Experience of passing the cost engineer exam on the first try (referral from a friend)

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Experience of passing the Cost Engineer exam on the first try (based on a friend’s experience). Although not many people take this exam here, I still hope it can serve as a reference for everyone taking various exams! To become a cost engineer, one must first understand the following points. 1. This is a professional qualification exam, not a selective or elimination-based exam; passing it is sufficient, so there’s no need to set overly high expectations. 2. Requirements for registering for the exam, exam subjects, scores, and the approximate passing score each year, exam dates, question types for each subject, and time allowed to answer questions. For these items related to Noroso, if anything is still unclear, please look for relevant information on the forum. # G% X5 x$ B6 l( m6 t6 v9 ~) V 3: It’s important to understand that there’s no need to master every single concept presented in the book, nor is it necessary to read every chapter. Most of those who write books are university professors, and when they do so they focus on ensuring the completeness of the knowledge presented as well as the coherence of its structural framework. As a result, there’s a lot of information in these books that isn’t necessary to read, or that doesn’t need to be understood. For example, in the book \"Pricing and Control,\" there is a table outlining the characteristics of several typical international contracts; it’s highly unlikely that such information will be tested, as the focus of that chapter is on the differences between domestic contract templates and FIDIC standards. If an examiner were to include questions based on the information in that table, they would first have to consider whether they might be laughed at by their domestic colleagues. For another example, “Relevant” contains a table that illustrates the application of the Analytic Hierarchy Process in value engineering; there are very few people among my current graduate students who can understand the Analytic Hierarchy Process. Besides, “Related” is also a multiple-choice question. There is also some knowledge related to case studies. Many people are still emphasizing the key points related to the combined calculation of the three tables – could this be part of the exam? Take a look at 04. You’ll know the questions for 05 then. Even accountants may not fully understand it, so we shouldn’t waste time on that. One last thing to mention is those topics that won’t be tested; by going to training classes and listening to the teacher highlight the key points, it’s very likely that 90% of the things the teacher doesn’t cover won’t appear in the exam. ' \* ^4 g4 l! y 1. Registration ‘S’ e# |& f# I! B4 ~ Why is registration listed first? I’m not explaining how to register; I just think that only by knowing which exams you’re taking can you start preparing or determine what’s most important for you. As far as I know, there are three strategies for registration: 1. Don’t register for all courses at once; start with easier ones and move on to more difficult ones. Register for 2–3 courses in the first year and save the case studies for the last session. This gradual approach makes sense, but as we all know, case studies and quantitative analysis are quite challenging. If you fail in those subjects in the second year, then all those earlier attempts will have been in vain. ( s’ Y2 e% _! k! d. e. } 2. First, present the case studies and then discuss other things; this is the view of a person at the chief engineer level that I encountered in a training course. Since case studies are the most difficult, I am determined to overcome them this year. Once the hardest ones are dealt with, the rest will be relatively easy. For 1 E4 with all 3 or 4 doors to be reported, two factors need to be considered: whether one has the energy to handle all 4 doors at once, or whether it’s better to give up on 1-2 of them for now and report them later. Those who choose to take the exam do so both out of a sense of luck and because they have the necessary skills. If one really thinks that this exam isn’t a big deal or that time isn’t an issue, it’s best to take it ； If you realize that you don’t have enough time, you need to consider whether to do this or not; after all, spending time on one subject will inevitably reduce the time available for other subjects, which could cause problems if you fail the last one. So everyone should make a decision based on their own circumstances; don’t think that just because others can take 4 courses at once, you can do the same, nor think it’s impossible – that you definitely can’t take 4 courses at once. 0 D5 j4 u’ a: @ II. There are 4 courses; “Relevance” is closely related to the other courses, “Measurement” forms an almost independent system on its own, and “Cases” requires knowledge from the first 3 courses. So there’s no need to rush into looking at the examples; you can take a look later to see which knowledge points from the first three subjects he used, and just pay more attention to those when studying the first three subjects. 9 G7 e9 S6 e, t g( y. q A review plan is definitely necessary; determine how many chapters and pages each subject covers, plan the time you will devote to reviewing, as well as the time you have available, and then create a review plan. It’s best to read the textbooks thoroughly during the first round of review, so as to understand what knowledge each course covers, what topics are discussed in each section, and what tasks these concepts correspond to in actual work as a cost engineer (this will help you feel more confident about the exam). Additionally, create an outline of the main points for each course. For example, \"Relevant Topics\" covers some of the basic knowledge that cost engineers need in their practical work, including information related to professional qualifications, fundamentals of engineering economics, basics of financial management, basics of project management, as well as relevant laws and regulations. Well, that’s all there is to the first book’s chapters; thus, one can get an idea of what the content of the entire book entails. \"Accounting and Control\" introduces the principles and methods of valuation; the first chapters cover these valuation principles, while the subsequent chapters follow the project development process in construction, from decision-making and feasibility studies to design, construction, acceptance, and the formation of assets – thus providing a clear structure for the book. I won’t go into the rest; everyone can also draw their own conclusions. + O5 B9 N2 N1 P: For the first round of review, one needs to understand the specific requirements for each course – by looking at the syllabus to see what needs to be mastered, what needs to be understood, and what just needs to be known. This gives a clear direction. Before starting the second round of review, it’s advisable to go through past exam papers to identify the key topics covered, so as to pay more attention to them during the review process. Let’s use an example to illustrate this. There are 6 questions each year, and no matter how they change, it seems that there are always questions related to bidding and tendering, as well as questions on claims. So these must be topics that are tested every year. But what exactly is required to be tested? The bidding procedures and the regulations regarding time limits need to be thoroughly understood when studying the relevant sections in \"Planning and Control\". After going through it a second time, you will know which parts are the key points and which ones are the difficult parts. ' I# L( O) f) v must make sure to understand the key concepts during the second round of review. It’s not nonsense; there’s an explanation below. ' Q: Q+ M’ b+ ?/ { After the second attempt, I think it’s okay to take the actual exam questions from before and work on them, as well as look at some practice questions from supplementary materials; the goal is mainly to assess my grasp of the various concepts and identify any areas that need improvement. One can also check whether they have truly understood the things that need to be grasped on the second attempt, such as claims. The question will specify how many machines of each type there are and how many workers are involved; it’s important to figure out when labor costs should be calculated based on lost working time and when they should be calculated using a daily rate. In some sub-questions, a power outage leads to lost working time, and some people only calculate the cost associated with that lost time, forgetting that there are still machines at the site that also need to have their costs taken into account. This results in incorrect calculations, even though one might think they have done it right. This type of question appeared in the 2005 “Computational Control” exam. Reviewing the possible test topics before the exam is also important; especially for some of the potential test points related to \"Measurement\", which are difficult to remember on a regular basis. Strengthening memory before the exam can therefore be an effective strategy for taking the test. 7 a# @! k! h+ ] k III. Tutoring classes and materials (1) As for whether enrolling in a class is useful, I can’t give a definite answer, as there are so many classes available these days, and it’s inevitable that some of them may not be of good quality. However, I think it’s necessary to enroll in legitimate classes. Because I have some connection with the cost estimation center at Tianjin University of Technology. I attended their training courses before the exam (this is definitely not advertising; those who work in cost estimation should be aware of their capabilities; their website is www.tccce.com). As mentioned earlier, I also answered questions for some of their students. The advantages of attending training courses are as follows: 7 Q6 `9 m' ^0 P; X9 L5 q6 k 1. You can learn from the instructors about the key topics that need to be covered, and thus know which things don’t require much effort on your part to understand, after all, our time is limited. It’s better to have a teacher go through it with you than to figure it out on your own. & }1 a4 h! z+ g5 n! Z( F 2. Communicate with teachers and classmates, and you can also resolve the doubts that arise during your regular studies. + c" f5 s- c7 3. Learn* some answering techniques. Whether it’s case studies or related topics, teachers will explain some techniques and methods for answering questions. Some teachers also participate in the marking process each year, so they know what mistakes we often make; they can remind us of these mistakes and show us how to answer questions in order to earn points based on the standard answers. Especially with case studies, scoring is generally based on the steps taken – if you only provide the correct result without showing the steps, you might lose 2/3 of the points available for those steps. There are many similar situations. ) q: g9 ]) k+ B/ ^ 4. Meet some friends; who knows, you might need their help one day. ; _' C) C) S+ ~ 5. If you’re lucky, you might be able to meet some graduate students or teachers from the cost estimation department. 7 F% L! B# F9 \3 X/ H (II) Tutoring materials: Before starting this, I would like to state once again that I have no intention of promoting the cost estimation center; the materials I use are all obtained from there, and I haven’t used any others. Many netizens have also said that their materials are good quality. : }’ Supplementary study materials can make up for the inconvenience of not being able to attend training classes. The books organize the knowledge points together, tell you about the possible exam topics and key points, and come with practice questions – making them a great tool for filling in knowledge gaps. If anyone needs them, I can recommend where to find these materials. For my exams on “Relevant Topics” and case studies, I used their guides; I didn’t have time to work on the other two subjects, so I didn’t use any materials for them. I know that there were many original questions or similar ones in the exams related to those topics. 3 W3 P8 c& I" t4 X! v) Y( g Of course, many candidates say that it’s possible to pass the exam without attending training courses or buying any study materials; I won’t argue with that, as after all this is just a qualifying exam. But consider whether the money you save is worth the time you waste – after all, we candidates work in the field of cost estimation, and our job is to achieve low costs, satisfactory quality, and appropriate project timelines. IV. Exams: I’ve said it several times already – exams are of a testing nature; we’re all being put to the test, and everyone is familiar with various tricks and shortcuts people use. I won’t go into detail about those, as they aren’t a difficult challenge for anyone. But still, one shouldn’t take it lightly either. It’s important to find some real exam questions or practice tests before the exam to work on one’s speed and accuracy in answering questions. Especially for case studies, it’s necessary to find a “scoring guide” to understand how points worth 0.5 or 2 points are assigned, and what the key points for answering are. Many people write long answers to multiple-choice questions, but fail to score points – and that’s precisely why. (Some of the above information comes from discussions with teachers who grade exams; I’m not aware of the exact details.) For the objective questions (that is, the first three subjects), after completing them the first time, tally up the scores for those questions on which you are very confident. See how far you are from the passing mark (which is around 60% every year). If you have already passed those questions, there’s no need to spend more time struggling over them; move on to the next set of questions instead – you might come across a few easier ones. For multiple-choice questions, it’s okay to guess (no points will be deducted for wrong answers); never leave them blank. For multiple-select questions, try not to select too many options, especially those you’re not sure about – choosing the wrong option in such cases means losing all points. If you don’t select all the correct options, you can still get 0.5 points per question. In this year’s exam on metrology, there was a question related to this topic. I also want to emphasize that when answering questions, be sure to read carefully the requirements on the test paper regarding what needs to be filled in on the answer sheet. Many people failed to pay attention to the requirements regarding the subject codes, thus wasting their effort. Additionally, pay attention to whether the question numbers on the answer sheet are arranged horizontally or vertically. When answering case-based questions, try to write neatly and clearly outline each step. For calculations, it’s best to follow a format of \"apply the formula – insert the data – show the calculation process – state the answer.\" This way, even if the final result is incorrect, you may still get points for the intermediate steps. When answering case questions, do not use correction fluid, as it may be considered cheating. It’s a long, tedious explanation that lacks organization; let’s waste a little time on it as a way to relax between studying. Only one option was chosen; although I knew that at least two were correct, I wasn’t sure enough, so I had to go with the option that gave the highest score! This post was last edited by West Evil Ouyang Feng on 2009-2-10 19:20.]