Success Strategy

[dmparri3]

I just found out today that I passed PE Civil WR - First Time! I found CERM to be a TOTAL WASTE, as was his book of practice problems. I really started to believe that most of the people praising CERM on this board were actually employees of the CERM company, logged in to steer people toward buying those books. All of the problems in the CERM books were way too complicated, and after a few weeks of filling up multiple sheets of paper to work ONE obscure problem, I knew that I needed to do something else.
I bought the NCEES 2011 edition, xeroxed each problem onto it's own sheet, and worked them in great detail with cross references and notes on each sheet. Since that seemed to work well, I also bought the 2008 and 2001 editions of the book and did the same thing. Then I divided up the worked problems into Water/Resources (in its own binder) and another binder for Geotech, Construction, Structural, Transportation, and Misc. Economics Questions, which seemed to appear in each discipline.

I worked all the problems in each book, even the in-depth problems in other disciplines in the older books, since it seemed that a lot of problems crossed over. For instance, in Transportation sections there were open channel water problems. These were similar to the W/R problems, but different, so that it revealed a little more of how NCEES constructs problems.

After I worked all the problems in the books and made definitive binders, I again xeroxed all the practice problems and made stacks of practice tests, mixing all disciplines and morning and afternoon questions. I would work as many problems as I could in a certain time period. After working through the stacks, I would re-shuffle them and start over.

Finally, I took some textbooks with me to the test, but my main resource was my old FE Formula Manual, which turned out to have almost everything needed for the NCEES PE practice questions. What it didn't have I wrote into it, or xeroxed and pasted into the back.

I don't know if this method would work for everyone, but it worked for me. Search out those old NCEES books, especially now that they will be cheap on Amazon or Abebooks.com. As the next test gets closer, they will get more expensive and harder to find.

Agreed. Not a bad idea to do the CERM problems if you have a lot of study time, but they don't exactly put the focus where it needs to be. The NCEES problems are by far the most similar to the level of difficulty on the actual exam.

 

[JKG]

I just found out today that I passed PE Civil WR - First Time! I found CERM to be a TOTAL WASTE, as was his book of practice problems. I really started to believe that most of the people praising CERM on this board were actually employees of the CERM company, logged in to steer people toward buying those books. All of the problems in the CERM books were way too complicated, and after a few weeks of filling up multiple sheets of paper to work ONE obscure problem, I knew that I needed to do something else.

My thoughts on CERM exactly. I don't understand the number of people praising it either. I have written it off as people with different personalities benefiting from different resources, because it certainly didn't work for me. It seems it would tak way too much time to prepare, and I wonder if it works for those who can spare the 200-300 hours, and have the ability to work through problems at that complexity level without becoming completely frustrated (like I did).

 

[owiewave]

I studied for about 3 months for the exam, and made it my number one priority for that time. 2+ hours with little exceptions on Monday through Friday, and about 4 hours on Sunday. I didn't take any prep courses, but made myself a study schedule and followed it. I took WR/ENVA, and gave myself 2 weeks for all subjects other than Construction and Structural. I knew I was a lost cause on Structural and Construction was pretty common sense to me, not a lot of formulas to look for.

I studied using a combination of the CERM, Goswami, 6min, NCEES Practice Exam, and some problems from Exam Cafe that I inherited from a coworker.

My basic suggestion is to READ Goswami to re-familiarize yourself with the subjects, browse over the CERM. There is way too much detail in CERM, and it can be overwhelming. While you are scanning through CERM, use it as an opportunity to learn how the book is laid out. You never know where some obscure term is going to come up on an exam, and whether the best place to find a particular type of information is in the index, glossary, or within a chapter.

6Min is great, but as you will read everywhere, WAY harder than the actual exam. Use the problems as a way to tab your CERM or other resources to find equations.

One thing I did for the WR/ENVA exam that helped on a few problems was to make a table in excel that had the cross sectional areas of pipes calculated out for me. The more steps you have to take, the more errors you can make, so plugging a simple cross sectional area into the manning equation was HUGE.

Some people put lots of example problems into a binder for the test. I did this for a couple of problem types I anticipated having problems with, and didn't use any of them. It's a good idea, but you either have to correctly guess what types of problems they will include on the exam or include every problem under the sun. Neither is desirable unless you know your notes like the back of your hand.

Good luck, you have an interesting 4 months ahead of you!

 

[pissed_off_eng]

i dont know if i passed yet but i really hope i do. I put the sign of the cross on the first page of my morning and afternoon books

I'm a 5 time taker and this is the first time I put crosses in my exam books and I passed. You do the math.

 

[Gravy86]

Just found out I passed Civil Structural - now I can finally post this

Please note that this advice is most applicable to more recent graduates but I believe it would be helpful to everyone.

1. Ace the morning.

This takes the pressure off of you for the afternoon which is quite difficult. You can do this with just two books - CERM + CERM practice problems. These problems are relatively easy, you just need to be familiar with the material. Try to narrow down the material as much as possible to save time - do this by talking to people who have taken the exam and consider taking a course. Working as many problems as possible on each section is key. A great supplement is an NCEES practice exam, which I thought was similar to the exam. I found the PPI CAFE to be a waste - over a thousand questions promised but very few I found applicable. Goswami's book was also not too helpful - not without practice problems. A good indication of you doing well in the morning is if you had time to review your entire exam, all 40 questions, feel comfortable, and still have some time left over.

2. Stay calm during the afternoon.

I don't know too many humans that would score over 32 in the afternoon structural - at least not the exam I took. It is just so broad - I feel like I used every single thing I've learned in my life, including psychology, guessing, exam mind tricks, etc. Doing well in the morning helps you stay calm so you can maximize your points in this section. Again, working as many problems as possible is key. I found the 6-minute solutions to be very very good. They are harder than the exam and there are 80 questions/solutions, which is a good value. If you can get through the whole thing and understand the answers, you should be able to score well enough to pass. Again, the NCEES practice exam was a good measurement - if you buy one, take it with a week or two to go to know where to focus your remaining time. I recommend also getting the concrete and wood books from PPI. I found the SERM pretty useless - it has random things that are available in other sources. Do not think about taking this test without the AISC Steel Manual, ACI 318, and ASCE 7. AFPA Wood Manual is highly recommended. ACI 530 Masonry Structures is highly recommended. IBC is crucial to steal a few easy ones where you just look up the answer. Can do without bridge manual, earthquake codes, welding codes - very few questions on these these that aren't available in your other sources. I recommend bringing concrete and steel textbooks you are comfortable with to answer some miscellaneous questions (when to use fly ash, fireproofing of steel, etc, etc, etc.)

3. Take the week up to the exam off to study and them relax.

4. Take the day off before the exam to plan your route to the testing facility and just do things you enjoy to relax.

5. Get a good night sleep (I wasn't able to - a bit of insomnia) - play a lot of sports the day before really wear yourself out so you can fall asleep easily.

But seriously, do yourself a favor - take a hundred or so hours to learn the CERM + practice problems. Getting a 32 + on this part allows you to get away with getting a 24 (56 total = 70% = estimated passing score) in the afternoon which is quite doable. I studied over 200 hours over 4 months up to the exam. This time is well worth it if you only need to do it once. I did not take a course - I heard they only teach you the morning well which i felt I could learn on my own. If you are far removed from undergraduate study, I would recommend taking a course. I did not need one, transpo, water resources, etc. were still relatively fresh topics for me.

Good luck to anyone reading this.

 

[ellebee216]

All of this is extremely helpful!! Thank you everyone!

Third time's the charm (in October)!

 

[ipswitch]

I took the Transportation PE Exam

1) Purchased "Transportation Engineering" by Hoel and Garber. I also obtained the solutions manual for this text book.

2) Took School of PE review class

3) Purchased NCEES practice exam (worked through this the day before the exam)

4) at least 150-200 hours of study (maybe more)

5) Tab all your books.

6) Download the index for the CERM and put it in a separate binder. It saves a lot of time when the index is separated from the actual book. The index can be downloaded from P2P website.

Take 5 days off from work if you can. Get Valerian Root to knock yourself out if you can't sleep the night before the exam.

 

[James3AE]

I was unable to take any time off work, but the company paid for the day of the test. I probably studied way less than a lot of people, hour wise... not many practice problems. What I did do was bone up on a few things that I don't do very often, with taking short cuts at work and stuff. That was huge for me. This stuff (HVAC Mechanical Test) is the stuff I do every day, so i feel like work is prep for the test. If I didn't pass, there were a few more things I'd have studied that I didn't get to for the next time.

The key thing for me was not to psych myself out, and don't let the clock be your enemy. Same advice for the FE. Know what you know, go into the test not thinking about the outcome. I found the test challenging but fair. Don't get caught up spending to much time on things you have to work at. Make sure you finish the stuff you know cold, otherwise your giving away points.

 

[dgpassed]

Took the Chemical exam and passed on my first try. I studied for 1.5 weeks, after work usually 3 hours, and two full Saturdays. Some of this advice is specific to chemical engineers, while some is not. Without saying too much about the exam specifically, my tips:

1. Don't take the test unless you think you're ready to take it, without having to take a prep class. Taking a prep class means that you're not ready to take the test at your current level as an engineer. Also, taking a prep class takes an incredible amount of your time, money, and potentially confidence if you don't pass the exam. I believe that this holds for any engineering discipline.

2. For the exam, get Levenspiele for reactions, The Chem E reference manual, Perry's, and a book for separations/distillation, nothing else is needed. Almost everyone around me carted in a dozen books (or more) - you won't have time to open most of them, and could potentially get yourself into a flustered downward spiral of wasted time if you start to try. In short, build a small repertoire of trusted materials, do what you have to do to refresh yourself on where each subject matter is located within your materials, and sparingly insert tabs -- sparingly (I put a single label on the index instead).

3. Study units, and be very comfortable with switching between English and Metric - the reference tables in the back of the Chem E reference manual have most everything you will need (even though it is not exhaustive). Label the useful ones so you can find them fast, same with unit conversions.

3.5. Perry's can be used to support you when you are thrown a curve ball - it can be very helpful at that.

4. Buy the NCEES practice test booklet, I found it to be the only useful prep test for the actual exam (I purchased four different test prep books with practice tests - while each were useful in helping you to learn material, they were not as useful as the NCEES practice test in preparing me for the nature of the actual PE exam). To the credit of the other test prep books - if you don't know your material, these books will help you to learn, but it will take a lot of your time.

5. Don't take the test unless you're ready to take it. If your current job is leaving you with gaps in your engineering knowledge, search out an opportunity to fill those gaps that will both add value to your current/future career (i.e., resume or otherwise), and give you satisfaction that will remain even if you don't pass the test. In my case, this came in the form of designing/teaching a fluids lab, and taking up new projects at work that were in subject areas where I don't traditionally tread. Studying within a class is a waste of time; we graduated, right?

 

[James3AE]

3. Study units, and be very comfortable with switching between English and Metric - the reference tables in the back of the Chem E reference manual have most everything you will need (even though it is not exhaustive). Label the useful ones so you can find them fast, same with unit conversions.

This is great advice, and can not be emphasized enough. You have to be able to make all your conversions, and keep you units straight during the test. I caught myself a few times on both the PE and FE exams letting my units slip, and it's an easy way to blow a few questions that you may know how to solve.

 

[winner9459]

tab you books, tab everything. Even though you end up not using them, you get the confidence to find out where it is if you have to.

Beg, borrow, steal. There are pdf copies of mostly all the training materials and classes offered by P.E school of review and such, if you talk to people they will direct you to the place where you can find them, take printouts of everything and go through them, prepare you own book from the best of everything.

Solve problems. Lots of them. If you think you are running low on time, directly jump into the problems and learn the theory from the problems.

Study a lot. You can do it.

I finished reading water first, then geo, construction.....left structures alltogether.

Transpo was my depth section, I work and have an MS in Transpo, so it was relatively easy for me. But I think I nailed it pretty hard, be strong on your depth section. It will help you save lots of time during the exam. Remember important and usual conversions, they save time. I didn't have to open the book for simple formulas and conversions. That saved me a lot of time. Good Luck for everyone.

 

[jjr2011]

I failed the first time not by much so since I took so much time reading the CERM. I did not give myself time to do enough practice problems.

Bottom line form me was do as many questions as I could get in my hands. All that studying and there were still problems that I had to guess at. The questions that I felt most comfortable in the AM never showed up (both times).

 

[ted ward]

I figured it would be mostly mental over thinking that usually gets me. Plus sitting in a room for to long is rough on my brain.

I bought a CERM and a practice test and the practice problems.

I didn't really study, worked the practice test a week before, and reworked the incorrect problems, learning from my mistakes.

I knew I would use the CERM alot so I had my secretary copy out the index page and bind it to keep separately off to the side.

I booked a hotel room adjacent to the test and got a late checkout. The night before I went out ate a big steak, drank a big beer, then watched baseball and tried not to think about the test. The next morning I worked the problems, skipping any I could not do quickly. I was able to come back and work the longer problems, and then do more hunting on the few left that I was not sure how to do. I was pretty tired so I went back to the hotel room, ate a sammich, and took a nap. I swear this was key. After a 35 minute nap I felt fresh as a daisy, headed back to the room and took the afternoon.

I passed, and I really think most of it was not letting the test get to me. Most people who take it are smart enough, they just over think themselves....

 

[loco]

Get the right books.

I passed the second time. I tried construction civil.

the books were an incredible advantage.

Ruwan civil pe construction module practice problems and solutions

Mansour Problems and solutions. (it has an equations summary and I added more formulas and useful methods) I used the Ruwan book, hurd, Perufoy methods for productivity, Chelepati formulas for soils and water and came up with a wonderful formula booklet.

my apologies for the spelling some names might be wrong, but it is just an idea.

as you work problems make your own binder especially if you have many references as we do in construction.

I came up with one binder per subject (transpo, water, soils, construction, structures)

and I had the CERM, but I did not relied on it.

good luck. arty-smiley-048:

 

[mjnicolaides]

For the Power Exam:

Studied with EERM & Kaplan books. Although the Kaplan problems seemed much harder, the study guide book did have some good information that filled in voids where the EERM did not discuss them.

I also purchased several practice tests. I worked many problems several times throughout the course of the year. I only focused on power and did not bother with any electronics, math, or non-power topics. I basically studied for 1.25 years - I would study each day for several weeks and then take a week or two off. I made sure that I read each chapter several times throughout the year.

I spent about 1100.00 on books, did not take any review courses. Passed the first time. The best advice that I can give is what I was told, work as many problems as you can.

 

[monsterbbb]

mine is my guess strategy, I had about 48 questions are confident 100% to get correct, then for the remaining 32 questions. I make my choice base on how the other 48 questions's answer distrubtion was. For example, if B is most least choice of those 48 questions, then I will pick B for all the remaining 32 questions

 

[civilized_naah]

I make my choice base on how the other 48 questions's answer distrubtion was. For example, if B is most least choice of those 48 questions, then I will pick B for all the remaining 32 questions

That's impossible!

 

[Dolphin P.E.]

mine is my guess strategy, I had about 48 questions are confident 100% to get correct, then for the remaining 32 questions. I make my choice base on how the other 48 questions's answer distrubtion was. For example, if B is most least choice of those 48 questions, then I will pick B for all the remaining 32 questions

I would have chosen an 'educated guess' method instead!

 

[thwlruss]

I am taking the Mechanical PE exam with T/F depth. I put in 8 weeks of studying for the April exam but quit studying before the exam because work became more demanding and I got scared. I do not want to let that happen this time. Fortunately I’ve been able to pick up where I left off with a few exceptions.

I’ve been going through the MERM, using college text as a reference, and working problems in the Kaplan workbooks. I have a practice exam, HVAC and T/F 6MS that I will begin working through later. After reading this thread I’m worried that I may ‘go rogue’ as I’ve done this in the past; chasing a topic/project down a rabbit hole to no end. I’ve been trying not to get hung up on math or obscure technicalities and focus on first principals and proper analysis methods. I started out last year by working problems in my old college text but that was a pain in the butt. These days I’ve actually been enjoying the Kaplan workbooks. We’ll see how it goes. I’ve put a lot into this test. I really hope I pass in October.

 

[monsterbbb]

I make my choice base on how the other 48 questions's answer distrubtion was. For example, if B is most least choice of those 48 questions, then I will pick B for all the remaining 32 questions

That's impossible!

believe it or not, I did it with both FE and PE..it worked well for me.