Let’s Build a PE Exam Study Schedule Together! ??

Ever wondered how you can possibly study all the topics in the specifications for your PE exam? ??

For each topic, you have to review the theory, practice problems, revisit the material, and take practice exams. And on top of that…

All this has fit into your already busy life with a full-time job, spouse, kids, friends, church, volunteering…you name it!

So, how can you pull that off? ??

Just as your projects at work follow a schedule that lays out all the activities and their due dates, your exam prep should follow a schedule, too — a study schedule! ??

Today, I'll show you exactly how to create one by crafting an example study plan for the Water Resources PE Exam. ??

(And don’t worry, you can steal this study plan if you’re taking this one. I know you want to. ??)

6 Things You Need Before Building a Study Schedule 6??

Before you can start laying out the study tasks on a timetable, you need to gather a few things first. Why?

These things will dictate the actual building of your study schedule.

Here are the things you need. ??

1. List All the Topics You Need to Study

This is the very first thing you need to do: go and get a copy of the specifications for your PE Exam.

This document lists every topic (+ subtopic) you need to study, and you’ll use it to build your study plan by breaking it down into smaller, more manageable chunks.

Write them all down in a checklist so you can check them off as you go.

In our example: The specifications for the Water Resources PE Exam list 12 main topics (each one with its subtopics) and two design standards.

2. Assess Your Current Knowledge

Now that you know everything that can come up on your exam, you need to determine your weak spots. The topics that don’t come easy to you.

Be honest with yourself, identify what these topics are, and then highlight them on your checklist.

That way you can set aside additional study time for them and be ready on exam day. ??

In our example: Let’s say our weak spot is topic No. 11 — Wastewater Collection and Treatment

3. Prioritize Exam Topics

Not all topics are created equal. Some topics make up only 5% of the exam questions, while others can get close to 50%! ??

This means you need to set aside additional study time for these high-priority topics, too.

Check out the number of possible questions for each topic in your checklist, and then highlight the ones that get tested more often on the exam.

In our example: The topic that gets tested more often on the Water Resources PE Exam is topic No. 12 — Project Sitework — with anything from 9-14 questions.

4. Determine Your Study Time

Next up, you need to think about how much study time you’ll be able to put in every week.

This varies depending on how busy your life is, but the CEA Rule of Thumb that I share with students of both our FE review course and PE review course is this… ??

Study for 2 hours on weekdays and 4 hours on the weekends. ?

One thing that can help you secure that study time is the Time Blocking technique.

In our example: Let’s say we’ll study every weekday for 2 hours after work, and then 4 hours on Saturdays.

5. Settle on Your Prep Time

Now, you need to think about how many months you’ll give yourself to prepare.

Another rule of thumb we share with our students is this… ??

At a minimum, 3-4 months of exam prep, with 6 months being the sweet spot.

Of course, this varies depending on how many hours you can put in every week. If you can study 20 hours a week, you may need a shorter runway than someone who can only study 10 hours a week.

In our example: Let’s say we’ll study for the Water Resources PE Exam for a total of 6 months.

6. Anticipate Life Events

Finally, one thing a lot of PE test-takers neglect, but shouldn’t…

Your study schedule is not only about studying!

You have other commitments and responsibilities you need to show up to. Whether that’s your wedding anniversary, your daughter’s birthday, family summer vacation…you name it!

So, when building your study plan, think about the months ahead and try to anticipate these life events. Then, write down when they're happening so you can block off time for them. ??

In our example: Let’s say we have a wedding anniversary trip already scheduled halfway through our 6-month exam prep period. ??

The 7-Step Process to Building a Study Schedule ??

Now, you have all the background information you need to build a realistic study schedule that fits into your life. The next step? ??

Getting your hands dirty. ??

Here’s how you’d go about it… ??

Step #1: Break It Down into Monthly Milestones

From your checklist of all the topics to study, assign individual topics to each month of your exam prep.

Oh, and don’t forget to keep in mind the topics you need to zoom in on because they’re either difficult for you to grasp or they’re tested more often on the exam.

In our example: Here’s how our monthly milestones would look like, with dedicated time for our weak spot and the highest-priority topic on the exam. ??

Step #2: Break It Down into Weekly Goals

While the monthly milestones get things a bit more manageable, they’re still overwhelming, right?

So now is time to take things one step further and break down the monthly milestones into smaller weekly goals that lead up to it.

In our example: Here’s how our weekly goals would look like for Month #1 of our exam prep. You can do the same by repeating the process for the following months.??

Step #3: Schedule Practice Problems

That’s something we harp on all the time to students of our review courses, and something you should take to heart too…

The key to passing your exam is this: practice.

You know what topics you’ll be focusing on every month and every week, so make sure you set aside time to practice problems on those topics — only covering the theory is not gonna cut it.

You can solve a few preliminary problems right after studying the theory, but you need specific study sessions dedicated solely to solving problems (like those in our YouTube playlists).

In our example: Here’s how we can organize Month #1 of our exam prep to include both theoretical reviews of the topics, but also practice problems. ??

Step #4: Review “Old” Topics

You cannot study a topic, practice some problems about it, and then forget it and never go back to it.

This goes against how learning actually works, which we’ve already explained in a past Quick Tip Video. ??

This means you need to schedule “review sessions” in which you go back to “old topics” you’ve already studied and review them to keep the information top of mind.

You can do this by reviewing your notes, using flashcards, taking quizzes, etc. But the best strategy is to solve more and more practice problems on the topics you’re reviewing.

In our example: Here’s how we can organize Month #1 of our exam prep to include a review session for the month’s topics. ??

Step #5: Block Off Time for Life

Remember the life events you anticipated at the beginning? Block off time for them in your study schedule.

“Oh, but I’ll be wasting time I could be using to study.”

No, you won't!

If the only thing you do while studying for the PE exam is working and studying nonstop, you won’t get to the finish line. Why?

It’s not sustainable throughout your (long) exam prep period.

Believe it when we say it becasue we've seen that happen to our students: you will burn out and quit before you're even halfway through it.

These "non-studying" things recharge your batteries so you can keep on studying. Got it?

In our example: We have a hypothetical trip already scheduled that falls in Month #3, remember? So, here’s how our plan for this month would look like. ??

Step #6: Schedule Practice Exams

While solving practice problems helps you understand a specific topic, practice exams help you get used to the entire exam experience.

In fact, we’ve already reviewed a 13-year study that found that practice exams were the one thing that separated those who did really well on the real deal...from those who failed it poorly.

This means you need to set aside specific moments in your prep to sit down and take practice exams simulating the official PE exam as closely as possible.

Ideally, you want to take one practice exam right in the middle of your studies to gauge if you need to redirect your efforts. But then, as your exam day gets close, taking practice exams (as many as you can) is a must!

That’s why we have five practice exams, one for each civil PE exam, and our proprietary PE CBT Exam Simulator. To give you an idea of what it's like to sit for the Civil PE Exam...well beofre you walk into the exam room. ??

In our example: Since Month #3 is halfway through our hypothetical exam prep, we’ve scheduled to take The Ultimate Water Resources PE Exam then. ??

Step #7: Adapt as You Go

If you do the previous 6 steps for each month of your exam prep, you’ll have a realistic plan to follow. But...

There’s just one problem.

Things won’t happen as you planned. (Yikes! ??)

Life always throws some curveballs when you least expect it. So, you have to be flexible and adapt your plan and study tasks as you go.

As long as you don’t let go of studying completely, any changes to when you study a aparticular topic won’t change the end result.

In our example: If one of the kids put a hole in the wall on the Saturday we scheduled to solve practice problems on a certain topic, we’ll need to let go of something else so we can reschedule this study session and catch up on our study plan.

The Tool That Gets It Done for You ??

As you’ve seen, doing all this organization work by yourself can be time-consuming and daunting.

That’s why we've built a tool that does this work for you…saving you the time (and sanity!).

The Ultimate Civil PE Water Resources Review Course is launching at the end of this month, and it comes with The Ultimate Civil PE Course Planner.

This planner works as both your (1) study schedule and (2) homework planner.

It lists what you should study every week of your exam prep, when to take practice exams, which ones to take…all the way to additional homework problems you can do to get a good grip on the material.

Interested?

Then click here to join our waitlist to receive more frequent updates about the course launch, plus an exclusive early-bird discount only for those in the waitlist. ??

We know for sure this 7-step process to crafting a study schedule was helpful, especially if you’re prepping on your own with no review course or anything.

If you have any questions about this process, or anyting related to the Civil PE Exam, you can get a hold of us very easily by shooting us an email at [email protected].

And don't forget to follow Civil Engineering Academy to receive these awesome tips, tools, and tricks to become a Professional Engineer right on your LinkedIn Feed. ??

Note: Our Civil PE Geotechnical Review Course is already live and ready to help you pass the Geotech PE Exam. Click here to check it out!