PS review materials...

http://www.amazon.com/Surveying-Solved-Problems-Jan-Sickle/dp/1591264871/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1440362236&sr=8-2&keywords=jan+van+sickle&apos ;">Surveying Solved Problems

http://www.amazon.com/GPS-Land-Surveyors-Fourth-Sickle/dp/146658310X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1440362236&sr=8-1&keywords=jan+van+sickle&apos ;">GPS for Land Surveyors

both by Jan van Sickle. Don't let the title of that 2nd one fool you. It's as much about Geodetic Surveying as it is about GPS specifically.

I'd also acquire a general Surveying Text such as Wolf & Ghilani's http://www.amazon.com/Elementary-Surveying-14th-Charles-Ghilani/dp/0133758885/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1440362577&sr=8-1&keywords=ghilani+elementary+surveying+14th+pearson&apos ;">Elementary Surveying. You probably http://www.amazon.com/Elementary-Surveying-Introduction-Geomatics-Edition/dp/0132554348/ref=pd_cp_14_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=07SXK0W8XJMG9D49GD43&apos ;">don't need the very latest edition. Used copies of older edition are available on Alibris.com.

With regards to the Browns'. First there was Boundary Control & Legal Principles and Evidence and Procedures for Boundary Location by Curtis Brown. More recent editions are now known as Brown's Boundary Control ... and Brown's Evidence and Procedures .... by Walt Robillard. IMO that is no coincidence. They are quite different books, and there is nothing wrong with the early editions. Robilllard has simply added more and more detail, which some might consider minutae. Minutae that isn't likely to be on the PS exam. Copies of early editions can be had from Alibris for a buck, plus shipping. I think it might be worth your time to get your hands on a copies. I have space for both the old editions and the latest on my shelf.

Get the BLM circulars and definitions down. There was nothing earth shattering on the PLSS when I took the nationals, but you needed to know the basics fairly well.

vplayer, post: 333152, member: 9292 wrote: I've tried getting familiar with the supplied NCEES reference handbook but there's so much technical info and standards that I'm probably sure I won't be using all of it (I hope) for the exam.

You'd better rethink that. Disregarding the review materials published by the outfit that prepares and grades the exam (or a large portion of it) is a serious mistake. You had better learn those standards and that technical info if you expect to pass other than by dumb luck.

vplayer, post: 333152, member: 9292 wrote: My concern is that I should probably have more study materials than these 2 books and was wondering if I need something more to get ready for the exam.

If you are in a PLSS state, you will certainly need the BLM materials bionicman mentions. Mark's advice is right on. If you are taking the state-specific portion as well as the national portions, you will need to be very familiar with the laws of your state governing boundaries and the practice of surveying - that includes the statutes and the regulations or administrative code (depending upon what your state refers to them as).

vplayer, post: 333152, member: 9292 wrote: I also found http://www.capstonelearningassociates.com/&apos ;">this website which seems to cover the FE/PE review materials "well enough"; why isn't there a similar website for the surveying exams? If you guys know of seminars regarding the PS exam let me know, I'll travel anywhere it's offered and take it as long as it gets me more prepared for the exam. 😀

They are out there, but since the practice of surveying is much more state-specific than is engineering, you need to look more locally for specific review materials. I see that the banner at the bottom of this page is currently flashing an ad for PPI (Power to Pass). You can get good general references there, and I'll bet that they have particular study bundles of references. Check with your state society and its local chapters. Many conduct review classes leading up to the exam date. Do a google search with the terms survey, exam, study, and the name of your state. If there are outfits that host review seminars or publish materials specific to your state, they should pop up.

[USER=424]@Mark Mayer[/USER]

Forgot to say that I do have GPS for Land Surveyors, 3rd Edition. It's a great book, hopefully this edition shouldn't be too different from the 4th. Surveying Solved Problems seems to be the new version of 1001, I'll take a look a this. Thank you!

[USER=8136]@thebionicman[/USER]

Thanks for the heads up!

eapls2708, post: 333331, member: 589 wrote: You'd better rethink that. Disregarding the review materials published by the outfit that prepares and grades the exam (or a large portion of it) is a serious mistake. You had better learn those standards and that technical info if you expect to pass other than by dumb luck.

This is definitely something I should pay more attention to. I do remember getting very familiar with the reference sheet for the FS and that really helped. In this case though it's more about getting familiar with the whole reference book and know where to look at during the exam because this is more about numerical data, standards, etc which is easy to forget.

eapls2708, post: 333331, member: 589 wrote: If you are in a PLSS state, you will certainly need the BLM materials bionicman mentions. Mark's advice is right on. If you are taking the state-specific portion as well as the national portions, you will need to be very familiar with the laws of your state governing boundaries and the practice of surveying - that includes the statutes and the regulations or administrative code (depending upon what your state refers to them as).

They are out there, but since the practice of surveying is much more state-specific than is engineering, you need to look more locally for specific review materials. I see that the banner at the bottom of this page is currently flashing an ad for PPI (Power to Pass). You can get good general references there, and I'll bet that they have particular study bundles of references. Check with your state society and its local chapters. Many conduct review classes leading up to the exam date. Do a google search with the terms survey, exam, study, and the name of your state. If there are outfits that host review seminars or publish materials specific to your state, they should pop up.

The minor detail I'm facing is that I live in Puerto Rico. Since it is a US territory, we have to take both FS and PS exams to become licensed and there's no state-specific portion. Seminars for the exams are rare and they're usually offered in some universities if there's a big popular petition for them. Thanks again for the PPI link, there's some good stuff in here. I'll report back after the exam results.

I'm also sitting for the national exam this October. Initially I had ordered the NCEES practice booklet for the PS exam. I blew through these practice questions pretty quickly and was mostly underwhelmed. I did like that It had a pretty extensive list of reference material which is associated to each question in the answer key.

Looking around afterwards, I found George Cole's first and second edition of the Principles and Practices of Surveying Sample Exams offered by PPI. I feel these two booklets are more in line with what I expect from the exam. I suppose we'll see at test time which is more representative. Good luck on your exam vplayer!

Most folks do a great job of finding materials and studying up. Refresh your algebra skills as well.
I strongly suggest you put away all but the calculator you will take the test with. My last exam I had switched from the 11c to the 35s 6 months before the test. I can safely say it wasn't long enough. Finger memory cost me 15 minutes on a simple 4 point traverse and intersection problem. Lucky for me the license didn't mention that...

I studied all of the above for both exams. Great references. Worked the 1001 problems probably 1001 times, that helped a bunch with the fundementals exam. The PS contained a lot of the regulations, theory, etc. Best of luck

Wow I'm surprised that alone has kept you busy since last Nov...

I too am studying for October.

I just took the FS in April and passed first shot. I didn't go to school for this so I was learning a lot from scratch and did it on my own.

Yes reading books is helpful. Evidence and Procedure etc... but that really doesn't do the trick for me. Only so much that sticks from reading a book.

Get yourself the above mentioned 1001 FS & PS Problems book by ppi. Also the Surveyors reference manual by ppi. Expensive but worth reading through.

Get the Land Survey Review Manual written by Buckner. If you don't, you are doing yourself and injustice.

Start with Buckner. Read the sections and do the quizzes. Each night read a new sections and do the new quiz and afterward redo the quiz from a few nights before so it sticks.

Then do the 1001 questions book. Topics needed help refer to the ppi reference manual. Read topics that are troubling or need info on.

Take the ncees practice exam.

Then take a week to review topics you think you scored weak in.

Take the PPI practice exam.

Follow this and you will be ready.

Also, not sure about you, but when I took the FS in April it seemed VERY definition heavy. Only had a couple math related problems. I assume this will be very similar. So flash cards are key. Anytime I get a new term or word, I throw it on a card with meaning on back and I put it in my card box. Each night grab a handful and go through them.

Thanks for the info, everyone. Also, [USER=7960]@Bfarmer[/USER]: thank you, and same to you!

Rich: Just been busy since Nov and haven't had much time for anything, so I'm clutching at straws now that I decided to take it for this Oct. Whatever happens, the test will be the best review material.

I got both of those practice exams a few weeks ago and have been studying more or less like how you do. For most graphical problems I've been replicating them on ACAD to better visualize them and recheck for computations with distances, coordinates, angles, etc.

I took the PS in 2013 and passed. I used my calculator three, maybe four times and mostly for all the PLSS junk that I will be glad to retire to trivia portion of my memory since I live and work in NC. Be sure to familiarize yourself with all the different accuracy standards from various federal organizations. Most of them were in the supplied reference material, but I hate to admit that I was asked about vertical and horizontal accuracy standards from organization I had never heard of.

I passed all my exams by having a rock solid understanding of all the legal principals. I didn't just read Brown et al, I highlighted pertinent passages, rewrote some of them as writing things out helps most people's memories, and I tabbed all my books for future use.

For the FS, I worked through numerous practice tests and felt this helped me most. I tried this same approach with the PS with the Van Sickle book of problems and found that I wasted a lot of studying time on calculation problems. If you own all the info in Brown, and have a lick of common sense, you will pass.

I used the 1001 Solved Surveying Fundamentals Problems book for study back in '98 when I wrote. It was great. But it's out of date and out of print now. Do not pay the $300 - $500 being asked for it on Amazon.

The same author has rewritten and renamed the book Surveying Solved Problems for the FS and PS Exams. Go for that.

[USER=9787]@Murphy[/USER] Thanks for the advice, you were definitely right. Just took the PS this morning/afternoon and I feel the FS was a much harder exam. Left the testing center very positive but the wait is gonna kill me, we never know for sure until we see either the pass/fail letters on NCEES website! How did everyone do?

I'm glad I could help. My guess is that if you left the exam feeling good then you passed it.

+1 for Surveying Solved Problems as Mr. Mayer points out. Know that inside and out. It will help you discover your weak spots.

Not sure how it is now but when I took it you know whether or not you passed based on the size envelope you get in the mail.

Murphy, post: 342500, member: 9787 wrote: I'm glad I could help. My guess is that if you left the exam feeling good then you passed it.

Thanks. I also used the calc like 5 times throughout the test. I wish I could've been more prepared with the Reference sheet for all the FEMA and FGCS stuff but it was only a minor annoyance as I wasted a bit of time looking for the info. I only had to guess on two questions but the rest wasn't otherworldly. The true meat is in Brown's books and I'm glad I spent the time on those books. Only thing left is to wait. :whistle:

I also left today feeling great. I finished the first half in 2.5 hrs and the last part in a bit over an hour. Was much easier than the FS

Unfortunately, the NY Specific exam in the afternoon wasn't so kind....... not sure how I feel I did...

[USER=8900]@Adam[/USER] Oh yeah I heard some of those horror stories during the afternoon break. If the envelope is thick it screams trouble.

[USER=8900]@Adam[/USER]
Heard that one during the afternoon break. If the envelope is thick it screams trouble.

[USER=10450]@Rich.[/USER]
Nice to hear about the positive feeling. Is the NY SS closed-book as well?