Test Taking Strategies for the PE Civil Exam
The Practice of Engineering (PE) Civil Exam is an important step in becoming a licensed professional civil engineer. Continue reading for preparation and test-taking advice, as well as resources to help you pass this crucial exam.
Requirements To Pass the PE Civil Exam
Allow yourself at least three months to prepare for your PE Civil test.
Given that professional licensing depends on exam results, make the most of your exam preparation time by ensuring that you:
- Learn about the format and content of the PE Civil exam you intend to take.
- Gather relevant Civil study resources.
- Practice self-discipline and excellent study habits.
- Understand what the Civil exam is like.
The National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES), which conducts the PE Civil examinations, provides a full summary of each PE exam's content and organization. These descriptions, which are available for download from the NCEES website (ncees.org), also provide the number of questions for each topic. Most PE tests take 8 hours to complete, with each test divided into four-hour morning and afternoon sessions. Except for the structural engineer test, all examinations have multiple-choice questions. PE Civil examinations are open-book, paper-and-pencil exams.
Right & Proper Prep Material Is the Key to Success
For students preparing for PE Civil examinations, a wide range of study aids and preparation resources are accessible. These are some examples:
- Textbooks from previous college courses or those recommended as resources for your exam. The professional association for your Civil engineering specialty may provide suggested reading lists as well as online reference resources.
- Online courses can assist you in mastering any exam material topics that you want assistance with. For example, if you are taking one of the several PE examinations that need project management expertise, courses such as Statistics, Business Law, and Business Math may be useful tools.
- Some PE Civil tests have exam prep classes available in person or online. For assistance in locating relevant classes, contact the National Association of Professional Engineers, your state's professional civil engineering society, or the professional society for your engineering specialty.
- Some PE practice civil tests are available for purchase on the NCEES website. Additional practice examinations may be available for purchase from the professional association of your engineering specialty.
Study Smart – Not Hard
After you have gathered your study materials, you will want to make the most of the time you have to prepare.
To do so:
- Make a study plan to help you plan and manage your time.
- Be self-disciplined enough to stick to your study plan throughout your months of preparation.
- Practice answering the sorts of questions that will be on your test. Because most PE examinations include multiple-choice questions, review this course on Multiple-Choice Question Strategy for some pointers.
- To ensure that you are prepared for test day, plan to take practice exams on the same schedule that you would use for the actual exam.
- If the thought of taking your PE exam makes you nervous, or if you suffer test anxiety, read up and educate yourself on Overcoming Test Anxiety for assistance.
We hope that the above-mentioned tested practices will also be beneficial for you to not only gather needed preparation material for the PE Civil Practice, PE Civil CBT exams and or PE License but also help you gain immense knowledge about the changes in the respective field.