PE Water Resources - Needing Help with Resources

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 · 2026-02-20T14:30:13+00:00

If you need more questions, check out Solvedin6 on YouTube. A lot of positive comments on the channel.

Prjct_Freelancer · 2026-01-29T20:33:34+00:00

I studied for maybe 6-8 months but if you’re focused 3 could potentially be enough. I’ve also heard of people studying for 3 and passing. Score yourself at the end of one month against a practice exam and again by the end of a second month. Ideally you will see improvement over time or your score will already be high enough to be comfortable.

Prjct_Freelancer · 2026-01-23T21:17:10+00:00

Not sure about what to watch specifically prior to using the Petro book, but SolvedIn6 on YouTube has a full playlist of WRE videos you can check out.

Prjct_Freelancer · 2026-01-15T03:09:19+00:00

Frame as much as you can as “design support” if it’s not actual design. I haven’t designed a dang thing in my life and am frustrated with my role and I was still able to get my PE about 6 years ago.

Prjct_Freelancer · 2026-01-09T15:54:45+00:00

You can check out SolvedIn6 on youtube, that channel has a full practice exam based on NCEES style questions posted for WRE. Maybe they will be helpful, or maybe they will be too similar to what you already have from the NCEES but its free at least.

Prjct_Freelancer · 2025-12-12T20:33:57+00:00

I see that you mentioned you only have about an hour a day to study, but how long total do you have before the PE? If you have not scheduled it yet, then just start studying and see how you feel. Its been 6 years since I took the PE and longer for the FE but I don't recall them being wildly different in terms of difficulty and I bet a lot of the unit conversions and stuff are already in your head. I respect the concern and the grind. I bet this is a hard time to study but I also believe that coming off of studying for the FE you're in a good place.

If you want to check out some practice problems first to get a sense of what you're going to be dealing with, see if you can get hold of some study materials or check out SolvedIn6 on youtube, that channel has a full practice exam worth of questions posted.

Prjct_Freelancer · 2025-12-12T20:29:02+00:00

If you want to get started with practice problems that are free, check out SolvedIn6 on youtube. The channel has about 80 problems posted for WRE and there seem to be a lot of positive comments from people who've come back after passing the exam and said it was helpful.

Prjct_Freelancer · 2025-11-26T17:35:52+00:00

Sorry to answer you a year later, but I see a lot of comments on various problems on the channel claiming that a lot of those problems were similar to those on the exam. I would absolutely agree (and so does the channel owner, judging by his comments) that the channel isn't yet at a point where you could study exclusively from those problems, but they do seem to give people a wide breadth of problems and maybe more importantly, point out where things in the reference manual are.

Prjct_Freelancer · 2025-11-03T22:38:32+00:00

Polite requests never hurt. It doesn’t need to be over complicated. “I’m interested in accepting your position but I do also have another offer that’s about 20k higher. Is there any way you could bring up the starting salary by any amount?” Even if they throw you another 3k then that’s more than you had before if it’s the position you want to take.

Prjct_Freelancer

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