Civil pe exam

Civil PE Exam Day | Do You Get Extra Time if You Finish Early?

February 14, 2023 by Anthony Fasano, P.E. Leave a Comment

If you finish early on the morning exam, does the remaining time get added to the afternoon session? Things have changed in 2023 and we’re here to guide you to pass the Civil PE Exam.

The PE exam has a morning session and afternoon session, 4 hours each and in between you get a 50-minute break.

Let’s say you finish your morning portion of the PE exam in 3 hours. Do you get 5 hours for the afternoon session or is 4 hours the maximum time you get for each half session?

Although there is no official rule to whether or not you can use extra time in the afternoon, I have interviewed engineers who took the PE exam recently, and they all confirmed that they were allowed to use that extra time in the afternoon session.

Now remember that time management is extremely important during the PE exam.

Is The Water Resources & Environmental Civil PE Exam Worth Taking?

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

In our previous four episodes in this series, I discussed four of the depth areas that you can take for your Civil PE Exam: geotechnical, construction, structural, as well as the transportation depth area, and in this article, (and video above), I review-in detail the Civil: Water Resources & Environmental depth portion of the PE Exam to help you decide if this might be the right option for you. You can find links to the first four videos in this series below.

The Five Different Areas That You Can Choose From When Taking the PE Civil Exam Are:

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

Remember that the PE Water Resources & Environmental 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 structural engineering.

What Is Water Resources & Environmental Engineering?

PE Civil Exam Depth: Structural

April 27, 2022 by Anthony Fasano, P.E. Leave a Comment

In our previous two videos, I discussed two of the depth areas that you can take for your PE Exam, Geotechnical and Construction, and in this article (and video above), I review, in detail, the structural depth portion of the Civil PE Exam to help you decide if this might be the right option for you.

The Five Different Areas That You Can Choose From When Taking the PE Civil Exam Are:

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

Remember that the PE Civil Structural 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 structural engineering.

Please note that the PE Civil: Structural exam is not the same as the SE (Structural Engineering) exam. The PE Civil: Structural exam is to obtain your Professional Engineering license, while the SE Exam is one you would take to obtain your structural engineering license.

What Is Structural Engineering?

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?

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.

Does It Matter Which Civil PE Exam I Take?

September 15, 2021 by Anthony Fasano, P.E. Leave a Comment

In this article (and video above), I answer a question from one of our listeners who asks whether or not he needs to choose a specialty for the Civil PE Exam.

So, Does It Matter Which Civil PE Exam You Take?

Yes! You are indeed required to choose between one of the five depth exams to take. The PE Civil exam is broken up into two sections: the breadth and the depth. The breadth portion is held in the morning and is the same for every examinee, and the depth portion is held in the afternoon and is structured around areas of specialty, one of which each examinee must select.

The five depths are construction, geotechnical, structural, transportation, and water resources and environmental.

If you are struggling to decide which depth to sign up for, consider looking into the pass rates, potential job responsibilities, and average salaries for each of the five depth options to help you with your decision.

Here Are the 5 Depth Exam Options:

1. PE Civil: Construction

For the June 2021 exam, the pass rates for the construction depth exam were 53% for first-time takers and 26% for repeat takers
Duties for professionals in this discipline could include residential and commercial site planning and designing and managing infrastructure
The Average Annual Pay (AAP) for a civil engineer in this discipline is approximately $91,370 US dollars

2. PE Civil: Geotechnical

For the June 2021 exam, the pass rates for the geotechnical depth exam were 66% for first-time takers and 48% for repeat takers
Duties for geotechnical engineers could include monitoring worksite conditions, foundation design, and earthwork
The Average Annual Pay (AAP) for a geotechnical engineer is approximately $94,240 US dollars

3. PE Civil: Structural

For the June 2021 exam exam, the pass rates for the structural depth exam were 56% for first-time takers and 35% for repeat takers
Duties for structural engineers could include designing and managing buildings or bridges.
The Average Annual Pay (AAP) for a structural engineer is approximately $84,770 US Dollars

Please note that the PE Civil: Structural depth exam is NOT the same exam as the SE Exam.

4. PE Civil: Transportation

For the June 2021 exam, the pass rates for the transportation depth exam were 70% for first-time takers and 51% for repeat takers
Duties for transportation engineers could include planning urban transportation, designing roadways, and operating transportation facilities
The Average Annual Pay (AAP) for a transportation engineer is $84,770 US Dollars

5. PE Civil: Water Resources & Environmental

For the June 2021 exam, the pass rates for the water resources and environmental depth exam were 67% for first-time takers and 44% for repeat takers
Duties for an engineer in water resources or the environmental field could include designing and managing human water equipment and implementing air pollution, radiation, and recycling control
The Average Annual Pay (AAP) for an engineer in water resources or environmental is approximately $86,800 US Dollars

Reference: Information for the pass rates and average salaries in this video were taken from NCEES and School of PE, which we will include the links of, below this video.

Another great way to determine which depth you should take is to check out NCEES’ PE Civil exam specifications that we will link to in the comments of this video. The exam specifications outline the topics that will be covered on each depth exam.

Also, check out the video we did called: What’s The Hardest PE Exam? where we talk about the difficulty level of the different PE Exams.

I hope you found this article helpful. In upcoming articles, I will solve some more PE exam practice problems and answer other questions from our subscribers. Pass the PE Exam videos will publish weekly, so be sure to click the subscribe button so you don’t miss something that could make a substantial difference in your exam result.

Lastly, I encourage you to ask questions in the comments of this video, or 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… on Pass the PE Exam

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

Three Tips to Pass the Civil PE Exam (From Someone Who Just Did!)

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

This is a guest blog by author Nick Heim, PE, EMI’s Civil Engineering Collective Coordinator

As engineers progress in their careers, it is necessary for most to obtain their Professional Engineering (PE license) on their way to becoming an Engineering Manager. At EMI, we understand the importance of obtaining professional licensure, and the opportunities that it can provide. Therefore, I would like to share three tips that helped me pass the Civil PE exam:

1. Know and Respect the Exam

How To Pass The Civil PE Exam (In 2021)

June 9, 2021 by Anthony Fasano, P.E. Leave a Comment

In this article (and video above), I talk to Connor Adamsick, an EIT and bridge engineer at HDR in Denver Colorado who recently took the Civil Structural PE exam in April. He talks about his experience taking the exam, and how he thinks gymnastics correlates with studying for your PE Exam. He is also going to provide some very specific study prep tips that you won’t want to miss.

Here Are Some of the Questions We Ask Connor:

You recently wrote an article on LinkedIn called: All-American to PE Hopeful where you talked about how while competing for your University, you also were studying for a degree in Civil Engineering. What has this experience taught you and how does gymnastics correlate with studying for your PE Exam?
Take us through the preparation process, from the moment you decided to take the exam up to where you started to study for the exam. Are there any set guidelines, schedules, or procedures you used to determine how you will study for the exam?
Why did you decide to take the exam a year early?
How long did it take you to study for the Civil Structural PE exam?
While studying for the exam, did you set goals for yourself, and if so, how did the goals help you along the way?
Tell us more about exam day. Was it everything you expected, and how do you think you did in the exam?
What advice can you give engineers out there considering taking the Civil Structural PE exam?

Here Are the Key Points Discussed in the Episode:

What Is the Passing Score For the PE Exam?

April 28, 2021 by Anthony Fasano, P.E. Leave a Comment

What’s the passing score for the PE Exam in 2021? And what’s the scoring process? In this article (and video above), we look at the exam and see how the NCEES “determines the level of performance that corresponds with minimal competence in that discipline”.

You can find the information shared in this post, plus more, on the PE Exam passing score at NCEES. Most of the PE Exams are 80 multiple choice questions taken over an 8 hour period – 40 questions in the 4 hour morning session, and 40 questions in the 4-hour afternoon session.