I am taking the PE exam in South Carolina during the fall of 2016. I will be taking the civil morning module and the structural afternoon module. Is there any members who have recently taken the exam that can offer insight? What are some good reference texts to look into? I am planning on getting the NCEES Practice Exam for civil and structural, the Civil Engineering Reference Manual, and a Structural Engineering Reference Manual. Thanks for any insight.
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- Thread starter icundiff
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I did not have the SERM for the exam (Oct. 2012), but did have the CERM. CERM was a big help for me and by far my most used book on the exam. I thought that the practice exams were very useful (both PPI and NCEES issued). I put in close to 6 months of study and felt fine during the exam.
I thought the structural depth reference manual for the PE exam was useful. I'm sure the SERM is more in-depth though I would warn you that the SERM is written for the SE exam. There's going to be info in that book that isn't for the PE exam.
I studied mostly out of the CERM and made sure I felt comfortable with the knowledge in there, but also navigating the book. I would recommend understanding the layout of your major books (CERM, AISC, ACI, ASCE, IBC), because you won't want to waste time flipping through the books when the answer is just a lookup type answer. Get some nice tabs and tab those babies up. It'll be useful later on too.
I had the PPI practice problem book that I didn't find useful.
I thought the structural depth reference manual for the PE exam was useful. I'm sure the SERM is more in-depth though I would warn you that the SERM is written for the SE exam. There's going to be info in that book that isn't for the PE exam.
I studied mostly out of the CERM and made sure I felt comfortable with the knowledge in there, but also navigating the book. I would recommend understanding the layout of your major books (CERM, AISC, ACI, ASCE, IBC), because you won't want to waste time flipping through the books when the answer is just a lookup type answer. Get some nice tabs and tab those babies up. It'll be useful later on too.
I had the PPI practice problem book that I didn't find useful.
SlideRuleEra
Structural
icundiff - Good advice from PE2012. You don't need the SERM, for the reason stated.
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- #4
TehMightyEngineer
Structural
Though if you do structural in your daily job then the SERM is a useful reference after the exam.
Professional and Structural Engineer (ME, NH)
American Concrete Industries
Professional and Structural Engineer (ME, NH)
American Concrete Industries
I would also add that you should try your best to find/beg/borrow a copy of every book on the reference list.
I also took the morning civil, structural afternoon. On the morning portion, there were several questions that I skipped on the first pass through the test because I had no idea. With some free time at the end I went back to revisit these questions and was able to open a book I had never opened before, check the index, and find an answer that I was confident was right.
Many of the books I borrowed from a Civil firm that I had done a lot of work with in the past.
I also took the morning civil, structural afternoon. On the morning portion, there were several questions that I skipped on the first pass through the test because I had no idea. With some free time at the end I went back to revisit these questions and was able to open a book I had never opened before, check the index, and find an answer that I was confident was right.
Many of the books I borrowed from a Civil firm that I had done a lot of work with in the past.
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