7 Steps to a Successful PE Exam Study Schedule

PE Exam Study Schedule – Studying for the PE Exam can be really hard and it is sometimes difficult to find the time to do it. One way to balance your studying and the rest of your life is to create a detailed study schedule. However, developing a study plan and schedule can be very complex as each person’s work and living situation, available time, existing knowledge and understanding of the subject material, learning pace and, and experience vary greatly.

I have been told by many Professional Engineers that their study plan and schedule was single handedly the most important tool that helped them pass the PE Exam. Therefore, in this post, I’m going to provide you with a seven step process to help you develop your own personalized PE exam study schedule. 

Before I do that though, let me remind you that most successful engineers will tell you that getting their PE license was the biggest career growth driver they’ve experienced, whether it was due to a promotion, salary increase or just more exciting projects to work on – you want to get your PE license. However, preparing for the PE exam can be a real challenge, but through the videos on our  YouTube Channel you will learn everything you need to get started with PE exam preparation, the right way. 

Firstly, let me remind you that in order to pass your PE exam, you should allow yourself at least six months to prepare, figuring at least one hour per day of study time (more on study time here).  That being said, here are the seven steps to make sure you can create a schedule to realize that goal: 

Step 1 – Your first step in creating a study schedule should be to assess your current schedule and the way you currently spend time and look for ways you can be more efficient.  For example, what activities might you be able to cut while you prepare for the PE exam?  So to take this first step, do the following for the next two weeks:

•   Track your time in 30 minute increments
•   How much time do you spend on work? Exercise? Family time? TV time? Social media scrolling (probably a big area you can cut)
•   Then look at the results of your analysis, and use your engineering brain to do some quick math to see what you can cut. People tend to find they spend a lot of time on social media and other entertainment activities.

Step 2 – Design your weekly PE Exam study schedule with 5 to 7 hours of study time each week.  Be sure to design your schedule based on your natural tendencies.  If you’re a morning person, plan on studying early in the morning before work, or if you’re a night owl, plan to study at night before bed.  Doing this will increase your chances of sticking to this schedule. 

Step 3 –Stick to your schedule! There’s no point in creating a study schedule if you don’t stick to it.  Here are two things you can do to make sure you stick to your schedule:

•   Put all of your study time on your calendar.  I recommend setting study sessions up as recurring calendar appointments.  Why wouldn’t you?   They should be just as important as everything else you are doing.
•   Secondly, stick to the schedule religiously for the first 3 weeks.  Scientific research has shown that it takes 21 days of doing something to make it a habit.  I’ve used this 21-day rule successfully to build many good habits. 

Step 4 –List all of the main topics you need to study in a document or checklist. By doing this, each time you have a study session, you will be clear on what to focus on which again will help to keep you motivated, because if there is any lack of clarity around what you should be studying then you may just stop studying, it happens to everyone, if there is no clear action, we don’t take one. 

Step 5 – Figure out what you need to do for each main topic. Now that you’ve listed all of the different main topics you need to study, you must figure out what you need to study for each topic.

•   If you have a study guide with review sections, use it to narrow down what you list; so for example, if you have Statics on your list of items to study, try to create sub bullets with the different areas of Statics you plan to study and maybe even list the associated pages or chapters in the study guide.
•   You see what you are doing here; you are creating a solid study plan to keep you on schedule.

Step 6 – Prioritize your list. After you’ve made a list of all the topics you need to study for the PE exam and you figured out what you need to do for each one, prioritize the list. Ranking each major section in importance will help you figure out what topics you need to devote the most time to.  We’re working on a separate video to help you with this task, in terms of understanding the weight of specific topics or problems. You’ll get that video if you are subscribed to our YouTube Channel 

Step 7 – Reserve time for leisure activities. While blocking off time for studying, you need to make sure that you are reserving time for family, friends, and other leisurely activities. You won’t be successful in your studies unless you create a good balance between your personal life and your work life.

•   Plan time for events you can’t reschedule like birthdays or doctor appointments
•   Reserve ample time for rest, sleep, and exercise.  Your body carries your mind, so you need to keep your body in shape! 

So there you have it.  The most important thing that you can do to pass the PE exam is to create a study schedule, and build a habit of sticking to it during your entire preparation period.  It is truly the most important thing that you can do.  And if you didn’t do it while you were reading this post, simply start the video over and take action after each step listed above.  Trust me it will be worth your time.

I hope this post and associated video helps you to answer the questions about how COVID-19 has affected the PE exam schedule. 

We publish videos weekly on our Pass the PE Exam YouTube Channel.  Be sure to visit our page here and click the subscribe button as you’ll get expert tips and tricks each week – to ensure your best success – that you can’t get anywhere else. Believe me, you won’t want to miss a single video.

Lastly, I encourage you to ask questions in the comments of the videos or here on this page and I’ll read and respond to them in future videos. So if there’s a specific topic you want me to cover or answer, we have you covered.

I’ll see you next week,

Anthony Fasano, P.E.
Engineering Management Institute
Author of Engineer Your Own Success