civil exam 4/30/2010

[simpatique]

If everyone did as good as they claim on this site , one would assume that the trend is going to be similair to the one in this forum . Either the cut scores for passing is going to be increased as a result of such genious or some people on this forum are not aware that they might have not done as good as they claim ......... I am going with the latter

What do you think?

 

[sac_engineer]

If everyone did as good as they claim on this site , one would assume that the trend is going to be similair to the one in this forum . Either the cut scores for passing is going to be increased as a result of such genious or some people on this forum are not aware that they might have not done as good as they claim ......... I am going with the latter
What do you think?

You need to consider that not everyone who took the exam is a member of this site and not all members are willing to admit how they did. One of my co-workers didn't talk to anyone for a month after she found out she didn't pass, so not a lot of people are going to be so forthcoming and admit they didn't do as well as others. I agree with you that some may not have done as well as they claim, but do you think they'll admit to everyone they didn't pass if they originally thought they did?

I believe this forum helps people to better prepare for the exam but it wouldn't significantly affect the passing rate. The passing rates for the PE exam have been pretty consistent over the years and with an estimated 15,000+ examinees taking the exam (30,000+ per year), I doubt there would be a significant surge or dip in the passing rate. Also, many questions in the PE exam are selected from a pre-defined set (100s of questions) that have been included in previous exams and subsequently analyzed in terms of how they were answered. Those questions are there to challenge one's critical thinking and analytical skills and have the statistics behind them in predicting how someone will answer them.

In the end, people who want to play the odds of passing the PE exam are usually those who didn't properly prepare for the exam and/or put in their 200+ hours studying for it.

 

[simpatique]

I work in the transportation engineering FIELD . I took prep classes for the PE and spent more than 200 hours studying for it .The end results for me were : surveying was tricky and long and seismic required way more calculation time than what was given . Finally , although I agree that the morning of the 8hours was straight forward . The afternoon however , was not as easy and again not enoguh time to answer most of the questions without guessing .

I thought overall I did ok until I started reading the blogs . Most the applicants on her found surveying and seismic to be staight forward ?? I am honest about my performance and I am hoping the people on here arealso . It would be nice to get an accurate estimate of the overall trend of the test. As all know , 13 weeks is a long time to wait !

 

[simpatique]

Why do they make time as much of a deciding factor on the test? Is it a race or is a gage of your knowledge ?

There are some smart test taker out there . They prepare enough to know how to guess most answers and pass the test ( I know that you know at least one ) . Would you rather want a Charlatan to calculate the factor of safety for the bridge you drive on every day or a competent knowledgable engineer who failed the PE because she was short on time? I am sorry I must disagree with you on the stats .... It is the stats what got us in this economic mess in the first place . Common sense as the Misvot of a good engineer

 

[sac_engineer]

Why do they make time as much of a deciding factor on the test? Is it a race or is a gage of your knowledge ?There are some smart test taker out there . They prepare enough to know how to guess most answers and pass the test ( I know that you know at least one ) . Would you rather want a Charlatan to calculate the factor of safety for the bridge you drive on every day or a competent knowledgable engineer who failed the PE because she was short on time? I am sorry I must disagree with you on the stats .... It is the stats what got us in this economic mess in the first place . Common sense as the Misvot of a good engineer

I completely understand your frustration. There are many engineers who are brilliant but have not passed the test after many attempts. I am of the opinion that great engineers are analytical in nature and should take their time to solve a problem. That being said, the real world doesn't allow an engineer to take his/her time to complete a task, or at least not as long as we'd want.

As far as the exam is concerned, I believe there is enough information and preparation material and classes to succeed in passing the exams. It is no secret that you only get 3 minutes per question to complete the seismic and surveying exams and your time management is just as important as your knowledge in answering the question.

Every test and exam is about timing. I don't believe there was ever an exam during college where you weren't racing against the clock.

In the end, someone who passed the exams the first time isn't necessarily a better engineer, but can be regarded as someone who properly prepares for a task and performs well under pressure.

I advise that you don't think about the exams for now and enjoy life for the next 11 weeks.

 

[ODUeng]

In the end, people who want to play the odds of passing the PE exam are usually those who didn't properly prepare for the exam and/or put in their 200+ hours studying for it.

 

[MWC PE]

Why do they make time as much of a deciding factor on the test? Is it a race or is a gage of your knowledge ?There are some smart test taker out there . They prepare enough to know how to guess most answers and pass the test ( I know that you know at least one ) . Would you rather want a Charlatan to calculate the factor of safety for the bridge you drive on every day or a competent knowledgable engineer who failed the PE because she was short on time? I am sorry I must disagree with you on the stats .... It is the stats what got us in this economic mess in the first place . Common sense as the Misvot of a good engineer

The questions are relatively easy and its open book. If you had unlimited time then everyone would pass, since given enough time anyone can look up how to solve a problem.

 

[CitMark]

Why do they make time as much of a deciding factor on the test? Is it a race or is a gage of your knowledge ?There are some smart test taker out there . They prepare enough to know how to guess most answers and pass the test ( I know that you know at least one ) . Would you rather want a Charlatan to calculate the factor of safety for the bridge you drive on every day or a competent knowledgable engineer who failed the PE because she was short on time? I am sorry I must disagree with you on the stats .... It is the stats what got us in this economic mess in the first place . Common sense as the Misvot of a good engineer

The questions are relatively easy and its open book. If you had unlimited time then everyone would pass, since given enough time anyone can look up how to solve a problem.

No test can be perfect. The point is to cover what they believe are 'the basics' for engineers. I would also say that with all the studying we do to ready ourselves for the test only makes us better.