Oct 2012
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RIP - VTEnviro
His Memory Eternal
I recommend you search for Orlando's finest and most prestigious engineer. He can even model stormwater if you believe that.
depolarization
Active member
I got accepted in Maryland to sit for October 2012.
Those references and exam fees have a hefty cost to them, but I'm betting it will all pay off and finally get me off my duff to fill out my library.
Those references and exam fees have a hefty cost to them, but I'm betting it will all pay off and finally get me off my duff to fill out my library.
bryantucfPE
when's the game on?
im down in FLA and i just took it in April, didnt pass, so Ill be retaking in October.
Start at the pinned topics at the top of this forum. There is some really great advice, plus some info on the most useful references. Also, once you start working problems, and you have questions (because you will), come back here and ask them...someone will always help out.
Best of luck to you!
Best of luck to you!
RIP - VTEnviro
His Memory Eternal
The way I went about it, and passed my first time, was to go through the 101 Solved Problems to start with as a diagnostic. Studied the shit out of everything covered in there, took condensed hand notes about all the topics. If there was one problem on a certain area, I read everything I could find in my resources. Then I just did problems the last month until I was blue in the face. Keep in mind the exam spec, study accordingly.
As e-tex noted, we're here to help and hope you pass.
I don't know if I passed yet (NY is slow), but I liked 101 Solved Problems like VTEnviro suggests. I did every problem in that book (more like 400 problems because most have many parts) and made sure I understood concepts. I also took a review course at my local college, which frankly was not that good but cheaper than most and it was useful for water and wastewater. I also watched the NC State review course DVDs and thought those were very worthwhile. I printed all the PDFs that came with the DVDs and followed along taking additional notes, plus I read along in the EnvERM and made additional notes there.
After all that, I took the 2011 NCEES practice exam, which was a good indication of the level of difficulty on the exam but the content of the April 2012 exam was quite different. However, there were two problems on my exam that were quite similar to the practice exam, so definitely take a look at it.
I was surprised that I had forgotten many constants and conversions I used to know (and embarrassingly enough, I was rusty on some basic math like logs), so doing problems early on got me back into the groove there. Make sure you use the calculator you'll bring to the exam and the same references while you solve problems, so you can figure out which references are useful. You'll want to have a go-to couple of books and notes during the exam - you won't have time to flip through everything. Oh, and print and bind the index to the EnvERM from PPI separately.
If it turns out I didn't pass, I'm going to go through the NC State class again and do more problems by Lindeburg, which I ran out of time for the first time around. I also need a better air textbook and possibly another remediation book, though I did have Lagrega.
After all that, I took the 2011 NCEES practice exam, which was a good indication of the level of difficulty on the exam but the content of the April 2012 exam was quite different. However, there were two problems on my exam that were quite similar to the practice exam, so definitely take a look at it.
I was surprised that I had forgotten many constants and conversions I used to know (and embarrassingly enough, I was rusty on some basic math like logs), so doing problems early on got me back into the groove there. Make sure you use the calculator you'll bring to the exam and the same references while you solve problems, so you can figure out which references are useful. You'll want to have a go-to couple of books and notes during the exam - you won't have time to flip through everything. Oh, and print and bind the index to the EnvERM from PPI separately.
If it turns out I didn't pass, I'm going to go through the NC State class again and do more problems by Lindeburg, which I ran out of time for the first time around. I also need a better air textbook and possibly another remediation book, though I did have Lagrega.
RIP - VTEnviro
His Memory Eternal
^Wait, did you just say I had good advice?
This is the first time in 6 years here someone has accused me of that!!
This is the first time in 6 years here someone has accused me of that!!
Good news, I found out I passed yesterday, so my advice appears to be valid. 
I have to post in the consolidated thread now!
I think you have plenty of time before the October exam if you study regularly. I started my first review class in December and spent about 8 weeks only doing 2-4 hours of studying a week through the class. I ramped up in February and March and did more practice problems, studying for an hour or so at night a couple days a week and more on the weekends. I watched the NC State DVDs over the course of two weeks right before the exam and wish I had done so earlier, but I didn't have them in time. All told, I think I spent about 90 hours studying, tabbing, getting references together, etc. I wish I had done more practice problems though, so 150 hours would have been better.
If you can get the NC State DVDs, I really recommend them - and I would have watched them a couple months ahead of time. Instead I was in a rush and had to skip the air module entirely. Air was my weak point on the exam, but I thought the air questions were very obscure so I'm not sure it would have helped anyways. The Water and Wastewater reviews were really helpful and covered topics I think you can expect to see on the exam - DO calculations, identifying the source of a water supply or what treatment would be required, chlorination, activated sludge concepts. The Solid Waste wasn't very useful for the exam, but I think that's because most of the problems on the exam were generic calculations in a solid waste-related context, though there were some specific qualitative questions.
I don't want to say too much about the exam, but here are a couple other topics I didn't really run across in my review but saw on the exam: evaporation, Henry's Law, how to select different air control devices based on given conditions, radiation, cancer risk, and sources of different air pollutants. I did not have a Gaussian plume problem or a Hardy Cross, but I did expect to see them based on what I had heard about past exams.
I have to post in the consolidated thread now!I think you have plenty of time before the October exam if you study regularly. I started my first review class in December and spent about 8 weeks only doing 2-4 hours of studying a week through the class. I ramped up in February and March and did more practice problems, studying for an hour or so at night a couple days a week and more on the weekends. I watched the NC State DVDs over the course of two weeks right before the exam and wish I had done so earlier, but I didn't have them in time. All told, I think I spent about 90 hours studying, tabbing, getting references together, etc. I wish I had done more practice problems though, so 150 hours would have been better.
If you can get the NC State DVDs, I really recommend them - and I would have watched them a couple months ahead of time. Instead I was in a rush and had to skip the air module entirely. Air was my weak point on the exam, but I thought the air questions were very obscure so I'm not sure it would have helped anyways. The Water and Wastewater reviews were really helpful and covered topics I think you can expect to see on the exam - DO calculations, identifying the source of a water supply or what treatment would be required, chlorination, activated sludge concepts. The Solid Waste wasn't very useful for the exam, but I think that's because most of the problems on the exam were generic calculations in a solid waste-related context, though there were some specific qualitative questions.
I don't want to say too much about the exam, but here are a couple other topics I didn't really run across in my review but saw on the exam: evaporation, Henry's Law, how to select different air control devices based on given conditions, radiation, cancer risk, and sources of different air pollutants. I did not have a Gaussian plume problem or a Hardy Cross, but I did expect to see them based on what I had heard about past exams.
Hi,
I am approved to sit for Oct'12 exam. The books I have so far are reference manual for PE Env. by Lindberg, NCEES sample Q's and Metcalf and Eddy. Please suggest me few books for stormwater, solidwaste, hazardous waste, site assessments and EHS. How good is Environmental law by Sulivian? I saw in few threads about sulivians book for law?
I am approved to sit for Oct'12 exam. The books I have so far are reference manual for PE Env. by Lindberg, NCEES sample Q's and Metcalf and Eddy. Please suggest me few books for stormwater, solidwaste, hazardous waste, site assessments and EHS. How good is Environmental law by Sulivian? I saw in few threads about sulivians book for law?
bryantucfPE
when's the game on?
a friend that passed in April said that LaGrega Haz Waste management was good and helped with the majority of those problems, I just bought it off amazon for october.
Thanks bryant. I have a Q about Environmental engineering by Salvato. I found 4th edition with the title Environmental ENgineering and Sanitation with my friend which I can lend. Is that book OK or do I have to chose the fifth edition that says Environmental Engineering only? Anyone who used the book by Salvato please suggest me the exact title of the book.
You're fine with that edition. I used the same one and frankly it's probably better to have just the single volume with you than three anyways.
Books - check the stickied threads at the top of the forum. We have collected most of the recommendations there.
I don't know what year the fourth edition of Salvato was. The fifth edition was still a single-volume, and was what I used with no problem back on the 2006 exam. The new 3-volume version is the sixth edition. The only differences might be in environmental law coverage; depending on what year it was published, it *may* not be as helpful as a newer edition.
As a professional, I have a much different opinion of textbooks than I had as a student. A book like Salvato is MUCH more useful than your old college calculus text. It is something that you can pull off the shelf and find an answer or at least an idea, on a moment's notice, when something new or odd comes up at work. In that respect, I find it well worth the minimal amount of money it costs, in absolute terms, to develop a decent professional library. I don't believe the PE exam is anything like a final exam in a college course, which you cram for and just try to get behind you so you can move forward. The PE exam is a much more practical exam, and your references for it should be the same references you use in the real world. If you are just going to go back to doing what you did before the PE license, what's the point of the license? I think you'll find, once you've passed, that being a PE truly does put you in a different position/state of mind than when you were a non-PE. You will WANT to have those references handy, just to make sure you can answer the call if needed.
So I strongly recommend you buy your own copy, and not just get through the exam by borrowing from other engineers (unless you don't mind always being behind those other engineers...).
OK I'll step down off the soap box now...
I don't know what year the fourth edition of Salvato was. The fifth edition was still a single-volume, and was what I used with no problem back on the 2006 exam. The new 3-volume version is the sixth edition. The only differences might be in environmental law coverage; depending on what year it was published, it *may* not be as helpful as a newer edition.
As a professional, I have a much different opinion of textbooks than I had as a student. A book like Salvato is MUCH more useful than your old college calculus text. It is something that you can pull off the shelf and find an answer or at least an idea, on a moment's notice, when something new or odd comes up at work. In that respect, I find it well worth the minimal amount of money it costs, in absolute terms, to develop a decent professional library. I don't believe the PE exam is anything like a final exam in a college course, which you cram for and just try to get behind you so you can move forward. The PE exam is a much more practical exam, and your references for it should be the same references you use in the real world. If you are just going to go back to doing what you did before the PE license, what's the point of the license? I think you'll find, once you've passed, that being a PE truly does put you in a different position/state of mind than when you were a non-PE. You will WANT to have those references handy, just to make sure you can answer the call if needed.
So I strongly recommend you buy your own copy, and not just get through the exam by borrowing from other engineers (unless you don't mind always being behind those other engineers...).
OK I'll step down off the soap box now...
RIP - VTEnviro
His Memory Eternal
Where in NY are you? I could be convinced to help you out if there is food or beer involved.
I live in north jersey but work near Wall St area. Its always busy here, good weather and lots of good places to eat. email me at [email protected]
