Studying for the PE exam?

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MEP_PM

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Does anyone have advice on studying for the PE exam? I?m preparing to take the PE exam in Oct. I have been studying John Camara reference book and sample exam. I also have NCEES sample questions book. Did you find any other study guides helpful? My final question is what reference did you take to the test? My plan so far is to take the above books and a copy of the NEC.

Any advice would be appreciated, especially recent test takers.
 
I took the test too long ago for my experience to be of much help to you. But I thought that the rules had been changed such that you are allowed only one reference book, and you are not allowed to bring your own copy (in case you scribbled notes in the margins). Is that no longer true?

I seriously doubt the NEC will be a useful reference book. But my biggest hint is that you find out what reference book(s) are allowed, and use them while you do practice problems. Even if you know how to do a particular problem, use the book anyway. The idea is to make sure you are well practiced in making use of the reference(s).
 
I took the P.E. in April and am taking it again in October. The only restriction on reference material in my state was that no loose leaf paper could be used. You could bring any textbook you want. Guys were literally wheeling around suitcases full of books or two wheel dollys with boxes full of books stacked on them. Of course, if you don't know what you're doing all of the references in the world won't save you.

The NEC will only be useful if you decide to take the Power Systems section of the afternoon portion, and even then there were only two or three questions. According to the moderator of the Passing Zone forum I joined this time around, the October 2008 P.E. exam will use the 2005 NEC.

I took the textbooks that I was most comfortable using. There are several I use on the job quite frequently so I'm used to flipping through them. There is no point in taking a bunch of material you don't know anything about into the test. You are better off guessing on a few than spending 15 minutes flipping through textbooks to try to figure out how to do one problem. Besides the Camara reference book you already mentioned, I took a circuits book, a power systems book, a calculus book, and the NEC. I used the Camara book for 95% of all the questions and only dug out the others once or twice each.

Edit: As far as studying, all I can say is do a lot of it. I didn't do enough the first time which is why I have to go through it again now. :)
 
Charlie b: as drbond24 indicated it is now an open book test unlike the FE.

nafis: NC

drbond24, thanks for the info. I had also heard some people bring way to many books to the test and waste a lot of time flipping pages. Someone at work told me you could bring a 3-ring binder as long as you don't remove any sheets during the test. So they photo copied key topic from some of their reference books (so they didn’t need the whole book) and placed it in a binder with tabs. They also included problems they had worked.
 
No, I passed the first time. IMO...do alot of example problems but not spend too time do those problems from that big green book.
 
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