P.E. License 1

[vagalumes]

Hello, All! I am working to finally take the P.E. exam, in Civil Engineering. I have been studying the Civil Engineering Reference Manual (Lindenburg). Problem is, there are no practice questions, and I have no idea what the test questions are like. I know that the NCEES sells practice questions, but I am told that they are much easier than the actual exam. Anyone has any experience about successfully performing on the exam? What kind of questions are asked? Is there a good source of practice problems? The exam is expensive, and not the kind of test you can just take to "see what it is like". Any pointers will be greatly appreciated!!!

 

[JStephen]

I would get the practice questions from NCEES.
I took the PE tests long ago and in ME, so there's no telling what's different. But I worked exclusively off of my college textbooks and the practice (sample) questions. The value in them was in showing the breadth of knowledge expected, not the exact "hardness". I took both the Fundamentals and the PE tests several years after I graduated, so I had to go back and refresh myself on a lot of stuff I hadn't even thought about since college.

 

[RVAmeche]

Get the Lindbergh PE prep manual and study the chapters/do the questions. In his book, the questions generally harder than the PE questions since they'll have multiple components to them.

That said, the practice exams are like $30. Well worth it to see if you're in the ballpark or not.

 

[phamENG]

I took the Civil/Structural PE exam a couple years ago. Buy the NCEES practice exam book. Some of the questions were verbatim - just changed the numbers. Also, bite the bullet and take a review course. I took the ASCE course and was a little disappointed, but it did the job. I think there are a couple out there that cost a little less but provide you with more information and reference books that are good to keep on your shelf anyway. These are very expensive - $600 to $1500 to take the course. But unless you're trying to support a family of 6 on just your EIT income, it's worth it. The pass rate for the civil/structural is only around 63%. Most of the exam courses advertise a 95%+ pass rate by people who take their courses. It's no guarantee, but it's close. And consider the pay bump you'll likely get when you get your license. Talking with colleagues, I've heard numbers from $10k/year to $40k/year pay increase the day after getting their license. And if they didn't, they got it by switching to a new firm. Investing under $2000 to see a 500% return in one year is sort of a no-brainer.

 

[Ronnoco1926]

I took the Civil/Structural in 2011, I took a review course and I did a trial run of the test: setting a timer, eating lunch in the hour, no interruptions, etc. Just to get as best a real feel of sitting that long for the test. Good Luck.

 

[BMart006]

I took EET's course for civil (structural depth)and was very impressed with the course outline and also the preparatory notes they provide for the exam. They also include numerous practice problems and if I remember correctly, two practice exams. It's expensive, but better than taking the exam twice.

 

[caenright]

I agree with @BMart006. I took EET's Civil breadth and transportation depth prep courses and was satisfied with the outcomes and what I got from the class. Course materials were great (and were the main resource I used on the exam), and included plenty of practice problems that covered the spectrum of what was on the exam.

The NCEES prep exam was OK, somewhat similar to the real exam but there were still some off the wall questions like one would expect.