Electrical and electronics NCEES specs

[trin]

New to the forum. I was able to pass the FE exam (electrical and computer) based on the tips I've gotten from this website.

Now I'm studying for the PE exam but I'm puzzled whether I should study NEC and NESC which are not part of the specs. But some members who've taken the EE exam have said 1-2 questions are asked based on NEC and NESC. Can someone who've taken the exam confirm this? I'm trying to decide whether I should buy these books or just study the materials from Camara book which deals w/ it briefly. Any info would be helpful. 

 

[alien]

I took the electrical and electronics exam in April and there were no topics relating to the NEC nor NESC.

 

[trin]

Thanks. How useful have you found the Camara book during the exam? I have read a number of topics saying this book alone is not enough to pass the exam. Common consensus seems to be that the Camara book lacks in wireless communications and digital systems. 

I honestly don't know if I have enough time to prepare for the exam given I only have about 5 months left to prepare for October 2017 exam. Camara even said in the book that I should consult  5 - 10 other books in addition to his. I ended up buying a bunch of Schaum's outline series - Electromagnetics, Basic Circuit Analysis, Electric Circuits, Electronic Devices and Circuits, Analog and Digital Communications, Signals and Systems, Digital Systems, and Microelectronics book by Sedra/Smith so I can get as many practice problems as I could. 

How did people practice on solving problems for the exam? Honestly speaking there aren't a lot of practice problem sets for EE exam and because most people take the Power exam and I'm a little stumped by a lack of practice problems for EE exam. I was thinking of getting Kaplan exam problems (now Brightwood Engineering) as well. I heard school of PE is good so I'm thinking about paying for that if it will help me pass it...

 

[partypants]

I took the electrical and electronics exam in April and there were no topics relating to the NEC nor NESC.

There was one question that I wish I had had the NEC to refer to.  Alien might have knew it off the top of his head, but I was sure wishing I had the reference.

I took the exam in April.

 

[alien]

Trin, I had the same issue as you. There is definitely a lack of resources for the EE exam. I would tell you to check out Dr. Kaiser's website as he has good practice problems similar to the exam, but his website is down and infected at the moment and it's going to take some time for him to get it up. The Camara book is not enough to study. I recommend a book that covers both analog and digital signals which should include wireless comm, an antenna book which covers antenna radiation pattern, and any books you feel the Camara book is lacking in.

5 months should be more than enough time to study. That's about how long I took. Once you take the NCEES practice exam, you'll get an idea of what to expect in the actual exam and what kind of topics you should study for. The list of topics that NCEES gives you is a comprehensive list. Study those topics well. Youtube is a great resource. I watched many videos and took notes and searched for practice problems on specific topics that's how I did most of my studying. For topics I couldn't find much information on, I got help from my coworkers. For practice problems, I bought the practice problems book from PPI and 6 minute solutions book from Camara, although I'm not sure if they were really that helpful. I did the NCEES practice exam again about a month before the exam and then focused on topics I was weak in.

 

[trin]

Thank you very much for the information.

Have you tried solving Schaum's outline series problems if you've done those? They have hundreds of problems per book and if we have members who've found their problems practical for the exam, I'm planning to invest a lot of time solving them.

So far I have: 

• NCEES sample exam (2011 version)
  
• Camara practice problems
  
• Camara sample exam
  
• Microelectronic circuits by Sedra/Smith
  
• 7 Schaum's books (Electromagnetics, Basic Circuit Analysis, Electric Circuits, Electronic Devices and Circuits, Analog and Digital Communications, Signals and Systems, Digital Systems)
  

If Schaum's books' problems are useful, they should be able to give me with more than sufficient practice problems for the exam. I will also look into Dr. Kaiser's and Brightwood Engineering problems.

As for the wireless communication, a number of people found "A guide to wireless engineering body of knowledge" useful which I am planning to purchase. If there are any other books that you found useful during the exam, please list them here.

 

[School of PE]

I heard school of PE is good so I'm thinking about paying for that if it will help me pass it...

Feel free to email us at [email protected] or give us a call at 614-873-7475 with any questions! 

 

[partypants]

Thank you very much for the information.

Have you tried solving Schaum's outline series problems if you've done those? They have hundreds of problems per book and if we have members who've found their problems practical for the exam, I'm planning to invest a lot of time solving them.

So far I have: 

• NCEES sample exam (2011 version)
  
• Camara practice problems
  
• Camara sample exam
  
• Microelectronic circuits by Sedra/Smith
  
• 7 Schaum's books (Electromagnetics, Basic Circuit Analysis, Electric Circuits, Electronic Devices and Circuits, Analog and Digital Communications, Signals and Systems, Digital Systems)
  

If Schaum's books' problems are useful, they should be able to give me with more than sufficient practice problems for the exam. I will also look into Dr. Kaiser's and Brightwood Engineering problems.

As for the wireless communication, a number of people found "A guide to wireless engineering body of knowledge" useful which I am planning to purchase. If there are any other books that you found useful during the exam, please list them here.

I passed the Electrical and Electronics exam on the first try.

The picture shows all of the materials I took to the exam.  Mostly books that I had left from school.  I used every one of these references.  The stuff in the binders is my School of PE notes. These notes were the most helpful resource to me during the exam.  For this test, School of PE really nailed it.  

I used the Brightwood practice problems and the PPI practice problems too while studying, but only in the subjects I was weak in.

 

[trin]

Thanks a lot! This should help me study for the exam.

 

[BigWheel]

NEC & NESC are important for the Power PE Exam; I have no opinion on this subject regarding the electronics PE Exam, though I can't imagine a realistic scenario where you'd use the NEC or the NESC for this exam.

That's just my opinion - other people's opinions may vary. Consider my reply/post with that in mind; so long as you consider me right. ?

 

[Saral Dwivedi]

New to the forum. I was able to pass the FE exam (electrical and computer) based on the tips I've gotten from this website.

Now I'm studying for the PE exam but I'm puzzled whether I should study NEC and NESC which are not part of the specs. But some members who've taken the EE exam have said 1-2 questions are asked based on NEC and NESC. Can someone who've taken the exam confirm this? I'm trying to decide whether I should buy these books or just study the materials from Camara book which deals w/ it briefly. Any info would be helpful. 

I am also preparing for PE electrical and electronics will give in April 2018.  I am Planning to take PPI

 

[Limamike]

100 percent, 1-2 questions will come from the nesc

 

[Limamike]

Feel free to email us at [email protected] or give us a call at 614-873-7475 with any questions! 

Uh, as long as you dont have Nieves for a professor! 

 

[trin]

So just to update this thread since I started it, thanks to the people who gave invaluable advice and thoughts. I did take the exam in October 27, 2017 and to be frank, when I walked out the exam site, I had a funny feeling that this exam is not meant to pass everyone who took it. Hopefully by next Friday we will have the results. If I fail, then I will have to re-take it like many others. If I pass, I will post some personal thoughts for future takers in PE exam (ECC). Fingers crossed...

 

[trin]

So I got the result today and I passed. I put in north of 500 hours over 6 months and spent a lot of time, energy, and money into this and it paid off in the end. It was well-worth the investment. The amount of effort I put is most likely overkill but it's better to be safe than sorry.

I would say the key to passing the PE exam is to do as many practice problems as you can and not to rely on a single source of reference like PPI. I solved over 1800 problems and relied on my university books and other topic-specific books before and during the exam. Of course, one should buy the NCEES past exam questions as well.

 

[knight1fox3]

Congrats! :thumbs:

 

[alien]

Congratulations!