Here’s the latest edition! The Civil Engineering Reference Manual provides a comprehensive review of all five NCEES Civil PE exam content areas: construction, geotechnical, structural, transportation, and water resources and environmental engineering.
Over 750 example problems not only demonstrate how to apply important concepts and equations, they also include step-by-step solutions that show you the most efficient methods to use when solving exam problems.

With more than 100 appendices from references and exam-adopted design standards, it’s possible to solve many exam problems using only the Civil EngineeringReference Manual.

This is THE reference to have. This should be your bible for the next couple of months. In this new edition (16th) you will find the following updates to the material and topics. You’d most likely be fine with an older version of this book, but since the new 2015 NCEES specification has come out everyone is updating their material.

This is THE reference to have. This should be your bible for the next couple of months. In this new PE Civil Reference Manual, 16th Edition (previously known as Civil Engineering Reference Manual) you will find the following updates to the material and topics. You’d most likely be fine with an older version of this book, but since the new 2015 NCEES specification has come out everyone is updating their material.

Key Features:

Complete exam review for the Breadth portion of the PE Civil exam: 

• Project Planning
• Means and Methods
• Soil Mechanics
• Structural Mechanics
• Hydraulics and Hydrology
• Geometrics
• Materials
• Site Development
• Brief overview of each afternoon Depth exam.
• Up-to-date codes including: AASHTO, HCM, IBC, ACI and more.
• Recommendations for a study schedule to keep you on track.
• Exam tips for exam-day readiness.
• Binding: Paperback
• Publisher: PPI, A Kaplan Company

Here are the new topics they list as being covered:

Civil Breadth: Project Planning; Means and Methods; Soil Mechanics; Structural Mechanics; Hydraulics and Hydrology; Geometrics; Materials; Site Development.

You also have your depth sections covered here as well including; construction, geotechnical, structural, transportation, and water resources and environmental.

You will mark this up, tab it up, and make all kinds of notes for help on the exam. With every problem that you solve you should be turning to this for the equations to become familiar with it. There are a lot of chapters that you don’t use that are thrown in as a refresher, but overall there is nothing that compares to it. You could get by with an older version but the latest will include the newest codes, standards, and regulations on which the actual PE exam is based on so it is helpful to get the latest edition if you can.

My Review of the book and why I like it!

Practice Problems for the Civil Engineering PE Exam contains over 750 problems designed to help you identify important civil engineering topics and apply your knowledge to a variety of problems. Short, six-minute, multiple-choice problems demonstrate the format of the NCEES Civil PE exam and help you concentrate on a single subject. More complex problems combine several concepts, illustrate efficient and accurate solving methods, and familiarize you with the codes, standards, and references you’ll need for the exam.

Solutions are clear, complete, and easy to follow. U.S. customary and SI units are equally supported, and units are meticulously identified and rigorously carried through all calculations. Where multiple methodologies (e.g., ASD and LRFD) are permitted by the exam, both solutions are presented in this book. Frequent references back to the Civil Engineering Reference Manual and the original codes and standards direct you to support material when you need it.

The biggest complaint about these practice problems is that they are lengthy and challenging. Now, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, because you will become more prepared for the exam, but they definitely are not like the exam. Some questions say they are timed for 1 hour and are broken into parts. These are meant to test all aspects of a particular problem and you end up using multiple equations to solve them. I found that this was much more helpful for the depth section of the PE exam. You can hit your individual section and feel much better about passing when you get through this.

This is the last PPI practice exam that seems to have been made and it matches up with the 15th edition of the CERM (it’ll work with the 16th and I’m betting newer editions too).  It can be found on Amazon here.

The exam itself comes with a 40 question breadth exam and the depth exam of your choosing.  A common complaint is that this exam is a lot harder than the real exam, but I found it to be helpful despite that, especially for my depth section – which was geotech.  Practice the problems even if you don’t know how to slog through them.  It will help you and I still recommend it even though I can only seem to find it on Amazon at the moment.

The School of PE has just released a review manual of its own. This one is specific to the needs of the breadth exam. They are to release depth exam manuals as well but for this, you just get breadth material. I found it to be a decent manual with a lot of modern features. You can check out the video I made for a full review of it as well.

I really like the use of these TotalAR codes that allow you to meet the author, lookup help, and be redirected to the specs, an index, etc. It’s all in color so it just feels more modern.  There are practice problems throughout, a decent index, and help around every corner.  I like how you can scan the AR codes to meet the author.  That’s a nice touch.  The only downside is that you’ll have to relearn an entirely new manual so you kind of need to commit.  If anything it does provide fresh problems and the concepts it covers is right from the NCEES spec so there isn’t any extra fluff here.   I think when they come out with a depth manual then you might have a nice combo here. It is a bit pricey so you’ll have to decide if all that is worth it to you.

My Review of PE Civil Exam Review Guide – Breadth!

Ace the civil engineering PE exam on the first try! Fully revised for compliance with the new PE Civil syllabus, new specifications, and the latest design standards, Civil Engineering PE All-in-One Exam Guide, Fourth Edition, covers all the material included on the Principles and Practice of Civil Engineering (PE Civil) exam, given by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES). Featuring more than 200 pages of new material, this edition includes a new chapter on highway pavement design.

This authoritative volume is presented in the Breadth and Depth format of the actual exam and contains equations, diagrams, exam preparation strategies, and more than 150 end-of-chapter practice questions with solutions. Designed to help you pass the exam with ease, this detailed, comprehensive resource also serves as an essential on-the-job reference.

I personally have found this book to be an excellent resource for the depth section of the test you are going to take. It covers material and equations that are not covered in the regular CERM manual. I took this and the CERM into the exam so that I could have it all at my disposal should I need it. It is also a great resource for theory questions they might throw at you as this dives a little deeper into that area. Some may disagree with me, but I probably used it on 3 or 4 questions – enough for me to justify

Presented in the Breadth and Depth format of the actual exam, this comprehensive guide is filled with hundreds of realistic practice questions based on the Principles and Practice of Civil Engineering (PE-CIVIL) exam, given by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES). Detailed solutions, including equations and diagrams, are provided for every question. Civil Engineering PE Practice Exams offers intensive test preparation and is the perfect companion to Civil Engineering PE All-in-One Exam Guide.

This book is a great reference and a great run at practice problems. I found them to be very helpful and more exam-like than most other exams. You will enjoy this book and you get a lot for the money. I highly recommend it!

Civil Engineering Practice Examination #1 provides 40 multiple-choice civil engineering exam problems to help civil engineers prepare for their professional licensing examinations. This practice examination follows the specifications of the breadth examination (morning session), as defined by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES).

This exam includes 8 questions from each of the 5 civil engineering sub-disciplines tested during the morning session of the Civil PE Exam: Water Resources/Environmental, Geotechnical, Structural, Construction and Transportation. Civil Engineering Practice Examination #1 should be used as an assessment tool for the test-taker to evaluate his or her strengths and weaknesses within the field of civil engineering.

Civil Engineering Practice Examination #2 provides 40 multiple-choice civil engineering exam problems to help civil engineers prepare for their professional licensing examinations. This practice examination follows the specifications of the breadth examination (morning session), as defined by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES). This exam includes 8 questions from each of the 5 civil engineering sub-disciplines tested during the morning session of the Civil PE Exam: Water Resources/Environmental, Geotechnical, Structural, Construction, and Transportation. Civil Engineering Practice Examination #2 should be used as an assessment tool for the test-taker to evaluate his or her strengths and weaknesses within the field of civil engineering.

Four Sample Exams for The Civil PE Exam covers all five modules. Water Resources, Transportation, Geotechnical, Structural, and Construction. Many students who have the knowledge of these subjects sometimes fail due to lack of practice. This book will give the student much-needed practice. The book has provided detail solutions to all the problems. All solutions are provided with many illustrations and photographs. Each exam has 40 questions as in the real PE exam. The problems are similar to the problems found in the exam.

This is the first edition of this book and it has recently been updated (as seen below). The second edition has updated the problems with new ones so you might just want both!

Four Sample Exams for The Civil PE Exam, second edition, covers all five modules just like the first edition but updated! Water Resources, Transportation, Geotechnical, Structural, and Construction.

If this book is anything like the first edition I would tell anyone to buy it. I really enjoy the look and feel of these exams. Not only do they feel the same in terms of difficulty but they also go into in-depth in explaining each topic covered. I think you will really enjoy this book in your preparation for the PE exam.

Designed to help you pass the Civil PE exam the first time! This morning session guide provides you with 40 realistic morning session exam problems with detailed solutions. Learn the study methods that have helped hundreds of EIT’s pass the test the first time through. Visit www.peexamguides.com for a free sample problem.

Mike’s guide is a pretty good one. He outlines each step of the problem-solving process so that you can get a better understanding of just how you think about these things as you work them. The only downside is that there are only 40 problems. You’ll want to work more to feel really good about passing. Check it out though.

The Pass the Civil Professional Engineering (P.E.) Exam Guide Book was developed because the practice is the essential component to passing the Civil Professional Engineering PE Exam. Training with materials similar in format, timing, language, and style will help to master the exam when it counts the most. The passthecivilPE Guide Book provides necessary information in the form of a combined practice exam and study guide that will deliver utmost confidence for the passing the Civil Professional Engineering PE Exam. This was recently updated to meet the new 2015 specification.

Two new Civil PE Practice Exams (40 questions + Solutions in each exam) created by Dr. Indranil Goswami. All of these questions are different from the breadth exams in the McGraw-Hill publication by the same author, which came out in 2012. Formatted in the same manner as the NCEES exams, and representing an appropriate level of difficulty, these practice exams can provide additional exam practice when preparing for the Civil PE Exam.

We cannot end without talking about the NCEES exams. NCEES, who hosts and writes THE PE exam, writes up their own practice exams. I’ve shown here the structural exam, but they offer one for each depth section. The test includes 40 questions for the breadth and 40 for the depth. These tests are going to be the MOST SIMILAR PE exam because they are written by the same people! The only problem is that you’ll probably want to work more because there is no way you’ll see problems like this on the exam; however, this is a great resource to test yourself a week or two ahead of the exam as that final examination of your skills. This is a must buy so you know the look and feel of the test.

Dynamic Path presents our premier exam prep content for Civil Engineering, designed to help you learn civil engineering concepts, and/or ace professional certifications such as the NCEES Principles of Engineering exam. Our PE Civil Engineering module contains 250+ study questions written to cover all the topics appearing on the AM breadth section. Each question comes with a detailed explanation of the correct answer to reinforce and expand your civil engineering knowledge. Our rigorous questions cover all aspects of civil engineering, including Earthwork Construction and Layout Estimating Quantities and Costs Construction Scheduling Material Quality Control and Production Temporary Structures Subsurface Exploration and Sampling Engineering Properties of Soils and Materials Soil Mechanics Analysis Earth Structures Shallow Foundations Earth Retaining Structures Structural Loadings Structural Analysis Mechanics of Materials Structural Materials Member Design Transportation Hydraulics – Closed Conduit Hydraulics – Open Channel Hydrology Wastewater Treatment Water Treatment Dynamic Path is neither affiliated with nor endorsed by the NCEES or any other organization.

PE Civil Quick Reference consolidates the most valuable and commonly used equations, figures, and tables from the PE Civil Reference Manual. Maximize your problem-solving efficiency and save time during the exam by having the most useful equations and data at your fingertips.

This book’s extensive index quickly directs you to desired equations, figures, and tables. Find what you need without wading through paragraphs of descriptive text or solved problems. The Quick Reference is organized according to the companion PE Civil Reference Manual — the two share chapter and section numbers — so you can easily access related supplemental material.

Everything you need to pass the Civil PE Breadth portion of the NCEES Principles and Practice of Engineering Exam. This morning session guide consists of a full 40-question breadth exam with detailed step-by-step solutions and includes important exam day info, a detailed study schedule, and exam-day tips. Designed to help you pass the exam first try. Topics Covered include Project Planning, Means and Methods, Soil Mechanics, Structural Mechanics, Hydraulics and Hydrology, Geometrics, Materials, and Site Development. Each solution contains page references to the CERM to allow for additional topic review.

Two Full Breadth Practice Exams for the Civil Engineering PE Exam

Contains 80 problems that are representative of the actual Civil Engineering PE Exam. Each question has been designed in accordance with the latest NCEES specifications. These questions were created by real, practicing civil engineers that are familiar with the actual exam. Each question comes with a detailed solution to help you study efficiently and effectively.