New CERM vs old

Professional Engineer & PE Exam Forum

Help Support Professional Engineer & PE Exam Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

abell8418

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 12, 2015
Messages
75
Reaction score
1
I have the CERM and Practice Problems book from PPI 14th edition, which is now outdated.  They recently came out with the 15th edition.  I am prepping for an april PE test.

Do you think its worth it to upgrade to the 15th edition?  Would it make that much of a difference?

What has been your experience if any of you have used an 'outdated' version in the past

Thanks in advance.

 
This is just MHO, but I don't see it being worth the hassle, unless perhaps there have been certain recent code changes in the depth section you'll be taking.

I took and passed the PE using the 12th ed. when the 13th was current and it served me well in both am and pm (WR/Env).  Regardless of edition, one of the most important things with the cerm is knowing what chapters not to study.  It's a great reference, but in striving to be all things there is a ton of material in Manual (at least a 1/3 of the chapters, typically more depending on your depth) that is of no use for the exam.  A prime example of this is all of the higher level math up front, when all you really need is a solid handle on algebraic manipulation for the morning breath (same for WR/Env depth, dunno about other disciplines).

HTH

 
I would just pull the errata from the 14th and make the changes

 
This is just MHO, but I don't see it being worth the hassle, unless perhaps there have been certain recent code changes in the depth section you'll be taking.

I took and passed the PE using the 12th ed. when the 13th was current and it served me well in both am and pm (WR/Env).  Regardless of edition, one of the most important things with the cerm is knowing what chapters not to study.  It's a great reference, but in striving to be all things there is a ton of material in Manual (at least a 1/3 of the chapters, typically more depending on your depth) that is of no use for the exam.  A prime example of this is all of the higher level math up front, when all you really need is a solid handle on algebraic manipulation for the morning breath (same for WR/Env depth, dunno about other disciplines).

HTH


I would just pull the errata from the 14th and make the changes
I had the 13th edition and bought the 14th edition to bring into the exam. I don't think it made a difference between the two editions, especially for you since the 13th edition referenced material that has since been updated. The 14th edition and 15th edition reference the same material I believe, but you'll have to check PPI website for that. So I wouldn't bother getting the 15th. 

 
I used the 10th when the 14th was current .... PPI is in the business of making money ....

 
My usual advice is if you already have it, keep it.  If you are buying for the first time, get the latest. 

But, this might be one exception.  NCEES really, really changed up their AM exam outline recently.  I think the CERM15 is supposed to align more closely with the new topics of the AM outline. 

I passed with the CERM10 when the CERM12, maybe the CERM13, was the latest. 

 
Taking PE second time next month and still using much older edition of CERM. Page numbers got changed, but the material I am referring to while studying is still the same so far (I know someone with 15th CERM and normally compare things).

 

Latest posts

Back
Top