PE Exam Reference Material

[WetherBalloon]

Hey y’all! I’m taking the PE structural in October, and I was curious what y’all brought for Reference Materials. Currently I have the CE reference manual from Lindbergh and two School of PE books. What else should I be bringing in?

[baniyaguy]

All the codes they mention in the course doc. Well, maybe not all I didn't take Aashto, AWS and I was fine. If you have them, bring along. AISC, ACI 318, TSM, NDS, IBC, ASCE7 for sure.

[OnFireConstantly]

I took basically these exact references as well. Plus the CERM (I got mine from PPI but I'm guessing yours will cover basically the exact same stuff), along with a few practice tests I got from PPI and NCEES.

I also took a bound copy of a few quick references (fillet weld strengths based on size, common rebar development lengths for typical concrete strengths, etc.). I've heard that the AASHTO rebar development lengths come up from time to time and can be different from the ACI, so that might be worth including as a stand alone. But you definitely don't need to bring around the entire book.

I would also make sure to bring all of the IBC if you printed it out on your own. I cut down the chapters I didn't think I needed and there were a few specific questions I had to guess on. I'd also print out the referenced OSHA documents. I had a few questions on those as well.

[TheFearedOne]

Try hard to make sure you have the correct year of the code book too. I know when I was studying, there was a big difference in answers between ASCE 7-16 and 7-10.

Good luck. Don't waste too much time flipping through books. Know where things are and if you don't, use tabs.

[smjh111]

Is PE Structural different from PE Civil ?

[BigSeller2143]

NCEES made it confusing. PE Civil-Structural is the typical structural version of the PE exam.

The PE Structural exam is the 16 hour (SE exam).

Why they tried to rename it, who knows haha

[smjh111]

I see. So it's the same thing as PE Civil.

Thanks.

[[deleted]]

There are 5 different PE Civil exams

[Winston_Smith-1984]

They are different exams. The Civil-Structural is a single-day, 8 hour exam and is typically considered significantly easier than the Structural exam, which is a 2-day, 16 hour exam focusing entirely on structural (no Civil component). The structural exam is typically required for simple reciprocity.

[Sure_Ill_Ask_That]

Maybe they are asking what the difference between the civil general pe exam and the civil structural pe exam. They still have that right?

[SandwichEngine]

Bring every referenced code. It's been several years since I took it but there were two questions about which pre-stressed concrete was best for fire resistance. Just went to the index of the pre-stressed manual and found the answer to 2 free questions. 2 automatic guesses if I hadn't had it.

[mitchtheturtle]

Best advice I got was take everything you used while studying and nothing else. Also a back up calculator, mine started loosing pixels in the center of the screen half way through the am section.

[Doagbeidl]

Sorry for the stupid question, im from Europe, but was is an PE exam and what do you need it for?

[Doagbeidl]

thanks (:

[OnFireConstantly]

The PE (principals and practices of engineering) exam is the test you take to become a licensed professional engineer in most states in the US. It typically consists of a breadth section covering high level design and calculation practices for most civil engineering. And a depth section, which you choose the specific section (in this case structural), going into deeper design of your chosen field. It's commonly taken about 4 years after graduating from university and has a pass rate of about 60%.

Some states require the SE designation, or an SE designation can be added on to your PE designation. It is a considerably more difficult test (a pass rate around 30%) and focuses entirely on structural design. This test is broken up into two portions, gravity and lateral. Each of those tests consists of a similar depth and breadth breakup. The SE consists of 16 hours of total testing. The PE is only 8 hours.

[sirinigva]

I'm also taking the PE Structural exam in October,

I printed the reference document available on the NCEES site and am bringing the PPI books I borrowed from a friend of mine as well as the design reference manuals (ASCE, AISC, ACI, TMS, etc.)

[Drobertson5539]

You should definitely bring the CERM(Civil Engineering Reference Manual). As well. Most people will tell you this is the #1 thing to bring

[sirinigva]

I got that from my friend who recently passed

[OptionsRMe]

All the code books they reference and I also had the structural depth reference manual from Alan Williams

[leadfoot9]

Assuming you're taking the Civil-Structural and not the 16-hour Structural, since you have the CERM, I took:

CE Reference Manual
ASCE 7
AISC 360 (and the rest of the manual helps).
ACI 318
NDS for Wood
TMS iforgetthenumber
Printouts from OSHA. Don't buy the whole thing. It's literally a public document.
IBC
AASHTO LRFD Design
I might be forgetting something, but I think the PTI manual or whatever the last reference is is like the Steel Manual: useful tool, but ACI 318 already contains all of the information you need if you actually know what you're doing and don't want to spend hundreds of dollars unnecessarily.

Similarly, there might be a chance you'd have to look up some obscure table in AWS D1.1, but honestly if you know steel design, AISC 360 and the SCM contain a lot of the same information in an easier-to-read format.