POWER PE SURVEY RESULTS

Past Survey Results

2022 Survey 2021 Survey 2020 Survey 2019 Survey 2018 Survey 2017 Survey

LATEST SURVEY FEEDBACK
FOR THE POWER PE CBT EXAM
Updated in Dec 2022

Key Takeaways from the 2022 Power PE CBT Version

After every PE exam, I conduct an online survey with as many PE exam test takers that I can find. I primarily ask people who take the Enigneering Pro Guides course, but I will also ask people who have purchased just the Engineering Pro Guides books. The survey provides insight into an estimated passing score, how well test takers do based on experience and number of hours studied, which areas of the exam are difficult or easy. The raw results of the survey are shown on the link below.

2020-2022 Survey Results Link

The current pass rate for EPG is 93% (Updated in Dec 2022). Please see below for a review from a recent Power PE examinee from our course. For more information on pass rates, please see the Power FAQs webpage.

"Justin's material is by far the best out there. It is not close. For this reason, you have to go with Justin when it comes to preparing for the PE Exam. I looked at some free samples (note that free samples are generally going to be the best material for marketing purposes) of other companies and Justin's is by far the most clear and comprehensive. This made the choice to go with Justin easy. Besides having the best material (by far) - Justin is also a fantastic teacher and extremely responsive to questions you may have. Within just a few months Justin turned me into an expert in the Electrical Engineering field and this allowed me to pass the test on my first try. In summary, I strongly recommend all of Justin's materials for both Electrical and the other disciplines he offers. I have recommended Justin to my colleagues in the industry and I will continue to do so for anyone that asks. I loved everything about the course and it is difficult to come up with suggested improvements. Just follow the syllabus of the program and I believe you have a great shot at passing." -David, PE [Passed August 2022]

What do you wish you knew before you started studying?

The most mentioned answer is that the exam had 1. a lot of conceptual type problems. Sometimes people focus on using equations to solve problems, without understanding the underlying concept behind the equation. The PE exam does not have many simple problems where you can just find the correct equation and plug-in values. The next common thread is the 2. huge amount of required study time. Many engineers wait till a couple of weeks before the PE exam and are overwhelmed by the amount of material required to learn. This is because the Power PE exam covers a huge range of material. The Power PE exam covers from the generator, to the transformer, t&d, substation, utilty meter and finally the NEC within the building. You need to know not only utility side of electricity but also the customer side. The typical electrical engineer only works in one area (t&d, power plant, substation, customer side consultant, protection, etc.). For this exam, you must know the basic concepts and even some practical information on all areas of work.

Brandon, P.E. [Passed February 2022, 100-200 study hours]

Understand Basic Concepts

I wish that I knew to focus on understanding the basic concepts in circuit analysis before jumping to the other sections, as it would be the base for all other topics.

Rehan, P.E. [Passed April 2022, 200-300 study hours]

Qualitative questions

that the test is more qualitative than I thought.

Zach, P.E. [Passed April 2022, 100-200 study hours]

Concepts not in the Handbook

That questions could be based on concepts used in the field not found in a textbook.

GS [Passed April 2022, 300-400 study hours]

More concepts and theory

The first time I had taken the exam(Dec 2021), I was surprised at the amount of conceptual/theoretical problems that there were. Understanding fundamentals behind some of the major components of the exam...was very helpful during my second attempt.

Guneet, P.E. [Passed January 2022, 300-400 study hours]

Codes

I didn’t have any previous experience with codes, so that section was intimidating for me before I studied it.

Ikaika, P.E. [Passed August 2022, 200-300 study hours]

Theory

I wish I knew the theory a lot better for all the topics

David, P.E. [Passed August 2022, 200-300 study hours]

Allocating Time

I wish I knew how to best allocate my time for the morning and afternoon session. You are in control of when you want to end the morning session so pace yourself in a way that allows you sufficient time to check your answers before you close out of the morning session. Go in with a game plan for time management.

Philip, P.E. [Passed September 2022, 300-400 study hours]

Theory & Fundamentals

1) I wish I knew there were a lot more theoretical questions than quantitative questions. 2) I bought a multiple practice exams and some of those exams were intentionally way too difficult and had a lot of "gotcha". I wish I didn't spend too much time on those questions. Instead, I wish I had spent more time to understand fundamentals and problems that covered the fundamentals. Of all the study materials, I used the Engineering Pro Guide's the most, and it was the most helpful.

Sam, P.E. [Passed November 2022, 400-500 study hours]

Amount of Study Prep

The amount of time this will take, and amount of dedication needed. The depth of the material included can be overwhelming at first, so take each subject at it's own pace and don't rush to make sure you really understand what's needed.

Buy Engineering Pro Guides Products for the Power PE

Live Online Power PE Course On-Demand Power PE Course Power Code Exam Power Full Exam Power Final Exam Power Exam Bundle

What do you wish you practiced or studied more?

The most mentioned answer is that people wished they studied more on (1) Protection. Protection is a very large topic and can also at the same time be very detailed. Engineering consultatns rarely practice different protection schemes outside of sizing circuit breakers in accordance with the NEC. This topic is also very practical, meaning that engineers rarely study the protection concepts tested on the PE exam in college. The next most mentioned answer is (2) Codes & Standards. The codes and standards topic is well known by consulting engineers, but you need a lot of experience to be able to quickly navigate the codes & standards to get the correct answers. Rotating Machines topics. The machines topic includes generators, motors, equivalent circuits, and leave a lot of opportunity for concept type questions. Lastly, the Applications/Measurement & Instrumentation topics. These topics cover a wide range of smaller topics like engineering economics, grounding, insulation testing, illumination, lightning protection, ground testing and reliability. The large amount of small topics makes this area of study difficult.

John, P.E. [Passed July 2022, 300-400 study hours]

Protection.

I wish that have I studied more concepts with protection.

Brandon, P.E. [Passed February 2022, 100-200 study hours]

Protection, Motors, Instrumentation.

Protection and coordination, motors and instrument & measurement.

Philip, P.E. [Passed September 2022, 300-400 study hours]

Code Lookup.

I wish I spent more time familiarizing myself with the various codes provided by NCEES. Yes, there is a search function provided when taking the test, but most of the searchable items in the questions result in thousands of findings, such as conduits, conductors, clearance, etc. My test was very code heavy and I would have spent less time looking for answers if i knew general locations where to find the answers.

GS, P.E. [Passed April 2022, 300-400 study hours]

Code Lookup Speed

Wish I was a little bit quicker at being able to find information in the codebooks (NEC, NFPA, etc).

Staci, P.E. [Passed June 2022, 200-300 study hours]

Codes & Machines

Codes/standards, machines

Rashon [Passed July 2022, 300-400 study hours]

Induction and VFD's

Induction Machines and VFD's or VSD.

David [Passed August 2022, 200-300 study hours]

Theory

I wish that I studied more theoretical aspects of the question and qualitative reasoning. By following Justin's syllabus you are more than prepared for calculations and quantitative type questions. I wish I dug a little deeper even when I arrived at the right answer from Justin's practice questions to ask myself why it was the right answer. Justin actually does a great job with the theoretical concepts both in his recorded videos and live classes, however, I did not pay attention to these as much as I did calculations. In summary, every word that comes out of Justin's mouth in the class is important to the test!

Additional comments or words of advice for future test takers?

The most common words of advice from past test takers are as follows, (1) Use the PDF versions of your codes during studying. It is important to get used to using the code version and not the handbook version. You want to be able to quickly navigate through the PDF codes. You also want to be familiar with the locations for the key articles and not rely on using the search function for the typical code problems. But you still need to be skilled with using the search function. Next, (2) do as many practice exam problems as you can. It is very important to not look at the solutions, but to really struggle with each practice exam problem. You need to develop the skills of interpreting the problem, analyzing and narrowing down the solutions and finally making sound decisions with your understanding of the concept. (3) Lastly, have sufficient amount of time to study. Many people spend hundreds of hours studying the vast amount of topics on the power pe exam.

David, P.E. [Passed August 2022, 200-300 study hours]

Know the Handbook.

Know which sheet the various sections and topics are in the handbook. The interface for navigating around the handbook PDF is not necessarily going to be what you are used to (I was used to Bluebeam). It would have saved me a lot of time to know generally which page to go to for the various sections in the handbook rather.

Ikaika, P.E. [Passed August 2022, 200-300 study hours]

Read to Understand the Concepts

Read the books and understand the concepts/theory. If you understand that, you will be able to answer any question that the test throws at you.

Jacob, P.E. [Passed August 2022, 200-300 study hours]

Space out your Studying

Study daily in small hour to two hour blocks, use a spread sheet to track progress. All my friends who crammed, failed. Be consistent in bite size chunks is the key.

Brandon, P.E. [Passed February 2022, 100-200 study hours]

Take Notes & Participate

I would advise to follow Justin’s steps to passing the PE. Watch the recorded lectures, take your own notes, do all the practice problems and practice exams, and participate in the live classes. Most importantly, I think it was most helpful to identify what I did wrong on the practice exams and practice what I struggled with.

Past Survey Results

2021 Survey 2020 Survey 2019 Survey 2018 Survey 2017 Survey

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