Passing the Structural Engineering (SE) exam and earning your license shows the world you are driven and have the knowledge and skills necessary to excel in your chosen field.
Adding this NCEES designation next to your name lets future employers and clients know that youâre one of the top professionals around when it comes to structural design.
With all that said, itâs time for you to find the perfect SE exam prep course to meet your needs.
In order to help you pick the right study program, I’ve researched and reviewed the top Structural Engineering courses on the comparison chart below to make things easier.
Keep reading to see my #1 rated SE review course!
The Top 3 Best SE Exam Prep Courses
#1 School of PE SE Review Course
School of PE is the best option because it takes a different approach to test prep. Their goal is to deliver quality review courses via a variety of instructors and materials. Each subject comes with an instructor specialized in that specific field of study: structural analysis, environmental engineering, you name it. Doing so ensures that youâll always get top quality teaching when working throughout the course.
Additionally, School of PE also includes refresher classes and workshops so you can better retain information from previous sections. These workshops will review practice problems and concepts that are important to your upcoming exam. School of PE doesnât want you to forget vital information as you prepare for the SE exam.
You can access your study materials on any device, so long as it has internet access. Consequently, you can learn on the go whenever you have spare time throughout the day. No need to worry about blocking out hours of time each day to work off of the computer.
School of PE’s SE courses come with 60 hours of content, as well as a Study Hub that lets you ask follow-up questions to your instructors. However, one thing it doesn’t come with is a pass guarantee. Fortunately, you most likely wonât need it if youâve fully completed this course, so it’s hardly a deal breaker.
For all these reasons and more, School of PE is the best option for passing the SE exam!
#2 PPI2Pass SE Review Course
PPI2Pass has all the SE exam review materials you need to pass with no hidden costs. Once you enroll, over seventy hours of professional instruction and practice coursework will be right at your fingertips. All materials are designed to be a flexible as possible when it comes to study time. PPI2Pass understands that your time is valuable; so you don’t have to worry that their online course will be wasted on sub par and overly complicated study materials.
But thatâs not all you get with PPI2Pass:
In addition to learning the subject material, youâll also learn valuable test taking strategies for the SE exam. These include time management and question review tips and tricks. Doing this will further boost your already great chances of passing.
Furthermore, PPI2Pass is so confident that their product works that they include a pass guarantee. If for some reason youâre unable to pass your SE class, youâll be allowed to retake the course free of charge. Combined with their fantastic instructor support and customer service, itâs easy to understand why theyâre so highly regarded.
When looking at their track record, itâs easy to see that PPI2Pass is a competitive option. Between their live instruction and pass guarantee, thereâs no way youâll fail!
#3 ASCE SE Review Course
The American Society of Civil Engineersâ eleven part course can be fairly rigid by comparison to its competitors, but itâs still well worth the time of a civil engineering candidate. Each live class session comes with assistance from instructors so youâre never too far away from a helping hand. Even if you canât make it to class on time, all webinars are recorded and uploaded as on demand recordings. Youâll have to live without asking questions that session, but all the information will still be available to you.
However, perhaps the most interesting aspect of ASCE prep courses is their group rates for signing up. If you and some of your mechanical engineering friends are all getting ready for the SE exam, you can save some money by signing up together. Doing so will significantly discount the price for anyone involved. Furthermore, signing up also ensures you get a pass guarantee for the exam; if you fail, you can sign up for the next course free of charge.
A minor note to keep in mind is that you need both Adobe Flash and Reader in order to take this course. Despite the outdated and closed-source format for this program, itâs still a cutting-edge resource perfect for imparting structural mechanics knowledge!
ASCE is a good budget option for any group of engineering students working towards the SE exam. It may be a bit rigid in its format but live webinars with Q&A more than make up for that. Ultimately, if you can make your schedule work with ASCE, itâs well worth its price tag!
Runner-Up: Chegg Tutors SE Exam Prep
Chegg doesnât focus on having a set schedule of practice problems and study materials. Instead, they provide a set of personalized tutors to help you work through preparing for the SE exam. Any questions you have about the exam or its material will be quickly and accurately answered so you can get back to work. On top of that, tutors are even available 24/7, meaning theyâll fit any schedule you have.
These tutors are great and easy to access. Simply submit a question to Chegg Tutors and youâll be paired up with the specialist most qualified to help you. This one-on-one help can be extremely beneficial when preparing to take the SE exam.
For these reasons and the low price of fifteen dollars a week, I recommend Chegg Tutors as a supplemental study resource to be used with another SE review course. By doing so you will have a reliable online SE review course along with a tutor willing to help you work through the questions and textbooks. Combining the two services will skyrocket your chances of winning and your future success.
FAQs
SE refers to Structural Engineering, which is a discipline of civil engineering that involves the creation of structures such as beams, columns, trusses, and frames. The SE exam is commonly taken by civil engineers in order to further their careers and is required to work professionally in several states.
If youâre a civil engineer or are interested in working as a civil engineer, the SE exam should definitely be on your radar. Youâll have to take the FE Civil exam before qualifying, but itâs still worthwhile due to the employment opportunities it provides in many high-paying areas such as California.
The PE exam is divided into several disciplines covering different types of engineering work. It includes civil, chemical, mechanical, agricultural, and many others. However, the SE exam only covers the structural engineering discipline. The SE exam is occasionally referred to as the PE Structural exam, but itâs much longer than the PE exams for most of the other disciplines.
Out of all the PE exams, the Structural Exam is considered much more difficult because of its length. This is reflected by itâs frighteningly low pass rates, with less than 40% of test takers earning a passing grade. Because of this, studying with a well-made PE review course is highly recommended if you want to avoid retaking this time-consuming test.
