Amber Book
Amber Book (Ermann Associates, LLC) is an online professional education platform that prepares U.S. architects for the NCARB ARE 5.0 licensure exam and, more recently, provides continuing education courses for licensed engineers, selling to individual subscribers, architecture/engineering firms, and licensed professionals across the United States.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersBlacksburg, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Amber Book does
Amber Book, operated legally as Ermann Associates, LLC and a subsidiary of Career Certified, LLC, is an online professional education company that prepares candidates for the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) Architect Registration Examination (ARE) 5.0. Its core product is a self-paced, video-led exam prep course covering all six ARE divisions (Practice Management, Project Management, Programming & Analysis, Project Planning & Design, Project Development & Documentation, and Construction & Evaluation), supplemented by a 375-page illustrated workbook, 600+ practice problems, 800+ digital flashcards, 13 case studies from real projects, panic notes, and a free California Supplemental Examination (CSE) prep module. The course was developed by Michael Ermann, AIA — a tenured Virginia Tech professor since 2001 and the first person to pass all six ARE 5.0 divisions — and is delivered through a learning management system at learn.amberbook.com.
The company monetizes through three primary revenue streams: individual monthly subscriptions at $220/month with month-to-month flexibility and a money-back guarantee; annual firm licenses priced on a sliding scale by firm size (e.g., $2,160/year for 1–15 employee firms) sold primarily to architecture and engineering firms including AECOM, Jacobs, Perkins and Will, HGA, and Perkins Eastman; and a newer annual Engineering CE/PDH subscription covering Civil, Structural, Mechanical, Electrical, and Industrial engineering disciplines. Distribution is product-led for individuals via the website, with dedicated firm onboarding through firms.amberbook.com. Marketing relies on organic SEO, a 33+ article blog, YouTube, and a community-led motion anchored by free weekly '40 Minutes of Competence' (Amber Hive) Zoom sessions open to all, which serve as both lead generation and brand-building. The company reports an 81% pass rate among enrolled candidates versus a 58% national average, 40,000+ cumulative enrollments, and 1,000+ signed firms. Operations are based in Blacksburg, Virginia with 11–50 employees.
Amber Book firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Amber Book
- Legal name
- Ermann Associates, LLC
- Website
- https://amberbook.com
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Amber Book (Ermann Associates, LLC) is an online professional education platform that prepares U.S. architects for the NCARB ARE 5.0 licensure exam and, more recently, provides continuing education courses for licensed engineers, selling to individual subscribers, architecture/engineering firms, and licensed professionals across the United States.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Amber Book industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Professional Exam Preparation
- akta.pro primary industry
- Language Proficiency & Admissions Testing Prep (TOEFL/IELTS/DELE/HSK, etc.) (EDAGADAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Test Item Banks, Question Authoring & Assessment Design Tools (EDAFADAC), Assessment & Quiz Item Authoring Tools (within course builders) (EDAFAHAG)
Keywords
Where Amber Book is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Blacksburg
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Amber Book business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others
Revenue model
- Individual Monthly Subscription: Monthly subscription at $220/month providing full access to the Amber Book library suite including all videos, case studies, practice exams, digital flashcards, panic notes, unlimited 20-minute one-on-ones, and free weekly Amber Hive study sessions. Subscribers can cancel anytime and retain access until their next renewal date.
- Firm Annual Licenses: Annual firm licenses priced on a sliding scale based on firm size. Firms must make upfront annual payment. Includes access for all emerging professionals at the firm plus hardcopy workbooks for each office location. Pricing example: 1-15 employee firm at $2,160/year ($45/person/month).
- Engineering CE Individual Courses: Individual courses available for purchase separately from the annual subscription for engineers seeking specific PDH credits. Annual subscription model available for full catalog access.
- Hardcopy Workbook (Standalone):
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Individual Monthly Subscription - $220/month |
| Subscription | Annual | Firm License - Variable pricing based on firm size |
| Subscription | Annual | Engineering CE Annual Subscription |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Workbook Only Purchase - $90 |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Amber Book product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Amber Book provides an online animated video-based exam preparation platform for architects pursuing ARE 5.0 licensure, covering all six NCARB divisions (PcM, PjM, PA, PPD, PDD, CE) through 50+ hours of narrated animated videos, 600+ practice problems, 800+ digital flashcards, 13 case studies, and a 375-page illustrated workbook. The company also offers California Supplemental Exam (CSE) prep, AIA-approved Architecture Continuing Education, and PDH-aligned Engineering Continuing Education across five engineering disciplines, with both individual subscriptions and annual firm-wide licensing options.
Product overview
Amber Book is a single-brand platform offering ARE 5.0 exam prep for architects and continuing education for both architects and engineers. The core offering is the ARE 5.0 Exam Prep Course — an animated video-based learning platform covering all six NCARB exam divisions (PcM, PjM, PA, PPD, PDD, CE), supplemented by a CSE Prep module for California licensure, Architecture CE and Engineering CE/PDH courses, Firm License packages for team enrollment, and the free weekly 40 Minutes of Competence (Amber Hive) live study sessions. Supporting tools include divisional Practice Exams, Digital Flashcards, and an ARE Score Report Calculator. All ARE and CE offerings share the same branding and learning management system under the Amber Book name.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- ARE 5.0 Exam Prep Course An immersive, visually engaging ARE 5.0 exam prep course for NCARB's Architect Registration Examination, covering all six divisions: Practice Management (PcM), Project Management (PjM), Programming & Analysis (PA), Project Planning & Design (PPD), Project Development & Documentation (PDD), and Construction & Evaluation (CE). Includes 50+ hours of animated video lessons, 600+ practice problems, 800+ digital flashcards, 13 case studies, a 375-page illustrated workbook, divisional practice exams, panic notes, and live weekly Amber Hive study sessions. Sold as a monthly individual subscription at $220/month or as part of an annual firm license.
- CSE Prep (California Supplemental Exam Prep) A supplemental exam preparation course for architects seeking licensure in California, covering the California Supplemental Examination administered by NCARB. Sold as an add-on to the ARE 5.0 course.
- Architecture Continuing Education (CE) AIA-approved continuing education courses for architects to meet state and AIA continuing education requirements, including online courses and live webinar attendance tracking. Amber Book reports attendance to AIA upon course completion for AIA members.
- Engineering Continuing Education (CE/PDH) PDH-aligned continuing education courses for engineers across five disciplines — Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Structural Engineering — delivered as an annual subscription with individual course purchase options.
- Firm Licenses Group licensing packages for architecture and engineering firms that provide all employees with access to Amber Book's course materials, practice exams, and study resources, with pricing that scales by firm size on a sliding scale. Architecture firm pricing example: 1-15 employee firm at $2,160/year ($45/person/month) versus $410/month at regular individual rate. Includes hardcopy workbooks for each office location and a 100% money-back guarantee.
- Hardcopy Workbook (Standalone) The 375-page illustrated workbook companion to the ARE 5.0 course, available as a standalone one-time purchase for $90 with free shipping for learners who prefer the print companion without enrolling in the video course.
Quantifiable outcome
- 81% pass rate vs 58% national average for ARE exams
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Amber Book
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Amber Book technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature7 records
Amber Book partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- NCARBcoreAmber Book's course content is specifically designed around NCARB's Architect Registration Examination (ARE) 5.0 structure. The course covers all six divisions administered by NCARB and aligns with the ARE 5.0 Reference Matrix. Amber Book is not affiliated with NCARB but courses are designed to help candidates pass NCARB-administered exams.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Amber Book competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Brightwood Real Estate & Architecture (formerly Kaplan Real Estate): Owned by Colibri Group, Brightwood offers online prep courses for architecture licensure and related real estate licensing. Directly competes with Amber Book in ARE prep with similar course-based, exam-focused offerings.
- PPI (Professional Publications Inc.): Kaplan-owned test prep publisher offering books, practice problems, and courses for the ARE and PE exams. Closely comparable to Amber Book in architecture and engineering licensing prep, with strong overlap in exam content and target candidates.
- Designercize (Architect Exam Prep): Provides ARE practice questions, vignettes, and prep tools designed specifically for the Architect Registration Examination. A focused direct competitor in ARE prep, particularly on the practice-problem side where Amber Book has differentiated content.
- PDH Academy (EngineerCE.com): Leading online provider of continuing education and PDH courses for licensed professional engineers across multiple disciplines. Direct peer for Amber Book's newly launched engineering CE portfolio, with comparable subscription and individual-course pricing.
- The CE Shop: Sister company under Career Certified, LLC offering real estate licensing and CE courses. Operates the same education platform business model with adjacent regulatory CE verticals, making it highly comparable on unit economics, GTM, and infrastructure.
- A.D. Banker & Company: Career Certified subsidiary providing insurance and securities licensing pre-license and continuing education. Closely mirrors Amber Book's course-based subscription model in a parallel regulated-professional vertical.
- Mbition Learn Real Estate: Career Certified subsidiary offering mortgage and real estate licensing education. Shares the same parent and operating playbook as Amber Book, making it a strong functional peer for unit economics and platform dynamics.
Broad incumbents
- 360training: Large multi-vertical online training platform offering regulatory CE across real estate, mortgage, OSHA, and adjacent industries. Broader portfolio than Amber Book but competes for the same regulated-professional CE wallet share.
- Colibri Group: Parent of Brightwood and other professional education brands, operating a broad portfolio of regulated-professional licensing and CE products. Comparable business model at much larger scale; sits in the same competitive set as Career Certified for the regulated-professional CE opportunity.
- RedVector (Vector Solutions): Vector Solutions-owned provider of continuing education and professional development for architecture, engineering, and construction professionals. Overlaps with Amber Book's engineering CE and architecture CE verticals at enterprise scale.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Amber Book social profiles
Digital presenceAmber Book compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Amber Book financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Amber Book leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Amber Book funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Amber Book M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Amber Book
What does Amber Book do?
Amber Book provides an online animated video-based exam preparation platform for architects pursuing ARE 5.0 licensure, covering all six NCARB divisions (PcM, PjM, PA, PPD, PDD, CE) through 50+ hours of narrated animated videos, 600+ practice problems, 800+ digital flashcards, 13 case studies, and a 375-page illustrated workbook. The company also offers California Supplemental Exam (CSE) prep, AIA-approved Architecture Continuing Education, and PDH-aligned Engineering Continuing Education across five engineering disciplines, with both individual subscriptions and annual firm-wide licensing options.
Is Amber Book a public or private company?
Amber Book is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Amber Book founded?
Amber Book was founded in -1. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Amber Book based?
Amber Book is headquartered in Blacksburg, United States, in the North America region.
How does Amber Book make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Individual Monthly Subscription is the primary driver. The others are firm Annual Licenses, engineering CE Individual Courses and hardcopy Workbook (Standalone).
Who are Amber Book's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Brightwood Real Estate & Architecture (formerly Kaplan Real Estate), PPI (Professional Publications Inc.), Designercize (Architect Exam Prep), PDH Academy (EngineerCE.com), The CE Shop, A.D. Banker & Company and Mbition Learn Real Estate. Broad incumbents are 360training, Colibri Group and RedVector (Vector Solutions).
Does Amber Book have an API?
No public API is recorded for Amber Book.
What industry is Amber Book in?
Amber Book's product category is Professional Exam Preparation. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAGADAE, Language Proficiency & Admissions Testing Prep (TOEFL/IELTS/DELE/HSK, etc.), with a secondary code of EDAFADAC, Test Item Banks, Question Authoring & Assessment Design Tools.