ELIGIBILITY/EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS:

In order to be eligible for CCP certification you must have least 8 full years of professional
experience, of which up to 4 years may be substituted by a college/university degree. In other
words, if you have a college/university degree of 4 years you need another 4 years of experience
and so on.
 
Related degrees include: engineering, building construction, construction technology, business,
economics, accounting, construction management, architecture, computer science, mathematics,
etc.

EXAM STRUCTURE & FEES

The CCC/CCE exam contains two components: the multiple choice written exam and the 2,500
word technical paper. To pass the exam you must meet the minimum overall score of 70% in
order to successfully pass the exam.
 

1. Technical paper:
The Certification Board recommends your technical paper topic be something with which you are
already familiar, such as a project you have done at work or something in which you have
acquired a great deal of expertise in your professional career. The chosen topic is not as
important as your ability to communicate through your paper. Be sure to follow the
recommendations described in the Certification Paper Requirements guide. If you want to know
more about technical paper writing, you can watch our 40 min long lecture on technical paper
writing which is available for free view on this link.

2. Multiple choice exam:

Second component of the certification process is a multiple choice exam. This exam is delivered
through computer based testing (CBT) and is comprised of multiple-choice and compound,
scenario questions. The topics covered in the exam are: Basic Cost Engineering Skills &
Knowledge, Economic Analysis, Project Management, and Cost Estimating and Control.
 
As such there is no percentage breakup on as to how much each knowledge area shall be
covered in the exam. However, the exam contains large number of numerical problem solving
questions. Numerical problem solving question cover following cost engineering topics in-depth:
 
1. Breakeven Analysis
2. Time Value of money and economic analysis
3. Depreciation
4. Critical Path Method
5. Earned Value Management
6. Statistics
 
The CBT exam contain 120 questions (maximum). The exam duration is 5 hours and all
questions are mandatory. This is one sitting exam, while you can take very short break, however,
the clock shall be on during the break time.
 
Exam is close book, this means you are not allowed to carry any books or paper, but an
onscreen formula sheet is accessible during the exam, if needed. You are also permitted to bring
any style of calculator, including programmable calculators, to use during the exam.
 
Exam fee is $500 for AACE International members, $625 for non-members. There is a $200 fee
for resit.
 
All the relevant information about CCE/CCC exam is available on AACE International website on
this link.
 

HOW TO PREPARE FOR CCE/CCC CERTIFICATION

I shall not say it is tough to be a CCE/CCC, but yes it is challenging. Having obtained both PMP
and CCE certification, and a master degree in construction management, let me tell you, in my
opinion CCE is 2.5 times tougher than PMP. Out of 2.5, first 1 represents the amount of efforts
you have to put to prepare the technical paper, and other 1.5 represents in-depth coverage of
cost engineering knowledge areas. When comparing my master degree in terms of coverage of
cost management knowledge areas, CCE coverage is substantially more than any construction
management master program.

Let us discuss couple of important points on how to prepare CCE certification exam.

1. Time plan
As I said before CCE certification is challenging, this means you need a good amount of time and
effort to get a CCE certification. Most commonly asked question is how much time it required for
CCE/CCC preparation. Answer of the question depends on the individual. However, minimum
time window of 7 - 9 month is good in my opinion. I suggest following timelines:
 
1. Understand the CCE/CCC Certification requirements (0 month).
2. Decide that you got to be CCE/CCC in next 10-12 month (1 month).
3. Get study material (1 to 1.5 months).
4. Acquaint yourself with knowledge areas, and identify knowledge area you need more attention
(2 - 2.5 months).
5. Decide the technical paper title, and collect relevant literature and data for technical paper. (3
month).
6. Write Technical Paper (4 - 6 month).
7. Start Exam preparation (5th month).
8. Register for exam (minimum 45 days prior to exam).
9. Submit technical paper (on the latest by final registration deadline)
10. Take exam (7 to 9 month).
 

2. Study Material
AACE International recommends following resources for preparing CCE/CCC exam:
 
- 'Skills & Knowledge of Cost Engineering', 5th edition
- 'CCC/CCE Certification Study Guide', 3rd edition
- Recommended Practices 'RP 11R-88' and 'RP 10S-90'
 
All of the above and published by the AACE International and available for purchase on their
website. ‘Skills & Knowledge of Cost Engineering’ is the main book. This contains following
section:
 
1. Cost
2. Cost Estimation
3. Planning and Scheduling
4. Progress and Cost Control
5. Project Management
6. Economic Analysis
7. Statistics Probability and Risk
 
For passing the exam it is recommended that you have thoroughly understood the book. While
the book is generally a standalone knowledge base, however, certain section may require
additional study material. Especially the concepts of Time Value of Money and Cash Flow,
Breakeven Analysis, Statistics and Earn Value Management. The book contains only a few
practice questions.
 
AACE International ‘CCC/CCE Certification Study Guide’, 3rd edition is the second book. This is
skimmed version of ‘Skills & Knowledge of Cost Engineering’ book. In my opinion this book helps
only in revision. ‘Skills & Knowledge of Cost Engineering’ remain the primary study material.
 
Recommended Practices RP 11R-88 and RP 10S-90 are ‘Required Skills and Knowledge of a
Cost Engineer’ and ‘Cost Engineering Terminology’ respectively. Both are good documents and
worth thorough reading, irrespective of their specific relevance to exam questions. Both
recommended practices are available for free on AACE website.

The book can be bought online through AACE International Website on this link. Each of two
books costs $50 for AACE International members and $80 for non-members.
 

3. Seeking help
At times it becomes difficult to dedicate time for study especially when you have a busy work
schedule and an obligation to spend certain time with family. Lack of motivation for study
becomes an issue as well.
 
This is where you can seek for external help i.e. joining training classes . Following are the key
issues must be considered while choosing an training provider:
1. A classroom CCE Review/Prep course may cost you $1000 to $5000 depending on training
provider.
2. You may not find training provider in you geography. In that case an AEP that offers e-learning
course can be an option. In my experience e-learning is better for busy professionals. E-Learning
course are flexible and cost-effective also.
3. Unlike PMP certification, there is no requirement of PDUs for taking the CCE exam. Therefore,
you may prepare for CCE certification on your own. However, this may be longer and a tougher
journey.
 
At Protrain we provide an online course for CCE/CCC preparation. Course fee starts from $175.
Complete Table of Contents of the course is available on this link on the course page. And
introductory lecture video can be viewed on the link here.
 

BEYOND CCE/CCC CERTIFICATION

After you have obtained the certification, there is still more to talk about. CCE certification
program requires you to recertify every 3 years by either professional credit plan or re-testing.
The recertification program by credit plan is designed to ensure that you have maintained
continued expertise through work experience, continuing education, professional development,
and active involvement in the profession.

This recertification plan opens a new door of professional development opportunities. AACE
International has one of the biggest and probably the most extensive, knowledge repository on
cost engineering and related knowledge areas in the world. This contains recommended
practices, articles and other several resources on claim management, risk management, project
management, economic analysis, cost estimation, scheduling and so on. To be in the network
with professional bodies like AACE International provides for continued professional
development and learning opportunities.

1 "Provoc - Glossary of Common Project Control Terms," The Association of Cost Engineers
(ACostE)
2 AACE International Recommended Practice No. 10S-90, COST ENGINEERING
TERMINOLOGY, TCM Framework: General Reference, AACE, 2010, pg 24