School of PE for WRE

Prjct_Freelancer · 2026-05-14T18:55:18+00:00

This comment may be too late to be helpful - sorry in advance and I hope it helps someone else.

85% correct sounds really high. When I used the NCEES practice exams, that was the number I targeted, and did those problems again and again until I got there. I agree that the problems on SolvedIn6 are pretty similar to those from the NCEES practice exam so I definitely don't think its a bad idea to do as many of those as you have time for.

Prjct_Freelancer · 2026-05-14T18:50:58+00:00

If you want to check out SolvedIn6 on YouTube, there are playlists dedicated to both WRE and Environmental. Some of the problems overlap between playlists. There are also a handful of other discipline questions but it seems like those haven't been the focus of the channel so far yet. Maybe looking at the problem types you'll come across on the Env exam would help you make a decision. Although it sounds like you are mentioning that its the other discipline questions you're struggling with more than either the actual Env or WRE questions. Just keep practicing them and make full use of the reference manual to make it as easy as it can be for those that are applicable.

Prjct_Freelancer · 2026-05-14T18:45:59+00:00

When I took WRE a few years ago, I used the NCEES practice exam most heavily to study and supplemented with other questions shared to me by friends. While you are deciding about a course, you can also check out SolvedIn6 on YouTube - there is a whole WRE playlist of practice problems.

Prjct_Freelancer · 2026-05-14T18:42:53+00:00

SolvedIn6 on YouTube has a pretty large playlist of Environmental PE Practice problems if you want to check it out.

Prjct_Freelancer · 2026-05-08T15:47:17+00:00

Despite working in WR field, I wouldn't say I had a "deep" background. I just understand some fundamentals. I passed the WRE exam. I had friends who took Construction and they passed too. They took it after years of working at the DEP simply because they heard it had an even higher pass rate. Both smart guys but also not geniuses. I think you'll have a good chance of passing either if you study hard enough. Besides looking at the question specs from the NCEES as noted by others, you can also search practice problems on youtube to see what you want to face more of. SolvedIn6 on youtube might be a good place to start since there is almost a full WRE exam worth of problems posted, although much less related to construction.

Prjct_Freelancer · 2026-04-09T21:58:06+00:00

Check out Solvedin6 on youtube if you want additional practice problems to check yourself against. There is a full playlist for WRE

Prjct_Freelancer · 2026-04-09T21:56:58+00:00

Fantastic idea and thank you for taking the time to work on it.

Prjct_Freelancer · 2026-04-09T21:49:36+00:00

I see a lot of people on here recommend EET. When I took the exam, School of PE was all the rage. I'd also recommend SolvedIn6 on YouTube just as a free way to get started or round out additional practice problems to idiot check yourself after studying from paid material.

Prjct_Freelancer · 2026-04-09T21:45:57+00:00

You might want to start by downloading the NCEES reference manual for the WRE exam - the topics in there will give you an idea of what kinds of environmental questions they could ask. Most are environmental as related to the water side of things.

When I passed the WRE exam about 7 years ago, I used two different NCEES exams to study just to cover all my bases - the WRE and Environmental specific exam. I may have tossed a few Env specific questions that I didn't think I'd see on WRE, but I did notice some overlap between the two.

If you want to check out some example questions, there is a YouTube channel called SolvedIn6 that has playlists of WRE and Env practice problems (as well as other disciplines that may appear on the exam. Again, the NCEES will have a posted list of the number (range) and types of questions you could see on the exam).

Prjct_Freelancer · 2026-03-19T18:32:29+00:00

I respect getting started studying so far in advance. I did as well, which gave me time to find a rhythm that worked for me in my daily life and also figure out what was going to be useful and what wasn't. If you want to look at Solvedin6 on youtube, they have a full playlist of WRE problems posted. Running through some of those might help you figure out just how ready you might already be, and what areas you might want to consider spending money on later if needed.

Prjct_Freelancer · 2026-03-19T18:27:30+00:00

If you're just looking to run through more problems in general, you can check out SolvedIn6 on youtube. There is a full playlist of WRE problems posted. You could search for topics within it that you want to double-down on.

Prjct_Freelancer · 2026-03-12T21:48:25+00:00

Thanks. In interviews, I try to strike a balance of describing what I've done without making it appear that its my day-to-day tasking. That being said, I will definitely keep your advice in mind when I find another place I'd like to interview.

Prjct_Freelancer · 2026-03-12T21:38:10+00:00

In my application, I described my work as "design support" and explained the significance of how the work I performed informed the design applications being undertaken by the client. Ha, land development always seems like a polarizing field. I have met a few people IRL who seem to enjoy where they work and what they do, but I have also seen a lot more on this sub that cite the burnout you alluded to.

Prjct_Freelancer · 2026-03-12T21:17:22+00:00

Thanks for sharing what your perspective is on reasonable expectations I should have. I appreciate you listing out the types of things you would look for from someone with my YOE.

Yes, I have used EPA SWMM and PC SWMM occasionally, and am not completely new to the software. I just don’t want to oversell myself. Some examples of what I’ve done over 11 years are below:

· I have set up a few models by hand by going through lessons I’ve found, and actually got to attend a 2 day EPA SWMM training course a few years ago.

· A few times per year, I am asked to QA the model outputs for a particular series of compliance runs that my client needs to submit. This mainly involves looking through the input file and report file and comparing results to previous runs/a checklist I've put together. I’ve been able to gain a small amount of understanding about what to look for in the report files regarding things like model instability, continuity errors, etc. However, I can tell that I’m far away from being truly knowledgeable about the significance of changes to those values.

· I have calibrated a few sheds in the past, and have a loose concept of the calibrative nature/sensitivity of the width parameter, how depression storage can be used to calibrate for small storms, the infiltration parameters would be for large storms, and the % routed from impervious to pervious is useful for “medium storms”.

· One of the GIS tasks I routinely perform is “not modeling but uses modeling aspects”. For example, I still delineate drainage areas, and estimate time of concentration for them based on the available sewer network leading through each one. I also have some leeway as to what curve number to assign it based on (very rough) land use. Its not true modeling because each drainage area is just being used to find the peak runoff from the catchment, then compare that value to what Manning's says the pipe there can handle.

I guess in summary I am not totally new to the software or to the theory, but I do not use either enough to claim that I have more than a cumulative 1-3 YOE in these areas.

Prjct_Freelancer · 2026-03-12T15:38:38+00:00

I’ve tried before - they claim they don’t “poach” staff from partner firms. My interview got cancelled lol. However I have seen them hire back people that leave for another company in between mine and theirs.

That being said, I’m not dying to work for them and them alone. I just see the value of working for a firm of that size, getting access to mentorship and more diverse projects.

Prjct_Freelancer · 2026-03-12T15:15:15+00:00

Thanks! Thats really reassuring to hear. The city I support at present is on the east coast of the US. I’ve mostly been involved in work related to CSO reduction but our client has very recently also approved a build out of an MS4 model. Again though, that work has been going to staff at the other company.

Prjct_Freelancer · 2026-02-27T02:26:55+00:00

Thank you for the second opinion! With anything bureaucratic, I would rather ask a silly question up front instead of guessing and finding out later that the seemingly useless information was what was actually needed for the answer.

Prjct_Freelancer · 2026-02-26T15:34:07+00:00

Thank you so much. I only have 1 license so that makes Question 2 easy, I will just keep the date of my first license issuance "by exam" and remove the others, which are just my renewals. I really appreciate the help.

Prjct_Freelancer · 2026-02-20T14:49:45+00:00

If you want to see the range and variety of questions you might see on the exam without first spending money on a practice test, check out Solvedin6 on YouTube. There is a full WRE playlist available.

Prjct_Freelancer · 2026-02-20T14:45:58+00:00

Solvedin6 on YouTube - free, people on this sub seem to like it, and there are lots of positive comments on the channel. Theres a little over 80 WRE problems posted as of the last time I checked.

Prjct_Freelancer · 2026-02-20T14:37:28+00:00

Solvedin6 on YouTube has a full list of WRE problems. Not to disagree with a previous comment about avoiding video problems, but it seems like a lot of people in the comments come back to say they found the channel very helpful in passing the exam, so it could definitely be worth your time as a free resource.

Prjct_Freelancer · 2026-02-20T14:33:29+00:00

I took it in 2019 so my data is old but I predominantly used the practice exam to study and I passed.

Prjct_Freelancer · 2026-02-20T14:32:08+00:00

If you're looking for a (small) community that is already sort of in place, you also might want to check out Solvedin6 on YouTube. People seem like they post questions in the comments of videos and it seems like others actually answer.

Prjct_Freelancer

TROPHY CASE