Results from the California PE Exam of April, 2010 were sent out mid-July. A few days prior to receiving my letter, I received two advertisements for study services. I took them as a bad omen. In fact, I failed to pass the seismic portion of the California PE exam series. Here in the Sunshine State, we have 5 portions: a take home, mailed in with the application, the two part NCEES exam, and two more exams the day following the NCEES test date. The two are a seismic and a surveying exam.
Since then, I learned about the best book for the seismic PE exam.
I failed the seismic. This is a reasonable result. My study for the other portions had content and structure. For the seismic? Well, I noticed everyone else had seismic books with them. I had only two books: the ASCE7-05 and the 2006 IBC Structural Seismic Design Manual. These were marginally helpful on the exam. End result: my performance on two of five portions of the seismic exam was "marginal". The other three were "deficient".
This harbinger of bad news hit my post box four days before official news:
PASS THE EIT.
PASS THE PE.
We guarantee it.
Excel Test Prep
A guarantee shows some good business principles. Plus, they got my address somehow. Freedom of information act, perhaps? Anyhow, you can peruse their site at exceltest.com or phone them at (510) 490-7000. email: pe@exceltest.com
For more PE Exam Review Class reviews, see the PE Review Course List and Comparison.