3 Steps to Decide Which Civil PE Exam to Take, Even If None “Fits”

Let me guess: you’re not in any of the five main branches of civil engineering, and because of that, you’re getting hung up on which of the five civil PE exams you should take. Right? ??

If you answered with a big “YES,” then know that you’re not alone. It’s one question lots of civil engineers face since the field is so broad that you can go down many different career paths.

While it’s a huge pro, it becomes a challenge when the time to get those “PE” initials after your name comes. And especially now, the stakes are even higher. Why?

Starting in April 2024 with the new NCEES specifications , you don’t choose a depth section anymore. Instead, you choose one exam whose 80 questions are focused on one of the five specialty areas only.

So choosing the most appropriate of the five exams just got even more important than before!

To do this, there are really three steps you need to go through to make that decision. Let’s dive into them. ??

1. Look at What You Do for Work

Even if your work doesn’t exactly match any of the five civil PE exams, there’s a chance that some parts of it may at least relate to one of them. As a result, you’d really benefit from studying more in-depth material about it to level up your game at work and increase your expertise.

So the first step is all about identifying the tasks you already do at your workplace, and then picking the exam that will help you the most with them.

For example, if you’re a civil engineer in the utilities world designing and installing transmission lines, you may deal a lot with the design of the foundations that support those transmission towers. If that’s the case, then the Civil PE Geotechnical Exam is a smart choice.

2. Look at What You Did Well in School

If you go through step No. 1 above and still cannot find anything that relates to any of the five civil PE exams, don’t panic. Just move on to step No. 2, which is all about identifying the subjects you crushed back in your college days.

For example, if you totally killed it in Hydraulics and Fluid Mechanics in school, then choosing the Civil PE Water Resources Exam may be the way to go. Why?

Two reasons ??

1. You have a proven track record of doing well in that subject. And given that you’ll be with your head in the books for quite some time when prepping for the Civil PE Exam, choosing a subject you know you can do well on really makes you at ease throughout the prep period...and on exam day.
2. If you did well on this subject in school, chances are you enjoy studying it. In that case, you won’t dread having to sit down to study, making it a lot easier for you to learn all you need to pass the exam simply because you’ll be interested in it. ??

3. Look at NCEES Pass Rates

You’ll probably have an idea of what exam to take after going through step No. 2 above. And that’s because we all had our favorite courses while jumping through the hoops in school — just as we had the ones we hated. ??

But if you didn’t have that and simply want to get the PE done as soon as possible and move on with your life, there’s a third step you can resort to.

Simply check out the pass rates for each of the five civil PE exams and go with the one with the highest pass rate.

According to the latest NCEES Squared report released in 2023, the average pass rates in the 2022-2023 fiscal year are shown below. ??

From the image above, the Transportation and Water Resources exams have the highest pass rates, and that has historically been the case year over year.

Does it mean they’re “easy?” Of course not!

None of the five civil PE exams are “easy.” You’ll have to put in the time and effort to learn everything that’s on the specifications, as well as get familiar with the PE Reference Handbook and the lengthy, jargon-filled codes and standards…regardless of which exam you take.

But from an analytical standpoint and in the case that you don’t care about which area of specialty you dive into — you simply want your PE license — then Transportation and Water Resources might be your options. Then, it’s just a matter of choosing the one you’re most comfortable with.

What Civil PE Exam Will You Take?

While choosing which civil PE exam to take can be easy if you work in one of the five major branches or have a goal to work and specialize in one of them, that’s not always the case.

Many civil engineers gravitate towards areas that don’t perfectly fit any of the five options, and that’s when this 3-step framework comes into play.

If you find yourself in that situation, just look at what you do for work first and try to find anything that would benefit from diving into any of the five specialty areas. If you can’t find it, look at what you enjoyed and did well on back in your college days.

If you still can’t decide, you probably just want to pass the exam once and for all. So just go with the one in which the “odds are in your favor.” But make no mistake, they’ll still require you to put in the work. There’s no silver bullet when it comes to passing the Civil PE Exam.

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We're all about helping you pass your professional civil engineering exams. ?? ??