PE Exam Materials

Buy PE Exam study materials as early as you can. Here are 7 savings tips and motivational bullet points:

1. Once you pass the PE exam, your income potential goes way up. That is a no-brainer. Not guaranteed, but certainly most likely. (It did for me. Thank you, Jesus.)

2. The books will give you an economy of study and make your investment of time more effective. This is more true if you are getting a late start, or have a busy life.

3. Materials for professional advancement are tax deductible. In the year's accounting, it is less expensive than it looks at first glance. Each year, I claim my new reference and professional educational books under "office supplies."

4. The books you purchase today will remain on your book shelf. You will learn the contents of these PE exam study materials very well. In the future, when you encounter a rare engineering calculation, you will recall, "I saw that in my Civil Construction PE exam review book." You will use these books for more than just studying for the NCEES exam.


5. Most engineers have time at a premium. You really only need to search two sources: First, Amazon.com for books in general. Second, ppi2pass.com.But, the Civil Engineering Reference Manual and every other book as well, tend to be cheaper on Amazon. On Amazon, you can often get it for $220 or less, and qualify for free shipping. Click here to check Amazon prices: CERM. Be sure to compare total cost. Shipping on ppi's site is much higher than you might expect. On Amazon, the threshold for free shipping is much lower. Last check, Amazon is free shipping after $35 and PPI charges shipping all the way up to $300.

6. On Amazon, be sure to look at "all buying options." Third party sellers can sometimes be selling used books for substantial savings. You can also find new books from third party sellers. The trade-off is the risk the seller might ship a few days slower. Or, the seller might not pack your books the best way.

7. Be wary of package deals. Package deals are sometimes used by publishers to unload titles that are not otherwise moving. In other words, if you save 30% on the 2 books you really wanted, and then buy two more, also at 30% discount, you still pay more. For example, suppose each book costs $100. Without discount, you receive the 2 you want and spend $200. With a package deal, you pay $280. So, you still get the two you wanted for the $200.... and, in all the excitement of making a deal, you bought two books you were not going to buy at all, and for $40 each.

Is there a package deal anywhere that is really a deal? 

What are the best PE exam study materials? 

 If you use Amazon, you will get some recommendations. "People who bought the Civil Engineering Reference Manual also bought..."

The very best PE Exam Books and DVDs have been compiled here: PE Exam Study Materials

NCEES Practice Exam

(Link for free FE mini exam is at the bottom.)

Preparation for the FE exam or the PE exam, both prepared and administered by NCEES, absolutely requires taking practice exams.

There is really only one place to begin your search for preparation materials. This is the bookstore I put together of the best PE exam materials on Amazon. I hear people saying they invested 150 hours and more to prepare for the FE and more than 300 hours for the PE. You need the right materials to make your time effective.

I studied much less, and- get this - I do not have an engineering degree! (California is one of the states which allows experience and knowledge to qualify a person for the FE and for the PE exam.)

How did I pass when so many with expensive 4 and 5 year degrees could not? (Only about half of those with engineering degrees ever take the FE, fewer than this take the professional engineer exam.)

The reason I passed is simple. I know how to prepare for an exam. (Plus the required years of work experience, of course.) To prepare for the FE exam, I bought a fat book from Great Lakes Press on Amazon. I also took many practice exams, using the book I purchased. I studied by focusing on my strongest and weakest topics- a strategy to consolidate my base of points, and to glean the easiest additional points.

Really, it was the PE practice exams which really made the difference. There are several reasons why.

1. Practice exams familiarize you with the time constraints of 6 minutes per question on the PE exam morning and afternoon sessions, and with the 1.92 minute allotment in the FE exam (5 hours, 20 minutes for 110 questions- the CBT format.)
2. Practice exams remove stress. Once you are comfortable with the format, and have scored enough to pass (based on statistical history and rumor) on two or three PE practice exams, exam stress will be eliminated or nearly gone. Stress works against the examinee. Being relaxed frees your mind and allows good circulation for body and brain. 
3. Practice exams show you which subjects are your strongest, and which subjects are your weakest. (There is a lot about this in my book, Pass the PE like a Pro.)
4. The explanations for the solution to each of the problems allows you to immediately review mistakes. 
5. Psychology has shown through experimentation: Information given in exams is remembered far better than information covered in cram sessions, homework, or lectures. (This is why teachers are encouraged to put more True answers on exams than False. People who thought the false information on the exam was true tend to believe it years later.) Taking a practice exam, or taking one a mini-quiz with questions in subjects you choose, is a more effective learning technique than sitting at Starbucks with your CERM and attempting to work problems. 
6. Schedule your practice exams (FE or PE) regularly. Study in between. This will show you how effective your study has been. If you slack off between practice exams, your score will warn you immediately. Bad feedback will motivate you. Good feedback will encourage. But, you need to invest in some practice exam books. Buy from at least two authors/publishers.
7. I reviewed all the offerings on Amazon. Click the link above to go see pages and pages of current, top-rated PE review books. They are listed by exam topic: mechanical, civil, geotech, etc. 

Prices vary slightly month to month on Amazon. But, availability for PE Practice Exams definitely dips in the 6 weeks before the April and October exams.

Many people like to have a hard copy to take practice exams. There are good reasons for that. For one thing, you can take the practice exam anywhere you want. Here is a link to the best PE sample exams available, with reviews and explanations of why you should buy or not buy them:

Best PE Sample Exams

If you need a break, check out these engineering jokes.