 
> ...


I did almost the same exact things you listed (including not bringing a copy of NFPA 70E) and passed on the first attempt. I read the relevant chapters in Wildi, all of graffeo, Grainger's, Chapman, and the handbook of electrical power calculations before working any problems which seemed to help quite a bit. I also used the CI NEC drill book along with the 4 volumes of practice problems. I didn't care for the Camara book either until taking the test. It seems like I found at least 3-4 answers in that book alone.


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