FE/ PE 2

[Stanfi]

I have a BS in EE. I have been out of school almost 10 years. Unfortantley time flies as we get older. The job I have worked at has not required me to have a PE. However, I would like to have it, just for my own personal achievement. Plus it would open the door for oppourtunties in the future.

I do think it would be admirable to have a PE, but I must admit, dealing with PEs, who treat everyone that does not have a PE like they are an idiot has left a bad taste in my mouth. It is in affect like you worked hard for 4 years, to get a degree, and it accounts for absolutletly nothing.. I have work the last few years doing PLC based controls sytems, and I think that I am pretty good at it.

Anyway, my questtions are to those that have been out of school for a while before they took the exams. Did you have a hard time passing it? How did you prepare? How long did it take for you to prepare? Any tips advice, comments welcome.

I have been wrestling around with this for a while. I would like to have it for my own self-satisfaction, and just general confidence, and personal achievment.

 

[livingston]

When I graduated, my professors implied that in a few years we would be unable to practice engineering at all without the PE license. Even though I have not taken the PE, I am glad I took the FE.

 

[That1Guy]

I graduated in 1994 and didn't take the FE for graduation. As I recall, and have told others this, my professors didn't particularly stress professional licensure. I suppose it's possible I caught all of my professors at the wrong time or misconstrued what they were saying as licensure not being that big a deal, but that's what I got out of it. I took the FE in Oct. '95 and passed (no idea what my score was, my state doesn't list it). I worked for a while and fell under the industrial exemption, so further licensure wasn't that big an emphasis for me. However, about 2 yrs ago, I got interested in licensure again, and decided to go for it. I had a few general references, but if I had to pick one as an absolute must, it would be Lindeburg's (discipline) ENGINEERING REFERENCE MANUAL. I spent... 5months plus reviewing and studying. I actually read the book like a novel the first time through, hilighting relavent items that were footnoted or buried in the text. After the read-through, I started doing practice problems and such, both from the (in my case) MERM, and from the sample exam available from NCEES. I took the mechanical Principles and Practice exam last October and passed. From what I've been told, you should reasonably expect to study 250-300 hours for the PE exam. Of course, this varies from person to person, and I believe I ended up studying for approx 500 hrs, but that wasn't all doing sample problems.

I am very happy I took the PE exam, even though it was 10yrs after I graduated from school. In general, I would suggest the hardest part of the PE process is filling out the required paperwork and getting registered to take the damned exam in the first place. After that, it's just studying, which is totally doable.

At the very least, attempt the PE. You might surprise yourself.


Good luck.

Byron Towles, PE

 

[vonbad]

I have an additional question. I have looked into the PE license and have debated whether this is something I want. Upon my graduation in NC, FE or the EIT exams were not mandatory for graduation.

My question is an EE accredited degree enough to qualify for the FE and PE exams, or do you have to work for a PE for a time period?

 

[Rich2001]

When I took the PE in Mechanical Engineering, I took a review course ( 3 hours one night a week) from September thru March, and spent 30 to 45 minutes each day during lunch working problems and studying. I however, did some a fair amount of time reviewing refernce books, copying tables, charts etc to put into a 3-ring binder to take with me (indexed). Having well organized indexd notes comes in very handy when you have to look something up.

Last year when I prepared for the PE exam in Welding Engineering, I spent 1/2 to 1 hour three times a week during lunch studying and organizing my notes. Note at my current job, I am involved in Welding Engineering 80% of my time, so I just had to re-learn some of the topics that I haven't used in a while. (Btw, pasted the welding PE exam with the highest score in the state.)

Both of the PE exams that I took were essay style, the Mechanical Engineering (Old Format) and the Current Welding Engineering Examination.

I probally spent more time studying for the ASNT Level III exams then for either PE exam that I have taken.



Vita sine litteris mors est.

 

[Rich2001]

vonbad, your question can best be answered by your engineering board, each jurisdiction is slightly different. Go to

http://wwww.ncees.org

and then click on licensing boards.

Many juridictions do not require you to actually be a tutee of a PE, just be able to obtain references from PE's.

Vita sine litteris mors est.

 

[Maui]

Stanfi, I not only had to re-learn some subjects, but was also exposed to others for the first time in studying for the FE exam! As an undergraduate I was a double major in Physics and Mathematics. So I was never exposed to some of the engineering courses like engineering economics, for example. After passing the FE exam last April, I took the PE exam in Metallurgy in New York in October. There are no review manuals or review courses that I am aware of for this particular exam. Although I only studied for two weeks for the PE, I passed it on the first try. If you believe that you can do it, go for it.


Maui

 

[vonbad]

Rich2001. I followed the link before and followed it into the NC State site. The reason I ask is that it's not clear as whether working for a PE is a requirement or not. I thought maybe someone here would have a better understanding of NC requirements.

 

[HgTX]

vonbad--no work requirement for FE, since college kids can (and should) take it in school.

Hg

Eng-Tips guidelines: faq731-376

 

[SlideRuleEra]

vonbad - In NC, to take the Principles & Practice (PE) Exam, you don't have to work "for" a PE. You "must submit five references, two of whom shall be professional engineers having personal knowledge of the applicant's engineering experiences." The references can be superiors, co-workers, long-term clients, etc.

Here is the direct link (See Paragraph 89C-13)

http://www.ncbels.org/GS89C8-2000.pdf

http://www.SlideRuleEra.net

 

[vonbad]

Thank you for you advice and the link. I didn't find this file when I looked.