Words of Advice for Test Takers Who Don't Pass...

[RickJames]

I was a ditch digger many moons ago.

its fun, love working w the track hoes

 

[RickJames]

i wish, chilly over here

 

[Audi Driver P.E.]

i wish, chilly over here

Had a nice pork chop for lunch here.

 

[svg]

I know for some people who will find out any day now that they didn't pass, it will be disappointing and some people might even feel devastated, but keep things in perspective. It's really JUST a test and failing it is not going to define your professional career unless you choose not to retake it, you get an opportunity to retake said test and you get a diagnostics of said test so you know what areas you need to focus your studying on the next go around. 

Right around this time last year I got my results and saw that I failed, and not even a full day afterwards I turned my attention to re-taking the exam. Even though I took some extended time to decompress until after the holidays, I immediately developed a plan of attack for the re-take and put it in action. When I re-took the exam in the Spring, I felt so much more prepared and I passed.

So the point of it all is don't get hung up on the disappointment in not passing, use it as an opportunity to be more prepared the next time.

Thank you. I needed to hear this.

 

[WA_Civil_PE]

I know for some people who will find out any day now that they didn't pass, it will be disappointing and some people might even feel devastated, but keep things in perspective. It's really JUST a test and failing it is not going to define your professional career unless you choose not to retake it, you get an opportunity to retake said test and you get a diagnostics of said test so you know what areas you need to focus your studying on the next go around. 

Right around this time last year I got my results and saw that I failed, and not even a full day afterwards I turned my attention to re-taking the exam. Even though I took some extended time to decompress until after the holidays, I immediately developed a plan of attack for the re-take and put it in action. When I re-took the exam in the Spring, I felt so much more prepared and I passed.

So the point of it all is don't get hung up on the disappointment in not passing, use it as an opportunity to be more prepared the next time.

Civil-Structural here.  I didn't make the cut for April 2016.  I immediately realized that I didn't focus properly for the depth.  I reviewed my diagnostic report and went with the EET structural depth review course.  It helped immensely with determining what was important and what was overkill.  I walked out of the exam feeling very confident.  Both the morning and afternoon sessions I finished 20-30 minutes early and had time to go back and review some of the questions I marked that needed another look. I passed this October.  Keep your chin up and keep studying.  Practice problems and good organization go a long way.

 

[khusaibi_PE]

On 12/7/2016 at 11:59 AM, hjg7715 said: I know for some people who will find out any day now that they didn't pass, it will be disappointing and some people might even feel devastated, but keep things in perspective. It's really JUST a test and failing it is not going to define your professional career unless you choose not to retake it, you get an opportunity to retake said test and you get a diagnostics of said test so you know what areas you need to focus your studying on the next go around.  Right around this time last year I got my results and saw that I failed, and not even a full day afterwards I turned my attention to re-taking the exam. Even though I took some extended time to decompress until after the holidays, I immediately developed a plan of attack for the re-take and put it in action. When I re-took the exam in the Spring, I felt so much more prepared and I passed.

So the point of it all is don't get hung up on the disappointment in not passing, use it as an opportunity to be more prepared the next time.

Civil-Structural here.  I didn't make the cut for April 2016.  I immediately realized that I didn't focus properly for the depth.  I reviewed my diagnostic report and went with the EET structural depth review course.  It helped immensely with determining what was important and what was overkill.  I walked out of the exam feeling very confident.  Both the morning and afternoon sessions I finished 20-30 minutes early and had time to go back and review some of the questions I marked that needed another look. I passed this October.  Keep your chin up and keep studying.  Practice problems and good organization go a long way.

Same here

Well said

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[tpz]

MEC Machine design here barely made it.

I got a full time job and working extra at home so no time to attend any class.  Worked the 80 questions in the ncees practice exam only, nothing more, did it early morning atleast once a week.

Books used: A mix of lindeburg and kennedy and a little bit of shigley. 

I took a day off the day before the exam cleaning the house and listening to Florida Georgia line. 

P.s. I gave up facebook/online times to make room on my schedule.

 

[SmilinEd]

Mechanical - Thermal Fluids here ...

While I passed on my first attempt, I took the PPI online review course, which I give a large amount of credit too for helping me pass. I know myself well enough that I wouldn't have the discipline to self-study. The twice-a-week class (with homework assignments due) really helped me. I also talked to several people who had passed the exam and gotten their tips and tricks. Below is my short list:

• I knew MERM very well, and had it tab'd up by sections (Thermal Fluids = pink, HVAC = green, Materials = yellow). This was the reference I used the most, hands down. Being comfortable with this reference is critical
  
• SPEED, SPEED, SPEED - I barely beat the clock in the AM, and finished with 10 minutes left in the PM. I underestimated how critical it is to quickly find information (I didn't even crack 75%+ of the material I brought)
  
• I brought in extra tables, for steam, common refrigerants, air, etc., but I didn't duplicate the tables already in MERM. 
  
• For the 9-5 guys, take off the two days before the test and do some final studying. Then around lunchtime on Thursday (the day before the exam), just shut it down and relax, and get a solid night of sleep (recommend a hotel room if the test is far away).
  

Hope this helps! Feel free to PM me if you have any questions. Congratulations to all the new PEs and best of luck to the future ones! 

 

[FlashPoint]

Enjoy your holidays, then gear up and kick that test back in the privates in April.

 

[InternetUser]

I agree with FlashPoint - enjoy your holidays and then start getting ready again.

I didn't pass this exam on the first try, so I know how it feels... right before holidays... I had no excuses, I didn't focus my studying priorities right in the first place. I initially spent too much time on AM and didn't cover afternoon topics which were critical to me. I took transportation which is the closest to me, since I deal with roadway and drainage design. Being working in a very small office, so did a bit of everything, but we sub a lot of work too so some concepts were new to me. Working mainly on state or county level projects I had to go by state standards I were not too familiar with all needed for the exam reference materials... My office didn't have 75% of these materials in a current addition and taking outdated one didn't help me a lot...

So I would suggest starting from afternoon part preparation. It worked for me. The key for me was to find as many problems as possible with only reason - to practice searching through reference material. If you have no clue how to use reference material, don't bother taking it. You will not have time reading through to find the answer unless you are super good with the all other reference materials and will finish early.

Don't over study! It might sound weird, but take breaks and clear your head. When I was getting ready for the first time I rarely saw my kids. They didn't see and didn't spent time with me creating memories and I still failed. I was mainly upset for wasting the time I could spend with my kids... so next time around I was taking time off studying and went to parks, birthday parties, shopping, walks with my kids. 

Tab your material. Do it the smart way. Forget about tabs some companies are selling. Create your own, the one you will know how to read or understand. I had some table with simple dot or star and it was associated with certain table/topic, so I knew how quickly to find it. Some of the manuals I added tabs to I did it while practicing problems.

Another think I would suggest to do it to go over all topics, not just the one diagnostic outline showed needs improvements. There were topics I've got right, but next time around questions were different and I struggled a lot. I am glad I go over more problems even though my diagnostic list showed me being 100%.

Don't stress yourself out! Passing the test will not make you better engineer! I had 53 out of 80 last time I think. I knew I really missed by few questions to pass which doesn't mean anything really.

Good luck to anyone who have to study a little more!  

 

[Dark Knight]

Go for it again!!!!!!!

The diagnose sheet they sent can help you ID the areas you have to focus. Be sure you do not neglect your strong areas.  Study smarter, not harder, and you will pass next time.

 

[PY_Structure P.E.]

Good lucks to those who will have to retake exam.  It takes me three attempt to pass and you can do it too the next time around.  I failed the first two because the lack of preparation due to an extreme workload and it almost happen again.  I found the Civil breath to be extremely easy in the morning and likely score near perfect on it.  The depth is another story as I was basically ran out of energy due to the lack of sleep and preparation.  I strongly suggest everyone to look at their diagnosis and work on the weak areas.  

 

[Audi Driver P.E.]

Understanding the "why" is as important if not more than the "what".

 

[thekzieg]

Don't give up. It really sucks seeing that red fail on the screen, but bite the bullet and register for the April exam.

Really look your test diagnostic and be honest with yourself about where you were over-confident, where you erroneously assumed you wouldn't need to study, and where your references held you back. Make the adjustments you need. Spend the time to actually work through practice problems (NCEES practice exam books are great for this) without looking at the solutions until you're finished so that you can get an honest assessment of where your understanding falls short. 

Don't despair. All the studying you did for the October exam will still help you for April - you're not starting back at square one!!

And by all means, make sure you look at the exam section topics when they posted for April to ensure you're studying every area you need to!

 

[tpz]

To check the new specs for 2017 exam for Mechanical PE

http://ncees.org/engineering/pe/

 

[tpz]

...and their new PE mech practice exam

 

[tpz]

...and their new PE mech practice exam

https://account.ncees.org/exam-prep/

 

[awnxt5]

For anyone that did not pass this time around, I would highly recommend the EET review courses. I took both the breadth and the water resources and environmental depth and the materials/lectures were invaluable. EET does not waste time covering material that will not be on the exam and gives hundreds of practice problems. Take this review class if you have the opportunity.

 

[dos777]

I would highly recommend Graffeo's book and Complex Imaginary.  First test I made a 63%.  I read posts that talked about these prep materials, but didn't buy them.  Second test I thought I was prepared and when I looked at the first problem, wondered if I had the right test.  Made a 53%.  The April test just seemed more difficult for some reason. I then ordered the Graffeo book and CI 1,2 & 3.  They were extremely helpful to me
being 10 plus years out of school.  Elements of Power System Analysis by Stevenson, Power System Analysis by Grainger and Electrical Machines, Drives and Power Systems by Wildi were also helpful.  Several posts talk about tabs and I agree.  I bought the removable tabs and wrote my own notes on the tabs.  I also had a quick reference sheet of equations at the front of my binder.  Tabs and this quick reference saved me a lot of time.  Don't give up and good luck!

 

[allgood]

The strategy in the introduction of Spin-Up (Cory Lanza) was very helpful in my opinion. I'll try to post it for others to look at. I actually bought this book specifically because I had heard that the strategy was effective and I agree 100%. I was able to finish 30 minutes early on the AM session and 1.5 hours early on the PM session and I think it's due in large to the strategy. Plus I studied my ass off.

In any case, you basically go through the exam 5 times. Yes, at first it doesn't seem that you can do that but trust me that it is doable. The first pass you solve the low hanging fruit, and at the same time mark each question you don't answer with a 2, 3, 4 or 5. ...