2021 is history. Comment away! Suggestions for blog/Guidebook/Companion improvements are always welcome and appreciated. I enjoy hearing from all.
Please remember the blog rule: prior PE Exam questions, in whole or in part, will NOT be discussed. General topics, resource suggestions, and testing techniques only. Please don't "cross the line" by discussing specific problems from prior exams. Comments like: "...several of the drilling questions with probability...” is crossing the line. Thanks, folk!
There will be a delay between comment submission and when it appears; please be patient.
Unknown says:
ReplyDeleteGlad this one is behind me. The practice tests were invaluable as a study resource, as was utilizing the PetroWiki random page leading up to the exam. Wish my testing center had coffee...I was under the impression there was a small hospitality type of room at the testing center, and there was not. I worked the 21,18,16 tests and felt pretty prepared. Unfortunately I know some of the same questions that held me up in these practice tests were the same style I struggled with on the actual exam.
GB was pretty awesome. At lunch you can review notes etc, but by that time I was well into Test Mode and cranking out problems that I scarfed down lunch and went right back to the test. Tried to take a quick 2 minute break every 1-2 hours to use the restroom or at least get a fresh set of eyes on it.
On the CBT you can flag questions to review later. Pretty neat feature, definitely as there were some similar style questions that utilized the same equations or theory that you could go back and review before time was up. 6 min/problem is a pretty good rule of thumb, gives you time to review and some quick questions let you have a few minutes back. You can definitely eliminate at least 1 maybe 2 options in a given solution to help your odds on a WAG...
Wish my testing center had coffee...I was under the impression there was a small hospitality type of room at the testing center, and there was not.
DeleteThis is a big deal IMO. Although for myself I prefer taking caffeine tablets to prevent having to go to the restroom, but hey whatever works!
Unkn, I trimmed some of your comment that was getting a little too specifics for comfort; it was probably OK, but I want to make sure no specific problems are even eluded to. Thanks!
DeleteFair enough! Definitely felt prepared. Seemed to be a decent mix from all study areas. I think the comment was made on a previous testing forum... You've got to approach the test like a Petroleum Engineer, not a Drilling, Completions, Production Reservoir etc Engineer with a Petroleum degree.
DeleteOverall, I think the exam was pretty balanced between all the topics/areas. I was able to finish well before the time and got more than enough time to review all the questions. Indeed, I was able to pick my own mistakes while reviewing the already answered questions. This was my second attempt and this one seemed lot easier than 2020 one. Or I might have prepared myself little more than last time. I would highly recommend practice the calculation questions with limited time. Last year, I got stuck at few problems. This year I was very clear in my mind which shot I am going to take or miss. This helped me a lot. Overall, I am confident and hopefully the results come in my favor. Thanks for the blog.
ReplyDeleteI would highly recommend practice the calculation questions with limited time.
DeleteThanks a lot for your comment! I think this is a wise suggestion. When I wrote the 2021 practice problems I tried to keep the calculation problems at realistic but tough pace. Did you do the 2021 practice problmes, and if so, do you have any (general) comments on how they compare to the real thing, time-wise? Thanks again.
I did your 2021 Practice Problems. In view, the word problems you made are too hard/not representative. It made me think there was no way I would pass so I took Bing's class in hopes it would bridge the gap. I think the SPE Certification Exam word problems are a good example of the types of word problems to expect. There were a few figures this year where you arranged things or selected on a graph or choose more than one answer but they told how many to choose (which 3 are correct). I think your 2018 and 2021 calculations are spot on. I also did Bing's class and I read the Reservoir, Facility, and Production handbooks. I also read Bourgoyne's Applied Drilling Engineering and Ahmed's Reservoir Handbook. That helped with the concepts and I did the new Petroleum Engineering PE Licensure Examination Practice Question Bank while reading for comprehension testing. While my spouse would say I studied way too much, for me it was also about learning what I didn't know (though I also really hope I passed). I did ~320 hours of prep and probably could have done half that. On the test, I did both morning and afternoon in 2 hours with 2x bathroom, coffee breaks for about 5 minutes. That meant I could redo each question and I actually figured out quite a few in that second pass through. I would say you needed much less than 6 minutes for each problem with a couple exceptions.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous writes: [I over-studied] PBU, Tubular Stresses, Art.Lift, influx, waterflood. I think it went okay but I was kind of surprised at that. I worked the 2005, 2009/11, 2016, 2017 2018 Practice Tests. Either way it works out I definitely learned a great deal from this experience. Any idea of when results will be posted?
ReplyDeleteAnon, thanks for your comment; I removed part of your comment that may have been too close to discussing what was on the exam. O would just remember that every year will be different, so stuff that seems like a waste for this particular exam may be there next year! One really has to know it all to be prepared for anything.
DeleteExam results are out and fortunately I passed. David, I just want to say thank you for putting so much time and effort into this blog, your e-books, and answering comments and questions from people like myself. I can confidently say I wouldn't have passed the exam without your resources, so thank you very much for your continued help.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for your comment.
DeleteI was fortunate to pass as well. Appreciate all of the guidance on this board.
ReplyDeleteIs there a way to see your score if you passed? I understand you get it otherwise, but it would be nice to know how things shook out.
I passed as well, though I had not got a chance to do rigorous preparation. Fortunately lots of questions were related actual field experience. David I got benefitted from this forum as well as your book. Highly appreciate for it.
ReplyDeleteAnon writes:
ReplyDeleteSo here was my approach to the exam. I started studying for this monster about 3 weeks out from test day. I am a rotator so I could solely focus on this task for 8-12 hours a day (~180 hours total). Which I did including weekends.
- Bing's Class for calculation al problems (WORK ALL HIS PROBLEMS TWICE IF YOU CAN)
- Davids book for procedural steps in solving problems (Takes some time to correlate some of his equations to the one supplied in the official PE formula book provided during the test, recommend updating your guide book in the future)
- Read the SPE Handbooks (Its a lot of material but to help yourself be more pointed in your approach see review of Mayowa's book below), I felt least comfortable with facilities so I spent nearly 5 days deep diving into that book alone and practicing calculations.
- I worked most of the 2021 practice problems from David.
- I worked the 2005 PE practice exam (Link to the left on his blog) while referencing the similar problems on the right when I got hung up.
- Lastly I used Mayowa's book for the conceptual problems which helped me realize topics I was completely clueless about and got me to dig into the books a little harder.
I had quite a few of the text books already sitting on my shelf from college. The SPE Handbooks can be purchased online for quite a fee from the SPE Bookstore or elsewhere. However, if you you are resourceful there are many places online where you can download these books for free ;)
In the end the test was not the monster I thought it was going to be. I finished the test with 2 hours left and also took 3 breaks that counted against my time...I finished both sections with about 8 problems each of problems I was unsure about. Out of those there was about half of them I just had no clue about and after spending several minutes scrolling through the guide book knew I wasn't going to find a clue so I just gave it an educated guess ruling out the crazy answers. I am 2 years out of college so I purposely took this test as soon as possible while I still had somewhat decent test taking skills (Thanks to the board for changing the 4 year requirement!).
I walked out of the test with very mixed feelings. I didn't know if I crushed it or failed the crap out of it with plenty of time to spare. Ill never know truthfully how it went but I do know I PASSED so that is all behind me and I can check the test off my to do list finally. This board helped out tremendously thanks David!
Anon, thanks for the comment. I took out one sentence that could have been thought to be "too close" to discussing what was on the exam itself; it was probably OK but I'm just being 100% safe. Thanks again!
DeleteAnon, question regarding Bing's questions - did you work them out using the provided correlation charts and supplemental information in his binder? Or were you able to solve the problems using only the SPE reference guide? (Since this is the only thing allowed during the exam)
DeleteThank you for your help. By the way, is this blog/forum still active? I'm seeing much less activity on here than in years prior. What gives?
David, with all of the feedback you see, would you update your 1-6 general test taking strategy in the "Exam Strategy 2019" section to study for the 2022 exam? Thank you for your efforts.
ReplyDeleteDavid I am reviewing the Handbook series and noticed Resv. books A&B is a ton of material to review. I can still plan to go through them but it will take a significant amount of time to work through versus the other topics. Is there another Reservoir Textbook that you think would be more efficient to review instead of both volumes in the Handbook series? Thanks
ReplyDeleteThat's a great question. There never has been a reservoir book I think is good for the PE Exam. But I have some general thoughts; when you are taking the exam? Feel free to email me at mdavidgo for some more specific advice. Cheers!
DeleteDavid what is a good email? Are you gmail? yahoo? mdavidgo...
ReplyDeletegmail
DeleteDoes anyone still have their Petroleum Engineering Handbooks, Volumes I-VII that they would be willing to sell? Thanks
ReplyDeleteMr. David Dammeyer hope you well
ReplyDeleteCan i buy softcopy Petroleum Engineering Guidebook: Designed for the Professional Engineer 1st Edition ??
I am far away
Rgds
Great job! Your blog really helps with PE Exam Prep. The information and tips you share are super helpful for aspiring engineers. Thanks a lot for putting in the effort to support us!
ReplyDelete