I'm new to the board. First time taker this October 2017 and failed. I got 25/40 on breadth and 23/40 on depth. A lot of the questions that I missed were construction related. Should I switch to water resources or try construction a 2nd time? Thanks for any advice!
Should I Switch Depths???
- Thread starter rdw2
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What do you feel you do the most of at work? It seemed to me (just judging from the AM construction questions) that Construction covers a really wide variety of problems. If you feel like another area (like WRE) is something you have equal experience in, then switching could be the answer. However, you've put in a lot of time studying for a particular test. Choosing a different depth would mean starting over with completely new material.
I am new to the board as well. I took the exam for the 1st time in October 2017 WRE and failed. I did not do well. I took the School of PE review courses and hoping to pass the exam. I've been out of school for almost 20 years. I am debating of switching to transportation. My previous work experience have been transpiration.
civilrobot PE etc etc
The Beyonce of Construction
I am planning to take Civil Construction in October 2018 (maybe April 2018) but I'm beginning to second guess it because of the low pass rate. I'm a project/ construction manager but after sitting for the PMP and CCM (and passing) I've come to realize that my practical knowledge isn't actually an asset. I need to figure out which depth will yield a higher chance of passing based off of math. In construction, there's literally more than one way to skin a cat (side note: why would you skin a cat?) and that could complicate how I answer the questions.
All of that to say I'm following this thread for advice on which one to register for.
All of that to say I'm following this thread for advice on which one to register for.
leggo PE
Straight Waffle-izer
If your work experience is in construction, I would really stick with it. It's hopefully what you're most familiar with and what you have the best basis to start from to study.
Personally, I would NOT switch depths based on failing the exam only once, no matter how poorly I did. The chances are that you spent a decent amount of time studying this depth module, and I think it would be better to build off of that rather than to start again with a different depth module.
If you self-studied, consider taking a course. Read reviews on the different courses on this website and choose the one you think is right (though, I plug EET!). If you've already taken a course, do they have a guarantee? If so, and you liked the course the first time, try it again. If you didn't like it, as much as it sucks, consider a different one. I did this myself, self-studying my for my first attempt, using PPI's course my second attempt, ignoring PPI's guarantee and using EET my third attempt (where I ultimately passed).
It's pointless to compare, but to give you an idea of my situation... I failed my first two tries with scores of 46 and 45, and stuck with structural regardless.
As far as pass rates go, I don't think there's much merit in trying to register for the exam with the highest pass rate if it's not a depth module you are familiar with. It just doesn't make sense to me to have to learn a bunch of new material simply because of a potentially higher pass rate. Also, to my knowledge, the pass rates for October 2017 PE exams haven't even been released yet.
Personally, I would NOT switch depths based on failing the exam only once, no matter how poorly I did. The chances are that you spent a decent amount of time studying this depth module, and I think it would be better to build off of that rather than to start again with a different depth module.
If you self-studied, consider taking a course. Read reviews on the different courses on this website and choose the one you think is right (though, I plug EET!). If you've already taken a course, do they have a guarantee? If so, and you liked the course the first time, try it again. If you didn't like it, as much as it sucks, consider a different one. I did this myself, self-studying my for my first attempt, using PPI's course my second attempt, ignoring PPI's guarantee and using EET my third attempt (where I ultimately passed).
It's pointless to compare, but to give you an idea of my situation... I failed my first two tries with scores of 46 and 45, and stuck with structural regardless.
As far as pass rates go, I don't think there's much merit in trying to register for the exam with the highest pass rate if it's not a depth module you are familiar with. It just doesn't make sense to me to have to learn a bunch of new material simply because of a potentially higher pass rate. Also, to my knowledge, the pass rates for October 2017 PE exams haven't even been released yet.
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I do and have done more in the realm of WRE at work than any of the other disciplines. I just had a greater interest in the construction depth than the others and felt good during the prep and studying, but the exam questions didn't go my way. I took the EET classes for both AM and PM so I would be paying for another PM session for April, which I think I'm ok with doing. I really think for me it all boils down to the practice problems. I knew going into the exam that I hadn't worked enough problems so that's what I'll do next time!
TheNiloJunior
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Choosing Construction was daunting for me too because I was also hung up on the 60% passing rates for April 2017 (similarly low-ish pass rate for October 2016 as well). I knew, however, that Construction was the only discipline other than Structures I'd be interested in taking. So I then figured if I was going to have the statistics worry me, then I should sign up for a course like School of PE and think of it as significantly raising my chances of passing to their reported 88%! Sounded much better to me.
I think what helped me get through the construction depth was accepting the fact that I'd have to live with its reliance on the other depth topics and keep brushed up on those. I think in a way it helped me with the morning portion of the exam too as I knew that if I didn't make the effort of getting to a comfortable level of understanding with an unfamiliar topic, it come back to bite me again on the afternoon session.
I think what helped me get through the construction depth was accepting the fact that I'd have to live with its reliance on the other depth topics and keep brushed up on those. I think in a way it helped me with the morning portion of the exam too as I knew that if I didn't make the effort of getting to a comfortable level of understanding with an unfamiliar topic, it come back to bite me again on the afternoon session.
My advice is yes. That's only for construction folks. Switch to transportation or water. Only do that if you are in construction.
leggo PE
Straight Waffle-izer
Well, that could change things a bit. If most of your work experience as well as your most recent work experience are in water resources, it might well be worth your time to choose that instead. Look over the specs and talk to your coworkers. What have most people done, and are you more comfortable with the WRE specs than the construction one?
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I believe so. My coworkers are saying the same stuff. I'm going to go with the WRE depth at take this EET on demand class. Thanks!
leggo PE
Straight Waffle-izer
Ah, gotcha! I didn't realize you weren't working in construction in my original post.
But hey, let's hope the WRE exam is your exam come April! And I don't think you can go wrong with EET. I took their structural depth and can attest to it, but there are many people who've posted on these boards about how good the WRE depth module is.
I was fortunate and passed this second attempt at construction depth. After my first attempt last April, I considered switching depth sections - I'm glad I didn't. Build upon what you have learned. My prep included EET depth and breadth on-demand sessions and the on-demand Ultimate Civil Engineer Review Course by Isaac. EET is great at re-teaching you principles, and Isaac's course is 99% problem solving w/o going deep into theory . I would not have passed without taking both. Isaac's construction and geotech review modules are a must. Also, there's no doubt my field experience with concrete and soil helped. Be familiar with your official OSHA manual and tab that thing!
I see you passed the CCM. Congrats and feel free to add your experience to that particular topic in that forum.
Since your experience is in Construction I would personally stick with that Depth section. The construction depth is not overtly difficult if you get all the required resources and know how to look up the code type questions. I took SOPE and they went over those type of questions and it helped tremendously. If you feel fairly confident in scheduling, estimating, OSHA look up questions, contract type questions, equipment utilization type questions, and some basic accounting mixed in with a couple shoring, crane and rigging questions then stick with the Construction Depth. All my experience has been in construction and land development as a Project Engineer, Construction Manager, and Project Manager and the construction depth was a no brainer obvious choice, even though I had virtually no experince vertical question and knew nothing about crane and shoring type questions. Do not let the lower pass rate decide which depth section to take. As I mentioned, I took SOPE and it really helped. They have about a high 80's pass rate for the construction depth for first time takers. I haver heard great things about EET also and I am sure they have similar pass rates. I had been out of school for quite some time and struggled to get back study mode. I went through the SOPE basic math review and calculator review at least 10 times because my technical skills were so rusty but I passed on the first try by taking a structured study course.
civilrobot PE etc etc
The Beyonce of Construction
Wow! Your experience sounds almost exactly like mine, except I have vertical and renovation experience. The geotechnical maintenance and road construction stuff is newer to me but my work forces me to become an expert very quickly. Like you, I've been out of school for a long time and feel a little rusty with my calculator and some of the topics. I was looking to take the EET course but I really like that basic math review and calculator review offered by SOPE.
I will definitely look into it. Since getting through the CCM exam, I've moved on to watching problem solving videos on youtube to become familiar with the terms again. Even though I can manage projects with durations as long as 4 years from pre-design through closeout and projects with as short of a turn around as 40 days, I do not take "moments about C" everyday lol. So it's going to take a while to refresh my memory with that stuff.
I am dealing with an issue at work right now where the designer keeps pointing to his calculations and I'm on site staring at the problem like "Dude, it doesn't make sense OUT HERE." That's my worry with how some of the questions might be framed (theory vs practicality) but I flipped through the PE Civil Construction practice exam from April 2017 (bought it from someone on craigslist) and the problems aren't that bad. I solved three without much effort other than looking up a couple of codes (then proceeded to get 4 more wrong lol). I will stick with construction and give it everything I've got.
civilrobot PE etc etc
The Beyonce of Construction
Great advice! Thanks! What did you do differently this time compared to your preparation for the April exam?
Stick with Construction, take a structured course (EET or SOPE), do as many sample problems as possible, and make sure you have the required resources (the code lookup questions are easy if you have the correct resource) and you should be good to go.
The issue that some have with the concept type questions is that they require experience to help deduce an answer. A concept type question might be: "What is the purpose of specifications." (Note: Not an actual exam question to my knowledge, but one that I just made up). The CERM won't really help with that, but by using your experience you can deduce the correct answer.
I had a question on my exam that was so simple, I was ready to choose another answer because I could not believe it would be that simple. The question gave a lot of extra information and you could get answers by using the information, it would just be a wrong answer (If you were just set on looking for formula's and solving equations you would have missed that question). NCEES does try to trick you and you need to read the question.
Good luck and stick with your experience. It will pay off. The other stuff will come back with the refresher course.
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Hi I'm new to the board too. First time taker this October 2017 and failed in Civil:Geotech. I got 20/40 in the afternoon so I've been thinking on switching depths too. I chose Geotech in the first place cause I've had some work experience in the past with slope stability modelling and other geotech tasks, however, we usually subcontract a geotechnical firm to do the work for us. I also did my undergrad research in geotech as well. However, after seeing the questions I got in the afternoon I'm starting to think that only an engineer who works everyday in a geotechnical firm has a better chance on passing the exam on this particular depth. Does anybody have comments/advice on this? I really appreciate it!
As an alternative, I was considering doing the depth on WRE, but some people tell me that the worst I can do at this point is switching depths, so I just don't know what to do. I'm thinking on retaking the exam on April 2018.
Thanks!! and Congratulations to all who passed, and good wishes and luck to all of us who are still trying...
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