Civil/Structural PE Failure OCT 2015
Civil/Structural PE Failure OCT 2015
(OP)
I studied about 250 hours and still bombed the civil/structural PE (36 OUT OF 80 QUESTIONS). I feel like I didn't have enough time on any of the questions and the difficulty was way above what NCEES conveyed in their practice exams. I had all of the recommended study material tabbed and ready (Lindeburg, co-workers old Testmasters binder, codes, etc.). I took practice exams and studied a lot but the test totally caught me off guard. It was 10 times harder than I expected.
The second time around I will bite the bullet and pay for the Testmasters course but I'm not confident it will get my score up to passing (Allegedly the passing score for OCT 2015 WAS 55/80).
1. Do I have any chance of passing this exam or should I just pursue another career path?
2. Can anyone provide reassurance on the Testamsters course or suggest other classes?
3. I have read that practice exams are useful but I ran out practice exams to do when I studied the first time. Can anyone recommend useful practice exams that will actually help me on the test (I need a lot of them)?
-Thanks
The second time around I will bite the bullet and pay for the Testmasters course but I'm not confident it will get my score up to passing (Allegedly the passing score for OCT 2015 WAS 55/80).
1. Do I have any chance of passing this exam or should I just pursue another career path?
2. Can anyone provide reassurance on the Testamsters course or suggest other classes?
3. I have read that practice exams are useful but I ran out practice exams to do when I studied the first time. Can anyone recommend useful practice exams that will actually help me on the test (I need a lot of them)?
-Thanks





RE: Civil/Structural PE Failure OCT 2015
How do you feel about almost doubling your test score? FWIW it is probably wiser to know 80% of the subject matter really well rather than try and cover the stuff you just don't understand, if the problem is the sheer breadth required. One issue with open book exams is that you can spend a lot of time cranking through stuff you don't know backwards (or have never seen before) as you teach yourself during the exam. It might gain you some marks but it is a slow way of doing so.
Cheers
Greg Locock
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RE: Civil/Structural PE Failure OCT 2015
However, like you said, I have never heard of anyone doubling their score and the numbers are definitely stacked against me. That is why I was reaching out on this forum, to see if anyone has had an experience similar to mine and had success the second time around.
RE: Civil/Structural PE Failure OCT 2015
I'd personally recommend the PPI review course; however I'm biased as I teach their SE review course.
EDIT: Oh wait, I was thinking first time passing rates. A repeat takers passing rate around 30% seems about right.
Professional and Structural Engineer (ME, NH)
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RE: Civil/Structural PE Failure OCT 2015
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RE: Civil/Structural PE Failure OCT 2015
RE: Civil/Structural PE Failure OCT 2015
Good luck and just be calm, it doesn't matter if you pass or fail, just know that you know the content treat it like anything else you do daily.
RE: Civil/Structural PE Failure OCT 2015
The biggest advice I could offer is probably with how you approach the test rather than prep (you did much more prep than I did - I would guess I put in about 20 hours or less of actual preparation time).
1. go through the exam and answer questions you KNOW with no reference material. These questions are quick and give you that psychological time increase for the rest of the test. As you go through the test, make a mark next to questions you KNOW where to find any reference material.
2. Go back and answer the questions you marked that you knew where to find the information.
3. dive into the questions you don't know, and keep in mind about how long you may have.
4. go through all your answers as many times as you can (hopefully you have an hour left to do this, if not oh well...)
If you are a slow test taker, practice some tests to try and improve your speed. That is probably the biggest nerve generator - feeling pressed for time and then you panic. I know I am a fairly fast test taker, but I think the morning took me 2.5 hrs and afternoon about 2 hrs to complete; if you can shoot for that kind of time on a practice exam, and can do it, it may calm your nerves for the real thing as well.
RE: Civil/Structural PE Failure OCT 2015
Albeit I took the Mechanical exam I put in less than half the time you did and passed the first time with the instruction of a live online class.
Good luck