Step 1: Plan So you’ve registered and have been approved to take the PE Exam. Now what? The exam date may seem a long ways away but it will surly creep up on you if you’re not prepared. Start with a plan on what to study, when to study, and how to study. These three things are crucial in preparation to sit through one of the most intense exams you may have ever taken. One of the best remedies for lessening the overwhelm is planning your study schedule from the beginning. Due to the sheer number of exam topics and references, having a good understanding of your focus areas are indeed importan ..read more

I personally know the feeling of being overwhelmed by all of the design standards and specifications when preparing for the PE Civil Transportation Exam. Some of the questions I had during that time may be similar to yours now. Do I need to bring all of these references to the exam? Which ones are most important? Which one should I use for “X” type problems? How can I quickly find solutions? And many more questions similar to those. This is where I come in! Below I will summarize my suggested 4 “must-have” references to bring on exam day! If you plan to take the PE Civil Transportation Exam ..read more

We’re going to go over PE exam calculators.  In this post, you’ll learn: Which calculator brands are allowed by the NCEES How to choose your calculator Where to purchase your calculator Let’s get into this! ALLOWED CALCULATOR BRANDS The NCESS has an approved list of calculator brands. As of 2019, these are the approved calculator brands and models.   Texas Instruments Approved Calculator Models “All TI-30X and TI-36X models (Any Texas Instruments calculator must have “TI-30X” or “TI-36X” in its model name.)” – via NCEES Policy   Hewlett Packard Approved Calculator Models “The ..read more

These are my top five strategies for taking the Civil Transportation PE exam. 1. Don’t spend too much time on one problem. You’ve probably heard this one before but it’s true. From personal experience, my first problem on the afternoon exam was a problem that I had never seen before. The diagram was daunting, it had a bunch of dimensions, symbols, and numbers. I didn’t even know what the problem was asking for and didn’t know what references to use. I had a strategy going in to the exam to skip these type problems and come back to them at the end. The very next problem on the next page literal ..read more