Passed PDD yesterday!

Passed on my first try yesterday!!

All my PA, PPD and PDD were passed on my first try averagely a month apart from each other, so this is a significant boost on my confidence and mental health as a relief. - It wasn't like this smooth with my CE and PjM...

For PDD, I use primarily Amber book, which is an awesome study resource for establishing systematical knowledge. I took a whole notebook of notes when going through System and Construction sections watching videos cuz that helps me encarve the knowledge better by writting and drawing them down. - Thanks a million Amber Book team!!!

Thoughts below:

- One week before the exam I started to go through Ballast, Chen, then NCARB practice exam. I got 92 and 74 score on Amber book practice exams, got about 45 score on Ballast and failed on NCARB practice exam (score 65), but eventually passed the actual exam. If you are in the final stage of preparing for your exam within a week or two, ensure to go through those study materials too, because I found the actual exam tests some very niche part of a system/construction or a site element or specifications that AB might not address as a must to memorize (I call them bad luck questions in exam lol). Supplementary study material help a lot for PPD and PDD.

- Site questions that I was caught off guard on negligent studying them during practice exams, and they turned out in a noticeable number of questions in actual exam. You probably already passed PA and PPD with those knowledge (site drainage, different types of soil, site solutions to meet project specific goal, etc.), just ensure to go through those for refresher.

- Specifications. I encountered numerous questions on: before construction start specification and responsibilities, during mock exams. I ended up going through CSI Masteformat actual specification TOC: deep dive on Div 00 and Div 01, then memorizing the Div title from 02-12. Also paid special attention to Div 09 Finishes and Div 10 Specialties that if you don’t work with these two during daily work, you won’t know too much details by their names only (like they are the home for partition framing, toilet cubical, etc.)

- The last of course for codes. Ensure to familiarize yourself for those ADA dimensions (ramp, signage, stairs, hand&guradrails, etc.)

The conclusion or feedbak I have for PPD and PDD actual exams are, they really can include all levels of qualities on questions - some of questions you just know the volunteer does not know real life construction and might just work on a public toilet design then got licensed and that's his/her whole world understanding Architecture. So I learned this in a really hard way on my CE exams (was pulling my hair hard during NCARB practice exam seeing some those questions) to keep an open mind for questions, and not grade them by real life priorities - toilets are important too!

Good luck everyone!