Discussion Thread

  • 1.  PE Structural Exam

    Posted 05-27-2019 09:13 AM
    Hello everyone,

    I just recently graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington two weeks ago and I am planning to take the PE exam this October (I took the FE exam last September). I will like to ask if anyone that recently took the exam can recommend review courses, books, and materials they used that were helpful. 

    Thank You!

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    Oreoluwa Adedapo S.M.ASCE
    Student
    Arlington TX
    (469)682-9561
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  • 2.  RE: PE Structural Exam

    Posted 05-28-2019 07:38 AM
    Do you have the required work experience and references?

    Any of the general study guides are good. Buy a lot of the practice exam problems and use those to familiarize yourself with your reference books. I'd recommend bringing your steel bible, ASCE, ACI, an NDS, TMS, along with some quick reference material. Read closely the recommendations and requirements online for the test and print it out.  

    Again whatever material you have you need to be very familiar with it, do hundreds of practice problems and you'll be fine. 

    Cheers,

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    Elliot House P.E.,S.M.ASCE
    W.B. Clausen Structural Engineers
    Emeryville CA
    (415)444-4144
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  • 3.  RE: PE Structural Exam

    Posted 05-28-2019 07:39 AM
    Oreoluwa,
    To be eligible to take the PE exam you typically need 4 years of experience working in your field. You should check the requirements in the state you plan to apply for licensure in to make sure you are eligible to take the exam.


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    Jeremy Zuger EIT,A.M.ASCE
    Engineer, Sales Technical Services
    Munhall PA
    (412)351-3913 EXT 161
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  • 4.  RE: PE Structural Exam

    Posted 05-28-2019 07:39 AM
    Engineering Education & Training (EET) Course is better than the PPI course.
    Civil Engineering Reference Manual (CERM)
    NCEES Practice Exams

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    Parker Suess PE, M.ASCE
    Principal Engineer (Structural)
    Cincinnati OH
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  • 5.  RE: PE Structural Exam

    Posted 05-28-2019 03:40 PM
    I took and passed the PE Structural exam in April 2018. I, like most people, was studying for the exam while working a full time job. So I decided the best way for me to study was to sign up for a course. I specifically used "School of PE" which has multiple types of courses. I took a version that was online based with a live instructor. You can research the different types of courses on their website. The course itself was 16 hours per weekend for six weeks and they provide notes and practice problems that you can revisit, add notes to, and use on the test.

    In addition to the course, I also studied two hours a day for four days during the week from January till April. With regards to the books you need, make sure you have all the codes that NCEES says you need. I believe structural has the most but you will need them. Borrow them if you have to and practice using them. Time will be of essence come test day, so being able to go through references quickly will come in handy. Other books I used was the civil engineering reference manual that most people buy. I rarely used it during my practicing but it is very broad and covers a lot of topics. I used it on two or three questions. Also, if you actually have some resources you use on a day to day basis in your job, bring those too of they are relevant. Finally, I would highly recommend buying a practice test from NCEES and actually treating it as a practice test. Meaning, isolate yourself and simulate the actual test conditions and see how you do.

    I know I have told you to get a lot of things that cost money but I hope your firm can reimburse you on some of these costs. Otherwise, borrow as many of them as you need to. I highly recommend the course; I found that to be the most helpful. Full disclosure: I do not work for School of PE and I am not being compensated by them for this.

    I wish you nothing but the best. Feel free to reach out to me directly via email at aodunlade3@....​

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    Fola Odunlade P.E.,M.ASCE
    Project Manager
    Washington DC
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  • 6.  RE: PE Structural Exam

    Posted 05-28-2019 09:56 PM
    Oreoluwa, 

    Congrats on graduating from UT Austin and pursuing your PE license. Be very familiar with the NCEES exam spec (https://ncees.org/wp-content/uploads/Civ-Str-April-2015_combined-with-codes-1.pdf) to focus your studying. 

    Review course: School of PE (SOPE) - This course is great for the breadth section because it covers exactly what comes on the exam and gives a lot of good advice on how to approach problem solving. It gives you decent problem sets that are similar in difficulty to the problems on the real exam. I found the notes very useful on the exam and referenced those since they are concise vs consulting the CERM. I did not do structural depth, so I cannot speak for their content on the depth section. 

    Books: CERM - Standard reference for the exam, be very familiar with the material and where things are located. 
    PPI Six Minute Solutions - know this inside out for depth. The problems on the real exam are not as long but this is great practice
    All references for the structural depth section - Have all the books mentioned because there may be some simple look up questions that would be easy points.

    Materials: It helps to take your tabbed/concise notes into the exam for speedy referencing. Take some solved problems in preparation for the harder question types.
    Earplugs
    Watch

    The best way to study for the exam is by doing questions. Do practice exams weekly to diagnose your week points and see how you're doing with time. Good luck!





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    Miguel Andrews P.E.,M.ASCE
    (701)595-6946
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