CA Geotechnical Engineering License Exam

[geoengineer24]

Since there isn't a CA GE Exam specific thread (like the SE specific thread) I am posting this here.

Can anyone provide help as to how you studied for this exam? I have over 15 years of experience and have failed the exam 3 times now. The exam is extremely poorly written; it's very subjective and there are always two correct answers. There is no book to study off of; most of the exam questions you can only answer based on experience. There's a reason why only 20% pass every year. Also, I feel like they take the top 20% every year no matter what your % is. The very vague results of deficient, proficient and marginal categories does absolutely nothing to help you for next time around.

 

[jijir83]

It's been a year so you've probably moved on and won't see this. But anyway... I tried twice now (2020 and 2022). First time I have to say I just didn't have the speed and definitely didn't answer as many questions. I thought it was 80 questions like the PE. Last month, I felt ok about it but failed again and apparently didn't improve one bit. I've decided to stop taking it. I'm off to enjoying my summers again and go on vacations.

Of the people I know who have taken it and passed, on the first try at that, half of them I don't trust their engineering judgment. I'm not saying that out of bitterness. But there's more to this test than just judgment or knowledge. It's a lot about knowing how to take a test and personally, I never did well at speed multiple-choice tests. Add to that English is not my first language and there's too much room for me to go with one answer versus another (I know plenty of ESL people who took it and did fine so that's just me). It was no different when I did the seismic and survey. I knew enough but had to practice speed testing to pass. Anyway... I'm pretty sure CA is going to come up with another test beyond the GE seeing how diluted the PE and GE have gotten from their 90s versions (you apparently only need 2 years working now to take the PE). I'll look again when it's a requirement for practicing at all but maybe I'll be retired by then or moved on to other things.

Best of luck if you go for it again. I did go over the CalGeo videos and they're good reminders for engineering practice regardless. Old but worth reviewing in my opinion. They also help with navigating the NAVFAC which apparently can be the main reference for this. I don't use the NAVFAC for much at work. I have my own references that are just as good and better in my opinion. I suggest taking all of your PE practice problems and answering chunks of 75 questions in one session as accurately as you can within a 4-hr period using the NAFVAC. That's really what I would do if I cared to bother again.

Cheers!

 

[Geoguru]

It's been a year so you've probably moved on and won't see this. But anyway... I tried twice now (2020 and 2022). First time I have to say I just didn't have the speed and definitely didn't answer as many questions. I thought it was 80 questions like the PE. Last month, I felt ok about it but failed again and apparently didn't improve one bit. I've decided to stop taking it. I'm off to enjoying my summers again and go on vacations.

Of the people I know who have taken it and passed, on the first try at that, half of them I don't trust their engineering judgment. I'm not saying that out of bitterness. But there's more to this test than just judgment or knowledge. It's a lot about knowing how to take a test and personally, I never did well at speed multiple-choice tests. Add to that English is not my first language and there's too much room for me to go with one answer versus another (I know plenty of ESL people who took it and did fine so that's just me). It was no different when I did the seismic and survey. I knew enough but had to practice speed testing to pass. Anyway... I'm pretty sure CA is going to come up with another test beyond the GE seeing how diluted the PE and GE have gotten from their 90s versions (you apparently only need 2 years working now to take the PE). I'll look again when it's a requirement for practicing at all but maybe I'll be retired by then or moved on to other things.

Best of luck if you go for it again. I did go over the CalGeo videos and they're good reminders for engineering practice regardless. Old but worth reviewing in my opinion. They also help with navigating the NAVFAC which apparently can be the main reference for this. I don't use the NAVFAC for much at work. I have my own references that are just as good and better in my opinion. I suggest taking all of your PE practice problems and answering chunks of 75 questions in one session as accurately as you can within a 4-hr period using the NAFVAC. That's really what I would do if I cared to bother again.

Cheers!

I wrote the exam for the first time in November 2022, and have not got my results yet. When did you get yours? Did you get notification via email or did it come by mail?

Like in your first try, I was shocked that the number of questions were not 80 like in the PE. I missed about 4 questions in the morning section because of this but increased my speed in the afternoon section. Unfortunately those missed morning problems did not return.

I am still wondering what happened to my result. Will contact California board on Monday to find out.

 

[jijir83]

I wrote the exam for the first time in November 2022, and have not got my results yet. When did you get yours? Did you get notification via email or did it come by mail?

Like in your first try, I was shocked that the number of questions were not 80 like in the PE. I missed about 4 questions in the morning section because of this but increased my speed in the afternoon section. Unfortunately those missed morning problems did not return.

I am still wondering what happened to my result. Will contact California board on Monday to find out.

You probably passed. They send the failed ones first. Check the board site for your name to see if your number is posted. If not, call them. The only other option is it ended up in spam.

Good luck! I hope that's it for you (in a successful way )

 

[geoengineer24]

It's been a year so you've probably moved on and won't see this. But anyway... I tried twice now (2020 and 2022). First time I have to say I just didn't have the speed and definitely didn't answer as many questions. I thought it was 80 questions like the PE. Last month, I felt ok about it but failed again and apparently didn't improve one bit. I've decided to stop taking it. I'm off to enjoying my summers again and go on vacations.

Of the people I know who have taken it and passed, on the first try at that, half of them I don't trust their engineering judgment. I'm not saying that out of bitterness. But there's more to this test than just judgment or knowledge. It's a lot about knowing how to take a test and personally, I never did well at speed multiple-choice tests. Add to that English is not my first language and there's too much room for me to go with one answer versus another (I know plenty of ESL people who took it and did fine so that's just me). It was no different when I did the seismic and survey. I knew enough but had to practice speed testing to pass. Anyway... I'm pretty sure CA is going to come up with another test beyond the GE seeing how diluted the PE and GE have gotten from their 90s versions (you apparently only need 2 years working now to take the PE). I'll look again when it's a requirement for practicing at all but maybe I'll be retired by then or moved on to other things.

Best of luck if you go for it again. I did go over the CalGeo videos and they're good reminders for engineering practice regardless. Old but worth reviewing in my opinion. They also help with navigating the NAVFAC which apparently can be the main reference for this. I don't use the NAVFAC for much at work. I have my own references that are just as good and better in my opinion. I suggest taking all of your PE practice problems and answering chunks of 75 questions in one session as accurately as you can within a 4-hr period using the NAFVAC. That's really what I would do if I cared to bother again.

Cheers!

You're post is 100% correct! It's definitely an exam that tests your test taking skills rather than your knowledge of geotech engineering.

 

[geoengineer24]

I wrote the exam for the first time in November 2022, and have not got my results yet. When did you get yours? Did you get notification via email or did it come by mail?

Like in your first try, I was shocked that the number of questions were not 80 like in the PE. I missed about 4 questions in the morning section because of this but increased my speed in the afternoon section. Unfortunately those missed morning problems did not return.

I am still wondering what happened to my result. Will contact California board on Monday to find out.

whether you passed or failed, you should've gotten an email end of Dec. Check your junk email. Hope you passed!

 

[soderbak]

I see online that the test is a Computer Based Test (CBT) and that you can bring one Bankers Box into the test. Of the 29 references on the reference list, which ones did you choose to bring? Are there any that you didn't bring, but wish you had brought?

 

[pgheng]

Do they give you any references, or are you on your own for all of them? Same thing for PTOE, not sure if they give you any refs like the PE.

 

[sunshine809]

Do they give you any references, or are you on your own for all of them? Same thing for PTOE, not sure if they give you any refs like the PE.

No, they don't give you any references. You walk in with your box/bin of personal reference material and scratch paper they give you. They just give you a long list of suggested reference material.

CalGEO is beginning to re-record the GE study sessions. There are two coming up before this year's exam.

 

[IHaveToPE]

So im starting to study for the Nov 2024 exam and found out this is an 8 hour exam but i cant find anything on how many questions there are. Can anyone tell me how many questions are on this exam and if they are broken up into two 4 hour parts? Thanks in advance

 

[jijir83]

So im starting to study for the Nov 2024 exam and found out this is an 8 hour exam but i cant find anything on how many questions there are. Can anyone tell me how many questions are on this exam and if they are broken up into two 4 hour parts? Thanks in advance

They don't tell because why should they especially that it makes them more money and lowers the passing rate to make it seem selective. Imagine my surprise when I sat for it. It was 150 questions in 2022. 75 each 4hr session. My only advice... Learn to take test quick and use your go-to references. I might be bitter but the whole thing is an exercise in who can test well. It's nothing like the national PE. It's like the seismic and survey tests on steroids and there are no practice sets out there so make your own. The CalGeo modules are the only ones I know that are available for review but that's just refreshing your fundamentals. Focus on your testing speed and accuracy. Good luck!

 

[geoengineer24]

So im starting to study for the Nov 2024 exam and found out this is an 8 hour exam but i cant find anything on how many questions there are. Can anyone tell me how many questions are on this exam and if they are broken up into two 4 hour parts? Thanks in advance

I believe its two 4 hour sessions of 75 questions.

 

[IHaveToPE]

I believe its two 4 hour sessions of 75 questions.

Wait, 75 total or per 4 hour session

 

[IHaveToPE]

They don't tell because why should they especially that it makes them more money and lowers the passing rate to make it seem selective. Imagine my surprise when I sat for it. It was 150 questions in 2022. 75 each 4hr session. My only advice... Learn to take test quick and use your go-to references. I might be bitter but the whole thing is an exercise in who can test well. It's nothing like the national PE. It's like the seismic and survey tests on steroids and there are no practice sets out there so make your own. The CalGeo modules are the only ones I know that are available for review but that's just refreshing your fundamentals. Focus on your testing speed and accuracy. Good luck!

Thanks for the reply, i was wondering how many questions. Im a good test taker, but this seems extreme. lol good luck to everyone taking it.

 

[jijir83]

Thanks for the reply, i was wondering how many questions. Im a good test taker, but this seems extreme. lol good luck to everyone taking it.

Yeah... 150 total. 75 in the morning 4hr session and 75 in the afternoon 4hr session. Good testers, particularly on multiple choice questions do well. Don't overthink it. The questions are not supposed to challenge your real life alternatives. "It depends" has no place there.

 

[geoengineer24]

The test is absolutely made for people who are good with taking multiple choice exams. I think you need to stick to the first choice you think is correct, and move on without overthinking. The calculation portions are not difficult, but they're only about 30% of the exam. It's mostly "0what would you do in this situation" type word problems, which can be tricky and subjective at times. I wish they had a minimum passing score, but honestly I think they take the top 20-25% of test takers every year regardless of your %.

 

[JustAnotherGeotech]

I just sat for the exam yesterday and it was pretty brutal. 75 questions in each 4-hour session. It took me a good hour to warm up and get into the flow and I barely had 20 minutes left in the AM session to review the 5-6 answers I was unsure about. It was quite calc heavy...lots of phase diagram questions, many, many subjective questions and even some Mohr's circle questions for stresses and rotated stress planes.

I felt the exam is extremely unbalanced. I was rushed in the AM session, but I finished the PM session with 90 minutes to spare...but you can't go back to the AM session to revisit questions. And I'm someone who nearly always finished first in college exams with high grades.

My takeaway is...memorize the references and have everything tabbed or noted.

Honestly, I feel a bit frustrated at the entire testing scenario. Where on earth will I ever have to speed design on a project under that type of pressure? I deal with RFI's constantly and they are far more relaxed than this exam. This exam is a speed exercise in finding the right equation or sentence in the references.

 

[geoengineer24]

I just sat for the exam yesterday and it was pretty brutal. 75 questions in each 4-hour session. It took me a good hour to warm up and get into the flow and I barely had 20 minutes left in the AM session to review the 5-6 answers I was unsure about. It was quite calc heavy...lots of phase diagram questions, many, many subjective questions and even some Mohr's circle questions for stresses and rotated stress planes.

I felt the exam is extremely unbalanced. I was rushed in the AM session, but I finished the PM session with 90 minutes to spare...but you can't go back to the AM session to revisit questions. And I'm someone who nearly always finished first in college exams with high grades.

My takeaway is...memorize the references and have everything tabbed or noted.

Honestly, I feel a bit frustrated at the entire testing scenario. Where on earth will I ever have to speed design on a project under that type of pressure? I deal with RFI's constantly and they are far more relaxed than this exam. This exam is a speed exercise in finding the right equation or sentence in the references.

This is the best explanation of the GE Exam; right on the money! It's funny cause everyone I know that is currently taking the exam feels this way!

 

[JustAnotherGeotech]

I just sat for the exam yesterday and it was pretty brutal. 75 questions in each 4-hour session. It took me a good hour to warm up and get into the flow and I barely had 20 minutes left in the AM session to review the 5-6 answers I was unsure about. It was quite calc heavy...lots of phase diagram questions, many, many subjective questions and even some Mohr's circle questions for stresses and rotated stress planes.

I felt the exam is extremely unbalanced. I was rushed in the AM session, but I finished the PM session with 90 minutes to spare...but you can't go back to the AM session to revisit questions. And I'm someone who nearly always finished first in college exams with high grades.

My takeaway is...memorize the references and have everything tabbed or noted.

Honestly, I feel a bit frustrated at the entire testing scenario. Where on earth will I ever have to speed design on a project under that type of pressure? I deal with RFI's constantly and they are far more relaxed than this exam. This exam is a speed exercise in finding the right equation or sentence in the references.

Well, received notice by email today that I passed. Got lucky on the first try and so relieved to not have to suffer through the exam again.

 

[jijir83]

Well, received notice by email today that I passed. Got lucky on the first try and so relieved to not have to suffer through the exam again.

Congratulations!