April 2019 Civil Construction PE Exam - Pass or Fail

[civilrobot PE etc etc]

I reviewed the pass rates for April 2019 and it's unfortunately as predictable as previous years. 

I'm trying to stay focused on Construction since this is where most of my experience lies, but it's becoming more tempting to jump ship into Structural depth. 

Did you pass or fail? How did you prepare? 

 

[ruggercsc]

It has been a couple of years since I took the test but my advice is stick with what you know and don't switch to another discipline because of the pass rates. 

 

[RF509]

I just completed the course with EET for both breadth and depth review for Civil Construction and passed the first time thanks to the construction course. I would highly highly recommend the depth course with EET specifically for construction. The instructor provided example problems that were exactly the format of the exam. I do not believe I would have gotten such accurate examples elsewhere. I had more success in the afternoon portion of the exam than I did in the AM thanks to this class. The instructor was extremely encouraging and always had quick turn around for my long list of questions via email. The course was laid out in a very organized fashion.

 

[civilrobot PE etc etc]

It has been a couple of years since I took the test but my advice is stick with what you know and don't switch to another discipline because of the pass rates. 

@ruggercsc you are always there to talk me down from this ledge. I end up at this point like clockwork, panicking. Thank you for always being consistent. You probably see this sentence as a small and inconsequential opinion, but to me it's reassuring motivation. Thank you. I've been living and breathing CM and Project Management for over 16 years so I know it's the best fit. It's a little scary when you see these results though. I've met a number of engineers who are true Mechanical or Electrical Engineers who stumble into CM as a career path and these are the folks who are probably sitting for the exam. I need to remember that.

 

[civilrobot PE etc etc]

I just completed the course with EET for both breadth and depth review for Civil Construction and passed the first time thanks to the construction course. I would highly highly recommend the depth course with EET specifically for construction. The instructor provided example problems that were exactly the format of the exam. I do not believe I would have gotten such accurate examples elsewhere. I had more success in the afternoon portion of the exam than I did in the AM thanks to this class. The instructor was extremely encouraging and always had quick turn around for my long list of questions via email. The course was laid out in a very organized fashion.

Congratulations and thank you. I'm planning to take the EET course. I'm waiting on approval from our department for my office to finance the class. If I can take it for free, then I'll wait it out to start. I want to start in July at the latest.

 

[Lov4eng]

I passed the PE exam construction. Highly recommend EETUSA for this preparation. Very well organized material, and helpful!

 

[Wario]

I've taken the construction portion more times than I want to admit. What I found was overtime I have accumulated enough references, made enough binders, but it is obvious that the problem portion of my exercise is lacking. I need problems in specific subjects to survive , especially in construction. Construction seems to be a topic where there is a lacking of solid problem reference books, I can easily find structural problems , hundreds....but construction related problems to this exam are hard to find. I have the PassPE Civil Construction set, which by and large was best so far....but it wasn't enough for me this go around. ….so.: 

Was wondering if anyone had legitimate references for exam questions for the following areas: Temporary Structures and Construction Operations/Methods?

While looking at my historical scores, I am worst at these sectors by a wide spread vs. the rest of the exam. I am missing between these sections up to 10 problems total (unacceptable). Finding legitimate temporary structures problems that are heavy in statics but also can add qualitative properties to an analytical questions are hard.

Thanks!

 

[Acute Fungi]

Besides a review course (EET, TestMasters, PassPE, School of PE, etc.) and the review practice test (Learncivilengineer.com, PPI, Mike's, and SquarePegs, etc.), there may be another place to find practice problems, perhaps check out the problems on Chegg.com.  Chegg has problems and solutions (sometimes incorrect solutions) intended for those taking a current class on the subject, but may be helpful to those taking the PE Exam, too. There is a monthly charge for this service, about $14.95.  Below is a link to just one page of civil engineering problems from February 3 of 2018.  To view the answers, one will have to subscribe.

https://www.chegg.com/homework-help/questions-and-answers/civil-engineering-archive-2018-february-03

One can search for more specific problems by typing in a few of the key words of a problem statement.  

In addition, if one has bought a textbook and would want to see how these experts solved the chapter ending problems, one can walk through these solutions by typing in the name and edition of the textbook.

Be careful: these solutions by these experts don't always get the correct answer. Read the comments section for each problem to see someone else found something incorrect. If you find an incorrect answer, please leave a reason why it is incorrect in their 'comment' section for those that come later.  Also, the problems and/or solutions may be difficult to read at times. Lastly, most problems may be considered very easy and basic, but there are gem problems which may be very useful.

 

[hectomatic]

I took EET for the morning and afternoon section (on demand) and I failed. However, I would say I failed but I did not budget my time properly. I have been out of school for almost 7 years now and I underestimated how long it would take me to recall basic concepts. My weakness was especially structural. My other weakness was the PM section- means and methods / scheduling / operations and methods. 

Furthermore, I also failed to do decent amount practice exams. I did the EET homework and end of course exam + the official NCESS booklet exam but clearly I needed more practice. 

Combined with redoing the EET course, focus on weak sections and more practice exams, I am hoping to pass next round. 

Hope this insight helps. I am planning on creating a chat group/fb group for October 2019 Construction test takers. 

 

[civilrobot PE etc etc]

I took EET for the morning and afternoon section (on demand) and I failed. However, I would say I failed but I did not budget my time properly. I have been out of school for almost 7 years now and I underestimated how long it would take me to recall basic concepts. My weakness was especially structural. My other weakness was the PM section- means and methods / scheduling / operations and methods. 

Furthermore, I also failed to do decent amount practice exams. I did the EET homework and end of course exam + the official NCESS booklet exam but clearly I needed more practice. 

Combined with redoing the EET course, focus on weak sections and more practice exams, I am hoping to pass next round. 

Hope this insight helps. I am planning on creating a chat group/fb group for October 2019 Construction test takers. 

How did you do on the practice exams? Were you showing weaknesses in any particular areas when you practiced?

 

[RF509]

Congratulations and thank you. I'm planning to take the EET course. I'm waiting on approval from our department for my office to finance the class. If I can take it for free, then I'll wait it out to start. I want to start in July at the latest.

Make sure that you check EETs class schedule. You want to start at a minimum at the time their first classes are scheduled as it is very difficult to get caught up if any time passes before you start. A large part of the purpose in taking a course is to help you budget your time. I believe it to be critical to follow along with the class. If even one week of class passes by and you are not able to do the homework, it takes hours and hours extra to catch up. 

 

[civilrobot PE etc etc]

Make sure that you check EETs class schedule. You want to start at a minimum at the time their first classes are scheduled as it is very difficult to get caught up if any time passes before you start. A large part of the purpose in taking a course is to help you budget your time. I believe it to be critical to follow along with the class. If even one week of class passes by and you are not able to do the homework, it takes hours and hours extra to catch up. 

I never thought about it like that before. Thank you so much for this great advice. I'm heading over to the site now and I'm going to take another look at my study schedule.

 

[hectomatic]

How did you do on the practice exams? Were you showing weaknesses in any particular areas when you practiced?

I definitely did not pass practice exam and was running behind schedule.  

 

[civilrobot PE etc etc]

I definitely did not pass practice exam and was running behind schedule.  

Well there's still value in sitting down and facing the exam. You know what to expect now.

 

[youngmotivatedengineer]

I took EET for the morning and afternoon section (on demand) and I failed. However, I would say I failed but I did not budget my time properly. I have been out of school for almost 7 years now and I underestimated how long it would take me to recall basic concepts. My weakness was especially structural. My other weakness was the PM section- means and methods / scheduling / operations and methods. 

Furthermore, I also failed to do decent amount practice exams. I did the EET homework and end of course exam + the official NCESS booklet exam but clearly I needed more practice. 

Combined with redoing the EET course, focus on weak sections and more practice exams, I am hoping to pass next round. 

Hope this insight helps. I am planning on creating a chat group/fb group for October 2019 Construction test takers. 

To help budget your time,  you should try to treat it as if it was the live webinar class in terms of scheduling.  That way you have a set schedule to follow which should help you keep on track  

 

[civilrobot PE etc etc]

To help budget your time,  you should try to treat it as if it was the live webinar class in terms of scheduling.  That way you have a set schedule to follow which should help you keep on track  

Solid advice. I'm following this advice now and I'm ahead of schedule. It helps because life keeps getting in the way. Also, when I hit a snag with a particular subject, I'm not panicking to rush through it. I can take a little extra time to watch that part of the video again to truly understand the concept.