CA Seismic Survey Reference Materials

[kpf]

I'm sure there's a post on this somewhere but a quick search didn't find it...

How much can I expect to spend on reference materials for the CA Seismic and Survey exams? Looks like it might be somewhere around $500 +/-.

Trying to figure out if it's worth the time/money/effort to get CA PE.

 

[ptatohed]

I would think that you either want/need CA registration or you do not. It seems to me that the cost of study material should not make that decision for you. ? Here is a link to the Surv/Seis discussion subforum. http://engineerboards.com/index.php?showforum=41

I don't think there is an easy answer to your question. You could take a class for each at $400-$500 ea and buy a lot of additional study material and be way over $1,000. Or you could just take classes and be at $1,000. Or you could just buy two $100 workbooks and be at $200. Or you could borrow everything and be near $0. Or you could be anywhere in between. It depends on how you plan to prepare.

 

[Lomarandil]

I already had ASCE 7, and taking CA Seismic put me over the edge to decide to buy IBC, but other than that I didn't spend any additional funds for the California specific tests.

And in my case, the 2 year head start was definitely worth it.

 

[palvarez83]

I already had ASCE 7, and taking CA Seismic put me over the edge to decide to buy IBC, but other than that I didn't spend any additional funds for the California specific tests.

And in my case, the 2 year head start was definitely worth it.

You can download a pdf of the California Building Code 2013, Volume 2 for free. Just google it. Print out the whole thing or just the chapters you need. I believe all you need are chapters 16,17,18, &19. This is what I did and just put it in a binder. I had our admin at work, make tabs for me, but you don't need 'em. This will keep your costs next to zero (assuming you can print for free at work).

 

[kpf]

Excellent! Thanks for the info. CA PE is probably not a need for me (at least right now) but it's always good to learn new things... or re-learn old things and having an end goal helps to focus.