EIT after graduation 10 years ago,

[irfan08]

Am I insane or just paranoid. I think I can do it but what do you guys think, is it a good decision or bad.

 

[HgTX]

It's a good decision. Lots of people do it. There is lots of study advice scattered about the Web; go have a look.

Hg

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[JamesBarlow]

I sat for the EIT about 6 years after school. Study hard and you will do fine. It's not as hard as the PE exam but it's not something that most people out of school can just sit for.

If you have the degree everything you need to know to pass the exam is in there. The hard part is just getting it out again.

 

[TheTick]

Check your state board rules to see if you even need to take the test. In Wisconsin, you can take the PE without FE (EIT) with degree and enough experience.

 

[Lion06]

jamesbarlow-

It was interesting to hear you say it's not as hard as the PE exam. Almost everyone I've talked to said the FE was considerably more difficult than the PE.

 

[irfan08]

I am a mechanical engineer, should I focus on Mechanical section in afternoon session or should I go with general.

I thought PE would be harder than FE, I guess different opinions.

 

[vc66]

I took the General in the afternoon. From talking to my friends who took the Mechanical Section, it seemed that it was much more difficult.

V

 

[Truemanator]

Should have taken your engineering degree in Canada. The word I've heard is that Canadian engineers have something like over a 95% pass rate on the American PE Exam.

Can some one correct me if I heard this ENTIRELY wrong?

 

[HgTX]

I think the FE would be easier than the PE for someone still in school or right out of school. But years down the road, most of the material covered on the FE was forgotten long ago, whereas much of the material on the PE would be in current use.

Hg

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[davidbeach]

Re: difficulty of FE vs. PE. If you take the FE right out of university it may well be easier than the PE, but later the FE will definitely be more difficult than the PE.

The FE is very broad, and you have to know at least something about a lot of things.

The PE goes into considerably more depth, but is narrowly focused. If you have any business taking the PE it should be easier than the FE simply because it is much more about what you do daily.

 

[scobut]

Truemanator,
I'm from Alberta and the number we were told was closer to 99% of us pass the FE exam... although I thought I did terrible and I still passed so maybe they don't even mark ours and just pass everyone.

 

[MechEng2005]

As far as taking the general or mechanical section in the afternoon... I took the mechanical. I also heard that the general was easier. I thought that I found pass rates and they were better for general than for mechanical, but I don't remember for sure.

I'd say study for both, and then decide after the morning session. If you weren't confident with a lot of the mechancial questions in the morning session, go for the general. I thought the mechanical questions, in both the broad (morning) exam and afternoon mechanical section had more of a focus on thermodynamics, as opposed to being an even variety of different subject areas. This may work out for you, or not. Or maybe when you get to the test, many of the mechanical questions on the morning section will be about fatigue life or something.

Use the mechanical questions of the morning exam to decide if the focus is on something you are confident with (or if it is varied) and base which afternoon exam to take from the morning session.

-- MechEng2005

 

[rday]

It is a good decision. I don't know anyone who has passed the FE and obtained a PE who says "That was a bad idea".

I think the PE was more difficult problem wise; but the FE was far broader making it seem harder than it is in reality. But I would rather take the PE again than the FE.

Truemanator,

I don't think that statistic is compiled. Applications to take the PE are made to individual states and approvals from boards submitted to NCEES, who administers the test nationwide.

 

[MiketheEngineer]

Go for it.....

I found the EIT harder than the PE....

 

[zdas04]

The afternoon General exam requires exactly the same study material and reference book as the morning General--taking the afternoon General keeps the number of references that you have to be prepared to use down to one. I can't emphasize enough that the afternoon Mechanical is a foolish option that increases the risk with zero reward.

I was out of school 12 years when I took the FE, I studied very hard for it and it was a cake walk. Three years later the PE was a challenge. I think the PE was an order of magnitude harder.

The statistics I saw showed that pass rate for the FE for people within one year of graduation were identical for US and Canadian grads. After 5 years, the numbers were still the same for people who went to US or Canadian schools. We are mixing apples and Volkswagens in the posts above--new grads tend to pass the FE at a 95%+ rate and the test as a whole is closer to 80% most years. No, the people from the frozen north are NOT smarter or better prepared than their compatriots from the U.S.A.

David

 

[scobut]

It looks like that 99% passing rate for Canada only applied to the first year or two of the test being available for Canadians. According to someone that contacted Apegga, apparently for the October 2007 exam in Alberta only 24 out of 41 passed, around 58%. Thankfully, I was one of those 24.

 

[irfan08]

I am sure engineer with even EIT have a better leverage than an ordinary engineer. I myself had to do masters as I have a foreign degree in engineering and no one would even consider my application back in 99.

 

[plasgears]

I took the Ohio EIT/PE back to back after 13 yrs and passed. What made the difference was attending a refresher course. Don't take that lightly.

The PE was more difficult because the problem solving required not only good knowledge but many steps were needed to come to the end. It was like stepping into the shoes of a expert out of your regular field and performing in an acceptable manner. I was prepared, and it was actually fun.

 

[jeebusmn]

There is a study guide by Lindberg that is pretty solid. If you can work through 75% of that, you'll be set for the exam. I took it a little over 2 years after graduating and nothing on the exam is difficult. It is just a lot of stuff. If someone fails it is more so a failure in preparation than anything.

For the second part of the exam, just look through the general and your discipline exams and do the one that has the most sure things. A lot of people overlook the fact that you can look through the exams before you pick.

 

[irfan08]

wow...13 years..finally some hope..