CE Pass on first attempt!

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Christopher Boucher
After 3 failed attempts at PcM and failing PjM last month, I passed CE yesterday! To say a little weight has been lifted off my shoulders is an understatement. A little insight for this particular exam that I feel helped me pass: 1. I didn’t think AHPP really helped me on this exam too much. The last three sections is pretty much all you need to read and maybe brush up on project delivery methods if you’ve taken pcm and pjm prior like me. I think knowing delivery methods is important for all the pro prac exams. Just know what is included in contract docs and what is not and why. For this exam, the “why” is important. 2. Know standard construction details and be able to view a picture and determine and pinpoint what they are asking you to find...and why. I’ve been doing architectural drawings for almost 10 years so it came more natural to me. Building construction illustrated ch 3 and 7 is very helpful. 3. Know how to read the various AIA contract docs like change order, pay app, continuation sheet, etc. in the handbook for this exam. A Non negotiable is know the A201 and B101 like the back of your hand. I read these religiously every week. Absolutely the most important documents you need for this exam. The AHPP sections I mentioned earlier are basically a synopses of what’s in the contracts but it’s a good resource nonetheless. 4. Ballast CE section is very helpful and informative even though it’s just a more brief synopsis of the CA phase (that’s what this exam is). Just helps put the process in another perspective. Repetition is never bad! 5. Watch aia contract videos on YouTube as well. I didn’t read too much into the CSI manual too much, again, the same material is in the contracts and AHPP. However, it’s less dense so you can probably read thru it fast if you have the time. I went thru this entire exam in 2 hours. I used the last hour going over flagged questions that took more thought and analysis/calcs. The one bit of advice for this exam is that remember, YOU ARE NOT MAKING DECISIONS. You are simply recommending and assisting the owner because the owner is an innocent party! You are not telling anyone to do anything. Knowing this really helped me eliminate possible answers right off the bat which is why I was able to answer so many questions confidently so quickly. If you can remember this, you’ll be fine. Hope this insight helps you with CE. Onto retaking PjM in a month!
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    Brandon Fairbanks

    This is helpful to see. I've taken and passed PcM and PjM on the first attempt in the past 2 months with CE coming at the end of June. I wasn't too sure what to study and have a pseudo-confidence from doing a buch of CA lately. I'm glad the CSI manual isn't heavily needed. Good Luck!

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    Christopher Boucher (Edited )

    Brandon: yeah, for specs, just know what each division entails (division 02 Is existing conditions; Division 21 is fire suppression, etc.). But yeah, know the A201 frontwards and backwards. It’s a non-negotiable

    Any insight on how to tackle studying for PjM? I took it once and failed…I thought I had a good chance at passing.

    good luck on CE!

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    Brandon Fairbanks

    I just found an annotated version of A201 so I think that'll be helpful. 

    For Pcm/Pjm I had the same approach:

    -Contracts were of course big, similar to CE. I read through A201 and B101 and wrote them out in my own terms. 

    -AHPP was really long winded and not very useful (unless you like to read a lot and gain a little).

    -Schiff Harden lectures helped quite a bit. I would put them on while I was at work. over the course of those 2 exams I probably listened to all of them 2-3 times in the background. For law they're fairly digestible.

    -I took the designer hacks free tests to feel good about myself. They helped get an idea of the question content without the added difficulty.  

    -Then I took the Ballast practice exam (they've both gone terribly). I do this 2 weeks or so before the exam so I can go back and review the explanations for the correct answers and highlight topics I'm unfamiliar with. 

    -I actually found hyperfine for these 2 to be well worth the $. Highly recommend if you have any hangups on the calculations. 

    -I found quizzlet (the learn option) to be a good way to take in a bunch of information. Not all of it stuck, but it did help with recall on a few questions. Jenny's note were also used for this purpose

    ...other than that, if I got to a question that made me think for more than 30 seconds, I flagged it and went back. I ripped through all of the "easy" questions first and made a couple trips through. Sometimes the phrasing in question 50 helps answer question 17 and skipping it saves more time to think through the case studies later. 

     

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    Oleg Lyamin (Edited )

    Congrats!  I am taking mine this weekend.  

    PjM was tough..I passed on my first try but I got some curveballs thrown at me.  I had at least 2 questions about Mechanical Engineering of all things.  My professional experience working with CSI Masterspec over the past few years helped me in that regard.  I did the case studies first and then did the rest of the exam.  Skipped any questions involving match and came back to it later.  

    I think what helped me with PjM the most was actually the ARE 5.0 handbook.  The practice questions there are extremely close to what will be on the actual exam, so I would review those with a fine tooth comb (even make your own in the same way and change words around).   I know there's only a few example questions, but it doesn't get any more accurate regarding the actual content than that...

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    Jessica Crouch

    Congrats! This is super helpful and encouraging to read. I've passed PcM and PjM, but I've failed CE already twice and was closer to passing it in my first round and then found my second time with the new 2021 exam format with less questions I did worse on. Super odd. Retaking CE next month again.

    I agree the biggest weakness of mine was how many construction details there were- very heavy on thermal moisture details. I thought I was well prepared for these from BCI, but apparently not enough. I'm now studying from "Exterior Building Enclosures" by Keith Boswell and highly recommend it if anyone else wants to really brush up on their architectural sections and building construction detailing. Tons of great drawings.

    Also cannot stress how important knowing A201 and B101 are for this exam (which build off of Pcm and Pjm). The handbook questions are great to reference- even the older versions from 4.0, which have way more sample questions than the new 5.0 versions. 

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    Christopher Boucher

    Thanks, Jessica!

    I have been working in an office for almost 10 years so I've been exposed to A LOT of detailing so it came natural to me to figure out what was missing in the section or what kind of material goes where, etc. I'll definitely check out that book as I'm sure it'll be helpful for the non-pro practice exams. 

    If you know the A201 and B101, you should have no problem passing CE. It's all CA phase.

    Any tips for PjM?

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    Devina Parbhoo

    Congrats on the pass!

    If anyone else is looking for free resources on what to study and general studying tips, I made a YouTube video explaining everything I did in order to pass the exam in 1 month. Check it out here: https://youtu.be/-qPZkheCijE 

    Happy Studying!

    Ps. I made a video of study tips for each of the ARE 5.0 exams. Check them out on my channel.

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