How I aced the P.E. exam

Categories: 

April 5, 2021

With the next round of P.E. and S.E. exams approaching, it’s nearly crunch time for those seeking professional licensure this spring.

But even if you’re not a test-taker this April, it may be something you’ve considered for a while or have looked forward to at some point in your career.

Fortunately, ASCE offers live exam review courses. Meanwhile, members have been trading exam stories in a recent ASCE Collaborate discussion, offering up advice on what worked for them – and maybe a few things that didn’t.

Here are some highlights from the discussion (and be sure to log in and contribute your own advice):

Heidi Wallace, P.E., M.ASCE

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Take a look at your state’s P.E. requirements when you are graduating from college. This will give you an idea of what your options are. Some people also choose to apply in a surrounding state if the timelines are different there.

“When I took the P.E. exam, the younger EI that I was mentoring also sat for the exam and passed after being out of school for only one year. I would recommend taking the exam 1-2 years out of school if you have that option. The longer you wait, the less of the general knowledge you’ll probably remember from undergrad.

“My final advice would be to keep detailed records of what projects you work on and what portions of the projects you specifically completed. This will make it much easier to complete your P.E. application since you have to list detailed work experience from the time you graduated up to your application for licensure.”

Doug Cantrell, P.E., M.ASCE

Durham, North Carolina

“Prepare yourself for an eight-hour exam. Many people who have taken the P.E. exam say how mentally and physically drained they are afterwards. That is because we don’t typically spend eight solid hours mentally straining ourselves.

“Start at two hours, then four hours, then six hours until you feel comfortable taking eight-hour practice tests. Also, know from a physical standpoint how much food and water you need to get through an eight-hour test. You do get a lunch break during the exam, so use this to your advantage. After eating lunch, know if you need some last-minute practice problems, or need to listen to some music to calm down. Use the time to benefit you the most.”

Jay Garth, P.E., M.ASCE

Grand Rapids, Michigan

“I created a nine-month timeline and dedicated four hours each week to a specific topic … .

“The P.E. was a big commitment for me. In the months leading to the exam, I stopped doing some hobbies, I put my side hustles on pause, and grinded. The week of the exam I took the entire week off just to study and give myself mental and physical relief prior to the exam.”

Gavin Finley, P.E., M.ASCE

San Jose, California

“Hold onto textbooks, even if they aren’t an area of interest or emphasis. The P.E. questions will be much more on that level than what you’re doing in practice. Good for both studying and as potential references on test day.

“[However], don’t go overboard with references. I probably had a couple too many things with me (don’t think I touched the Green Book), and extra references clutter your space and give you one extra thing to move around or mistakenly flip through.”

Join the conversation on ASCE Collaborate.

Learn more about ASCE’s live exam review courses.

The post How I aced the P.E. exam appeared first on Civil Engineering Source.

More Articles

Welcoming our Newest Infrastructure Specialist

Welcoming our Newest Infrastructure Specialist

Welcome to the Team! Zach Cox has joined Mountain Waterworks’ corporate office in Boise, Idaho as an Infrastructure Specialist. Mr. Cox will provide support during planning efforts, constructability review during design, and on-the-ground resources during...

PRESS RELEASE

PRESS RELEASE

Post-Disaster Funding for Emergency Repairs Procured for Yellow Pine, Idaho Boise, Idaho, August 2021 - The Yellow Pine Water Users Association’s (YPWUA) public drinking water system (PWS) encountered severe damage and disruption to service area residents and...

How to remedy five management flaws and create resilient teams

How to remedy five management flaws and create resilient teams

Jennifer L. Donahue, Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE, is the founder of JL Donahue Engineering — a globally recognized seismic analysis and engineering firm. With her 25 years in the U.S. Navy, she is well qualified to offer advice for how engineers can use lessons learned from...

How wet is your wetland?

How wet is your wetland?

In April 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Army published the Navigable Waters Protection Rule in the Federal Register that finalized a revised definition of which waters are considered “jurisdictional waters” in the United...

Now is (finally) the time to future-proof our infrastructure

Now is (finally) the time to future-proof our infrastructure

Constantine Samaras, Ph.D., A.M.ASCE, is the director of the Center for Engineering and Resilience for Climate Adaptation at Carnegie Mellon University, an adjunct senior researcher at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation, and past chair of ASCE’s Committee on...

Driving the infrastructure investment conversation toward solutions

Driving the infrastructure investment conversation toward solutions

Darren Olson is in it for the long haul. So when he attended his first ASCE Legislative Fly-In in 2010, it wasn’t a destination or a peak but rather only the beginning of his advocacy journey. Olson has since helped lead three iterations of the Illinois Infrastructure...