Civil Engineering Construction PE Exam Resource List

This Civil Engineering Construction PE Exam Resource List is extracted from the NCEES.org listed Design Standards and is a valuable reference as you prepare for the exam, but it is not a list of required standards and documents that must be taken to the exam.

Civil Engineering Construction PE Exam Resource List

Your personal experience and expertise will dictate which resources can serve you best on exam day and should be included in your Test-Prep Resource Library©.

Test-Prep Resource Library

The Test-Prep Resource Library© is one of the most valuable tools you can use while preparing for the exam and on exam day.

Each person’s own resource library will be different from every other person’s.

When I coach people on building their Civil Engineering Construction PE Exam Resource Library, I have them start with an honest assessment of their needs.

For example:

  • if they don’t have a background or experience in Traffic Engineering,
    • then we don’t spend time on Geometrics and,
    • they don’t include MUTCD-Pt 6 Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices in their Civil Engineering Construction PE Exam Resource List
  • if they have limited knowledge in wood construction,
    • then we spend time only on those topics they are familiar with and,
    • they include only those sections of the NDS National Design Specification for Wood Construction that pertain to them

Through this process, we narrow down the number of resources that must be assembled, tagged, transported to the exam site, and used during the test.

Additional – Recommended – Exam Day Resources

Additional exam day resources I have found helpful are listed at the end of this article.

Every time I coach someone in preparing for their exam, I get push-back on including some of these additional resources.

The reason: they’re not listed on NCEES.org.

So, even though the additional resources aren’t on NCEES’s list of Design Standards, doesn’t mean they aren’t part of the exam. My advice, look through the lists and decide for yourself what makes sense.


The NCEES Civil Engineering Construction PE Exam Resource List:

ASCE 37 Design Loads on Structures During Construction, 2014
(Amazon.com: ASCE 37, 2014)
American Society of Civil Engineers
www.asce.org

NDS National Design Specification for Wood Construction, 2012
(Amazon.com: NDS, 2012)
American Forest & Paper Association/American Wood Council
www.awc.org

CMWB Standard Practice for Bracing Masonry Walls Under Construction, 2012
(amazon: CMWB, 2012)
Council for Masonry Wall Bracing, Mason Contractors Association of America
www.masoncontractors.org

AISC Steel Construction Manual, 14th ed., 2011
Parts 1–3, 8, and 16.2
(Amazon.com: AISC, 2011)
American Institute of Steel Construction, Inc.
www.aisc.org

ACI 318 Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete, 2014
Chapters 19, 20, and 26
(Amazon.com: ACI 318, 2014)
American Concrete Institute
www.concrete.org

ACI 347R Guide to Formwork for Concrete, 2014
(Amazon.com: ACI 347R, 2014)
American Concrete Institute
www.concrete.org

ACI SP-4 Formwork for Concrete, 8th ed., 2014
(Amazon.com: ACI SP-4, 2014)
American Concrete Institute
www.concrete.org

OSHA Occupational Safety and Health Standards for the Construction Industry
 29 CFR Part 1926 (US federal version)
(Amazon: 29 CFR Part 1926, 2015)
US Department of Labor
www.osha.gov

MUTCD-Pt 6 Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices
Part 6 Temporary Traffic Control, 2009
(Amazon.com: MUTCD-Pt 6, 2009)
U.S. Federal Highway Administration
www.fhwa.dot.gov


Additional – Recommended – Resources:

International Building Code, 2012
(Amazon.com: IBC, 2012)
International Code Council
www.iccsafe.org

ASCE 7 Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures, 2010
(Amazon.com: ASCE 7, 2010)
American Society of Civil Engineers
www.asce.org

PCI Design Handbook: Precast and Prestressed Concrete, 7th edition, 2010
(Amazon.com: PCI Design Handbook, 2010)
Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute
www.pci.org

Introduction to Hydraulics and Hydrology: with Applications for Stormwater Management, 4th ed.

Standard Handbook for Civil Engineers

Temporary Structures in Construction

Engineering Economic Analysis

LearnCivilEngineering.com Teaching Notes


That should get you started.

Remember, the information and resources you need on the exam will look different than those of the people around you.

That’s ok.

Your #1 priority is to pass the test and get your PE.

  • Using the most, or the least, or the currently popular resources doesn’t count on your test score.
  • You don’t get extra credit for preparing like everyone else.
  • They won’t give you a PE license for conforming to some “standard” form of preparation.

Do what works for you, and you will be successful.

If you have any questions or comments about this topic or about the PE Exam in general, please do not hesitate to Contact Us.

Civil Engineering Construction PE Exam Resource List

Civil Engineering Construction PE Exam Resources

NCEES

Quantity Take-Off Methods

Quantity Take-Off Methods

Quantity Take-Off Methods

Civil Engineering Construction PE Crunch Time

A 30-Day Plan to Prepare for the
Civil Engineering Construction PE Exam

Civil Engineering Construction PE Crunch TimeClick HERE for more Civil Engineering Construction PE Crunch Time Resources

Checklist:

  1. Graduated from an ABET accredited engineering program … check
  2. Passed the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam … check
  3. Worked under the supervision of a licensed professional engineer for at least 4 years … check
  4. Applied for and received approval from your state’s engineering board to sit for the examination … check
  5. Registered with NCEES to take the Civil Engineering PE Exam … check
  6. Studied and prepared diligently for the past two to three months … oops!

Items 1 thru 5 were relatively easy.
You went to college, got your engineering degree, and passed the FE Exam in your senior year.
You then took an engineer-in-training position and put in your 4 years learning to be a practicing engineer.
Your supervisors and co-workers then began encouraging you to pursue professional licensing.
So you filled out the paperwork, contacted to your local board, and got approved for the exam.
You applied to NCEES, paid the fees, and have a reserved spot on exam day.
Then something happened.

Life. Work. Stuff.

No matter how hard you tried; no matter how dedicated you meant to be; you just haven’t been able to prepare.
The exam is in little over a month.

Panic.

But there’s still time if you’re willing to put in the effort and commit to giving it your best effort.

  • This plan is aggressive.
  • You won’t have much of a life outside of work for the next month but that’s a small price to pay to prepare for the exam.
  • You will have to work hard.

If this is your situation and you’re ready to make this happen, let’s get started …


Each day is listed below with specific topic(s) to study.

Each topic will require:

Some of the topics are hot-links to:

  • useful information (i.e. Research and Resource gathering)
  • sample or practice problems (i.e. Problem solving)

I highly encourage you to print what you find (information, examples, charts, sample problems, etc.) and organize into binders for easy retrieval on exam-day.

It’s Civil Engineering Construction PE Crunch Time


PROJECT PLANNING

Day 1


MEANS AND METHODS

Day 2


SOIL MECHANICS

Day 3

Day 4


STRUCTURAL MECHANICS

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7


HYDRAULICS AND HYDROLOGY

Day 8

Day 9

Day 10


GEOMETRICS

Day 11


MATERIALS

Day 12

Day 13


SITE DEVELOPMENT

Day 14

Day 15


EARTHWORK CONSTRUCTION AND LAYOUT

Day 16

Day 17


ESTIMATING QUANTITIES AND COSTS

Day 18

Day 19


CONSTRUCTION OPERATIONS AND METHODS

Day 20

Day 21

Day 22


SCHEDULING

Day 23

Day 24


MATERIAL QUALITY CONTROL AND PRODUCTION

Day 25


QUALITY CONTROL PROCESS (QA/QC)

Day 26


TEMPORARY STRUCTURES

Day 27

Day 28

Day 29


HEALTH AND SAFETY

Day 30

Click HERE for more Civil Engineering Construction PE Crunch Time Resources

Civil Engineering Construction PE Crunch Time

Civil Engineering Construction PE Crunch Time