LSIT Preparation

[DerekHouston]

Hello and my apologies for the forthcoming question:

I am about to take the LSIT for the first time. I recently purchased the NCEES manual, downloaded the Study Prep from CalTrans, and picked up some books about all general aspects; but I feel that there is more that I would need and that despite all of the guides I have found, I still have no idea what to put emphasis on the material. Is there any advice about the LSIT that I could use for better preparation?

[E_Page]

There are several review manuals, most of which are marketed as LS review, but are at least as applicable to the LSIT. I found Ben Buckner's Land Survey Review Manual to be very helpful.

[rpost]

It has been a few years since I took the LSIT, but these are the text books that really helped me. You need all of them.

Surveyor Reference Manual (LSRM5), 5th Edition with E-Book
Surveying Solved Problems for the FS and PS Exams (LSSP3), 3rd Edition
Fundamentals of Surveying Sample Examination (LSSE3), 3rd Edition

Take the Pacific Land Seminars class (worth every dollar), and program your HP 35s with the software by D'zign surveying solutions programs (helps guys like me who can’t remember formulas, and saves time). Learn how to use the software.

Read cover to cover the BLM manual and the survey bible (Boundary Control and Legal Principals, Brown). When you pass you will read them again and again. Get the first reading over with.

Time yourself with the practice test a month or two before. Study your wrong answers. Take it again the week before. You'll most likely find that you don't remember the question specifically but remember how to work the problems.

There will be some random questions on non-surveying related issues. Review basic grammar, seriously!

Keep in mind it is a multiple choice test. All questions should be answered. I personally went through the entire exam answering all of the questions I knew, then spent time addressing the others.

Have fun. Shoot me an email if you need anything else or have questions.

rpost@atcdesigngroup.com

[T. S. Higgins]

When I took my exam in October of '07, I found making sure that you're very well rounded is the best advice I received. There is a lot of varying content, and some of what you cover won't be on the test.

I'm not certain if it's still being offered, but Jerry Miller did a great LSIT seminar in Sacramento through the local chapter just prior to my examination date that was very helpful.

As for immediate help, remember that while testing, you have lots of time if you manage your time correctly. If you find yourself struggling with a problem, move on and come back to it later. There were several problems that I just couldn't remember the formula for when I first encountered them. I moved on and came back later, and the solution was obvious now that I had a second look at it.

When you finish, don't leave early until you've gone over your answers a few times. Use the time at the end to go over your calculations and check your work! If you catch even one error, it might be enough to make the difference.

[E_Page]

Good point, Higgins. The LSIT is by design broad based. Putting "emphasis" on any particular area also implies that you are not giving much attention to other areas.

Remember that the LSIT is for testing para-professional, technical knowledge. It is not a professional level exam. Be familiar with the basics of most facets of surveying and mapping - some boundary, some photogrammetry, GPS and geodetic principles, PLSS and metes & bounds, the very basics of riparian boundaries, construction staking, field calculations and use of commonly used computer software (I've heard of questions regarding use of spreadsheets - no such questions when I took it in early 90s).

Have a basic understanding of these things, a good understanding and familiarity with basic trigonometric formulae, and be very familiar with your calculator and you should do fine.

If you have a couple of years of college and a couple of years experience, the test should be only slightly challenging for you. If you have a couple of years of broad based experience but little or no related education, it should be challenging but not unduly so. If you have only a couple years of narrow experience, well, it would not be unreasonable to expect to have to take it again after gaining more education and/or experience. It will be doable, but tough.

[David Anaya]

All the advice given really help. What helped me was to have 2 basic courses in land surveying at least, that more than anything helped me the most. I can also vouch for Jerry Miller's work shop or other workshops given. I was fortunate enough to have my old company flip the bill for three of us to attend and the advice and instruction proved invaluable, such as you have less than 3 minutes per question, and that there is one correct question and two possible correct trick answers which is awesome. The last good advice i agree is confidence. One of the guys i was taking the LSIT with walked out of the second session half way due to frustration. Be confident and positive that you can pass and leave the rest to experience and education.

now to find a job with my lsit.....

[Bradley Luken]

In my opinion, the LSIT was the most difficult test I have taken. Like the previous posts have stated, take your time and don't rush. Answer the questions you know and skip the ones you don't. There is no point being stuck on a problem for 10 minutes, if you can't answer it immediately, then come back to it. Like Mr. Anaya stated, confidence is the key, know you will pass and you most likely will.

[E_Page]

Brad,

You must have taken it when you were on the light side of education and experience. I found it to be far easier than I expected and finished it in less than half the allotted time, which gave me time to review my answers as well. That left me with several hours to spend wandering around at the gun show happening the same weekend at the Expo.

[pls7809]

I had the same experience as Bradley. I really felt it was a difficult test. I was still a student, 3rd year, and had one summer of field experience under my belt.

Time management is key. I think I finished each half with about 1/2 hour remaining and had time to go back and look at the tough ones again. I wrote the question numbers on the side of the booklet that I had a tough time with as I was going.

[PLS7393]

Where are you located? Contact your local chapter of CLSA and find the nearest study/review group in your area. Some chapters have LSIT candidats sit with the LS review group cause you will only benefit more if your reviewing with individuals studying for the LS.

[Bradley Luken]

Even,

I guess I felt this was the most difficult test probably because I did very little studying for it (stupid me). Maybe I felt a little over confident because I had finished school and had a few years of experience under my belt. Coming from Indiana, we could not take the LSIT until we had a degree or 8 years experience.

[E_Page]

Yep, lack of studying can offset the advantages of education and experience. I studied expecting an exam as difficult as th LS exam or some of my more difficult college exams. Had I not studied, I'm sure I would have still passed, but I wouldn't have had time to peruse the gun show.

Hmmm, might have saved some money by not studying... not that I'd recommend that course of action.

[pbchief2]

I've taken the test twice, the first in April 2007 and again in April 2009. I passed in 2009 I think there were three factors for me in that. First, during the test I had no time to familiarize myself with the calculator I used, I was lazy and waited till the last minute to order an hp33. Second, I was a bit over confident and had ignored the fact that I was not very well rounded being I had almost exclusively field experience. Third, and this ties back in to reason number two, I rushed thru the exam as if it was a race.

When I passed the test in 2009 I had taken a few classes and attended a seminar by Jerry Miller the year before. I was a bit more relaxed during the exam, which I found challenging but not difficult to complete.

If you take the time to study using some of the materials already listed and already have some schooling and practical experience you will likely pass and be on your way toward the LS exam.

[E_Page]

Ben,

It's interesting and something others thinking of taking the exam should take note of that you characterized your experience as "not very well rounded" because it was almost entirely field experience.

I know that your field experience was gained on a lot of different types of projects and included some time as party chief. If I have it figured right, you had somewhere between 5 and 8 years experience, right?

There are a lot of people who go into the exam with several years of field experience, little or no office experience, and little or no formal survey education thinking that their experience and maybe a little studying should be sufficient to get them through this exam.

I know you to be a pretty intelligent individual with broader than average experience for the amount of experience you have. In your opinion, how much should someone with the level of experience and education you had in 2007 have to study in order to have a reasonable expectation of passing the LSIT on the first attempt? How much per week, how many weeks?

[pbchief2]

Evan,

It is very very dependent on the person taking the exam. For the second exam I studied about an hour or two up to three nights a week for 3 months. I stopped reviewing material a week and a half before the exam and begun to mentally prepare for sitting for the exam so as not to burn out. I spent that time checking my calculators and reflecting on how I wanted to take the exam.

In 2007 I was felt rushed and finished the first half of the exam by 10:30. I had spent a month cramming information into my head, and the last week before the exam doing the entire video prep from Caltrans. I was not prepared in so many ways. My mind was swimming during the exam, add to that I was using a calculator I received in the mail two days before.

If I had to do it again I would taking the practice exam twice. then break down the Caltrans prep course sections into week long study guides. Using that as a base for studying I would spend about three to seven hours a week working through each section.

I think it's a good idea to take the practice exams and continue to focus on the fundamentals, with some small in depth work on special subjects you may not have scored well on. I had colleagues take the test with me in 2009 who put in more study time than I had yet they failed. I also did not enter any programs into my 35, and had practiced working through any type of problem that may have come up.

Ben "where's the work" Sanchez