However, I dont think it will make it any less advantageous for me to pick Structural over Geotech because of all the references required. But again, you're going to be very focused on it. The exam consists of 80 questions over 9 hours and can be taken at any Pearson VUE test center. It would be a little naive to think that just because water resources has the highest pass rate that its definitively the easiest test. Don't be overwhelmed by this list and ranking if you are questioning what to take. As the entire process continues its shift to digital, some PE exams are paper and pencil while others are computer-based. Most questions seem to be look up type questions you can pull from the codes, but if you look at the spec's you'll see that the AASHTO books aren't the only books required. I believe they're at 12, I think, if you go look at it. These salaries vary by engineering discipline, but you get the idea. Depending on the state you live you can stamp structural drawings as well but youll have to check the state you live in! My name is Luke and I'm a licensed Professional Engineer with a Master's Degree in Civil Engineering. It's kind of a myth. What Makes PPI Exam Prep Different? I think the water resources exam is the easiest depth exam and the structural depth exam is the hardest one for the civil PE exam. Many of these disciplines only offer tests in April or October check this page on the NCEES website to learn more while others are available at all times of the year. Those who had a B.A or B.S. PE Mechanical Exam Prep & Courses | PPI - ppi2pass.com You are allowed to bring an unlimited number of printed reference materials to the exam. Ok, just go there and join a group of like-minded civil engineers! So you have earned an engineering degree, cleared the FE exam, acquired the title of EIT, garnered four years of work experience, and are finally looking forward to taking the PE exam. The easiest exam is going to be personal preference. As Seen On Forbes. Although its not easy, dont panic. All of these exams are difficult. had a net income of $93,000, while those with a PE license made significantly more: $108,000. format, number questions, topic, etc.). You can take the exam at any NCEES-approved Pearson VUE test centers. It's coming out soon. It is administered year-round at NCEES-approved Pearson VUE test centers. Focus only on what is most likely to show up on your particular PE exam. Obviously there is that whole "ethics" thing where your not supposed to design things outside your area of expertise, in terms of actual licensing many states don't know or care, they . Required fields are marked *. To create more opportunities and grow your engineering career, a Professional Engineer (PE) license is the answer. Those are my experiences. Earn a four-year degree in engineering from an accredited engineering program, Pass the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam, Complete four years of progressive engineering experience under a PE, and, Pass the Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) exam, They provide you with the right kind of exam-like study questions, They show you how to solve them quickly and correctly, They focus your study sessions by sticking to only whats important to know, They help you get your notes and references organized for test day. All of these exams are administered twice per year: once on April 17th and again on October 23rd, 2020. Some exams are held only once a year while others can be taken year-round. Some comments said it's too different each year to really tell, the numbers could swing +/- 10%, so now I am no longer freaking out about that. According to pass rates on the NCEES website, 71% of engineers who take the water resources test pass on their first try. The ASCE 7 is most likely a small load combination like 1.2D+1.6L and the OSHA is most likely material that you can find using the CERM as it covers a lot of material that has appeared on the exam. Congrats to all that just took the PE last weekend! 5 Best PE Review Courses [2023 PE Exam Prep] - Accounting Institute For The license is granted when candidates meet a number of requirements in experience, education, and exams as outlined on the NCEES website. The good news: enrolling in a prep course can save you time! You may have noticed that some computer-based tests (CBT) are administered year-round, while others are not. And it is the hardest, I'd say. If youre still unsure about specific dates, visit the NCEES schedule to see where your exam lies on the calendar. Like, always. This can go a lot of different ways, but these are simply based on my own opinions about this and no one else's. OK, let's just get this out of the way. I am happy to say I passed the Architectural Engineering PE Exam! And the unexpected bonus was that it made me a better structural engineer, which has really helped my career since I passed the PE. Your experience may differ from other students when taking specific disciplines of the PE exam. Other computer-based PE exams use a different algorithm thats more of a high-stakes testing model. This exam is still administered in paper and pencil format. So you don't have to know a lot of extra stuff out there in order to ace this exam. I'm just kind of giving you my own thoughts on where it ranks. So - is there a general consensus that "_____ is the easiest", or does it not really matter and just personal preference? Step 1: Become an Engineer Intern If you're a graduate from an engineering program approved by your state's licensure board, you can become classified as an "engineer intern" or "engineer-in-training" by successfully completing the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam. Are you able to step away from the label you earned in college and take the exam that truly tests your knowledge and abilities. I think this is the most popular PE depth exam that civil engineers take - or want to take, (but is it the easiest PE exam?). Those who had a B.A or B.S. The world is changing. You can worry about the other exams later if you want to take them. One of the biggest surprises after passing the PE was how much I learned from doing it. I work in construction management for transportation projects. Licensed Professional Engineer in Texas (PE), Florida (PE) and Ontario (P. Eng) with consulting experience in design, commissioning and plant engineering for clients in Energy, Mining and Infrastructure. Nearly every licensure and certification on the planet is shifting to digital. Having the PE means you have at last four years of experience beyond your degree and a broad understanding of the engineering principles in your specific field. A lot of information that's given on those, you might not need, you may need. I did choose Structural Analysis as my focus in college however, when I took Foundation Design as an elective late in my Senior year I fell in love with Geotech. Hey Isaac, thanks for the above! All of these exams are administered twice per year: once on. Hey Isacc, thanks for the great insight! We hope this article provided you with enough insight into the easiest PE exam to take so you can make an informed decision. The world is changing. Which FE Exam Should I Take - Study For FE We know that will help you on your journey if you're trying to get licensed in California as well. In terms of content, it does have some difficult subjects that you need to know. You could chance not bringing in some of them, but a missed question here and there really add up when you need to get as many right as possible. Ready to pass the civil PE exam? Do we say "which exam is the hardest"? Now you can achieve laser-like focus on subject mater only. If you go look at the NCEES organization, they have very high amounts of test takers and their percentage of passing is always pretty high as well relative to the other disciplines. Our answer is always the same, they're all easy if you're prepared. If you are in that field and are comfortable using their books then this is your exam. You can download our show notes summary here or get our transcript of the show below! The exam consists of 80 questions over 9 hours and can be taken at any Pearson VUE test center. This should be different for each person. The PE exam was developed by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) to test for a level of competency in a particular engineering field or discipline. The structural depth exam requires a huge amount of additional standards that you have to become familiar with (ten as of this blog post). If you feel construction is more in line with your work and what you have an interest in then I say go for it! Engineer's often times end up working on topics or questions that they have never studied or that were spun in such a way that they were really difficult to understand and solve. Choose your state, then select PE as your test before entering your discipline. Beginning in April of 2019, this exam was converted to computer-based testing. Understanding of concepts of FE & PE exam, Tips to decrease studying distractions for FE and PE exam, Best specialization In electrical Engineering, PE Agricultural and Biological Engineering, PE Civil: Water Resources and Environmental, PE Electrical and Computer: Computer Engineering, PE Electronics, Controls, and Communications, PE Mechanical: Machine Design and Materials, PE Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, PE Structutual: Vertical Forces Buildings. If you're repeating the exam, it's also a higher pass rate as well. I also purchased the Study Guide and Resource Library. Best Calculators for the PE Exam - Study for FE Thats right the PE exam is an open book test. And a lot of people never take geotech. Teaming up with the School of PE when preparing for the PE exam can help you pass the PE exam and realize your dream of becoming a licensed professional engineer. So maybe, you know, number three here on our list, if we're going up. and our Not a lot in there. . would that be allowable to do so? But that's a little deceiving because there's just not that many people taking this exam. PE Exam Info | About the NCEES PE Exam | PPI Kaplan - ppi2pass.com So, that's my thoughts surrounding transportation. However, if you want to know the exact fees for your discipline, follow the steps below: Venture to the NCEES engineering website. Ultimately, the entire NCEES infrastructure is in a conversion process this year with an expected launch schedule between now and 2024. This leads engineers into thinking that they don't know anything except general engineering concepts that cover a breadth of knowledge including scheduling, construction loads, surveying, estimating, and more. And if I just thumb through here, I can see structural. PPI2Pass PE Review. Only licensed engineers can submit plans and drawings. Thats not the most common answer though, and well get to that in a minute. It's always high. So dont worry about having to study for a different kind of exam if youre taking paper and pencil instead of digital, or vice versa. We provide comprehensive courses that include essential PE prep material and lectures produced by expert instructors. Water quality? I remember wondering which was the best PE exam to take when I was getting ready for the test. You may consider it too. They all last a total of 8 hours and contain 80 questions. List: Here Are the Exams ChatGPT and GPT-4 Have Passed so Far Like, 55%! Good comments! It is only given annually, which falls this year on. The threshold for . So, you know, maybe I should've considered that. 5 Best PE Review Courses [2023 PE Exam Prep] - Accounting Institute For Considering my strengths from college, I thought about doing Geotechnical, but the pass rates I saw for that depth section intimidated me. ", Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), PE Exam Success The 10 Best Ways To Be Prepared, Demystifying the Professional Engineering Exam: What to Expect and How to Prepare, Mastering the Professional Engineering Exam: Top Tips and Strategies, How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services. , this is so they can use whats called a linear-on-the-fly (LOFT) algorithm to construct year-round exams, which makes cheating an impossibility. You might have really struggled in water resources classes. As previously mentioned, its expected that the entire shift to digital exams will take another 4 years. According to the results of the 2017 ASCE Salary Survey, the median pre-tax income for civil engineers in 2016 was $101,000. best method of compaction, best scenario for drainage, if you change this in the system what kind of failure occurs. CEA76 - Which Civil PE Exam is Easiest to Take? Which is Hardest? So if you miss one date while pursuing certification as a, , you will not be eligible for the PE license and wont be able to start your, In the U.S., engineers must be licensed at the state level by professional licensing boards to become a PE. I dont work in WRE and didnt study it at school, but I enjoy the subject, well I enjoy hydraulics. For more information, please see our Geotech or Water, 3. It contains 80 questions that take students an average of 8 hours to finish. Which afternoon module for the Civil PE is easiest? Did I read elsewhere that you took and passed you PE in Geo? If your goal is to switch industries . All 4 of these exams are computer-based and administered only one day a year. They've built in some tabs here. Examinees have 9 hours to complete the exam, which contains 80 questions. The PE Civil exam is an 80-question, nine-hour exam that tests for a minimum level of competency in the field of civil engineering. We recommend sticking with what you do in your career but you can go any route you want! After the PE Structural exam, we can see that the exams with the lowest pass rates are PE Civil: Construction and Geotechnical and PE Electrical and Computer: Computer Engineering. In this case, all attendees will receive the exact same questions. If youre taking the PE after getting your 4 years of experience required to become licensed, youve already got all that time spent doing work in one area. So what this means is that not only are you required to understand all your breadth material, but you also have to have an in-depth knowledge of your depth material, and you also have to have pretty good knowledge of all of those standards and codes, and at least know where to find them, which means you have to go through them, you have to tab them up. The NCEES website lists the topics and roughly how many questions for each will appear on the various PE exams in its section of exam-specific informationhere. But water resources, I believe, is the highest right now. will help you learn whats important to pass the test! Nevertheless, the company above really pushed me to take the Structural Depth because they wanted m to be able to say that I was a Civil-Structural if ever asked. And that simply because it does require a lot of standards that you're going to have to know on top of the breadth of material that they can ask you. I wouldn't say it's harder than another exam, but it's difficult if you don't use or practice these topics every day. Examinees have 9.5 hours to complete the exam, which contains 85 questions. Your email address will not be published. It ended up being a really good decision, even if I had to take the test twice to finally pass it. An FE exam waiver may be considered in lieu of additional engineering experience. It's like the ASCE-7 and the OSHA Manual. Yep! Why is The FE Exam Hard? Better pay! It helped me take care of all the areas within my discipline that I was weak in. In the end, no matter what you take, you'll be locking yourself in your closet and hunkering down for 3 to 6 months. They all have 85 questions and last 9.5 hours, although the specific questions on each test are different from one another. Its got the most practice problems and material of any resource out there and is the most Civil Engineering Academy's PE Course Review. Check out some of the best PE review courses here. I'll just break it to you right now - every depth exam is hard and requires a high degree of effort; but if we dive a little deeper, maybe we can spot some things that might be easier for you. Each PE exam lasts 8 hours and is split into a morning and an afternoon session. Now, Im three and dont seem to be getting much better in the afternoon portion of the exam since I have done little to no design work since college. Check out how to register for the PE Exam below! I am new to this. Isaac Oakeson: Anyway guys, with that, we'll go ahead and wrap this up. So I design transmission lines. NCEES gives pass rates for all PE exams on their website. . Think about if you were working in geotechnical and took the water resources exam. And that's specifically why I took the geotech exam. But most people take a breadth and depth test or an all depth exam. Exam Details NCIDQ Resources PE Mechanical Exam Prep Prep courses are enrolling now! PE Exam Success - The 10 Best Ways To Be Prepared explains the top methods to dramatically increase your odds for success on the PE Exam. PE Exam The Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) exam tests for a minimum level of competency in a particular engineering discipline. Isaac Oakeson: All right, guys. I feel like water resources is definitely the top of the list for what we would consider the easiest exam on the civil PE. Architectural had the highest first-time pass rate and Structural had the lowest. could you please tell me how having PE construction License would benefit me ? Finding time in your busy schedule to accommodate this much studying isnt impossible, but signing up for a test preparation course might be your best bet to provide the structure and motivation to stay on top of your review. Through lectures, problem-solving demos, strategy sessions, and office hours, your prep will be centered around instruction from experts who know the PE exam inside and out. You wait for your results! Transportation is a close second at 70%. HVAC & Refrigeration Machine Design & Materials Thermal & Fluid Systems About the Exam The computer-based exam has 80 questions and lasts up to 9 hours. It also depends on how well you did in certain classes in school.