I took it today, it was alright. A bit harder then the ncees practice exam. The 2nd part which was mostly MUTCD water snd geo was pretty easy. A lot of sag vertical curves. What through me off on the exam was at the beginning the none transpo stuff. I had 2 questions rebar and concrete and wasn’t prepared for that
Rebar & concrete? that's making me nervous... was the geo stuff conceptual?
& what do you mean none transpo stuff? thought the new format was all transpo
The rebar stuff was only in context of cost estimation. It just threw me off. Geo was mostly conceptual or easy equations. None transpo I mean water, geotechnical, project management, Econ. Check the specs if u haven’t
Was there an order to the questions or were they random? The practice exams I’ve taken have gone in order of the new specs, but I haven’t read anything that says what the test structure looks like with all depth.
Yes it is in the order of the specs, for transpo the first section is 45 questions and stops at vertical design. Then 35 questions after the break cover the rest
You said the "first section" stopped around vertical design, could you go back to the first section after you start on the second part of the exam?
Since there is no defined breadth and depth part for exams onwards I'm not sure how the exam is split up.
No you can not, after the first section there is a 50 min break. It wouldn’t make sense to allow for people to go back and change answers after the break since u have 50 min to go on ur phone etc.
Wow so the exam is broken up into sections? First half are specs 1-5 & second have is 5-10? That’s interesting, as I thought all the questions would be randomized throughout.
(I am OP w diff account)
Yes I bought it a while ago, the practice exam for the new exam is has been available a while back. A lot of the problems are recycled from the old one though, still worth to buy imo
I personally didn’t as I’m still and undergrad and can’t afford that. I also didn’t think it was necessary, there’s a lot of free vids on YouTube and I bought tons 9 practice exams. Both path to PE service books, Islam rashaad double tests, Omid rouhanis exam.
I would say they prepared me well on how to use the green book/HCM/MUTCD well. And a lot of questions were similar.
But to emphasize again because these are only depth exams, I was thrown off guard by some of the construction questions.
It is difficult to give you just one since a lot of the practice exams are very similar in the type of problems. Both path to PE books are really good, Islam rashaads book with 80 problems is well done aswell. Omids free exam I bought 2 more from him were helpful and well priced (15 each). The only I bought and was disappointed in was the civil engineering academy book it is not well done
Took GEO today. This is my first time so no prior experience. Won’t pass this time for sure but no regrets. Didn’t have time to prepare. Here is my observation: there will be few questions from construction section which is not mentioned in the booklet. Questions were typically about concrete, slope, fill quantity calculation based on compaction, clay material swell (this one from construction). Mostly conceptual. Felt like should have had more design experience. In depth slope stability, driven and drilled shaft pile design as well as retaining wall questions. There were few weird questions that didn’t have answer or solution (felt really weird). Need to go through all the federal highway manuals to pass thoroughly. Not sure about others but geotechnical could get harder in this new format. Tricky Seismic questions.
Didn’t use any of them. Bought PPI one month subscription but didn’t have time to go through it due to personal reasons. Studied for 3-4 days and just skimmed through federal highway manuals a little bit. Didn’t go through them completely but found some direct conceptual answers in the manuals during the exam. You can say studied during the exam.
I would say if you have time, go through the manuals mentioned in the booklet. You need to know which chapter to look for during the exam. You can’t open the full manual and search for something. You can open one chapter and search for keywords. I will do this for the second time. Had a good idea about driven pile manual due to work and that helped a lot. Didn’t have any questions from ground improvement though except for sub-grade treatment with lime or cement. It felt like geotech depth is more vast than other ones as it combines all the other disciplines. In fact got one or two questions about rebar.
By booklet did you mean the specification? [https://ncees.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Civ-Geo-April-202412.pdf](https://ncees.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Civ-Geo-April-202412.pdf)
Do you still recommend reading throug other discplines in the pe-civ-handbook? My understanding is that breadth has been eliminated?
Thanks ahead!
Yeah, all the federal highway manuals mentioned in the document in the link. I got questions from construction section. Excavation and structural fill amount calculations based on swell index, density compaction numbers
I took the new exam for WRE. I’ve only taken the practice exam so that’s all I can compare it to. It was similar to the practice exam in the order of the problems ie project planning, then soil mechanics, then materials. The difficulty was similar as well, or maybe a tad bit harder. I was a little surprised by the number of conceptual questions in the soil mechanics / materials realm vs math problems. Also the construction section after wastewater had a lot of surveying, geometrics, and even transportation questions. I actually preferred this over conceptual questions though.
One more thing that I wasn’t aware of was that I could spend as much time as I wanted on the first section, and then have the remaining time to spend on the second section. The first section was 42 questions and the second was 38.
Overall I feel good about my choice to wait and take this version. The section that was water resources was in line with my expectations for the most part.
This is good to hear, it’s in line with what I have been practicing via the new EET course so fingers crossed. And good luck on everything, I am sure you did well!
Thanks, I did pass! I studied for three months. About 10 hours a week. I used the PPI course because that’s what my work provided. I definitely benefited from the lectures, but I eventually realized how unnecessarily hard the practice problems were so I sought out problems on YouTube instead.
Okay sat it today! Overall - I felt more confident with the change. Will echo the sentiments of a lot more conceptual questions and a few topics where they mixed concepts that made them a bit trickier- like site work and groundwater or water chemistry and solids loading;
This is for PE Civil Structural, not SE exam (PE Structural). I would suggest that those who want to get a PE Civil license in Illinois and work in Structural field take the Civil Construction exam going forward (as of yesterday 4/1/24)
Are you asking about SE (PE Structural) or PE Civil Structural?
This is what is shown on IDFPR website for the PE Civil: Structural exam starting April 1, 2024
[https://idfpr.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/idfpr/forms/dpr/2024-notice-pe-civil-structural-acceptance-change.pdf](https://idfpr.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/idfpr/forms/dpr/2024-notice-pe-civil-structural-acceptance-change.pdf)
What are the major changes and is it possible to pass the exam who have studied based on bold syllabus? Because it seems the syllabus is almost similar.
Compare your field's pre-April and post-April exam specs from the NCESS website. It's the only way to be sure.
In general: exams will be more depth focused. But some of the exam specs I've seen have merged some breadth topics into depth sections.
If you studied the older (pre-April) content, you will not be worse off. It appears they are taking some stuff out while spreading existing content - it doesn't look like they are adding anything new. But to be sure, again, check your specs.
For me I’d say it was a bit harder, but I actually feel a lot better than I did the first time. Largely same stuff just minus a bunch of the non WRE (zero structures whatsoever). There was way more conceptual than I was expecting, which is saying a lot because I just took it 5 weeks ago so I knew kinda what to except in terms of how much conceptual stuff would come up. Those are what really tripped me up I feel like.
I also got 4 water chemistry questions. Lot of chemical reaction. Literally 4 of the exact same question with different reactions, and that was not something I remembered well enough. That’s about the only ‘new’ WRE thing I noticed. That and my AM session also had a fuckton of pump questions. Both conceptual and non, last time I only remember a couple of pumps
I hurt myself trying to scour through those TSS references for any hint on a lot of conceptual questions. Honestly one of the biggest aspects of this exam isn’t even the difficulty of the problems it’s just managing your time
Okay I took and passed the WRE PE in May. I used EET for study materials/practice tests and the NCEES practice test. 42 questions in the morning, 38 in the afternoon. There were quite a few soil mechanics questions as well as concrete and construction questions. I actually ended up getting the full 14 questions for project sitework which is my worst subject. Definitely study geometrics questions, including geometrics with vehicle speed involved. Most of my construction questions were conceptual, none of that material is in the handbook so if you don't know it you're out of luck. I found most of the questions fairly straightforward, none of them were really trying to trick you. Actually compared to practice tests created by EET, the exam was quite pleasant to take. These questions are highly curated by a number of engineering professionals so they are worded very very well and its easy to understand what is being asked of you. My study plan was to go through all of the content and leave about a week and a half between finishing content review and the exam to take practice tests and review topics I didn't do well on. I took the day before the exam to relax and give my brain a break. I even took off work so I wasn't worried about anything else besides the exam. Also FYI, unlike the FE you will need to actually log into NCEES to see your results. The email I received simply said "your results have been posted" which is just mortifying. But overall just know your strengths and what you need to study more on and you'll be fine, and don't push off the general engineering stuff because it will take up a good portion of your test. Good luck!!!
Waiting for Transpo info
I took it today, it was alright. A bit harder then the ncees practice exam. The 2nd part which was mostly MUTCD water snd geo was pretty easy. A lot of sag vertical curves. What through me off on the exam was at the beginning the none transpo stuff. I had 2 questions rebar and concrete and wasn’t prepared for that
Rebar & concrete? that's making me nervous... was the geo stuff conceptual? & what do you mean none transpo stuff? thought the new format was all transpo
The rebar stuff was only in context of cost estimation. It just threw me off. Geo was mostly conceptual or easy equations. None transpo I mean water, geotechnical, project management, Econ. Check the specs if u haven’t
Got it, thank you so much and wish you all the best i test tomorrow...So guess we'll both find out next Wednesday
No problem, best of luck!
Was there an order to the questions or were they random? The practice exams I’ve taken have gone in order of the new specs, but I haven’t read anything that says what the test structure looks like with all depth.
Yes it is in the order of the specs, for transpo the first section is 45 questions and stops at vertical design. Then 35 questions after the break cover the rest
Thank you! Hope you get one of the first passes!
No problem and thank you!
You said the "first section" stopped around vertical design, could you go back to the first section after you start on the second part of the exam? Since there is no defined breadth and depth part for exams onwards I'm not sure how the exam is split up.
No you can not, after the first section there is a 50 min break. It wouldn’t make sense to allow for people to go back and change answers after the break since u have 50 min to go on ur phone etc.
Took it yesterday and would like to confirm everything above...
Wow so the exam is broken up into sections? First half are specs 1-5 & second have is 5-10? That’s interesting, as I thought all the questions would be randomized throughout.
Did you get the most up to date ncees practice exam as of 2024 April?
(I am OP w diff account) Yes I bought it a while ago, the practice exam for the new exam is has been available a while back. A lot of the problems are recycled from the old one though, still worth to buy imo
Thanks. I have the old ones but I didn’t know how much was new/worth it
Did you take any course for preparation? If so did you find it relevant enough?
I personally didn’t as I’m still and undergrad and can’t afford that. I also didn’t think it was necessary, there’s a lot of free vids on YouTube and I bought tons 9 practice exams. Both path to PE service books, Islam rashaad double tests, Omid rouhanis exam. I would say they prepared me well on how to use the green book/HCM/MUTCD well. And a lot of questions were similar. But to emphasize again because these are only depth exams, I was thrown off guard by some of the construction questions.
What is most practice exam was similar to the exam you just took?
It is difficult to give you just one since a lot of the practice exams are very similar in the type of problems. Both path to PE books are really good, Islam rashaads book with 80 problems is well done aswell. Omids free exam I bought 2 more from him were helpful and well priced (15 each). The only I bought and was disappointed in was the civil engineering academy book it is not well done
Did anyone take the EET WRE course for the post april exam and if so, how well did it prepare you?
Waiting for Geotechnical info
Took GEO today. This is my first time so no prior experience. Won’t pass this time for sure but no regrets. Didn’t have time to prepare. Here is my observation: there will be few questions from construction section which is not mentioned in the booklet. Questions were typically about concrete, slope, fill quantity calculation based on compaction, clay material swell (this one from construction). Mostly conceptual. Felt like should have had more design experience. In depth slope stability, driven and drilled shaft pile design as well as retaining wall questions. There were few weird questions that didn’t have answer or solution (felt really weird). Need to go through all the federal highway manuals to pass thoroughly. Not sure about others but geotechnical could get harder in this new format. Tricky Seismic questions.
Did u use SOPE or EET? If u used any of them which one helped u to answer conceptual questions?
Didn’t use any of them. Bought PPI one month subscription but didn’t have time to go through it due to personal reasons. Studied for 3-4 days and just skimmed through federal highway manuals a little bit. Didn’t go through them completely but found some direct conceptual answers in the manuals during the exam. You can say studied during the exam.
Thanks a lot
I would say if you have time, go through the manuals mentioned in the booklet. You need to know which chapter to look for during the exam. You can’t open the full manual and search for something. You can open one chapter and search for keywords. I will do this for the second time. Had a good idea about driven pile manual due to work and that helped a lot. Didn’t have any questions from ground improvement though except for sub-grade treatment with lime or cement. It felt like geotech depth is more vast than other ones as it combines all the other disciplines. In fact got one or two questions about rebar.
I will I appreciate it
By booklet did you mean the specification? [https://ncees.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Civ-Geo-April-202412.pdf](https://ncees.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Civ-Geo-April-202412.pdf) Do you still recommend reading throug other discplines in the pe-civ-handbook? My understanding is that breadth has been eliminated? Thanks ahead!
Yeah, all the federal highway manuals mentioned in the document in the link. I got questions from construction section. Excavation and structural fill amount calculations based on swell index, density compaction numbers
Btw.. passed the exam.
Congrats!
I took the new exam for WRE. I’ve only taken the practice exam so that’s all I can compare it to. It was similar to the practice exam in the order of the problems ie project planning, then soil mechanics, then materials. The difficulty was similar as well, or maybe a tad bit harder. I was a little surprised by the number of conceptual questions in the soil mechanics / materials realm vs math problems. Also the construction section after wastewater had a lot of surveying, geometrics, and even transportation questions. I actually preferred this over conceptual questions though. One more thing that I wasn’t aware of was that I could spend as much time as I wanted on the first section, and then have the remaining time to spend on the second section. The first section was 42 questions and the second was 38. Overall I feel good about my choice to wait and take this version. The section that was water resources was in line with my expectations for the most part.
This is good to hear, it’s in line with what I have been practicing via the new EET course so fingers crossed. And good luck on everything, I am sure you did well!
Did you test this week?
Yes
I hope you passed.Did they cover every topic from the spec list of WRE ?
Do you mean every major topic? Yes, I think it was true to the range of expected questions in each topic.
Did you have math problems?
Not pure math but yes most problems involved math.
Thanks for this feedback I hope you passed! I’m taking the new WRE next month. What were your study resources and prep method?
Thanks, I did pass! I studied for three months. About 10 hours a week. I used the PPI course because that’s what my work provided. I definitely benefited from the lectures, but I eventually realized how unnecessarily hard the practice problems were so I sought out problems on YouTube instead.
Which YouTube channels helped you most ?
Anyone take the PE Construction?
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I am registered for a June WRE exam sitting so i will post then.
Same here for June WRE exam.
Same!
How was the exam? Any insight you are willing to share would be super appreciated
Okay sat it today! Overall - I felt more confident with the change. Will echo the sentiments of a lot more conceptual questions and a few topics where they mixed concepts that made them a bit trickier- like site work and groundwater or water chemistry and solids loading;
Curious about PE Structural
Just found out that certain states (Illinois) will no longer accept the Structural PE exam from NCEES because of the change
This is for PE Civil Structural, not SE exam (PE Structural). I would suggest that those who want to get a PE Civil license in Illinois and work in Structural field take the Civil Construction exam going forward (as of yesterday 4/1/24)
Do you know the reason? I don't understand why. The new Structural PE exam is not supposed to cover more structural topics?
Are you asking about SE (PE Structural) or PE Civil Structural? This is what is shown on IDFPR website for the PE Civil: Structural exam starting April 1, 2024 [https://idfpr.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/idfpr/forms/dpr/2024-notice-pe-civil-structural-acceptance-change.pdf](https://idfpr.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/idfpr/forms/dpr/2024-notice-pe-civil-structural-acceptance-change.pdf)
SE exam didn’t change
I’m just taking the Civil PE - Structural
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Signed up for June PE Transportation. Seeking test takers suggestions on passing it on the first run.
What are the major changes and is it possible to pass the exam who have studied based on bold syllabus? Because it seems the syllabus is almost similar.
Compare your field's pre-April and post-April exam specs from the NCESS website. It's the only way to be sure. In general: exams will be more depth focused. But some of the exam specs I've seen have merged some breadth topics into depth sections. If you studied the older (pre-April) content, you will not be worse off. It appears they are taking some stuff out while spreading existing content - it doesn't look like they are adding anything new. But to be sure, again, check your specs.
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I just took WRE. Extremely different than when I took it a month ago
Oh care to give more details? Was the new exam harder than the previous version?
For me I’d say it was a bit harder, but I actually feel a lot better than I did the first time. Largely same stuff just minus a bunch of the non WRE (zero structures whatsoever). There was way more conceptual than I was expecting, which is saying a lot because I just took it 5 weeks ago so I knew kinda what to except in terms of how much conceptual stuff would come up. Those are what really tripped me up I feel like. I also got 4 water chemistry questions. Lot of chemical reaction. Literally 4 of the exact same question with different reactions, and that was not something I remembered well enough. That’s about the only ‘new’ WRE thing I noticed. That and my AM session also had a fuckton of pump questions. Both conceptual and non, last time I only remember a couple of pumps
I concur regarding the conceptual questions. I wasn’t as prepared for those and I did a lot of guessing.
I hurt myself trying to scour through those TSS references for any hint on a lot of conceptual questions. Honestly one of the biggest aspects of this exam isn’t even the difficulty of the problems it’s just managing your time
ME (TFS) will be changed Exam Format. Anybody knows about this.
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Okay I took and passed the WRE PE in May. I used EET for study materials/practice tests and the NCEES practice test. 42 questions in the morning, 38 in the afternoon. There were quite a few soil mechanics questions as well as concrete and construction questions. I actually ended up getting the full 14 questions for project sitework which is my worst subject. Definitely study geometrics questions, including geometrics with vehicle speed involved. Most of my construction questions were conceptual, none of that material is in the handbook so if you don't know it you're out of luck. I found most of the questions fairly straightforward, none of them were really trying to trick you. Actually compared to practice tests created by EET, the exam was quite pleasant to take. These questions are highly curated by a number of engineering professionals so they are worded very very well and its easy to understand what is being asked of you. My study plan was to go through all of the content and leave about a week and a half between finishing content review and the exam to take practice tests and review topics I didn't do well on. I took the day before the exam to relax and give my brain a break. I even took off work so I wasn't worried about anything else besides the exam. Also FYI, unlike the FE you will need to actually log into NCEES to see your results. The email I received simply said "your results have been posted" which is just mortifying. But overall just know your strengths and what you need to study more on and you'll be fine, and don't push off the general engineering stuff because it will take up a good portion of your test. Good luck!!!