PE Exam

PE Civil Exam Depth: Geotechnical

March 29, 2022 by Anthony Fasano, P.E. Leave a Comment

Are you struggling to decide what depth exam you should take for your Civil PE Exam? Where do you start when trying to figure this out? Passing the PE exam is the last milestone in the journey towards your professional engineering license, so you must make the right decision.

In the next 5 articles, we will cover each of these Civil PE depth exams in detail, outline which topics show up on each exam, what the pass rates are for each topic, and provide some valuable information that will help you in your decision.

Let’s Look at the PE Civil: Geotechnical Depth Section of the PE Exam:

There are five different areas that you can choose from when taking the PE Civil exam which are:

PE Civil: Geotechnical
PE Civil: Construction
PE Civil: Structural
PE Civil: Transportation
PE Civil: Water Resources & Environmental

Remember that the PE Civil exam is a breadth and depth examination. The breadth items (typically known as the morning section) cover topics from all areas of civil engineering. However, the depth items (also known as the afternoon section) focus more closely on a single area of practice, like Geotechnical Engineering.

What Is Geotechnical Engineering?

Are you TOO Old to Take The PE Exam?

March 15, 2022 by Anthony Fasano, P.E. Leave a Comment

I get so many listeners that ask me whether they should bother taking the PE exam after the age of 30, 40, or even 50. Does age really matter? And when are you too old to take the PE Exam? You are never too old for professional development, especially adding the PE license to your resume, and in this article, I talk about the benefits of studying towards your engineering license when you are older.

If you have been practicing as an engineer from some time now, and for whatever your reason, you never pursued your PE license, or maybe you couldn’t pass the exam earlier in your career and now you’re considering pursuing your license, but you’re unsure whether or not it is the right choice for someone your age, then the video above is the right video for you.

Although a lot of people believe that obtaining a PE license is for early career engineers, obtaining your PE license can be beneficial to engineers of all ages. Whether you’ve never studied before or you’re looking to add to your qualifications, there are some incredible reasons to obtain a PE license.

Here Are Some of the Benefits of Seeking Licensure When You Are Older:

Self Study vs. Review Courses for the PE Exam

March 1, 2022 by Anthony Fasano, P.E. Leave a Comment

In this article, (and video above), I discuss the difference between self study and review courses when preparing for the PE Exam to help you decide which option would work best for you.

There are usually two ways people go about studying for the PE exam. Either they purchase materials including a reference manual and prepare on their own, or they take a structured review course, either online or locally. Both options can be effective, but you should consider your goals and circumstances to choose the best option for you.

Here are Some of the Factors You Should Consider:

What to Bring to the CBT Exam

February 15, 2022 by Anthony Fasano, P.E. Leave a Comment

Bring This to the CBT Exam:

Appointment confirmation letter
Your ID
Your Calculator
A sweater or sweatshirt and/or eyeglasses (if needed)

For all CBT (Computer Based Test) exams, the testing center will provide pencils, papers, erasers and ear plugs. For more information, review each one of these items in detail:

1. Appointment Confirmation Letter

How Hard Is the Civil PE Exam?

February 1, 2022 by Anthony Fasano, P.E. Leave a Comment

Is the Civil PE Exam Difficult to Pass? After completing a college degree, passing the FE exam, and getting at least four years of experience working in engineering (in most states), candidates can sit for the PE exam. The PE exam is one of the last steps in becoming a licensed professional engineer. But how hard is it? In this article (and video above), I answer that question and also take a look at the PE Pass rates.

FE Exam Prep: Strength of Materials

January 25, 2022 by Anthony Fasano, P.E. Leave a Comment

In this article (and video above), I solve a strength of materials question, similar to one you might encounter during the FE Exam, to give you a better understanding of what you can expect during the exam.

Question:

A steel bar (E = 200 GPa) is stretched with a force of 50 N. If the bar is 4 m long and has a cross-sectional area of 0.5 square meters , what is the approximate elongation?

(A) 1 nm
(B) 2 nm
(C) 3 nm
(D) 4 nm

Solution:

Does a Master’s Degree Help You Take the PE Exam Quicker?

January 18, 2022 by Anthony Fasano, P.E. Leave a Comment

Does a master’s degree help you take the PE Exam quicker? In this article (and video above), I answer that question and also cover some of the other benefits of getting your master’s degree.

To get right to the point here, in many states, you reduce the amount of qualifying engineering experience, which is typically 4 years for a PE license, by one year with a Master’s Degree in engineering. However, you will likely need to complete your degree before it will count, you will not get credit for a degree that you are working towards. It is very important that you check your state board’s website to be certain, though, because every State has their own requirements related to the Master’s degree credit.

How Many Years’ Experience Do You Need To Take The PE Exam?

January 5, 2022 by Anthony Fasano, P.E. Leave a Comment

In this article (and video above), I answer the following question from one of our listeners: “How many years experience do I need to take the PE Exam?”

Typically, in many US States, the experience requirement to apply for your PE license is four years of qualifying engineering experience. However each state acts independently to set its own education experience and residency requirements, therefore, there is variation throughout the US.

It is generally required that all candidate’s experience be accumulated after graduation from an accredited school. If you have worked while attending school, and if the work fits the criteria for qualifying engineering experience, you may qualify to take the examination less than four years following graduation. However, depending on circumstances, it may be difficult for you to demonstrate that the pre-graduation experience constitutes true engineering experience.

From FAIL to PE EXAM PASS: How He Did It (The Second Try)

December 22, 2021 by Anthony Fasano, P.E. Leave a Comment

In this article, (and video above), I talk to Frisner Jean-Pierre, P.E. (JP), a General Engineer at the United States Department of the Air Force about how he prepared for the PE exam and what he did differently the second time around that helped him pass the exam.

Here Are Some of the Questions We Ask JP:

How did you prepare for the PE exam?
Did you do self-study, or did you enroll in any prep courses?
How did you approach the different categories of the exam?
What was the big difference between the pencil-and-paper exam, and the computer-based exam?
Do you have any advice for engineers out there that are thinking of taking the PE exam soon?

Here Are Some of the Key Points Discussed in the Episode:

Do THIS After You Pass the PE Exam

December 8, 2021 by Anthony Fasano, P.E. Leave a Comment

In this article (and video above), I talk about what you can expect after you have taken your PE Exam and what you should do after you pass the PE exam. We talk about how long you will have to wait for your results to be available, how you can obtain your license if you passed, and when you will be able to start practicing as a licensed engineer. Information for this post was referenced from these articles (PPI, NSPE, and NJSPE).