I passed my PE (Electrical and Computer: Computer Engineering) in October 2018. Here's a brief look at how I studied for that exam.
I started 6 months before exam day. To start, I looked at the exam specification, then purchased PPI's study bundle for the exam I was taking. I studied for about 1-2 hours at night after work, and anywhere from 4 to 8 hours per day on weekends. I read through each of the chapters in the book (including the introductory subjects, since I hadn't done stuff like calculus in at least 5 years) and did the accompanying practice problems at the end of each one.
I was expecting to finish going through these materials late into my study period, but surprisingly it only took 1 and 1/2 months for the whole thing (the CompERM is much thinner than the power one). I felt uneasy about how fast I went through it, so I sought out other materials. I had some useful books already on hand from college, so I started with those, and purchased some supplementary material based on the exam spec and other bloggers' recommendations.
While I was waiting for my other material to arrive, I took my first practice exam (PPI's version) and simulated the actual 8 hour day with 2 4-hour sessions. I used only the reference materials I had with me to gauge whether or not they would be sufficient. After completing the test, I graded the exam and discovered where I needed to focus my attention.
When my other materials arrived, I picked two specific books that were to be my "core" references, and read each chapter and did each of the practice problems that they provided. I ultimately spent about 2 and 1/2 months doing this, and during this period kept the same schedule (give or take) as when I was going through the PPI materials. I had other books on hand as well, but I didn't review them in detail; I just kept them on hand as miscellaneous references.
Near the end of this period, I took my second practice exam (NCEES' version) and did the same 8-hour day simulation and used my results to figure out how I needed to spend the remainder of my time.
At this point, it was 8 weeks until the exam, and I spent the last part of it collecting other material that I thought would be useful for exam day. This material was combined into my "binder".
One week before the exam, I basically took the time to relax and wind down. I've always operated under the philosophy that, by this point, I know what I know, and no amount of cramming is going to change the results, so it's not helpful to exert unnecessary brain power. So, I got a massage, caught up on social life a little bit, and did some other fun things with the family.
The night before the exam, I checked in to a hotel nearest to the exam site I could find (the nearest exam site was a 3-hour drive one way), and watched football. I did no studying this day.
On the day of the exam, I got up early, took the exam, and drove 3 hours home.
In total, I spent about 180 hours studying over that 6-month period. In hindsight, I probably could have put this same amount of hours in had I started one or two months later; by the time the last 8 weeks rolled around I was getting tired of studying and feeling like I wasn't gaining much out of it. Then again, I'm the kind of person that likes to leave myself as much time as possible, and I would rather be over-prepared than under-prepared.
Take my experience with a grain of salt; every person is different in how they need to prepare for exams like the PE, so just because the above worked for me doesn't mean it will work for everyone. But I do hope it helps.
Good luck on your exam!
