I'm a PE with about 9 years of experience in municipal government and I've been thinking about sitting the CME exam this fall. I've found surprisingly little information about the actual format online — most of what I can find is outdated or vague about question count and time limits. Does anyone know if it's still a 100-question exam or if APWA changed the format?
My main concern is the breadth of content. The study guide covers public works administration, finance, engineering design, operations, and maintenance — that's a wide spread for a single exam. I've got strong field experience but my finance and budgeting knowledge is probably my weakest area. I was planning on about 8 weeks of study at 1.5 hours a day, but I honestly don't know if that's enough.
I've heard from one colleague who passed on his second attempt that he severely underestimated the finance questions the first time. Apparently around 20–25% of the exam leans on budgeting, procurement, and cost analysis. Is that consistent with what others have experienced?
Also wondering about the pass rate. APWA doesn't publish it prominently, but I've seen informal estimates in the 60–70% range. Does that match what people are seeing in practice?
My weak spot was infrastructure asset management — I thought I knew it from field work but the exam tests it at a policy and planning level. Reviewing the APWA Body of Knowledge document before finalizing your study plan is worth the time.
8 weeks at 1.5 hours a day is reasonable — I did 10 weeks at a similar pace and felt well-prepared. Make sure you're using the official APWA reference materials, not just generic study guides, because the terminology can be very APWA-specific.
The 60–70% pass rate sounds about right from what I've heard through APWA chapter meetings. It rewards people with broad experience rather than deep specialization in one area, so your 9 years across municipal work is an asset.
It's still 100 questions with a 3-hour window as of my sitting last year. The finance section is definitely not something you can wing — I spent about 30% of my study time specifically there and I think that's what got me over the line on the first attempt.