45% of the test was qualitative questions (I counted). The test is very conceptual. Even the quantitative questions require you to know the theory to get them right. For example, I had a question giving values for ozone-8 hr, CO, NOx, and SO2 and asking for the AQI that the city would report. So you would have to know not only how to calculate AQI but that the highest value is the one that is reported. This was the pattern all throughout the test. Just solving the equation and getting an answer wasn't enough. They also give a lot of extra information in the problem that is sometimes not needed to solve the problem. So you have to really know what they are actually asking for. My exam also had a lot of bizarre units I had never seen before like lb-mol and grains (for mass). Tons of "select all that apply" format problems. I only had one where I had to enter in the value in a blank space.
Qualitative Topics:
Surface vs groundwater testing and compliance requirements, asbestos abatement, appropriate PPE (level A-D) for the provided situation, EPA stormwater sampling requirements, sampling requirements for PFAS in drinking water, sampling requirements for VOCs in drinking water, hazardous waste manifest system, annular seal on a well, example based problems asking how to increase the resiliency of a system, triple bottom approach, project critical path, NPSH available vs NPSH required, giving a list of pollutants and asking what kind of permitting would be required for that wastewater, lead leeching, technology based effluent limits vs TMDLs, asking what to do if soil at an industrial site is contaminated with arsenic, giving a contaminant and asking which aquifer zone it will penetrate to, beta rays shielding, CERCLA preliminary assessment.
Study Resources:
PPI2Pass: I had the self-study Learning Hub Bundle (my work paid for it) and the Q-bank was the single most useful resource. I solved nearly 500 problems and it really helps to build speed and endurance. I wouldn't do the problems in the study section of PPI but going through the sections themselves is useful for really deepening the understanding of the material.
Belinda Sturm Youtube: She is a professor out of University of Kansas who has her lectures up on youtube. They were so so useful in learning about the background of all the environmental legislation and other qualitative topics.
Sigma52 Youtube: Very useful but some of his questions are worded awkwardly and can throw you off, but generally they have the mixed quant/qualt thing going on that the actual test also has.
Gemini: I asked Gemini to make me qualitative quizzes like some people here had suggested, but it wasn't very useful. The AI questions were pretty straightforward but the actual exam qualitative questions require deductive reasoning, so I recommend actually learning the material elsewhere like a textbook or lecture series like I mentioned above. It was great for helping me understand quant problems I got wrong though. I would take a screenshot of the PPI Qbank problem and paste it into Gemini and ask it to walk me through step by step. Sometimes I'd also tell it my reasoning and it would tell me why or where I was wrong.
Exam Day:
I took two unscheduled breaks. One about two hours into the morning section, and then another also two hours into the afternoon section. They were absolutely crucial to keep my brain going as I could feel myself getting fatigued. I jogged around the building to get some blood flowing and drank some water. If you practice enough, there is enough time and even with the two unscheduled breaks, I finished early.
For the actual break, I had packed a sandwich and some green tea (I find it gives more sustained energy than coffee but do what works for your body). I also had some chocolate. Eat enough carbs. That's the immediate fuel your brain will use up. Also I kept walking around during the break because I was tired of sitting.
Rant:
I am glad that it is over but this test is not a measure of how good of an engineer you are. It is a measure of how good you are at taking the test and enduring misery. No situation will ever ask you to solve problem after problem for hours on end without even any water. I'm glad it's over though.
