I Passed the Civil Transportation PE on the First Try - Here’s How I’d Study Differently

When I sat down for the Civil Transportation PE exam, I thought I was prepared. Eight hours later, I walked out tired but relieved, feeling like I’d done enough to pass. When the results came back and I saw “PASS,” I was ecstatic at the thought of not having to retake the test.

But here’s the truth: even though I passed on my first try, there are severaL things I would do differently if I could go back and prepare again. I didn’t prepare as efficiently as I could have.

If you’re gearing up for your own PE exam - whether it’s your first try or you’re coming back for a second round - learn from my experience. Here are the three changes I’d make if I could hit rewind on my Civil PE exam prep:

1. Look at the NCEES Exam Specifications to Help You Pass the Civil PE Exam on the First Try

I regret not looking at the NCEES Civil PE exam specifications. I remember walking out of the exam shocked surprised that a certain topic was covered so heavily. Had I looked at the exam specs before beginning my exam prep, I would have known to study that topic more.

One of the smartest first steps you can take is to look at the official NCEES exam specifications before you ever start studying. These specs break down exactly what topics will be covered,  and how many questions you can expect from each area. For example, if the specs show that only a handful of questions will come from a certain niche topic, you don’t want to spend 20% of your study time there. On the flip side, if a certain topic will have a higher amount of test questions, that’s where you should double down. Using the exam specs as your study roadmap keeps you focused on what really matters - and helps you avoid wasting precious time on low-weighted topics.

2. Focus More on Solving Practice Problems

Looking back, I found that solving practice problems was one of the most efficient uses of my time when studying for the Civil PE. I would have spent less time attending live review lectures on exam topics and diverted more of that time to solving practice questions.

My favorite source for practice questions is the 80-question NCEES practice exam that you can purchase on their website. However, you’ll need to solve a lot more than 80-practice question to prepare for the exam.

That’s one of the reasons I built civilquestionbank.com. I wanted to create a place where engineers could practice with plenty of exam-style problems and see step-by-step solutions.

✅ Action Step: Start solving practice problems. I post several free Civil Transportation PE exam pracitce problems and solutions on this site. Here is a traffic control practice problem and solution I shared in a blog article. Can you solve it?

3. Know Your Reference Books

One thing I wish I had done differently was spending more time learning where information was located in the reference books recommended for the Civil PE Transportation exam. The NCEES handbook is crucial, but there are also several other references - like the AASHTO Green Book, HCM, and MUTCD - that are fair game for the test. In addition to solving practice problems, I would take more time to flip through those books, make mental notes about where key charts, tables and formulas live, and even practice looking them up quickly. On test day, knowing exactly which chapter to jump to can save you minutes per question. You’ll have searchable digital copies of the reference books while taking the test. However, I still recommend getting access to the books ahead of time to learn where information is located.

Final Thoughts: You’ve Got This

Passing the civil transportation PE exam on the first try is absolutely possible. To help you pass, I’m creating a practice question bank to help you study for the test more efficiently. It’s a resource I wish I had when I was studying for the PE.

Next Step: Download my free set of 10 PE practice questions here. You’ll get a sense of what the exam feels like - and it’s the best way to start building confidence right now.