Preparing for the PE

[Pmatherne]

I finally will have the required 4 years under my belt to take the PE exam. I have just started to study and my target is the October 2013 date. I plan on taking the HVAC Depth exam. Seems like only yesterday I decided to change careers and walked back into college at 33 years old
One questions I have is I have a 7th edition of the MERM;s book, can I use one that is that old
Also are there any study groups for the test

 

[Gymmeh]

I dont know about the book.

For the mechanical in my area, western ny, there are no review classes. I contacted my local NSPE and ASME, but tried to help, but with no success. You might get lucky and find someone on here that will meet up with you.

I have signed up for an online review class. Mostly because I don't want to take the test again and my work is paying for it.

Good luck.

 

[fegenbush]

The cost of the book is small compared to the cost of your time preparing for the exam, the exam fee itself, and the risk of having to do both over again if you don't pass. Invest in the most recent version of the book and the problems/solutions as well as all of the test like problems you can find (PPI does a great job, but there are others too). Go through the MERM from cover to cover (math excepted) and tab the book for quick reference. Work every problem you can find and then work them again.

Investing in yourself is not the time to pinch pennies.

 

[jpankask]

If I remember correctly, the format of the test changed significantly around the 10th edition of MERM. I believe it was the 10th edition of MERM that incorporated these changes to the test. While the 7th edition you have might be a good version for practice problems, etc. I think it would be worth your time and money to get an 11th or 12th edition for major studying and reference during the exam.

 

[MiketheEngineer]

Go to NCEES.org for great info. I think there is a company - PPI2 that has books and study guides that guarantee you will pass?? Not sure how that works.....

 

[racookpe1978]

I went into my PE with very few books or references (less than 6, including two that were "standard engineering" texts like Marks and one Engineering Economy handout sheet for its specialized formulas.)

But I knew where the tables and equations were in each of those references that I would likely need.

Had problems on with two questions - and on those two, I wrote what the answers calculated out to be - why I didn't think my answer was right, why I didn't think the parameters in the questions were right (so that the question could not be correct as stated), what I assumed in answering the question and where the error might have come from, and what I was going to check next in trying to solve the problem.

Passed.

The guys who came in with literally boxes of books and handcarts stacked 15 - 20 deep? They didn't seem so confident as we left the exam room.

 

[Gymmeh]

with books there is definitely a point of diminishing returns with books. The MERM covers a probably 75% of the problems.

 

[ShaggyPE]

Agree with what jpankask stated. The test format changed... therfore the study method and sample problems needed to change. Additionally, I think the old MERM had sample problems right in it... the newer version extracted those into a single book. I would highly recommend purchasing the new book. Also, head over to

http://www.engineer-boards.com

for a great forum for test prep. I passed in 2007 BTW.

-Dustin
Professional Engineer
Pretty good with SolidWorks

 

[ShaggyPE]

Oops, that link above is bad. The site is

http://www.engineerboards.com.

-Dustin
Professional Engineer
Pretty good with SolidWorks