No FE

[RRR04]

I'm in the civil field and I have a master's degree in a very profitable area right now. There's also a high demand for engineers with my knowledge/experience. I'm fairly new in the work world (1yr). I get pretty good reviews, my salary is fairly good, but i can't seem to pass the FE. I've done it 2 times and I know that I'm not good taking exams. It's been this way all my life. But I always land the best jobs and get awesome reviews. I'm getting older and my responsiilities are at some point going to increase and I need to get my license. It's so bad now, that I'm getting nervous about the next exam. I've even considered changing fields just to stop putting myself thru this stress. Keep in mind I LOVE my field. I can do this work for the rest of my life. My job hasn't threatened to fire me over this, but there's the constant embarassment that I don't have it or even the fear that I'll be the first out in layoff periods. Any advice? :-s

 

[B16A2]

How old are you? I've heard of many older people in the field having trouble passing the FE exam. Are you studying for it at all? How are you approaching the exam?

 

[RVSWA]

RRR04 -
When I am taking a test I start by reading through the questions and answer all the free-bee's first. This gives me a feeling of accomplishment and sort of warms up the muscle for some of the others that take a little more work. If I get stuck I move on and come back after I have exhausted all of the other problems. If you are getting really nervous then have a beer before the test. I don't have a masters, I've been thinking of getting along with that part of my life. I'm not sure where to start, don't I have to take the GRE first?

 

[TheTick]

In Wisconsin, you can skip he FE with the right combination of experience and education. Maybe true in your state?

I used to teach test prep for Kaplan and Princeton Review. I've seen plenty of sharp people take a face plant on standardized tests (GRE, LSAT, GMAT). Usually it is because they lose their nerve and go against their training.

Test taking is a skill unto itself. It is like a football game: there are rules, opponents (questions), strategy, tactics, and SURPRISES. A large factor in success is correctly anticipating what will be on the test. A key skill is to not let nerves and surprises throw you from tactics that you know are effective.

If there is anyone who teaches a prep course in your area, take the course. (Do your homework to see what the curriculum and instructors are like, first.) there's nothing like real-time practice. Do lots of problems. Focus on technique, not on final answers. Answers will come if technique is good.

Practice doesn't make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect

 

[JStephen]

I don't think there's going to be any quick and easy solution.

When you practice in a field, you use a very very small part of what you learned as an undergraduate, and learn a lot of additional things. When you take the FE, you are being tested over a bunch of areas that you likely are not using.

What I did to prepare for these tests was to get sample questions from NCEES, and go through them and see which areas I knew and which ones I didn't. I took the tests about 13 years after I was out of college, so some of that was pretty fuzzy. But, I still had my textbooks and was able to go back through different subjects and refresh myself on them.

If you took the tests, felt like you did well, and then didn't pass, that's one thing. That might be poor test taking skills, etc. If you took the tests and just didn't know the material that was on them, there's really no substitute for learning that material. If your grasp of the subjects was hazy when in college, it won't get any better without a lot of additional work.

You didn't really say to what extent you prepared for these. I would not assume that a refresher course is guaranteed to make you pass them, and if that's all you did, you might consider doing considerably more review work on your own.

It might help to enlist a coworker or other knowledgeable person to make up additional sample questions or tests for you. I say this because you can get in a mental trap of viewing certain problems in certain ways, and having somebody else write up questions will put them in an unexpected light. For example, you study pump sizing until you know how to size a pump for flow between A and B. But then the question doesn't ask for pump size, it asks for pressure at point C.

 

[ShaggyPE]

I too recommend a refresher course. It may be pricey, but I found that the one I took for the PE was worth it. I recommend the one from PPI.

Also, here is a good forum for the FE and PE exams:

http://www.engineerboards.com

-Dustin
Professional Engineer
Certified SolidWorks Professional

 

[Lion06]

My undergrad degree was very narrow (structural classes only really - I had the math and physics, but no highway, no electrical, no thermo, no traditional civil classes, etc.), so I was a little nervous that I wouldn't have a great enough breadth of knowledge to pass. Luckily I was good enough at what I did know that I was able to pass with having a solid block of about 40 questions on the morning portion all answered "C" (the thermo and electrical questions).
My advice would be to get Michael Lindburg's (I may have spelled that name wrong) book and do the practice exam. I would also make sure what you do know that you know well enough to get every question right on that topic. Don't spend too much time on what you don't know because it will take time away from making sure you get all the questions right that you should and you won't gain much for the time you spend. Try to pick up some general concepts and study the reference manual they give you so that you know where all the info is. Take note of the equations as well, because they will give a lot of "plug-n-chug" type questions that you merely need to look up the equation for.
I don't think a review course is worth the time or money. I spent money on one and went to 2 sessions before I realized it was wasting my time.

 

[texanman]

Hi,
I just passed the PE test. Had taken the FE in grad school. It is vey broad. I recommend you take the prep courses. The tests FE and PE are based on all the engineering coursed you have taken. And some are based on actual work experience. The Lindburg book is very good.
In your field you will need to have your PE license. Just keep trying.

 

[frv]

It's funny you should mention that, strEIT. I did the exact same thing. The course I took was a tremendous waste of time. Went one and a half sessions and never went back.

My suggestion to you is that you get the manual with the formulas beforehand and study where the information is located.

StrEIT said that a lot was plug and chug. I say it is ENTIRELY plug and chug. Every single question with any math has a formula in the manual.

Personally, I thought the test was a joke, but I've always been good at test-taking. In any case, don't get down on yourself, the whole thing is irrelevant and proves absolutely nothing.

 

[JaredS]

My take on the FE exam now is rather comical but before I got the results back I thought I had honestly failed.

I spent a grand total of zero hours preparing for the exam. I spent a grand total of 3 hours taking the exam. I didn't use a calculator for the morning part of the exam.

Then again, I do seem to have my way with exams.

RRR04, if I were you I'd probably take a course on exam preparation as opposed to a review section. The review section in my opinion is for people that haven't seen circuits, thermo, chem, mechanics, dynamics, or hi level math in awhile. An exam preparation course will help you with your time management, general confidence level and guessing accuracy.

It's difficult for me to give generic tips because I do so many of these things without even thinking. For example, I'm just about automatic when it comes down to the question "Do I really know the answer to the question?". I can tell in one second whether I know the answer off the top of my head, can find the answer in a reasonable amount of time, or whether I should just guess and move on.

 

[RRR04]

Sorry I'm now getting back in to reply. I've had problems accessing this site.
Anyway to answer a few of your question. I'm 28 and my main struggle is test-taking. I'm awful with managing time and this usually leads to me becoming super nervous when I notice my time is limited. My background in undergrad just wasn't as broad as I'd hoped. So most of these areas are new and required lots of studying.
The older I get and the more responsibility I get at work makes it even harder for me. I believe the first time I did the exam I did the best (one point off).
At work I'm not hassled by managers but it is a necessity to move up. I started studying for the Oct exams recently..and not sure if I will be ready. Results come in after review classes have started,so i was pretty much delayed at getting into any classes. Maybe april is better time to take the exam, but I must show the company that I am still making an effort by taking the test each time.

 

[Gymmeh]

I used the Lindburg book, a class once a week. and lots of studying.

Although I think ME's have a big advantage because of the % heat transfer/fluids/thermo on the test.

Good Luck

Official DIPPED Member -
Drank in PP Every Day

 

[Christine74]

If it's really just the nervousness that's preventing you from passing the exam, there are medications (Beta-blockers) that can help with this.

Vocalists frequently use these drugs to overcome stage fright. Check with your doctor.

-Christine

 

[doberdorks]

I started studying for the Oct exams recently..and not sure if I will be ready.

How about "sign up for both October and April, & consider the October to be just a practice exam"? (Unless there is a minimum time between test taking)....

It might help to reframe this - "what's the worst that can happen -- I take the test once more but have more practice under my belt". Along with "it's ok, I was just practicing test taking, it wasn't a real test"

Good luck please update the board.


SLH

 

[Sideswiper]

I didn't study and managed to pass. I'm sorta surprised since I'm an electrical engineer.

Here's my crackpot theory at passing the FE exam:

The best guessing trick is to pick the answer most like the other answers.

For example:

Crazy question you have no idea how to answer?
A) 33.3214
B) 45.3214
C) 33.5632
D) 87.5464

The answer is A. (A and C both start with 33, A and B both end with .3214, A has the most in common with other answers)

It sounds crazy, but I swear by it on this test.

 

[cedarbluffranch]

Don't worry about not passing the FE (for now) and getting older. You don't need to worry about passing the FE until you have enough experience to take the PE (usually four or five years of work experience).

Why?

Because the FE doesn't get you anywhere, and your experience for the PE can be acquired prior to passing the FE.

So keep trying the FE (you'll get there) and if necessary take the PE at the same time.

 

[Cachuca]

cedarbluffranch and RRR04:

Be careful about the FE and PE requirements, check your state's rules. In Pennsylvania, the 4 year requirement only starts to count AFTER ISSUANCE (aka not "the date you took the test") of the EIT certificate.

I live and work in PA, but most of our work is in NJ, so I chose to get licensed in NJ first because of this requirement in PA. I took the FE and PE 1 year apart of each other. That means that for PA i have to wait a couple more years (i know it sucks!) before I can become a PE in Pennsylvania.

Cachuca

 

[Lion06]

Just out of curiosity here.......... does anyone know how this scenario would play out?
I get licensed in PA after 4 years of experience (because that is all that is required for a BS ET degree in PA). After year 10 I decide I want to get licensed in NJ. NJ requires 6 years of experience if you have a BS ET degree. Would they make me take the test again since I took it in PA before I had the 6 years experience or would they say that I passed the exam and have the 6 years experience so it doesn't matter?

 

[cedarbluffranch]

Without taking the time to read the rules for NJ, most states don't care what sequence you take the tests in and have the experience (when considering you application for comity). Most states only care that you have passed the FE, passed the PE, and have the experience.

I'm getting my license in Montana because they require the least experience. Later, after gaining more experience, I'll apply for comity in Washington. I don't anticipate they will have any problems as long as I have passed the FE and PE and have the proper experience.