PE Civil Structural Exam in April. Enough time to get prepared in 3 months? or wait till October? 1

[simon17]

Hello all,

My company wants me to get my PE, as do I. I work full time and have a pregnant wife at home (2 months so far!). I want to take the exam in April but am afraid I won't have enough time to get prepared if I start studying next week. My wife is due in August so those last few months before the October exam will probably be very hard to get prepared. All recommendations are appreciated.

Is 3 months enough to get prepared? I graduated 3 years ago.

Either way, I'll be signing up for online courses at PPI2Pass or SchoolofPE to help study for the exam.

Thank you!
Dmitriy

 

[JedClampett]

Once you have the baby you'll have issues from the birth date until the kid turns eighteen and maybe beyond.
Two month old infants need attention, But a lot of that is just holding them. You could study while holding or feeding a baby. Also, they sleep a lot.
Is three months enough to get prepared? That depends on where you're starting from. If you've been doing technical work, especially problem solving, yes, three months is enough. If you're doing construction inspections or worse, contract administration, three months might not be enough. I'd be more worried about the application process. That can drag on and on.
Take the exam as soon as you can. If you fail, you'll know what to expect the next time.

 

[msquared48]

I agree with Jed here. Go for it now. The child will only make things harder later. Been there, done that.

Mike McCann, PE, SE (WA)

 

[chicopee]

I think that you are better off to wait to October and meanwhile don't squander your time while you have that chance by studying hard and solving all types of problems in your field while in the hospital, bathroom, kitchen table with no TV blaring, saturdays, sundays ( and super bowl sunday), etc... Time is valuable and the wife must understand that while raising your child. And as you grow older with that PE in your hand, you'll look back twenty or more years from now and you'll wonder how it all worked out.

 

[BamaStructural]

My 2 cents: I just passed the PE-Structural exam in October. If you have a pretty good base of technical skills and design experience, I would suggest taking it in April. I have 2 kiddos at home under 4 years old, and I can tell you that studying with them around can be a nightmare. Even with a newborn, you'll be busier than you think. Good luck with the exam and especially the baby!! Congratulations

Also, I took the School of PE course and was very pleased with it.

 

[RedBauer]

You should be fine. I took the 2013 April exam. Started studying Feb 1st and didn't have a problem. I took the week before the exam off, as well.

 

[civilman72]

Should be fairly simple to answer your question on your own. I suggest you take an example test exam and see how you do now. When I took the PE, ~70% was a passing score. If the first time you take it you get <50%, you have a lot of studying to do and should probably wait until October.

 

[BamaStrucPESE]

I just passed the PE-Structural in October and I think 3 months is good if you have been working on the technical side, especially if you take a review course. I took the School of PE course and thought it was very helpful.

 

[simon17]

I signed up for the April exam and the School of PE course. Other than the reference manual by Lindhberg, will I need to bring copies of the code with me? I've read some posts from people who said all they needed was the reference manual, but I'm skeptical.

 

[BamaStrucPESE]

For the class, they will provide references and all you will need is the CERM. For the test, the CERM and SoPE references cover the morning portion, for the Structural afternoon portion you should probably bring all your codes (AISC, ACI-308 and -530, PCI, NDS, etc). You may not need the all, but it can't hurt to have them. I separated all my books out into a morning pile and an afternoon pile when I arrived at the site and that was helpful.

 

[Saboral]

I agree with several of the other posters. If you've been in a technical position and you start studying now you should be alright. I just took the PE in October and I honestly didn't start diligently studying until the month of the exam due to work and other life events (finding out my wife was pregnant). I took geotech and I passed. I did not take a review course.

My suggestion: spend your money on the complete Lindhberg Set including the sample exam, six minute solutions, and practice problems.

Additionally I would absolutely recommend printing the digital copy of the Reference Manual Index and putting it in its own binder. Saves a bunch of time when looking things up.

Read the preface to the Reference Manual it will tell you what you should bring for your discipline (i.e. what it doesn't include). It will also tell you to bring a length of rope, I'm still trying to figure out what that was for.......

 

[simon17]

Thanks to everyone for the responses. I registered and signed up for the SOPE and have been studying almost every day. This is indeed the best time to study, during my wifes second trimester. All she wants to do each evening is relax and watch TV. I'm not missing that much after all

For those that have taken the SOPE, would it be sufficient to rely on the refresher notes they provide during the exam? Since I'm limited in time and I want to cover every section, especially the afternoon depth (which I'm going to study last), I am spending way more time watching the on-demand classes video and doing workshop problems. I'd say 95% of my time so far has been with the SOPE materials. I've hardly cracked the CERM.

For the AM portion, I plan on bringing the CERM of course but mainly relying on the SOPE materials.

The CERM is so large and wordy that I can't imagine going through it and being able to cover all parts of the exam. Thoughts?

Again, thank you for all of the advice. It's very helpful.

Dmitriy