PE Exam Tip #2: Make a "Quick Reference" Folder

PE Exam Tips for Winners

During the actual exam, you will utilize your time most effectively, and thereby earn your maximum potential score, by skipping problems with which you are unfamiliar, or which do not quickly yield a solution method. Instead, you will move to the problems you know well. You will work questions similar to the work you perform during the week, from classes in which you excelled, and in material you studied during your preparation for the NCEES exam.

Include: Equations, conversions, solution methods you use regularly.

Add as well: Solved problems you have worked successfully a few times on practice exams, but cannot solve quickly without referencing an example. The day before the April exam, I took the afternoon portion of a practice exam. I copied several examples I correctly worked. And I added a few on which I made simple errors and corrected them in review. On the actual exam, there were three problems very similar to those I had added into my quick reference folder the night before.

Ensure all sheets are secured. I read some testimonies of binders being shaken for loose papers, examinees taping loose sheets into folders in the moments before the exam, and other stories of paranoid police-state enforcement. Just make sure the sheets stay in the folder. I used a hole punch and a Dollar Store plastic three-ring binder. Nothing fancy. Get one that flops open and stays open. Fighting your binder to keep it open during the timed professional engineering exam is not best!

One error I caught while taking a practice exam at home was the distraction of a a binder that wants to flip closed on it's own. I replaced it with one that has creases at the binding so it lays flat naturally.

When you take your practice exams, keep the quick reference binder on the desk you will use. After each use, organize and reorganize to make it more intuitive. Add index sheets or tabs. Put the most used categories to the front. Within categories, move most used sheets to the front, nearest the tab. That way, when you open the binder with the tab, the most likely desired information is immediately available.

Be selective. An overcrowded quick reference is less advantageous than one holding only the richest equations and solution methods. 

Use it during your practice sessions. Books you use during your practice sessions become valuable. You will use them on the exam. References you do not use will be less than worthless- they will be a detriment as you stumble through them hoping the equation you need can be gleaned from unfamiliar pages. The same is true for the quick reference folder.

Bonus tip: You should have a quick reference folder for your desk at work. The one you prepare for the exam will provide the basis for your work version.

PPI Discount

I prepared for the California April PE exam in 2010 using a heavy emphasis on taking practice exams. In my opinion, this is the best way to prepare for and pass the PE Exam.

You need to practice taking exams in the same conditions under which the actual NCEES exam is administered.

I took a practice exam every other Saturday for three months prior to the exam. Between exams, I focused on two categories: my strongest category and my weakest categories. Investing in your strong area solidifies this base and ensures you will continue to score these points on future practice exams and on the actual exam day. Delving into your weak areas will bring you the "low hanging fruit." Easy topics are learned easily. Some facets of engineering. like pumps, are simple enough- if only you understand the variables used in the equations.

Update (01-26-15): You can find the best PE sample exam books and other review materials at the best PE review materials link below.

Best PE Exam Books

Another great resource for best prices on PE exam review books is the Amazon page pictured to the right. This page has all the best of the current editions of PE review materials.
Don't forget that Amazon requires all sellers on their site to meet or beat prices anywhere else on any other site. And, when it comes to shipping, Amazon.com is free after $35. PPI makes you pay (not cheap, either) up to $350 in books. After that, shipping is free.

Check out the Best PE Review Materials Amazon page.

Be sure to buy a good calculator, a reserve calculator, minimum two practice exam books, and the reference books specific to your exam module.

The two most valuable tools for PE exam review and preparation are taking practice exams and practicing with the Civil Engineering Reference Manual (CERM). To find the cheapest copy of the CERM available, use this page: Civil Engineering Reference Manual 

Excel Test Prep Service

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.
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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.

PE Exam Books You Will Need:

For the NCEES PE Structural Exam:

1. Civil Engineering Reference Manual 14th Edition (CERM) Michael R. Lindeburg, ISBN: 978-1591263807

2. International Building Code 2012 International Code Council ISBN: 978-1609830403

3. Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures, American Society of Civil Engineers, ASCE7-10 ISBN: 978-0784412916

4. Steel Construction Manual AISC 360-10, American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) ISBN: 978-1564240606

5. Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete, American Concrete Institute, ACI 318-08 ISBN: 978-0-87031-264-9

6. National Design Specification for Wood Construction ASD/LRFD, 2005 edition, and National Design Specification Supplement, Design Values for Wood Construction, 2005 edition, ASIN: B001K9TDFS

7. PCI Design Handbook Precast and Prestressed Concrete, 6th Edition, 2004  ISBN: 978-0937040713

8. Building Code Requirements and Specifications for Masonry Structures, ACI 530-08, Masonry Standards Joint Committee, ISBN: 1-929081-29-4

9. AASHTO LRFD Design Specifications for Bridges, 5th Edition, 2010, ASIN: B004C15EOA

10. Seismic Design Review Workbook: For the California Civil Professional Engineering Examination (See another post: Best Book for the California Seismic PE Exam.)

11. 2006 IBC Structural/Seismic Design Manual, 2nd Edition, ISBN: 978-1-58001-933-0 (for California Seismic Specialty exam)

12. The book of your choice for the California special Civil Engineering Surveying Exam. Link goes to an article listing all the best options available.

And, again, never be without:

1. Civil Engineering Reference Manual (the CERM), ISBN: 978-1591263418

DISCOUNT:
These books can be purchased at ppi2pass.com. Additionally, take 5% off using promo code PASS1114. . Write down the discount code. Check the ppi bookstore today.

If you want to compare the best PE Sample Exams, click the link!

PE Exam Tip #1: Take Practice Exams!

Best Tip to Pass the PE: Practice Taking Exams

PE Sample Exams Compiled in one store

The best course of preparation for any event is to practice under conditions as close to the actual conditions as you can produce at home. Buy at least two practice exams.

To take a practice PE exam, gather all the books you need for the exam. Bring your calculator, a bottle of water, a mechanical pencil and every other thing you will require on exam day. At 8 am, be in place at your desk, kitchen table, computer station, or whatever place is available to you.

The space you use for the practice exam should be equivalent approximately to half a picnic table. (In SI units, that is 2.2 times the size of a sidewalk cafe table.)

You should plan to take a minimum of five practice exams during your review. Visit Best PE Sample Exams to review all the highest rated practice exams. Snapshot on right shows page 1.

Now, begin your exam. Leave the time running when you run to the loo. On exam day, if you drink too much water, you will likewise lose the time. If you cheat and stop the clock in your practice exam, you will not appreciate the importance of the time. On exam day, you want to arrive well hydrated, but not sloshing as you walk.

Analyze Your Results

Look at your score. Do not worry that you scored only 40% on this first practice exam. This test provides you with a basis to form your studying. For the next two weeks, concentrate on just two topics.

First: In which subjects have you performed very well? You will study this subject with some emphasis for the next two weeks. In which subject did you perform most poorly? This subject will also become a target of study. In the former group, your strong area(s), study will facilitate relearning equations, variables and applications.

Second, focus on your weak area (Is it geotech for everyone?) You will harvest the low hanging fruit, the easy equations and applications. Work problems in all areas, but especially emphasize the two main areas I just mentioned: Your strongest discipline, and your weakest field as well.

The exam is going to have similar, but different, questions than those you work in your study period. For this reason, studying your strong areas will help you have a greater depth of knowledge with which to correctly answer questions and score passing points.


Taking practice exams will also familiarize you with time constraints. Learn to recognize what four hours feels like. Learn to recognize when you have been working a problem for 6 minutes. After this, you need to determine whether to move on or to dog it out (Hint: best to move on). And, of course, practicing problems in a practice exam scenario will teach you through experience which problems you can do quickly, and which problems should be skipped.

I took six full practice exams during my PE exam review period. I took one immediately, to see where I stood and which topics were strong or weak for me. Then, every two weeks, I took another full exam. There are many exams available. The best-rated, most current are on this Amazon page (where you also get the price prices):

PE Sample Exams