EET for WRE Prep!

[PEexaminee]

I took the EET depth prep course for the Civil PE - Water Resources and Environmental. The course was a lot of work, but I absolutely would not have passed without taking this class. It was a 'you don't know what you don't know' sort of situation going in. I have been out of school for 7 years and only worked in the water resources field for approximately 1 year after college.  I have had a wide variety of jobs since then - a couple have been in the engineering field; none of them have been in WR or environmental or even true design. My point in saying that is that I had very little knowledge and experience going into the PE prep.

Nazrul's class was excellent from the start. He is clearly invested in each of his student's success on the exam. The course materials are very well laid out with loads of worked examples to help teach you and then even more problems to practice on. They way he explains topics is so straightforward and easy to comprehend. If you don't understand it the first time, he will try a different method of explanation to help drive the point home. The class is absolutely worth the effort and it plus the binder were vital to my success on the exam. The only other prep material I had for the PM portion was the depth exam I purchased from NCEES, CERM and a Metcalf & Eddy WWT book I used as a reference in the exam. As a side note, I took the exam in October 2019 and I used the CERM 15th edition (current is CERM 16th) and saved a bunch of money buying it in good used condition. I didn't have any issues with outdated spec references since that's not really part of the AM portion or WRE depth.

My only regret is that I didn't also take the morning/breadth prep through EET. A different class was sponsored through my job for the breadth portion and was taught by Peter Martin. The class had almost no instruction or explanation and was just a poorly organized series of questions that he sort of walked through each week and the rest was up to you to self-teach. This was not well-suited to my learning style and, had I not spent a considerable amount of time preparing for the breadth topics aside from his course I think I would have really struggled.

EET is expensive, but don't let it scare you away. In my opinion, it is absolutely worth the money to pass on the first attempt! I would absolutely recommend this class to anyone considering the Civil PE - WRE. Good luck (and thanks Nazrul!)!

 

[emmy.pdf]

Long post but here is my take on EET:

Graduated 2015, worked in environmental/permitting (no design really at all) but last year I took a job at a water utility and so I took the WRE test, in order to be relevant to my new job. So, with less than one year experience in the field of water resources, I selected EET's depth and breadth review courses after seeing them highly recommended here on the boards. I did the webinar version, but followed the live class schedule as closely as possible to make sure I would have ample time to do everything as suggested by the EET professors. I did most of my studying on weekends (about 8-10 hours each weekend) and worked practice problems on week nights (about 2-3 hours a night, but not every single night, I would estimate about 8-10 hours a week on weeknights, for a total of about 20 hours a week). The course began at the end of July, so I kept this schedule up for just over 3 full months. 

I leaned very heavily on EET's binders that are provided as part of the class; I barely used any other resources during the exam or when studying. I think the PE Civil Quick Reference (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591265738/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1) was one of the more useful books I purchased. I barely used the CERM at all but it did help me on 2 or 3 questions that I otherwise did not recognize, so definitely worth having on hand. This is probably different for different disciplines. 

In the end, I was able to learn about 90% of what appeared on the depth exam, fresh and new to me with very little work experience in the field, and pass the exam using EET's course. I actually learned a LOT that has helped me at my job in a field that still felt/feels new to me. 

I went over many practice tests but only truly "tested" (timed) myself on the NCEES official test and the tests provided by EET (there were three "mini" tests that were specific to sections of the material and then one full length exam at the end of the course, with additional practice exams provided on request to students wanting even more practice). I also reviewed some Goswami practice exams, but mainly I used these to get ideas of different question types to be expected and make sure I felt comfortable with the variety. EET provided an insane amount of practice problems for depth, but not so much for breadth so this is where the NCEES practice material came in handy. For depth, I probably completed about 60-70% of the "homework" problems from EET and then all of the practice tests (all depth) and this was more that sufficient. Of course there were exam questions that were laid out differently than anything I had seen in my practice, and topics I practiced heavily that didn't appear in the exam at all, but no review course will be able to achieve 100% or even 90% accuracy as to what you will be given in the test. EET did a great job of covering as much as possible from as many angles as possible. 

Something I haven't seen discussed often here is the mental endurance that preparing for and taking this exam requires. As you can see above I took a pretty light schedule (totaling less than 300 hours over more than 3 months) compared to what I know many others choose to do; I know people who studied 9+ months, and those who studied less than 2 months, who also passed on their first attempt in October 2019. In the end it depends on what works for you, but personally, maintaining some balance in my life was crucial to my success. This is where EET really hit the nail on the head in my opinion: the class was structured to allow time for life and still cover a TON of ground at a pace that keeps you focused. Dr. Islam was hugely supportive and positive, providing so much encouragement and cheering you on the whole way, and I really think that the confidence and positive attitude walking in to the test makes a difference when you arrive at those particularly difficult problems that might otherwise cause panic. I truly think entering the exam room with an expectation of passing can help avoid the mental pitfalls of such an incredibly stressful situation, and EET has a great track record for student passing rates and the right attitude to provide that confidence boost. And maintaining good healthy habits (eating and sleeping well, giving yourself breaks when your brain needs it) are an important part of preparing because you need to be at your best when you sit down for the exam and months of running yourself ragged will not get you there. 

tl;dr EET was amazing and 1000% worth every penny. Remember to take it easy when you need to! Buckle down when you gotta, but make time for game night or happy hour, too. Bogging yourself down mentally/emotionally is only going to harm your chances  in the end. 

 

[PiratePanda]

I passed PE exam (Water Resources and Environmental) on my first attempt. My background is more environmental-related. I did took some structural courses when I did my Bachelors but I have zero background in Geotechnical, site development and construction. I had to take a breadth course to make sure I could survive in morning session.

I took EET depth and ASCE review courses. Although the ASCE courses included both morning session and afternoon session, I only studied the breadth provided by ASCE and relied on EET for the depth. 

To be honest, I was quite disappointed at ASCE courses. I don't think it worth the money overall. The essential courses (breadth) were provided as 12 sessions which were offered by various instructors. Mohsen was very good and logical on his parts, except him the rest was such a pain, especially the Geo part. The instructor went over materials very fast and did not explain things well (in my opinion). It could be due to my lack of knowledge in this area though. The exercise problems were 50% similar to the real exam in my perspective. In short, I would not recommend ASCE review course unless you learned all the related courses at school and you only want to have someone help you refresh the concepts.

I had heard from many people about how good the EET course was for PE exam preparation, so I took depth course review at EET. EET indicated their course covered 80% of the exam. Based on my experience, I think it covered 70% at most during the exam in October 2019. However, I still highly recommend EET depth (Water resources and Environmental) because the instructor, Nazrul, is one of the best instructors I've ever had. It's easy to feel panic, anxious, even a bit lonely while studying for PE, at least for me that's true. Taking the EET course helped me stay calm, make progress weekly, and even make some friends eventually. It feels much better when knowing someones are fighting alongside with you. Besides, even though I have passed the exam, I still use EET material as reference when I start working on some new projects (I just graduated recently).

As for Civil Water Resources and Environmental PE exam, I recommend taking at least these materials with you on the exam date:

CERM (it's more helpful than I thought)

Wastewater Engineering: Treatment and Resource Recovery (very helpful for the depth session)

NCEES practice exam (useful for morning!)

EET depth review binder (or your notes for depth review)