Dr. Z's Corner

Dr. Z’s Corner (202204)

April 1, 2022: Beginning of a New Era for Engineers Planning to Take the PE Civil Exam

PE Reference Handbook v1.1 In this month’s article, we share ground-breaking news with our readers regarding the Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) Civil exams. Starting April 1, 2022, The National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) will be transitioning the PE Civil exams from pencil-and-paper (P&P) format to a computer-based (CBT) format.

Initially, NCEES planned to complete the PE Civil exam’s transition to CBT format in 2023 but fast-tracked the change as part of its response to COVID-19. After the April 2020 penciland-paper exam administration was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. NCEES added an extra day to the October 2020 administration and began exploring the possibility of moving the PE Civil exam to CBT earlier than planned. The PE Civil exam was offered for the last time in penciland-paper format in October 2021.

Engineering students who passed the FE exams (students with EIT) should know about the Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) exams. The PE exam basically tests for a minimum level of competency in any given particular engineering discipline. It is designed for engineers who have gained a minimum of four years’ post-college work experience in their discipline under a PE’s supervision (depending on state requirements).

The PE Civil exam in CBT format includes 80 questions. The total exam appointment time is 9 hours and it includes a non disclosure agreement (2 minutes), tutorial (8 minutes), actual exam (8 hours) and a scheduled break (50 minutes). For more information our readers may refer to the latest version of NCEES Examinee Guide at NCEES.org. All examinees are required to read this document before starting the exam registration process.

It is also important for our readers who are planning to take the PE Civil CBT exam to review the exam specifications, fees, requirements and the reference material. The new PE Civil Reference Handbook, Version 1.1 may be downloaded for free from NCEES website. To download, first register or log in to My NCEES and then go to Dashboard/Common Tasks/ Useful Documents/View reference handbooks.

The current version of the reference handbook will be supplied onscreen as a searchable PDF. All examinees will use a 24-inch monitor while testing to allow sufficient space to display both the exam question and the reference handbook. If codes, standards, or other references are being supplied, they will be listed on the last page of the exam specifications.

Typically, references are best viewed in the exam software at 100%. If additional clarification is needed, zooming to a higher or lower percentage may be helpful.

The exam fee for the new PE Civil CBT is $375 and is payable directly to NCEES. Some licensing boards may require filing a separate application and paying an application fee as part of the approval process to qualify for a seat. The examinee’s licensing board may have additional requirements as well. If you are planning to take the PE exam, familiarize yourself with your state licensing board’s unique registration procedures before registering for the exam.

Specifications and design standards

The PE Civil CBT exam is a breadth and depth examination. The breadth items cover topics from all five areas of civil engineering. The depth items focus more closely on a single area of practice. The PE Civil exam includes multiple-choice questions as well as Alternative Item Types (AITs).

For details on the format and length of the exam, the topics covered, and applicable design standards, select your engineering discipline below to download the exam specifications from NCEES’ web site, NCEES.org. PE exam specifications and design standards are posted 6 months before their effective date. Exam specifications change once every 5–7 years. Design standards change more frequently. The design standards for 2022 exams are listed below according to five civil engineering disciplines:

Allowed reference materials

As mentioned earlier, the examinee will be provided with an electronic PE Civil Reference Handbook as well as all design standards specified for the chosen civil discipline during the exam. This handbook and the standards listed on the exam specifications are the only reference material that can be used during the exam.

The examinee will not be allowed to bring personal copies of any material into the exam room. Design standards are available through the publisher, typically as both an electronic and printed copy.

The handbook and design standards will be available for both the breadth and depth portions of the exam, though design standards are not needed for breadth questions. The NCEES handbook and the design standards used on the exam are searchable pdf files with linked chapters for easy navigation.

Finally, we have to remind our readers that both the FE and PE exams are very fast paced exams and you will have little time to look up information. Therefore, make sure you are familiar with your reference material and design standards. It will be helpful to begin with the subject areas you know best. This will give you more time and build your confidence.

Most importantly, stay relaxed and confident. During the exam, keep a good attitude and remind yourself that you are going to do your best!

Until next time,

Ahmet Zeytinci, P.E.
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Dr. Z’s Corner (202202)

Best Advice from Dr. Z. to Engineering Students: Take the F.E. Exam While You’re Still in College

For students and educators, January means the beginning of the Spring semester. Our colleagues and friends know that we truly enjoy being an “Engineering Educator” since we are continuously working with young minds, inspiring, motivating and most importantly educating them to become our future engineers.

Quite often, our readers and engineering students ask us for advice to become a competent civil engineer. And the best advice to them is to set goals, work hard and most importantly, take the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam before you graduate. Last year, almost half our civil engineering students took and passed their FE exams on their first attempt, while they were in school. Of course, all of them received job-offer letters from well-known engineering firms after taking their first interviews.

For this month’s ASCE-NCS, Dr.Z’s Corner article, I’ve decided to share the success story of Maksim Bahdanovich, a civil engineering student from Belarus. Currently he is a senior engineering student at UDC. He just conquered the formidable FE exam before graduation. I hope our readers will enjoy reading Maksim’s interesting story:

Dear Dr. Zeytinci,

I was born and raised in Brest, Belarus. When I was a kid I fell in love with math. I was receiving a lot of joy from solving simple math problems, it really made me feel smart. As a result, I became really good at it. I passed math and physics exams and entered one of the best schools in my hometown. Throughout my high school education, I won many prizes at Olympiads in mathematics and physics. Because of my achievements, some universities from Belarus and Russia reached out to me with scholarship offers. However, I decided to try to enroll into a University in the United States so that I could continue my tennis career and engineering education.

I started playing tennis when I was 5 years old. I played for the regional tennis team and took part in many national and European tournaments. My achievements helped me to become a member of the Men’s Tennis team at the University of the District of Columbia and to receive a good scholarship. During my tennis career, I have learned so many things that help me succeed in my personal life as well. I learned a lot about the benefits of a healthy diet and gained strong willpower.

My father is a very respected Civil Engineer with years and years of experience. He has been managing multi-million-dollar projects of major construction companies in Europe and Asia. Quite often my father took me to the construction sites and taught me about various construction materials and processes. I really liked what he was doing, that is why I decided to become a Civil Engineer.

In August of 2018, I came to Washington, D.C. and started my college education receiving a full scholarship at the University of the District of Columbia. As an international student it was not easy for me to study at the beginning. However, with the support of my teachers, coaches, teammates and friends, I was able to adapt relatively fast. My analytical thinking and learning skills also helped me to understand the material and get good grades throughout my undergraduate education.

All of my professors at the University of the District of Columbia, Civil Engineering department, continuously reminded me that the first step to becoming a good civil engineer is to conquer the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam. That is why I’ve decided to work hard and pass the FE exam before I graduate.

As soon as I started my senior year, I was preparing for the FE exam and solving all the problems published at ASCE-NCS, Dr. Z’s CORNER. I also covered several classes that I had not yet taken at school myself, and successfully passed my FE exam in November of 2021. That was great news for me and for my family. Years of hard work paid off.

I really value the knowledge I gained at the University of the District of Columbia. After graduation, I want to work as a civil engineer and get some experience in the office and the field.

Thank you, Dr. Z., for all the help. I can’t wait to send you the “good news” after I also pass my Professional Engineering (PE) exam!

– Maksim Bahdanovich,
UDC-Senior Civil Engineering Student

Finally, as always, we have to remind our readers that FE and PE exams are very fast paced exams and you will have little time to look up information. Therefore, make sure you are familiar with your NCEES-FE Reference Handbook, Version 10.1 and begin with the subject areas you know best. This will give you more time and build your confidence.