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Keegs and me on top of Cruz Loma, adjacent to the Pichincha volcano in Quito, Ecuador.

Hi, I’m Mark DeSantis and that is my boy, Keegan. I am the creator of Learn Civil Engineering. If you are new to the site and are just starting to study for the Professional Engineering Exam, this page is for you! It contains most of the information you need to quickly get up to speed and start studying smarter for the Civil PE Exam. The Civil PE Exam is not that hard to study for if you know what and how to study. I will show you how.

You really can become a Registered Professional Engineer!

About the Civil PE Exam

The Professional Engineering exam tests your ability to practice competently in a particular engineering discipline. It is considered one of the most challenging exams and people study on average 300 hours in order to prepare. It is designed for engineers who have gained at least four years post-college work experience in their chosen engineering discipline and have passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Exam. The PE exam is an 8 hour open-book 80 question exam. 40 questions and 4 hours are in the morning covering five disciplines in civil engineering, this is call the breath or AM portion of the exam. The disciplines are Geotechnical, Transportation, Water Resources and Environmental, Structural, and Construction Engineering. There is also 40 questions and 4 hours for the afternoon portion of the exam. This section is called the depth or PM section and will focus on one of the five disciplines listed above. You are able to chose which discipline you would like to take for the afternoon portion.
You are allowed to bring reference materials to the exam, provided they are bound and remain bound during the exam. The National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) are the test developers and administrators. To find out all the details about the exam visit there website at ncees.org.

About the Learn Civil Engineering Site

The site is broken up into three main sections which are listed below. Feel free to read top-to-bottom or jump around using the buttons below.

The material on this website is designed to help you study and pass the Civil Engineering PE Exam – Construction depth section. The material presented will help if you are taking any Civil engineering exam morning breath section. However, it doesn’t have a lot of material for the other sections depth notes or problems.

Study Material

This section is where I clearly show you which book you must get for the exam. I also layout which ones you should get if you have extra time. The more problems you practice the better your chances are to pass the exam.

Teaching Notes

This section highlights each engineering discipline and sub discipline that will be on the PE Exam. A lot of time is wasted by not knowing what is on the exam and studying the wrong material. I clearly layout all the sections with notes so you don’t make that mistake.

Construction News

This section is where I will post interesting news articles from around the web that deal with construction engineering. This is design to be a consolidated spot where you can find great material from all different sites in one location.

Lastly I am here for You!

I just wanted to finish by saying that I’m here for you as a instructor and friend to hold you accountable and answer any questions. I do my best to respond to all emails and comments.

Thank you so much for your support.

Study Smarter,

Mark F. DeSantis, P.E., PMP