1) UNDERSTANDING FUNDAMENTALS: Dr. Tom and the other DTC Mechanical instructors start each topic with a review of the essential fundamental concepts you will need to understand to be able solve problems on the exam. Short video lessons teach you the fundamentals, then give you examples of how to solve related exam problems. 

The courses are comprehensive, and while topics are aligned with the exam specifications, they are taught in a logical, instructional order to improve your comprehension. Your instructors are also available to answer your questions about course content via our Participant Forums. 

“The beauty of Dr. Tom’s Classroom is they do not assume pre-requisite knowledge; every topic is stripped to bedrock and then built back up utilizing his method. Using his course, I was able to pass the PE on the first try amid Covid-19, working a full-time engineering position, raising two children under three, while also enrolled in an engineering masters curriculum.”
 – Aldo Leon II, PE, Entergy Nuclear, New Orleans, Louisiana

2) PROBLEM RECOGNITION & LOTS OF PRACTICE: To be successful on the exam, you need to be familiar with the right problems, learn how to recognize them, and have a method to quickly solve them on exam day. The Dr. Tom Method teaches the fundamentals of topics presented in a way to build your knowledge base and help you learn to identify problem types quickly. And the course material is targeted specifically to material that will be seen on the exam. If it’s not going to be on the exam, you’re not going to waste time learning it. 

“I had taken the PE twice before, and my biggest concern was problem identification and time management. I knew that these two strategies are critical to passing. It was apparent early on in Dr. Tom’s 20-Week Review course that problem identification was one of the main focuses. I was able to identify problem types significantly faster than before. I believe this was the main reason I passed.” 

– William Allred, PE, LEED AP BD+C, RS&H, Merritt Island, Florida

The Dr. Tom Method provides you with numerous practice problems for you to solve throughout the course including: practice problems for every lesson, assigned NCEES Practice Exam problems, more complex challenge problems, weekly assessment problems, and multiple, timed practice exams. This combination of problems is designed to teach you an efficient way to solve problems, and then build your confidence in using that method in an exam-type setting. So lots of doing. By the end of the course, you will be ready for the exam. 

“I found the practice tests to be excellent preparation for the exam and my review was focused in exactly the right areas. Since this course prepared me so well, I found the actual test to be easier than expected and I had ample time to complete it.”
– Kate Patterson, Piedmont Service Group, Raleigh NC

3) CONSISTENT SOLUTIONS – ONE WAY TO SOLVE A PROBLEM:  The Dr. Tom Method teaches a selected method of solving problems that can be applied across classes of problems. By following Dr. Tom’s approach to a problem, you will have fewer equations to become familiar with and you will have less decision making to do during the exam.

“After completing the 20-Week Course, I felt extremely confident and prepared walking in to the exam. Using the methods taught by DTC, exam questions never felt overwhelming and I had all the tools required to quickly solve them.”
– Thomas Gresko, P.E., Valdes Engineering Company, Griffith, Indiana

4) REFERENCE MANAGEMENT: FAMILIARITY WITH REFERENCE HANDBOOK: The Dr. Tom Method also provides you with a system to become intimately familiar with onscreen NCEES Reference Handbook you will have available as your only resource during the exam, and to help compensate for the rather substantial gaps it has. 

“On exam day, I felt prepared because I was confident in my ability to employ the DTC method as well as being able to quickly find items in the Reference Handbook.”
– Nick Bernal, Fontana, California

5) EXAM DAY STRATEGY: The Dr. Tom Method gives you a problem-solving strategy that involves identifying “low hanging fruit,” or problems that are familiar and can be solved quickly, to work first, and leaving overly complex or completely unfamiliar problems to attempt only after all others have been answered.

“On exam day, I felt prepared because I was confident in my ability to employ the DTC Method. The exam was tough, and there were a number of problems that caught me off guard, but I stuck to my plan and made sure to skip the tough problems in favor of solving familiar problems first. With this method, I was able to provide an answer for every problem in the exam and I even had some time to spare so I could check my work.”
– Nick Bernal, Fontana, California

The bottom line – you are unlikely to be able to quickly solve a problem that is completely unfamiliar to you, but after taking a DTC review, you will have a wealth of carefully chosen problems that are likely to be on the exam, and those problems will be very familiar to you. You will know how to solve them, and you will have the ability to quickly access the information you need in the NCEES Handbook to solve them. And you will have a strategy to make the best use of your time by focusing on familiar problems first. Those are your superpowers!