PE Civil: Construction - My Story

Background...

Becoming a licensed engineer felt like a faraway goal when I first cleared my EIT exam. After that milestone, I decided to focus on gaining real-world experience. During that time, I worked in the industry for about a year and a half. Even though I wasn’t actively preparing for the PE exam, staying hands-on in the field helped me deepen my understanding of core concepts and apply them daily.

Let's get started... But which stream!?

When I decided to start preparing for the PE Civil exam, I naturally leaned toward the Construction discipline. It matched my professional experience and interests perfectly. I enjoyed that Construction combined both technical and management aspects, a great blend for someone who likes working on-site and solving dynamic, real-world problems.

Preparation: 

To prepare, I enrolled in the School of PE Course. I kicked off my studies in late June and scheduled my exam for the first week of November. Balancing work, preparation, and friends with instant plans of meeting was challenging.

At the start, the course asked me a few questions on how many hours I want to put in per week, and showed me I won't be ready by November, lol. I had to almost double my hours and cover more on weekends to get on track. My plan was to end the course about 3 weeks before my exam.

The course takes you through all the chapters and specifications required and mentioned in the NCEES Exam Specification for PE Civil: Construction.

You can check my markings for each topic, which were covered, and how long it took me. I also marked the specifications that were used in particular topics. I did skip a couple of specs, but I did go through some questions that the course instructor solved. 

Well, I was able to cover the course in July and August, and Specs in September. I spent most of my time on the theory and checking complex problems that involved at least 3 formulas to get the final answer. I referred to these books for the  practice formula (these books were from the old exam pattern, which had breadth and then a specific stream):

1. PE Civil Exam E-Book 120-Breadth

2. Civil Engineering PE Practice Exams Breath and Depth

3. PE Practice Problems - Civil Engineering

4. NCEES Practice Problem

In the final stretch, I focused on the specifications that aligned most closely with my daily work. Even then, by exam day, I felt under-prepared; like most test-takers, I was definitely tense walking in!

Suppose you’re preparing for the PE Civil exam (Construction or another discipline). In that case, my best advice is to stick with a steady plan, use quality prep resources, and connect your study topics to your real-world experience. That connection makes the material not just easier to learn but also more meaningful.

I like to keep the blogs small and short. If you have any questions or want any recommendations, comment below or connect with me:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chiraggudhka12 

All the best on your PE journey!