# What should I do next?



## JoeysVee (Aug 17, 2009)

I will be completely through the MERM (read chapters and worked end of the chap problems) sometime this week. What should I do next? I do not feel confident about any of the areas just to be honest. Since I'm taking the HVAC depth my exam will be ~60% HVAC and I will only have ~2 months left before the exam so I'm wondering what I should do next.

I'm thinking about spending about 1 week of working problems (including 6 min solution books, problems from the Clemson PE course workbooks, etc.) from each of the following areas:

Wk 1 Thermo/Power Cycles

Wk 2 Machine Design (Ch. 43-60)

Wk 3 Fluids/Hydrualics

Wk 4 Heat Transfer/Combustion

Then that would leave me about 1 month of working nothing but HVAC problems. About half way through this month of HVAC I will be taking 2 sample exams.

What do you guys think of this plan? Please give suggestions....Thanks!


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## Capt Worley PE (Aug 17, 2009)

Do 'em all again. I can't tell you how many times I went through the MERM...


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## Agg97 (Aug 17, 2009)

JoeysVee said:


> I will be completely through the MERM (read chapters and worked end of the chap problems) sometime this week. What should I do next? I do not feel confident about any of the areas just to be honest. Since I'm taking the HVAC depth my exam will be ~60% HVAC and I will only have ~2 months left before the exam so I'm wondering what I should do next.
> I'm thinking about spending about 1 week of working problems (including 6 min solution books, problems from the Clemson PE course workbooks, etc.) from each of the following areas:
> 
> Wk 1 Thermo
> ...


I'd work all 3 Six Minute Solutions next. Both morning and afternoon sessions of all 3. Then, do all 3 morning sessions again and the HVAC depth section again. Concentrate on tabbing your MERM with useful equations while working these problems. The second time you go through, you should be able to figure out which formula you need and already start working the problem within 15 seconds.


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## buick455 (Aug 17, 2009)

I just finished skimming the MERM this weekend and in doing so prepared my quick reference spread sheet which is 14 pages. I also just completed all the sample problems in the 2001 NCEES disk so I plan to go through their timed exam (on disc) using the quick reference index to see how fast I can do these problems.

I would recommend doing as many problems of all types as you can and in doing so make up a quick reference for the MERM and other references so you can find what your looking for quickly.

Did you take the Clemson course yet and if so how was it?


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## Kephart P.E. (Aug 17, 2009)

buick455 said:


> I just finished skimming the MERM this weekend and in doing so prepared my quick reference spread sheet which is 14 pages. I also just completed all the sample problems in the 2001 NCEES disk so I plan to go through their timed exam (on disc) using the quick reference index to see how fast I can do these problems.
> I would recommend doing as many problems of all types as you can and in doing so make up a quick reference for the MERM and other references so you can find what your looking for quickly.
> 
> Did you take the Clemson course yet and if so how was it?



I would be working problems, try to work them out of order, ie different subjects, that was an area that really helped was being able to quickly switch gears.


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## Capt Worley PE (Aug 17, 2009)

^Good point. You're gonna be flicking from chapter to chapter very quickly during the test. best to get used to doing it and finding stuff quickly.


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## buick455 (Aug 18, 2009)

Capt Worley PE said:


> ^Good point. You're gonna be flicking from chapter to chapter very quickly during the test. best to get used to doing it and finding stuff quickly.


I am not sure about other people but for me once I get in the exam (twice so far) I have found it difficult to concentrate a problem if I do not know exactly how to solve it for fear I am taking too long. I can not emphasis enough the need to do timed exam type problems and mixing it up so you have no idea what the next problem may be focused on. When I went through the Lindeburg chapters and worked the problems I had little difficulty as I knew what the problem was about and where the supporting documentation was located. This is not how the exam is. The NCEES problems are the best you can work so I would work them two or three times over. The think about the what ifs, i.e. what if they changed the problem around and asked for a variable that they gave you then work it that way.


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## Sschell (Aug 18, 2009)

I say do as many problems as you can from as many sources as you can find.


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## JoeysVee (Aug 18, 2009)

buick455 said:


> I am not sure about other people but for me once I get in the exam (twice so far) I have found it difficult to concentrate a problem if I do not know exactly how to solve it for fear I am taking too long. I can not emphasis enough the need to do timed exam type problems and mixing it up so you have no idea what the next problem may be focused on. When I went through the Lindeburg chapters and worked the problems I had little difficulty as I knew what the problem was about and where the supporting documentation was located. This is not how the exam is. The NCEES problems are the best you can work so I would work them two or three times over. The think about the what ifs, i.e. what if they changed the problem around and asked for a variable that they gave you then work it that way.



This is very true. When I took the exam, going in to it I felt like I knew the stuff but when I started the exam I was way thrown off due to the questions being all mixed up. This caused me to take longer per problem. Then I felt the pressure of running behind and it was all downhill from there.

Here's my question today about this.... I noticed with the 2008 NCEES sample exam, the problems (morning section) are grouped together by area (eng principles including econ, Machine Design, fluids, thermo, then HVAC) but I don't remember the exam having the problems grouped together by area.

Does the exam now have problems grouped together by general area like the 2008 NCEES sample exam or not? Thanks!


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## Sschell (Aug 18, 2009)

^ I don't remember for sure, but I don't think so....

As far as knowing how to approach the probles, that is at the heart of the PE exam... that is the challenge. the math is not that complicated, nothing about doing the problems is that tough, its knowing which information is usefull to the given problem (they always give you unnecessary BS to throw you off) and knowing which equation to use. the rest is basically plug and chug.


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## buick455 (Aug 18, 2009)

sschell_PE said:


> ^ I don't remember for sure, but I don't think so....
> 
> As far as knowing how to approach the probles, that is at the heart of the PE exam... that is the challenge. the math is not that complicated, nothing about doing the problems is that tough, its knowing which information is usefull to the given problem (they always give you unnecessary BS to throw you off) and knowing which equation to use. the rest is basically plug and chug.


This is true as I did not feel either exam was hard but due the the volume of problems and the mix it makes it difficult. My brain was literally fried after 8 hours.

I do not remember if the problems were grouped or not but I would not plan for them to be.


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## Shaggy (Aug 18, 2009)

They weren't grouped in 2007.

I remember I struggled with the very first problem. It was an HVAC heat transfer problem. That was a scary feeling. I ended up moving on to the next one. After getting a few heat transfer problems under my belt, I moved back to the first problem and was able to complete it.

I don't know what the moral of that story was, just felt I would share...


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## chaocl (Aug 18, 2009)

I can't give a good advice because I haven't take my Oct, 2009 PE exam.

However, if I were you that I will do a lot of exam sets (NCEE--different editions, Lindeburg sample exam and problems, and 6 mins solutions).

Remeber where they located !!!


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## MechGuy (Aug 18, 2009)

JoeysVee said:


> This is very true. When I took the exam, going in to it I felt like I knew the stuff but when I started the exam I was way thrown off due to the questions being all mixed up. This caused me to take longer per problem. Then I felt the pressure of running behind and it was all downhill from there.
> Here's my question today about this.... I noticed with the 2008 NCEES sample exam, the problems (morning section) are grouped together by area (eng principles including econ, Machine Design, fluids, thermo, then HVAC) but I don't remember the exam having the problems grouped together by area.
> 
> Does the exam now have problems grouped together by general area like the 2008 NCEES sample exam or not? Thanks!



The problems will probably not be grouped. They weren't any of the times I took the exam, and the last was in Oct 08.


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