A Professional Engineer (PE) certificate is a great option for anyone looking to advance their career in the field of engineering. Ensure you pass your exam the first time around with one of the best PE exam prep courses listed below.
The PE exam, also referred to as the Principles and Practice of Engineering exam, will test individuals on various skills like analytical reasoning, specific concepts applicable to your discipline, and quantitative deduction.
Our team based the reviews below off of many different factors including price, features, guarantees, and more. Use our detailed comparison chart to easily compare different PE exam prep courses.
Summary: Review the top-rated professional engineering exam prep courses below to find the best fit for you.
Our Pick for Best PE Exam Review Course
-
- Recommended (Most Comprehensive)
- Bottom Line: Our choice for most comprehensive PE exam review course. If you want to ensure you pass your exam the first time around, this should be your choice.
-
- Rating:
- Visit School of PE
Best PE Exam Prep (2023)
scroll right on mobile to see entire table
| PE Exam Prep | School of PE | PPI | EET | Capstone |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
| Rating | T-G Choice (Most Comprehensive) |
|||
| Pricing | Starting at $1190 | Starting at $1335 | Starting at $550 | $699 |
| Subscription Length | 4 months* | 3 months* | 5 months* | Unlimited |
| Practice Exams | ||||
| Practice Questions | ||||
| Video Content | 96 hours* | 50+ hours* | 100+ hours* | 30+ hours* |
| Delivery Options | On-demand, live online, and onsite | On-demand and live online | On-demand and live online | On-demand |
| Different PE Courses Offered | - Only PE civil | - Some, not all | ||
| Certificate of Completion | ||||
| Support Options | Chat, phone, and email | Chat, phone, and email | Phone and email | Phone and email |
| Summary | Review | Review | Review | Review |
| Learn More | GO! | GO! | GO! | GO! |
*An asterisk indicates something could change based on the specific package you sign up for.
Who Needs a PE Review Course?
A Professional Engineer certificate might be required for some individuals, but for others, it may be a personal choice to obtain the certificate. Individuals who have this certificate may find more potential career opportunities as well as being able to stand out against their peers.
Going through the rigorous process of passing the PE exam shows potential employers you are dedicated to your craft and have the knowledge to back it up. A PE certificate can also be beneficial for individuals who plan to start their own firm or go into consulting. The certificate is a great way to create trust with your clients.
Requirements to Take the PE Exam
In order to be eligible to take the PE exam, applicants must meet 2 requirements:
- Pass the Fundamental of Engineering (FE) exam
- Have 4 years of post-college work experience in their chosen engineering discipline
Factors to Consider
- Brush up on knowledge – do you need to brush up on your knowledge before taking the exam? Most people will feel more comfortable if they do so.
- Study discipline – you may tell yourself you can study by yourself for the exam. Will you be saying the same thing when you are struggling on a certain concept?
- Budget – are any of the options listed below in your price range? The good news is that your current employer may cover part (or all) of the course if you ask.
- Proper course – if you are going to move forward with a PE exam prep course, make sure you are enrolled in the proper course. There are different PE exams for different types of engineering.
Bottom Line - If you want to become a certified Professional Engineer, consider enrolling in a PE review course before taking the exam.
PE Exam Prep Course Reviews
School of PE Review
- Test-Guide Rating: T-G Choice (Most Comprehensive)
- Price: Starting at $1190
School of PE Feature Summary
-
Price
- On the more expensive side but the amount of learning materials and features you get make it worth it.
-
# of Offerings
- Offer a PE review course for anything you could be looking for. Tons of options.
-
Content
- Video lectures are informative and interactive and the course has a nice flow to it.
-
Questions
- Multiple practice exams and customizable practice sessions available in all courses.
School of PE Pros and Cons
-
Pros
- Study schedule
- Detailed lecture videos
- Custom practice sessions
-
Cons
- Lecture videos can get long
- -
- -
School of PE Summary
The School of PE is our choice for most comprehensive Professional Engineering review course. They have the most offerings for prep courses and their courses are very in-depth and offer the most value.
School of PE offers 3 different learning formats for prospective students:
- On-Demand
- Live Online
- Onsite
In addition to those 3 different learning formats, they also offer a prep course for every NCEES PE exam. You can view their offerings below:
- PE Architectural
- PE Chemical
- PE Civil
- PE Control Systems
- PE Electrical
- PE Environmental
- PE Fire Protection
- PE Industrial and Systems
- PE Mechanical
- PE Petroleum
Since their on-demand course is very popular and similar to the live online and onsite courses, we decided to dive into it. You can read our review of the course below and learn more about some of the features offered.
The first thing you will be asked to do is create a study schedule. You will be asked to rank your skills on specific topics - these will be used to help create your study schedule. You can also input which days you are able to study the most and which days you are unable to study.
After answering some of these questions, the software will spit out a custom study schedule for you to follow. The schedule makes it really easy to progress through the course and give you the motivation to finish the course.
The "course content" tab is where you will be spending a majority of your time. This is where you will find all of your course materials. The course is split up into different chapters. Each chapter is further broken down into specific topics - this makes it very easy to follow along and learn.
You will find various things in each chapter like guided notes, lecture videos, quizzes, and flash cards. The lecture videos consist of an instructor talking over notes, going over problems, and teaching helpful strategies to do well on the PE exam. They can get kind of boring, but the instructor does draw and annotate over their notes to help get you more involved and better explain complex concepts.
There is room to make your own notes to the right of the lecture videos. Your notes will be time stamped at the moment you write them so you can see exactly where in the lecture you made them. There is also an ask the instructor feature which is really cool. Students can send their instructor any questions they may have and the instructor will respond and clarify their questions.
Students will find practice questions scattered throughout the chapters and lecture videos. However, you can build your own practice exams and focus on the concepts you want to work on. You can filter your exam by questions you have or have not already answered, by subject, by difficulty, and other filters.
There are also full-length practice exams for students to work on. The exams are timed and do a great job of simulating the actual exam. After submitting the practice exam, you will receive your score and an opportunity to review all questions and answers. In addition to receiving the answer explanations, you will also receive a detailed score report that breaks down how you answered certain questions.
Best Features of School of PE - Custom study schedules and custom practice sessions.
Actual Screenshots From School of PE
Click on the images to enlarge them
Rating:
T-G Choice (Most Comprehensive)
Bottom Line
Our choice for most comprehensive PE exam review course. If you want to ensure you pass your exam the first time around, this should be your choice.
PPI Review
- Test-Guide Rating:
- Price: Starting at $1335
PPI Feature Summary
-
Price
- One of the most expensive PE exam review courses we looked at.
-
# of Offerings
- Offer a PE review course for anything you could be looking for.
-
Content
- Professional engineers with real-world experience teaching courses.
-
Questions
- Custom practice quizzes but only one full-length practice exam.
PPI Pros and Cons
-
Pros
- Study schedule
- Custom practice quizzes
- -
-
Cons
- Only 1 full-length practice exam for most courses
- -
- -
PPI Summary
PPI offers 2 main options for students looking to study for the PE exam. Those options are:
- On-Demand
- Live Online
Just like School of PE, PPI offers PE review courses for nearly every PE exam. You can view their offerings below:
- PE Civil
- PE Electrical
- PE Environmental
- PE Control Systems
- PE Industrial
- PE Fire Protection
- PE Mechanical
- PE Structural (SE Exam)
- PE Chemical
- PE Nuclear
- PE Metallurgical and Materials
Since the on-demand course is what most people like to use, we will go over that course below. Keep in mind that this course is very similar to the live online course, with the main difference being the way in which students learn.
The on-demand course is a great choice for students who wish to study at their own pace. Each on-demand course includes expert instruction from a professional engineer who has real-world experience.
Students can choose between a 1-year, 6-month, or 3-month program when signing up for an on-demand course. As you increase the amount of time you have access to the course, the price increases. Most courses start around $1335.
Students will learn primarily through recorded lectures. You will also be learning through problem-solving demonstrations and exam strategy sessions. In total, each course usually includes 50+ hours of video instruction – this does vary depending on which course you register for.
Also included in the course is a study plan that will help you stay on track and keep you motivated. This study plan helps make the course less overwhelming and easier to complete.
In terms of practicing, there are a couple of different options. Students can complete a diagnostic exam to see what they know, and what they do not know. Students can reference the practice problems web book to find some additional questions which include step-by-step answer explanations.
In addition to the practice problem book, students can create their own quizzes by using the quiz generator. These can be custom quizzes based on things you want to work on.
Finally, students can take a full-length practice exam to test their knowledge. The one downfall of PPI is that there is usually only 1 full-length exam included in the course.
Best Features of PPI - Expert lecturers and custom practice quizzes.
Rating:
Bottom Line
PPI is a solid option. Course has some nice features and expert lecturers teaching.
EET Review
- Test-Guide Rating:
- Price: Starting at $550
EET Feature Summary
-
Price
- One of the cheaper PE exam review courses we looked at. Great price point.
-
# of Offerings
- Only offers review materials for the PE civil exam.
-
Content
- 100+ hours of lectures, quizzes, workshops, and more.
-
Questions
- Questions included in the course as well as a full-length practice exam.
EET Pros and Cons
-
Pros
- Number of lecture hours
- Email instructor feature
- -
-
Cons
- Only offered for PE civil exam
- -
- -
EET Summary
Engineering Education and Training (EET) does not have a ton of options in terms of PE exam review courses – in fact, they only have one.
EET offers a prep course for the PE civil exam. They offer specific courses for the depth sections of the exam too, which include:
- Construction
- Geotechnical
- Structural
- Transportation
- Water & Environment
Students can choose between an on-demand version of the prep course or a live online version (webinar). The on-demand course will run $550 and the webinar course will run $600.
Students who choose to enroll in the on-demand version will have access to 100+ hours of recorded lectures, quizzes, workshops, and a full-length practice exam for the breadth section and the depth section.
All of the lecture recordings are from last season, so you can be confident that the videos are up to date. In addition to the lecture videos, students will also receive an updated printed binder with a ton of materials.
EET offers problem solving workshop sessions for students to learn various skills and tactics to solve problems they may face on the exam or in a real-world application.
If students have any questions, they can reach out to their instructors via email and get any questions they may have answered.
Best Features of EET - Number of lecture hours and ability to email instructors.
Rating:
Bottom Line
EET is a solid option but the fact that they only offer review courses for PE civil exam is tough.
Capstone Review
- Test-Guide Rating:
- Price: Starting at $699
Capstone Feature Summary
-
Price
- One of the cheaper PE exam review courses we looked at.
-
# of Offerings
- Offers prep courses for some of the main PE exams, but not all of them.
-
Content
- Offers narrated instruction on all courses. Not very interactive.
-
Questions
- Little light in terms of number of practice questions offered.
Capstone Pros and Cons
-
Pros
- Unlimited subscription
- -
- -
-
Cons
- Not a ton of practice questions
- Boring lectures
- -
Capstone Summary
Capstone makes their offerings simple – they only offer on-demand PE exam review courses. While they do not offer review courses for every PE exam, they do have a couple of different options:
- PE Chemical
- PE Mechanical
- PE Thermal and Fluid
- PE Civil Structural
All of the courses are offered for $699 and have an unlimited subscription.
The dashboard will be one of the first things a student views when jumping into the course. On the dashboard, students will be able to see tasks they have not viewed yet, tasks that are in progress, and tasks that are completed. This dashboard helps students stay on track.
Students will learn everything through the narrated instruction. We hesitate to call these video lectures as they consist of an instructor talking over slides. There are not really any interactive elements to the slides either besides the occasional highlighted box appearing.
The narrated instruction can get boring, but the information is helpful, and students can definitely benefit from the lectures. There is also a transcript to the right of the lectures so students can read along if they want to.
Overall, the course feels somewhat outdated in terms of course layout and the lecture videos. With that being said, not everyone may be able to spend the money for a top PE review course.
Best Feature of Capstone – Unlimited subscription.
Rating:
Bottom Line
Capstone feels a bit outdated in terms of the course layout and the lecture videos. You get what you pay for with this course.
PE Exam Review Course FAQs
Which PE review course is the best?
Our team took a look at a bunch of different courses to find the best PE review courses:
- School of PE
- PPI
- EET
- Capstone
Read more about each provider to find the best option for you.
How many months should I study for PE?
If you are working a full-time job while studying, you may need 3-4 months to study for the exam.
If you have some free time, you may be able to get away with studying really hard for a month or so.
Is a PE exam prep course worth it?
Some individuals may decide to self-study. This can be done, but comes with headaches and you may miss out on some key information.
Many people are not aware that their employer may pay for their prep materials, so it may be worth asking your employer if they will cover the costs of a PE review course.
