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The Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) Civil exam consists of both "breadth" and "depth" components. The breadth portion of the exam covers topics from all five areas of practice within civil engineering. For the depth portion of the exam, candidates may choose a specific area of practice to be tested upon. The five areas of practice with their own specialized depth portions of the exam are: construction, geotechnical, structural, transportation, and water resources and environmental. Thus, the candidate is faced with a decision to make as to which depth exam to take. While for some candidates the choice may be obvious, for others, the choice may be less clear for various reasons. This blog post offers some guidance and suggestions for those uncertain as to which depth exam to take.

From a licensing standpoint, it is actually not relevant which version of the PE Civil exam is taken. For example, you could pass the construction depth version of the exam and go on to practice in transportation engineering. When you pass the exam and fulfill all the necessary requirements for licensure from the state which grants the license, you obtain a PE license in which the subcategories of civil engineering practice are not distinguished. From a strategic standpoint, in terms of passing the exam and for other reasons, however, it is worth spending some time to consider which depth exam may be right for you.

The PE Civil exams are offered year-round at NCEES-approved Pearson VUE test centers. There is no difference in the availability of the exams at the testing center locations, so this should not be an influence on the decision. In terms of exam format, each of the exams contains the same number of questions and has the same amount of time allowed for answering them.

All candidates should take the time to familiarize themselves with the specific topics that are covered on the different versions of the exam. This information is available on the NCEES website, where exam specifications are available for each of the different depth modules. These even include a range of possible numbers of questions covering each of the specific topics covered on the exams. Also included for each depth module is a list of the references the candidate should be familiar with that will be supplied in electronic format during the exam.

The most obvious and straightforward approach to the decision is to take the exam, which covers the most topics you are already most familiar with, either from work experience or education. Presumably, a candidate would have the greatest head start in their exam studies as he or she would already possess a strong knowledge and experience base to build upon in preparing for the exam. If you have focused on a particular area of practice both during college and for four or more years in a work setting, then your best bet is to stick to the depth exam that most closely aligns with this background. Educational focus and workplace experience may not be the only factors in making the decision, however.

For some, there is a misalignment between the area of practice in which one has the most experience and the area of practice in which one is currently working or intends to work in the future. If you are going to devote a significant amount of time to study and review, then you might as well use that time to improve or reinforce your knowledge in the area of practice in which you plan to work in the future. Why not use PE exam preparation as an opportunity to develop and reinforce knowledge that you will utilize daily once you have achieved your license? Put your study time to work in contributing to your professional development with an eye beyond the achievement of licensure.

For others, there may not be a clear choice in terms of previous experience. Maybe you have worked in the practice areas of transportation as well as construction. An understanding of one's strengths and weaknesses may aid in the decision. Again, a review of the specific topics covered on each version of the exam would be helpful in this regard. What if you are not certain about which area of practice your strength lies? Taking an initial practice exam in each of the two versions under consideration may aid in the decision by showing you which area of practice you may have greater strength.

An additional factor to consider is the pass rate for each of the different depth exams. These are published on the NCEES website. A review of the pass rates may hint at the relative difficulties of the exams for those taking them or possibly the quality level of the exam questions (i.e., non-ambiguous questions). As of this writing, the highest pass rate, both for first-time takers and repeat takers, was for the Water Resources and Environmental depth exam. The lowest pass rate for first-time takers was for the Construction depth exam. Given the fact that the exams are presumably evaluated from time to time for fairness and quality, one should probably not make too many assumptions about the exams from this data, though it may be useful to have a general sense of the pass rates.

It should be noted that the number and size of the references with which one should be familiar varies considerably for the different depth exams. The Water Resources and Environmental exam currently has only two design standards to reference; the Construction exam currently has eight; the Transportation exam currently has nine; the structural exam currently has ten; and the Geotechnical exam currently has a total of sixteen. While all of the necessary references are available in electronic format during the exam (no matter which exam you take), there is an added level of study effort involved in becoming familiar with the standards and their use. Depending on your particular strengths and weaknesses in studying and exam-taking, this could potentially impact your decision on which exam to take.

Still can't decide? Another idea is to simply begin one's exam preparations with study for the breadth part of the exam, and then, as one studies the different areas of practice, the answer as to which depth version to take may become apparent. Remember that you don't need to settle on a particular depth exam at the very start of your exam studies. Begin with study for the breadth portion of the exam, then focus in further on a specific area of practice for the depth portion. You may find it easier or more enjoyable to study one area of practice than another. Focusing on an area of practice that you enjoy studying the most is an excellent choice because the greatest danger to failing an exam is often the procrastination which occurs when you dread and consequently avoid studying certain topics.

Once you've made an informed decision as to which Civil depth exam to take, it is best to commit to it until exam day. It would likely be an inefficient use of study time to devote a significant amount of time to studying topics that will not be on the depth part of the exam. It is worth remembering that no matter which depth exam is chosen, you have the ability to pass the exam if you devote the necessary time and effort to your studies.

No matter which PE Civil exam you choose, make sure you partner with School of PE for your exam prep needs! Our subject-matter expert instructors and innovative learning technology provide what you need to succeed on exam day! Register now.