Now that I officially passed, here are some tips from my experience after taking the exam this fall.
This post is intended for general information and reference so take everything I say with a grain of salt.
General:
I just want to give some context before giving my thoughts.
I'm not the smartest engineer by any means but I am usually able to perform well during tests.
My background includes steel, concrete, and foundation design.
There were many depth problems in the sample exams that I have encountered at my job in the past 4 years so this helped a lot in my preparation.
Since college, I haven't looked at any of the morning topics besides structural and geotech (as it relates to foundations).
My goal was to get 30 correct for each portion of the test. From previous year threads and other resources, I knew this score would pretty much guarantee passing.
Time:
After reading through the CERM, blogs, and articles, I was a little worried about the time recommended for studying.
Many of them recommended studying 200 to 300 hours for the exam which I knew I wasn't going to be able to meet.
I wasn't approved by my state board until late in July, so I was only going to have ~2 months to study.
I'm not the type of person who can force myself to a set schedule of 2 hours/day during the week and 4 hours/day on the weekend.
I knew I was probably going to end up 2 hours/day for the two months of preparation. Some days more and some days less.
My total number of hours studying was going to end up around 100.
One month out, I thought I wasn't nearly as prepared as I'd hoped, but at the two week mark I was burned out and could hardly open the material any more.
The last two weeks I just reviewed all the practice problems and sample exams, tabbed my CERM and codes, and prepared any binders I would bring.
Don't get caught up with numbers or schedule when it comes to studying. Study all the topics as much as possible but take breaks when it starts to wear.
Don't go full hermit mode. Continue to exercise, have a drink with friends for an hour, watch a football game, whatever you enjoy doing. Just not too much
.
Some of you may require 200 to 300 hours and if you have the time it won't hurt your chances.
For me as a working engineer, I felt that 100 hours was enough and I'm not sure any more time studying would have increased my odds.
Study Method:
I'm the type of person who learns the material best by working through problems and by myself.
I jumped straight into doing practice problems from CERM, 6-minute solutions, and two NCEES sample exams.
As I would work through problems and get stuck or couldn't remember the theory/method from school, I would read through the CERM and other materials for clarification.
I alternated between morning and afternoon problems every day. Monday - Geotech, Tuesday - Steel Design, and so on.
I would work through every section between morning and afternoon and then cycle back and do it all over again.
I think I was able to complete the cycle at least twice maybe even three times. I lost track to be honest.
Each time the cycle was easier because the material was fresh and not too far back.
This allowed me to be able to just review material for the last two weeks since I had already gone through everything a couple of times already.
I know for some people this wouldn't cut it, but for me personally, I feel it was the best decision I made.
I would also tab or note any table, figure, equation that were important as I worked through the practice problems.
I had my own system that allowed me to find information very quickly. Use whatever system you like, just make sure it is efficient.
Every minute you save, you will be able to use on a problem that trips you up or you haven't seen before.
Study Material:
For the morning, I used the CERM and a binder with worked out example problems for each topic.
Each section of my binder was separated according to the NCEES outline.
I barely used my sample problems during the exam and used the CERM almost exclusively.
I'm sure many of the other reference manuals are just as good but I found the CERM adequate.
For the afternoon, I had most of the codes already and borrowed the few I didn't have from colleagues.
I also had another binder with worked out problems. Each section of the binder was separated according to the NCEES outline also.
I bought the SERM manual but only used it for basic bridge and prestressed examples.
I didn't find the steel, concrete, and foundation sections that helpful but it's probably because I was already very familiar with them.
Personally, I thought the 6-minute solution book was a waste of money.
Many of the problems used older codes that were no longer relevant and others were too long for this test.
They weren't necessarily difficult, but I moved on from them after comparing to the NCEES sample exams.
Morning:
I found the actual morning test to be pretty easy and basic. I was pretty confident I was able to get at least 35/40 correct.
Here is what I did.
There were some topics that only had a handful of examples while others I knew I would never be able to do every possible problem.
Instead I focused on the main items for each section listed in the NCEES outline.
Make sure you can calculate an elevation at a certain point on a vertical curve, the head loss in a pipe due to friction, the soil classification, etc.
If you have enough variations of the problems for the topics in the outline, you will be ready.
Move on to the depth problems. These are much harder and require more time during your studying.
I think 1 month of solid time devoted is enough to get at least 30/40 correct in the morning section.
Afternoon:
I found the afternoon to be more difficult than the NCEES sample exams. The design problems weren't bad and about the same as the NCEES sample exam,
but there were a bunch of random code questions that I'm sure most people who took the test have never seen before.
Work through as many structural analysis and design problems as possible and TAB your codes to help your efficiency.
Get to the point that you know chapter 6 in ASCE is wind loads, chapter G in AISC is shear strength, etc.
The only code I didn't bring due to shear laziness was the AASHTO code.
I didn't feel like bringing a huge binder for a code that I haven't used before.
Take it from me, don't cheap out or leave behind any of the codes.
There may be a simple problem in the afternoon that you will kicking yourself later on like I was when I left the exam.
Every correct problem adds up when you are trying to reach a solid score.
After a month, I knew ASCE, AISC, ACI, TMS, and NDS very well and was able to find most information quickly.
Most of these I have used a lot already but there were plenty of areas I needed to improve in before the exam.
I didn't have enough time to work with PCI, IBC, and AASHTO, so I didn't bother trying to learn these.
I knew IBC was pretty much copy past from ASCE and I thought that if I knew the main codes very well it would make up for 1 or 2 PCI/AASHTO questions.
Once again, focus on the main topics and try to work out as many variations of the problems as possible.
There are only 40 problems in the afternoon. Don't work out 100 steel design problems when there might only be 3 or 4 during the exam.
Know how to calculate concrete one-way shear and two-way shear strength, steel flexure strength when Lb < Lp or Lb>Lp, seismic design category based on 1-sec or short second periods, just to name a few.
If you are able to master most of the topics listed in the NCEES outline, you will be fine.
I never learned masonry or timber design in college and was able to get a good handle on these pretty quickly.
Remember that the basic principles are the same but the design codes are a little different for each material.
I think 1 to 1-1/2 months studying is enough time for most structural engineers to get approximately 30/40 correct.
It will vary depending on how much experience you have with different materials.
Don't lie to yourself when it comes to this.
If you only specialize in timber design, make sure to allow enough time to brush up or learn the other design codes.
Exam:
I believe one of the most important things to do during an exam of this magnitude is to RELAX.
The more stressed you become the more likely you will make a simple mistake.
Most of you like me aren't going to get every question right. Know and come to grips with this before the exam.
Have a goal in mind of how many you can realistically get correct. My goal was 30 and 30 and I feel this is good one to use.
Don't spend too much time on any one problem. If it's not working out, move on. There are only 40 total for each section.
I marked the answers I felt pretty confident in with a check mark and the other ones with a question.
I left my scantron empty at this point and waited until I was finished to fill it in.
Use your clock/watch wisely. Don't keep looking at it during the test. Glance up every few problems to get a sense where you stand.
I had no issues with time and was able to finish both portions in 2 hours.
There were probably ~5 questions for each part that I guessed on the first attempt, but I now had another 2 hours to figure them out or give a more educated guess.
I know for a fact there were a few that when I came back to them I was able to immediately figure out what I did wrong on the first attempt.
This also left plenty of time to double check the "correct" answers for any other mistakes.
With 1 hour left for each section, I filled in my scantron.
After this, I glanced through all the problems one last time to make sure nothing stood out for my solutions.
I can't stress enough to absolutely make sure the answers match. This is my biggest fear with scantron tests.
Don't let this be the reason you fail. I think I checked my scantron about 5 times and was still nervous.
No matter how good or bad you feel you did in the morning, don't let this change your focus for the afternoon.
If you think you did well, you are halfway to the finish line.
And if you didn't do as well as you had hoped, now is your chance to swing the pendulum back in your favor.
I was pretty confident that I scored 35/40 correct in the morning and thought man I got this.
After speaking with many colleagues who felt the same way I did, I can promise you the afternoon part might find a way to humble you.
The point isn't to scare you but for you to realize to not lose focus.
Go to lunch and relax but know that it isn't in the bag yet.
I recommend a light lunch. You don't want to waste time in the bathroom buckshotting the toilet when every minute counts.
Come back ready to knock this beast out of the park.
I wasn't as satisfied as I wanted to be after the afternoon, but it was probably because I was more critically of my answers than the morning.
If I had to guess, I think I scored ~ 30/40 correct in the afternoon.
It's hard to know how you really did when you walk out of all day exam like this.
It wears on you mentally, physically, and emotionally, but I thought I had a really good chance when I walked to my truck.
Don't beat yourself up if you realize a day later that you made a simple mistake on a problem or it didn't go as perfectly as you had hoped.
Either way, whatever happens..happens.
Summary:
I know most of the things I've listed have been said before, but it's always nice to hear that they are still relevant.
I also apologize for any grammatical errors in advance.
Remember this a journey and one stepping block in your career path.
It's not the end but only the beginning.
This post is intended for general information and reference so take everything I say with a grain of salt.
General:
I just want to give some context before giving my thoughts.
I'm not the smartest engineer by any means but I am usually able to perform well during tests.
My background includes steel, concrete, and foundation design.
There were many depth problems in the sample exams that I have encountered at my job in the past 4 years so this helped a lot in my preparation.
Since college, I haven't looked at any of the morning topics besides structural and geotech (as it relates to foundations).
My goal was to get 30 correct for each portion of the test. From previous year threads and other resources, I knew this score would pretty much guarantee passing.
Time:
After reading through the CERM, blogs, and articles, I was a little worried about the time recommended for studying.
Many of them recommended studying 200 to 300 hours for the exam which I knew I wasn't going to be able to meet.
I wasn't approved by my state board until late in July, so I was only going to have ~2 months to study.
I'm not the type of person who can force myself to a set schedule of 2 hours/day during the week and 4 hours/day on the weekend.
I knew I was probably going to end up 2 hours/day for the two months of preparation. Some days more and some days less.
My total number of hours studying was going to end up around 100.
One month out, I thought I wasn't nearly as prepared as I'd hoped, but at the two week mark I was burned out and could hardly open the material any more.
The last two weeks I just reviewed all the practice problems and sample exams, tabbed my CERM and codes, and prepared any binders I would bring.
Don't get caught up with numbers or schedule when it comes to studying. Study all the topics as much as possible but take breaks when it starts to wear.
Don't go full hermit mode. Continue to exercise, have a drink with friends for an hour, watch a football game, whatever you enjoy doing. Just not too much
.Some of you may require 200 to 300 hours and if you have the time it won't hurt your chances.
For me as a working engineer, I felt that 100 hours was enough and I'm not sure any more time studying would have increased my odds.
Study Method:
I'm the type of person who learns the material best by working through problems and by myself.
I jumped straight into doing practice problems from CERM, 6-minute solutions, and two NCEES sample exams.
As I would work through problems and get stuck or couldn't remember the theory/method from school, I would read through the CERM and other materials for clarification.
I alternated between morning and afternoon problems every day. Monday - Geotech, Tuesday - Steel Design, and so on.
I would work through every section between morning and afternoon and then cycle back and do it all over again.
I think I was able to complete the cycle at least twice maybe even three times. I lost track to be honest.
Each time the cycle was easier because the material was fresh and not too far back.
This allowed me to be able to just review material for the last two weeks since I had already gone through everything a couple of times already.
I know for some people this wouldn't cut it, but for me personally, I feel it was the best decision I made.
I would also tab or note any table, figure, equation that were important as I worked through the practice problems.
I had my own system that allowed me to find information very quickly. Use whatever system you like, just make sure it is efficient.
Every minute you save, you will be able to use on a problem that trips you up or you haven't seen before.
Study Material:
For the morning, I used the CERM and a binder with worked out example problems for each topic.
Each section of my binder was separated according to the NCEES outline.
I barely used my sample problems during the exam and used the CERM almost exclusively.
I'm sure many of the other reference manuals are just as good but I found the CERM adequate.
For the afternoon, I had most of the codes already and borrowed the few I didn't have from colleagues.
I also had another binder with worked out problems. Each section of the binder was separated according to the NCEES outline also.
I bought the SERM manual but only used it for basic bridge and prestressed examples.
I didn't find the steel, concrete, and foundation sections that helpful but it's probably because I was already very familiar with them.
Personally, I thought the 6-minute solution book was a waste of money.
Many of the problems used older codes that were no longer relevant and others were too long for this test.
They weren't necessarily difficult, but I moved on from them after comparing to the NCEES sample exams.
Morning:
I found the actual morning test to be pretty easy and basic. I was pretty confident I was able to get at least 35/40 correct.
Here is what I did.
There were some topics that only had a handful of examples while others I knew I would never be able to do every possible problem.
Instead I focused on the main items for each section listed in the NCEES outline.
Make sure you can calculate an elevation at a certain point on a vertical curve, the head loss in a pipe due to friction, the soil classification, etc.
If you have enough variations of the problems for the topics in the outline, you will be ready.
Move on to the depth problems. These are much harder and require more time during your studying.
I think 1 month of solid time devoted is enough to get at least 30/40 correct in the morning section.
Afternoon:
I found the afternoon to be more difficult than the NCEES sample exams. The design problems weren't bad and about the same as the NCEES sample exam,
but there were a bunch of random code questions that I'm sure most people who took the test have never seen before.
Work through as many structural analysis and design problems as possible and TAB your codes to help your efficiency.
Get to the point that you know chapter 6 in ASCE is wind loads, chapter G in AISC is shear strength, etc.
The only code I didn't bring due to shear laziness was the AASHTO code.
I didn't feel like bringing a huge binder for a code that I haven't used before.
Take it from me, don't cheap out or leave behind any of the codes.
There may be a simple problem in the afternoon that you will kicking yourself later on like I was when I left the exam.
Every correct problem adds up when you are trying to reach a solid score.
After a month, I knew ASCE, AISC, ACI, TMS, and NDS very well and was able to find most information quickly.
Most of these I have used a lot already but there were plenty of areas I needed to improve in before the exam.
I didn't have enough time to work with PCI, IBC, and AASHTO, so I didn't bother trying to learn these.
I knew IBC was pretty much copy past from ASCE and I thought that if I knew the main codes very well it would make up for 1 or 2 PCI/AASHTO questions.
Once again, focus on the main topics and try to work out as many variations of the problems as possible.
There are only 40 problems in the afternoon. Don't work out 100 steel design problems when there might only be 3 or 4 during the exam.
Know how to calculate concrete one-way shear and two-way shear strength, steel flexure strength when Lb < Lp or Lb>Lp, seismic design category based on 1-sec or short second periods, just to name a few.
If you are able to master most of the topics listed in the NCEES outline, you will be fine.
I never learned masonry or timber design in college and was able to get a good handle on these pretty quickly.
Remember that the basic principles are the same but the design codes are a little different for each material.
I think 1 to 1-1/2 months studying is enough time for most structural engineers to get approximately 30/40 correct.
It will vary depending on how much experience you have with different materials.
Don't lie to yourself when it comes to this.
If you only specialize in timber design, make sure to allow enough time to brush up or learn the other design codes.
Exam:
I believe one of the most important things to do during an exam of this magnitude is to RELAX.
The more stressed you become the more likely you will make a simple mistake.
Most of you like me aren't going to get every question right. Know and come to grips with this before the exam.
Have a goal in mind of how many you can realistically get correct. My goal was 30 and 30 and I feel this is good one to use.
Don't spend too much time on any one problem. If it's not working out, move on. There are only 40 total for each section.
I marked the answers I felt pretty confident in with a check mark and the other ones with a question.
I left my scantron empty at this point and waited until I was finished to fill it in.
Use your clock/watch wisely. Don't keep looking at it during the test. Glance up every few problems to get a sense where you stand.
I had no issues with time and was able to finish both portions in 2 hours.
There were probably ~5 questions for each part that I guessed on the first attempt, but I now had another 2 hours to figure them out or give a more educated guess.
I know for a fact there were a few that when I came back to them I was able to immediately figure out what I did wrong on the first attempt.
This also left plenty of time to double check the "correct" answers for any other mistakes.
With 1 hour left for each section, I filled in my scantron.
After this, I glanced through all the problems one last time to make sure nothing stood out for my solutions.
I can't stress enough to absolutely make sure the answers match. This is my biggest fear with scantron tests.
Don't let this be the reason you fail. I think I checked my scantron about 5 times and was still nervous.
No matter how good or bad you feel you did in the morning, don't let this change your focus for the afternoon.
If you think you did well, you are halfway to the finish line.
And if you didn't do as well as you had hoped, now is your chance to swing the pendulum back in your favor.
I was pretty confident that I scored 35/40 correct in the morning and thought man I got this.
After speaking with many colleagues who felt the same way I did, I can promise you the afternoon part might find a way to humble you.
The point isn't to scare you but for you to realize to not lose focus.
Go to lunch and relax but know that it isn't in the bag yet.
I recommend a light lunch. You don't want to waste time in the bathroom buckshotting the toilet when every minute counts.
Come back ready to knock this beast out of the park.
I wasn't as satisfied as I wanted to be after the afternoon, but it was probably because I was more critically of my answers than the morning.
If I had to guess, I think I scored ~ 30/40 correct in the afternoon.
It's hard to know how you really did when you walk out of all day exam like this.
It wears on you mentally, physically, and emotionally, but I thought I had a really good chance when I walked to my truck.
Don't beat yourself up if you realize a day later that you made a simple mistake on a problem or it didn't go as perfectly as you had hoped.
Either way, whatever happens..happens.
Summary:
I know most of the things I've listed have been said before, but it's always nice to hear that they are still relevant.
I also apologize for any grammatical errors in advance.
Remember this a journey and one stepping block in your career path.
It's not the end but only the beginning.
