California PE Exam 1

[ludvik]

Does anyone out there have there have experience with the CA PE? Because of the peculiarity of my situation, I have the option of taking the PE pretty much anywhere in the country except where I live (NY). I am a seismic guy by profession, so taking the additional California seismic portion of the exam should not be too difficult, although I do have a couple of concerns.

How hard is the Surveying exam? Is that something people get stuck on?

Also, does anyone know of a source of realistic practice exams for seismic and surveying? I have practice papers for the main exam, just not the California extras.

 

[ClydeMule]

I just took the PE but the mechanical portion.

http://www.dca.ca.gov/pels

is the website. They might be able to tell you if the seismic portion is an NCEES test. I would doubt it though.

I have heard that in terms of civil CA is the hardest place to get your license because of the siesmic portion.

Check out ppi2pass.com


Good Luck

Clyde

 

[jtstruct]

Ludvik,

I sat for the CA PE Civil exam in October 2000. I worked for a structural design firm, and the surveying exam was the one that would always give us a hard time. On the flip side, my "civil" friends (water, wastewater, etc) would always get hung up on the seismic. It obviously depends on what you are familiar and experienced with. I found the seismic portion to be a breeze, but you must be familiar with (and bring!) the current design code used in CA.

I fortunately was able to pass the surveying the first time through. It was difficult, but I had studied hard for it. All of my review material came from clydemule's referenced website: ppi2pass.com
The sample exams, problems, etc are very usefull. The key is to do as many practice problems as possible in a timed setting.

In CA, if you fail one section of the exam (seismic, surveying, or the 8 hour), you only have to re-take the portion that you fail.

Good luck.

 

[ludvik]

Thanks jtstruct and ClydeMule. I think I will get some of the ppi2pass stuff. As you rightly point out, practice questions are the key, and I need to get my hands on some good ones. I also work with a structural firm doing seismic analysis as it happens. I haven't worked on any California projects, so i know nothing about the building codes out there. Not sure how much of a problem that will ultimately be.

I have the option of taking the exam in New Jersey rather than CA - its closer to where I live, and easier because its only the 8 hour exam and no seismic etc, but I feel like going the extra mile and getting the CA license is worth it. There is probably an additional measure of prestige in the Cali license, plus its transferable to any other state. Do you all agree?

 

[jtstruct]

Ludvik,

CA seems like a long way for you to travel to take the exam. Most any state grants reciprocity or "comity" to other PE's. I would only suggest traveling to CA to take the exam if you realistically see yourself working there in the future. Should you end up there eventually with a NY or NJ license, then CA would simply require you sit for the surveying and seismic at that time. As for the prestige...perhaps there is some. But really the bottom line is that you would be a PE, no matter which state you were licensed in.

Should you choose to take the CA exam, review the pels website (referenced by ClydeMule) carefully. It should clearly define which building code (edition, etc) will be used for the seismic exam, and make sure your study material uses the same code!