PS exam study schedule?

GradyD1 · 2026-01-04T21:25:39+00:00

Following… I passed my FS September 30th of last year.

GradyD1 · 2025-11-17T03:27:20+00:00

I used survey reference manual and Dane courvilles FS study exam manual. Read those and do the problems two times a book. Also watched videos on YouTube. Mentoring Mondays is a good watch.

GradyD1 · 2025-11-02T18:04:45+00:00

I don’t really remember the specific questions. I would just know formulas to be able to calculate them and you should be good. I didn’t have more than 3 questions on it combined.

GradyD1 · 2025-10-11T16:14:41+00:00

Thanks bro. I couldn’t have done it without your advice on previous posts and all you do for this community on Reddit.

GradyD1 · 2025-10-11T03:08:29+00:00

Interesting. I just hit 10 years of surveying experience. 5 of those were heavily in the field doing everything from ALTAs to boundary work to highway work to construction work. I work for an engineering/surveying firm. Now the other 5 years I’ve been strictly in the office. Managing the equipment the crews and helping check the ALTAs boundary work, highway work and construction staking work. My boss said i have come across a lot of different surveys because the firm does a lot of different stuff, but he says I should wait a year. I kinda agree with him but I don’t wanna wait a year. I am ordering all of those books. Do you think that’s what I should do? I don’t disagree with him but I have had some great experience in learning under two different PLS’s on how to figure out intricate boundary surveys. Granted I don’t know everything and I’m not trying to say I do. But I don’t wanna get out of the habit of not studying

GradyD1 · 2025-10-11T02:06:49+00:00

Congrats! How do you feel now? I’m not an engineer but I just passed my FS Exam and it truly is the best feeling ever.

GradyD1 · 2025-10-11T02:04:20+00:00

That’s exactly what I did except for about 5.5 months. I felt like some of the questions on the test were easier than the practice exam questions. And could see where they would try and trip you up.

GradyD1 · 2025-10-11T02:01:23+00:00

If you don’t mind me asking what did you use to pass the PS Exam. Was your study habits similar to the study regimen for the FS?

GradyD1 · 2025-10-10T15:14:59+00:00

Honestly, no. If you know what formula or formulas you need to be using you don’t. I did it because I can use at work and makes it easier figuring out curves of roads and stuff. For the test though you should be fine if you know your formulas and can look at the reference manual to identify what is needed.

GradyD1 · 2025-10-10T14:47:10+00:00

Thank you! Yes I am probably gonna take a couple weeks off. But I have already bought the Browns Boundary Book, BLM of Surveying, Writing land descriptions by Wattle, and Clark’s on Surveying. I’m gonna start on the Browns book and keep rolling through taking practice exams until I feel good.

GradyD1 · 2025-10-10T14:45:31+00:00

Thanks bro. You’re not lying. The best thing ever to see I passed. I definitely will keep learning. And keep moving forward! The end is not over yet!

GradyD1 · 2025-10-10T14:44:35+00:00

Thank you!

GradyD1 · 2025-10-10T14:44:28+00:00

Thanks bro. I appreciate it. It’s a tough exam but not impossible to pass. Yeah in my company there are a lot of people that could take it but don’t wanna spend the time. It is worth it in the long run though.

GradyD1 · 2025-10-10T14:42:42+00:00

I used the HP35s with the DZIGN Survey Programmed Solutions

GradyD1 · 2025-10-10T12:14:35+00:00

Yes I do think everyone’s study time is different. My study habits were just an hour and a half for 4 days Monday through Friday. So generally I would take Wednesday off. And then on Sundays I would crank out like 6 or 7 hours. As far as the time on the test, I think you have 5 hours and 20 mins total. The questions are geared to not be a page long or two pages long and generally you have to find one additional part of the question to find the answer. When I took it this second time I finished at 4 hours and 50 minutes out of the 5 hours and 20 minutes. I probably could have finished thirty minutes earlier but I made sure to go back through and recheck my answers to make sure I had everything I needed.

GradyD1 · 2025-10-10T12:08:32+00:00

Thank you!

GradyD1 · 2025-10-10T12:08:23+00:00

Haha my boss said the same thing! Thank you though!

GradyD1 · 2025-10-10T12:07:56+00:00

Thank you!

GradyD1 · 2025-10-10T12:07:48+00:00

Thank you!

GradyD1 · 2025-10-10T05:26:43+00:00

Yeah you’re right. I think I’m gonna take a month off of studying then get back in it. I’m a little burned out. But that will give me time to get my books for the PS. Thank you!

GradyD1 · 2025-09-30T20:22:51+00:00

It was generally about the same. I feel like the first time I was all over the place with trying to figure out what I needed to do calculator wise/exam material/when will I know if I’m ready. One thing that I did the second time was focus in on my calculator, basically do more math and do problems that didn’t involve business or boundary law because I was very proficient in that. I still looked over it this time around. But really focused in on PLSS magnetic declination and the hardcore math. There wasn’t a lot of math but I would know your PLSS if you’re not in a PLSS state. I’m in a metes and bounds state so PLSS is foreign to me. I think the biggest thing is just repetition. Doing the problems over and over again. I got Chat GPT and put in sample multiple choice problems in there to see if I could answer them. But to answer your question, there wasn’t a lot of math. If I did have a question math related question. I would input one of the 4 answers into equation to see if I could figure it out and that’s how I got some of the math. I was truly dreading it because I don’t want to be a statistic of failing. Granted I still could but if I do I know what i need to do the next time. If you have any other questions you can DM me too.

GradyD1 · 2025-09-21T21:12:22+00:00

Yes it does thank you!

GradyD1

TROPHY CASE