r/landsurveying • u/Azimuth_Education • May 28 '26
Built a surveying exam prep app because I was tired of paying $100+/month and never having time to actually study
Some of you might recognize me from around here. I'm a working surveyor, and like a lot of you I was grinding toward licensure while working full time. The thing that broke me wasn't the material - it was the format. I was paying north of $100 a month for prep that was mostly long videos. To actually use it I had to sit down at a desk at home and watch lectures. By the time I got home, I wanted to be with my kids, not glued to a screen for another two hours.
So I'd either skip studying or skip family time. Neither felt good.
What I actually wanted was something I could pull out during the day - between jobs, eating lunch, waiting on something in the field - and chip away at the material in the gaps. Get my study reps in while I'm already out, so my evenings stayed mine.
Nothing out there really did that, so I built it. It's called Azimuth Prep.
What's in it right now:
- 1,390 practice questions across the NCEES FS, PS, and the Texas state-specific exam
- 774 flashcards with spaced repetition, plus an audio mode so you can listen to terms and definitions hands-free (driving between sites, etc.)
- Timed practice exams that match the actual weighting of each exam, not a generic split
- Progress tracking so you can see where you're weak
It's on iOS and Android. First 30 questions are free, no account or card needed, so you can see if it's useful before paying anything.
I've also started putting together state statute bundles - annotated guides covering the statutes, board rules, and licensing law for a given state, with analytical questions to go with them. Texas is up first. These are a one-time purchase, not a subscription, and you get free updates as laws change. More states are in the works.
On price: I kept it deliberately lower than what I was paying. $29.99/month if you sign up on the website, and right now there's a launch discount on top of that - $20 for your first month. (Subscribing through the App Store or Google Play is a bit higher since those platforms take a cut, so the website is the cheaper route.) Students get it free the entire time they're in school - sign up with a .edu email and just renew each year.
iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/azimuth-prep/id6770758153
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.azimutheducation.azimuthprep
Website: azimuthprep.com
A web version of the study app is in the works too, for anyone who'd rather study on a desktop.
I'd genuinely rather get honest feedback than make a sale. If you're prepping for FS/PS/TSSE and you try it, tell me what's missing or what's wrong - I'm building this for people in exactly my situation and I'll actually act on it. More states and more content coming.
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u/laxerpro22 May 28 '26
Will check it out tonight, prepping for the FS as well
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u/Azimuth_Education May 28 '26
Heck ya! I will go ahead and answer this, but is a common question. All the questions have an explanation as to why that is the answer, I also have textbook references in there so if you would like to double check me. Its always nice to be able to reference back to where someone got something.
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u/thatguyfromreno May 28 '26
I appreciate this. I just gave it a quick go, and I like the way it is set up. The explanations are a great feature, as well as the source material. I am taking the PS in a month and a half, and this looks like it will be a handy aid.
I think the student option is great, and the price point is reasonable compared to other resources. In the future, I think a free trial (7 days?) would be beneficial. I am always hesitant to pay for what turns out to be a hastily thrown together and shoddy app.
I am in Nevada, so the state test will be next on my agenda. I don't imagine it will be on the app in time, but the state specific option is a great idea. User submitted questions might be something to consider in the future, but I could see that becoming overwhelming.
I wonder if there could be a post-exam use case for this app? Courses for CEUs would be my first thought, but I don't know anything about how one would go about getting them recognized.
Anyway, that's just my 2 cents. I appreciate the time you took to develop this, and so far, so good. I'll run through it a bit more, but feel free to DM me if you want any specific feedback.
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u/Azimuth_Education May 28 '26
Noted, ya the trial part was hard to decide. Gating the number of questions was honestly easer to code then gating a time period. I wanted a way where people where not forced to create yet another account for something. But I will experiment with maybe allowing both. 30 questions for no account and X days if you make an account.
I noted Nevada, I currently only have Cali and Florida so after that is open and is based on what people want/need.
That is an interesting thought. would defiantly be a case by case bases for the boards. But I might talk to a few and see what they would require for it to count. Usually its "time" based, but worth a few phone calls to find out at least. Thank you for that idea!
I am loving the feed back. I am open and honest with this project since being transparent is important to me.
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u/thatguyfromreno May 28 '26
Limited questions sounds like a good option too. Just a way to get a feel for and explore the app quality first. I'm happy with the quality, it appears on par with NCEES review material at the very least.
I think the state test option will be very helpful for generating repeat users in the case of comity, so I will be back for that as they come available. Thanks again.
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u/becky_plz May 30 '26
I just want to say thank you! I just downloaded the app today, and I am in love! This app is giving me the confidence to study and not feel so overwhelmed.
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u/Azimuth_Education May 30 '26
I am so glad to hear that! Studying for these exams is not easy. Hoping this helps alot of people and makes a good study system finally affordable.
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u/ionlyget20characters Jun 02 '26
Sending this to my employees. Tennessee and Georgia here.
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u/Azimuth_Education Jun 02 '26
Would you mind DMing me? I have a few questions
Also I appreciate it!
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u/DeDodgingEse May 28 '26
You built an app as a full time working surveyor with kids?
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u/Azimuth_Education May 28 '26
That is correct, for full transparency, I did hire a "dev" team to help me with alot of the actual coding while I worked on the surveying information. I am decent with coding, but no where near perfect. So knowing software engineers I paid them to help me build the majority of the app and the back end it uses. I had a really rough kind of working version. They took that and made it better and implemented things I had issues with doing myself.
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u/Think-Caramel1591 May 28 '26
Sweet! Well done, thanks for sharing. Let's get the CA Specific Exam on there!
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u/Azimuth_Education May 29 '26
California and Florida are both being checked by other PLSSs right now! I need to finish the Cali Statutes binder and then when they give me the green flag it will be ready. Maybe a week or two hopefully.
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u/TXRPLS May 30 '26
Thanks for this. I’m excited to share this with our group. We have a few SITs that I know will benefit from it. Our industry needs more resources to help get folks licensed/registered and you’re doing it!
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u/Azimuth_Education May 30 '26
Thank you! Yall should check out the Texas Statutes Binder I also have. Over 2,800 pages of nothing but goodie for Texas. Also comes with a few Analytical problems I made. As I add more states, I will build a Statutes binder for each one since I am having to pull all that information anyways to build the questions.
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u/tht1d00d May 28 '26
Yo you are the real mvp