Environmental PE Exam? 1

[GTan]

I am taking the PE exam for the first time this spring. I studied civil engineering in school, with a focus in environmental. I have also been working in the environmental field for 3 years.

I live in NYC but cant find a prep course for the exam. I've only found Civil Engineering prep courses.

Any suggestions for a prep course? Online course?
Should I try and take the environmental portion of a CE prep course? Would studying on my own be effective?
Should I just take the regular CE exam?

I dont know what to do and I need to make a decision fast.
Any advice?

GTan

 

[SlideRuleEra]

I have taught a Civil PE review course in the past, including students planning on taking Environmental. Suggest that you sign up for any civil course that you can effectively participate in. Combine this with self-study - no course is a substitute for your own efforts. Use the course to set the pace for ALL of your study between now and exam time.

Look into PE exam preparation publications available from

http://www.ncees.org

and

http://www.ppi2pass.com

Take the exam when you are scheduled to do so - DO NOT skip it because you consider yourself "not ready" (or some other excuse).

When taking the exam, go thru it, both morning and afternoon, at least 3 times:

First Round - answer the question that you know you can work quickly and correctly.

Second Round - make educated guesses on questions where you can eliminate SOME of the answers as incorrect.

Third Round - (with about 10 minutes remaining) pick an answer for ALL remaining questions, even if it is a pure guess (there is no penalty for wrong answers).

Best Wishes

http://www.SlideRuleEra.net

 

[francesca]

I have spent about 4 years working in Transportation planning (not in the US) and a year and a half in subdivision design. My four years in transport planning helped with three pages of the transportation section of the PE review manual, so I was looking at taking the Water Resources section. The Water Resources section, if I remember correctly, covers hydraulics, hydrology and water supply.

I'm now a grad student. My first semester, I planned on majoring in Environmental because I'dthe PE enjoyed the river modeling and hydraulics I'd been doing in the subdivision design. It was my first taste of what I would call environmental chemistry, and nothing at all what I expected or wanted to study. I'm now happily in the transportation program, so in a year's time, with my geometric design and traffic engineering refreshed, I'll take the Transportation section on the PE.

I guess my point is that you should look at a review book, or some sample questions, and see where your strengths lie directly related to the material to be covered. You may be an Environmental engineer by trade, but if that means a lot of waste water treatment or ground water treatment and not pump design, storm hydrographs and water reticulation loops (by hand!), then you're probably going to struggle with that section. Follow the links that SlideRuleEra gave you, check out the material, and go from there. Remember that you'll still have to study all of it for the general section anyway.

 

[henri2]

I never knew that there was a separate PE exam for environmental engineering.

http://www.ncees.org/exams/professional/pe_environmental_exam_specs.pdf

In some states, there may be limitations to this licence ...compared to the PE Civil.

If there are not many individuals seeking licensure in a given discipline in a given geographical location, chances of a review seminar being offered will be slim. However, distance learning is an option.

http://www.engr.udel.edu/outreach/PE-review.html

 

[SlideRuleEra]

"PE Civil" is composed of a 4 hour breath exam (in the morning) and one of five possible 4 hour depth exams (in the afternoon). The five afternoon "depth" possibilities are:

1. Environmental
2. Geotechnical
3. Structural
4. Transportation
5. Water Resources

Can't speak about other states, but Environmental is probably the most popular choice in South Carolina.

Pass the breath exam, plus your choice of the five depth exams, and you meet this portion of the requirements for "PE Civil".
Here is the specific link for reference

http://www.ncees.org/exams/professional/pe_civil_exams.php

A summary of specific state restrictions for various PE licenses, such as PE Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, Structural I (or Structural II), etc. is covered here

http://www.ncees.org/licensure/licensing_requirements_2005/survey_e.pdf#24

and here

http://www.structuremag.org/archives/2005/June 2005/NCSEA-June-05.pdf

I really like francesca's advice to forget about the "title" of the depth exam you take - make your decision on the "content" of the exam compared to what you are comfortable solving (under the pressures of an exam). Will remember to pass that suggestion on to others.

http://www.SlideRuleEra.net

 

[henri2]

SlideRuleEra, do environmental engineers in So.Carolina typically opt for the PE(Civil...w/environmental depth) or PE(Environmental Engineering)exam?

 

[SlideRuleEra]

henri2 - SC offers, and accepts, results of all of the various exams, including PE Civil (Environmental) and PE Environmental that you mentioned. Like the majority of states, a SC professional engineer can "practice in his/her area(s) of competency regardless of which discipline of the professional examination was taken for licensure".

Probably for this reason, I have not come across anyone who had taken, or planned to take the PE Environmental exam - interest is in PE Civil (Environmental).

http://www.SlideRuleEra.net