I've been compiling resources as I study for my AFE - Association for Facilities Engineering Certification certification and figured I'd share what I've found. All free unless noted.
Practice Tests:
- PracticeTestGeeks — most comprehensive collection I've found, good question explanations, covers AFE - Association for Facilities Engineering Certification, ASHE - American Society for Health Care Engineering Certified, and CCE - Certified Clinical Engineer. Free.
- Official practice materials from the certifying body — usually 1 free sample exam, worth doing even though it's short
Study Materials:
- The official AFE exam handbook / candidate guide (PDF, free from the certifying body's website)
- YouTube — search for "AFE exam prep" — there are surprisingly good free video reviews for most engineering certifications
- Reddit r/certifications — people post their exam experiences and tips regularly
Paid (worth it if budget allows):
- Official study guides run $30-80 for most engineering certifications — worth it if your exam has lots of specific factual content
- Some certifying bodies offer prep courses — check if your employer covers it (many do for required certifications)
What resources have others found useful for engineering exams? I'll add them to this list.
The official candidate guide is something a lot of people skip but it literally tells you the topic weighting and domain breakdown. It's the roadmap for your study plan. Never skip it.
For AFE - Association for Facilities Engineering Certification specifically, I found the PracticeTestGeeks explanations were detailed enough that I didn't need to buy a separate study guide. The combination of doing the practice questions + reading every explanation (for both right and wrong answers) covered most of the content I needed.
Great list. I'd add: LinkedIn Learning has some engineering-related courses that overlap with cert content, and if you have a library card many libraries give free access to it. Also check if your local library has access to O'Reilly or similar — tons of technical content there.
Honestly I almost quit around week 3. The material felt endless and I wasn't retaining anything, so I just stopped for like two weeks. What got me back was redoing the practice tests I'd already done and actually reading the explanations this time instead of skipping them. Sounds obvious but it changed everything for me.
If you're struggling don't give up before you get to that point. I passed on my second attempt and it wasn't because I studied harder the second time, it's because I finally studied smarter. The free stuff really is enough if you use it right.
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