Path to Licensure, Part 1
If you are like me, you probably have a career or life goal of some sort, and you also probably want to be recognized as a leader in your field. For me, these requirements are both met by pursuing my Professional Engineering (P.E.) license.
In short, the P.E. license is a symbol of a person who is primarily: 1) recognized in their field, and 2) committed to public safety. When a P.E. "stamps" a design, it means that they take responsibility for the design in question, and certify that it is safe for use in the public context and will perform as expected and demonstrated.
In the US, each state has different requirements for licensure, but in general, the minimum requirements for being licensed as a P.E. are as follows:
In my state, candidates are required to have 8 years' worth of work experience, but if you graduated from an accredited engineering program, up to 4 of those years can be counted toward that experience. An accredited engineering program is one that meets the standards of ABET. If you want to know if your university's engineering program is accredited, you can visit their website and search for your school.
The FE Exam is a multiple-choice exam whose purpose is to determine the level at which a candidate understands fundamental engineering concepts. When I took the FE exam, it was still pencil-and-paper-based, and was offered bi-annually: once in April, and once in October. The exam lasted 8 hours, split into two 4-hour parts. The first part of the exam had 120 questions and covered all general engineering subjects (physics, mathematics, economics, etc.); the second part of the exam had 60 questions and covered subjects specific to my area of study (Electrical Engineering). You can do the math, but essentially this amounted to 2 minutes per question on the morning portion and 4 minutes per question on the afternoon portion. Daunting, to say the least.
At the time of writing, the FE exam has transitioned to computer-based testing; according to the NCEES Exam Specification for the similar exam that I took, there are 110 questions and examinees have 6 hours to complete it. The exam is also offered year-round, so you can take the exam when your schedule allows it. Perhaps I should have waited an extra year...oh well. Hopefully those reading this can still glean useful knowledge and information about the exam from my experience (as far as I can remember).
The exam is a closed-book exam; however, examinees are supplied with a reference book (hard cover when I took the exam, electronic now). This book contains everything you will need to pass the exam...if you know where to find the information you are looking for. The key to passing this exam is knowing where everything is in that reference manual; if you know where to find things, you will save yourself valuable time during the exam.
The university I attended required, as a graduation prerequisite, passing a practice FE exam that was administered by PPI (more on that below), which amounted to half of a normal exam (60 questions for 2 hours in morning, and 30 questions for 2 hours in afternoon). Some of my colleagues and friends attended universities that required taking the real FE exam (but not necessarily passing it) as a pre-requisite for graduation, but I haven't yet heard of any schools that require taking and passing the FE; I'm curious about what other universities require, so if you had a unique experience (or even if you didn't), feel free to leave a comment.
In addition to taking an FE exam, my university offered (but didn't require) a course specifically geared towards helping students review for the FE exam, which for me was immensely helpful because I was able to refresh myself on a lot of subjects that I had not studied for some time. The class lasted a quarter, held once a week for a couple hours, and covered subjects like fluids, structures, thermo, math, and economics in detail. I would highly recommend taking such a course if your school offers it, as I believe it prepared me more for the actual exam (as well as the practice).
Admittedly, I failed my first attempt at the practice FE exam administered by PPI, but that failure gave me valuable insight as to what I needed to work on. Following my first failure, I reviewed the subjects I was weakest in and passed the second time. The practice exam really helped me prepare for the actual exam, so even if your university doesn't require it, I'd recommend taking one anyway just to refresh your memory.
Then the actual exam day came. I brought with me to the exam nothing more than my registration, ID, and a calculator. As promised, I was supplied with a reference handbook to use during the exam. Luckily, I had studied it over the last couple months (or maybe the night before, I can't quite remember). I remember the morning portion being tedious and difficult, as there are many subjects on there that were not my strong suit. I took the full 4 hours to complete all 120 questions, and I remember having to guess on some of them near the end of the allotted time.
The second half of the exam proved much less difficult; I was strong in electrical engineering concepts as I had both taught them to younger students as a tutor and had been studying them extensively for most of each year at my university. I believe I finished the second half of the exam in about 1.5 hours, then I left while everyone else was still taking their exam.
After about a 6-week wait, the result came back with a pass indication, which was very exciting. Sadly, NCEES doesn't provide details about your score if you pass, so I don't know how well I actually did. If you fail, NCEES provides (or at least did for the exam I took) a "diagnostic report" that tells you where you were weak so you can adequately prepare for the next exam. I'd be surprised if a diagnostic report wasn't provided anymore, but I do know that the test results (pass or fail) are provided immediately at the test site for computer-based exams.
After passing, my state sent me a certification enabling me to claim the title of "Engineer-In-Training". Some boards require other steps before they will give you such a certificate, but my state automatically took care of it upon my receipt of a passing grade. I've been told this is no longer the case as some of my colleagues had to submit a registration to the state after passing. Still may as well do it anyway in case you want to take the PE down the road (you will need it if you hope to).
Let me touch a little bit on Professional Publications, Inc. (PPI) since I mentioned it earlier. PPI was founded in 1975 to provide preparation services to candidates pursuing licensure in many different professional disciplines, mainly engineering/surveying, architecture, and design. The preparation services provided today include hard-cover reference books, review course, practice examinations, and online review material for all sorts of disciplines.
The FE exam is one of the many exams they provide material and prep courses for. Back in the day, my university's review course required me to purchase a hard-cover review manual, practice exam, and reference manual, which are concise and useful resources for reviewing the many different subjects covered on the real exam.
Now, I do urge you to use caution, as PPI's materials are expensive, sometimes unnecessarily so. You may consider shopping around (Amazon may have used items) for the same material. You might also consider getting older material in some cases, as a lot of their most current revisions appear to be simply copies of the previous version with a new revision number; Some have accused PPI of ripping off customers for this reason.
To summarize, some of the more important things that were helpful for me in preparing for the exam are as follows:
One last thing...please don't put off studying until the night before (or even a week before) taking this exam. Take the time to get very familiar with the material; You'll be glad you did.
If you think I missed anything, please do let me know with a comment.
Keep on learning. Cheers,
-EE
In short, the P.E. license is a symbol of a person who is primarily: 1) recognized in their field, and 2) committed to public safety. When a P.E. "stamps" a design, it means that they take responsibility for the design in question, and certify that it is safe for use in the public context and will perform as expected and demonstrated.
In the US, each state has different requirements for licensure, but in general, the minimum requirements for being licensed as a P.E. are as follows:
- Take and pass the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam,
- Gain engineering experience under a P.E. (after college), and
- Take and pass the Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) exam.
In my state, candidates are required to have 8 years' worth of work experience, but if you graduated from an accredited engineering program, up to 4 of those years can be counted toward that experience. An accredited engineering program is one that meets the standards of ABET. If you want to know if your university's engineering program is accredited, you can visit their website and search for your school.
In all US states, the FE and PE exams are administered by an organization called NCEES (National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying). At the date of writing, the FE is administered via computer-based examination, and most of the PE disciplines are administered via pencil and paper exam on a bi-yearly basis. Eventually the hope is that all PE exams will be administered by computer.
I specifically want to address the FE exam in this post; in later posts, I will address the work experience and the PE exam (which I have yet to take myself).
Engineering students or recent graduates, this post is for you.
DISCLAIMERS:
DISCLAIMERS:
- Past examinees are not allowed to reveal information about specific questions or content presented on the exam per the NCEES Candidate Agreement. This means that I'm not allowed to answer questions or reveal any information about the content of the exam itself (not that I'd remember anyway).
- I do not work for or officially endorse any of the companies or organizations mentioned in this blog post.
The FE Exam is a multiple-choice exam whose purpose is to determine the level at which a candidate understands fundamental engineering concepts. When I took the FE exam, it was still pencil-and-paper-based, and was offered bi-annually: once in April, and once in October. The exam lasted 8 hours, split into two 4-hour parts. The first part of the exam had 120 questions and covered all general engineering subjects (physics, mathematics, economics, etc.); the second part of the exam had 60 questions and covered subjects specific to my area of study (Electrical Engineering). You can do the math, but essentially this amounted to 2 minutes per question on the morning portion and 4 minutes per question on the afternoon portion. Daunting, to say the least.
At the time of writing, the FE exam has transitioned to computer-based testing; according to the NCEES Exam Specification for the similar exam that I took, there are 110 questions and examinees have 6 hours to complete it. The exam is also offered year-round, so you can take the exam when your schedule allows it. Perhaps I should have waited an extra year...oh well. Hopefully those reading this can still glean useful knowledge and information about the exam from my experience (as far as I can remember).
The university I attended required, as a graduation prerequisite, passing a practice FE exam that was administered by PPI (more on that below), which amounted to half of a normal exam (60 questions for 2 hours in morning, and 30 questions for 2 hours in afternoon). Some of my colleagues and friends attended universities that required taking the real FE exam (but not necessarily passing it) as a pre-requisite for graduation, but I haven't yet heard of any schools that require taking and passing the FE; I'm curious about what other universities require, so if you had a unique experience (or even if you didn't), feel free to leave a comment.
In addition to taking an FE exam, my university offered (but didn't require) a course specifically geared towards helping students review for the FE exam, which for me was immensely helpful because I was able to refresh myself on a lot of subjects that I had not studied for some time. The class lasted a quarter, held once a week for a couple hours, and covered subjects like fluids, structures, thermo, math, and economics in detail. I would highly recommend taking such a course if your school offers it, as I believe it prepared me more for the actual exam (as well as the practice).
Admittedly, I failed my first attempt at the practice FE exam administered by PPI, but that failure gave me valuable insight as to what I needed to work on. Following my first failure, I reviewed the subjects I was weakest in and passed the second time. The practice exam really helped me prepare for the actual exam, so even if your university doesn't require it, I'd recommend taking one anyway just to refresh your memory.
Then the actual exam day came. I brought with me to the exam nothing more than my registration, ID, and a calculator. As promised, I was supplied with a reference handbook to use during the exam. Luckily, I had studied it over the last couple months (or maybe the night before, I can't quite remember). I remember the morning portion being tedious and difficult, as there are many subjects on there that were not my strong suit. I took the full 4 hours to complete all 120 questions, and I remember having to guess on some of them near the end of the allotted time.
The second half of the exam proved much less difficult; I was strong in electrical engineering concepts as I had both taught them to younger students as a tutor and had been studying them extensively for most of each year at my university. I believe I finished the second half of the exam in about 1.5 hours, then I left while everyone else was still taking their exam.
After about a 6-week wait, the result came back with a pass indication, which was very exciting. Sadly, NCEES doesn't provide details about your score if you pass, so I don't know how well I actually did. If you fail, NCEES provides (or at least did for the exam I took) a "diagnostic report" that tells you where you were weak so you can adequately prepare for the next exam. I'd be surprised if a diagnostic report wasn't provided anymore, but I do know that the test results (pass or fail) are provided immediately at the test site for computer-based exams.
After passing, my state sent me a certification enabling me to claim the title of "Engineer-In-Training". Some boards require other steps before they will give you such a certificate, but my state automatically took care of it upon my receipt of a passing grade. I've been told this is no longer the case as some of my colleagues had to submit a registration to the state after passing. Still may as well do it anyway in case you want to take the PE down the road (you will need it if you hope to).
Let me touch a little bit on Professional Publications, Inc. (PPI) since I mentioned it earlier. PPI was founded in 1975 to provide preparation services to candidates pursuing licensure in many different professional disciplines, mainly engineering/surveying, architecture, and design. The preparation services provided today include hard-cover reference books, review course, practice examinations, and online review material for all sorts of disciplines.
The FE exam is one of the many exams they provide material and prep courses for. Back in the day, my university's review course required me to purchase a hard-cover review manual, practice exam, and reference manual, which are concise and useful resources for reviewing the many different subjects covered on the real exam.
Now, I do urge you to use caution, as PPI's materials are expensive, sometimes unnecessarily so. You may consider shopping around (Amazon may have used items) for the same material. You might also consider getting older material in some cases, as a lot of their most current revisions appear to be simply copies of the previous version with a new revision number; Some have accused PPI of ripping off customers for this reason.
To summarize, some of the more important things that were helpful for me in preparing for the exam are as follows:
- The material was still fresh in my head, since I was in my last quarter at my university.
- I took a review course and obtained reference materials.
- I took a practice exam (actually 2, since I failed the first time).
- I made myself very familiar with the provided reference manual.
If I had to pick only a few that are musts, I would say numbers 1. and 4. above are most important.
If you are still in school (senior year, usually) or are recently graduated (within 1 year), take the exam as soon as possible while the material is still fresh in your head. This cannot be emphasized enough. I can tell you from experience that waiting 5 years is not a wise decision; even studying for the PE exam now is challenging as I haven't touched circuit or transistor theory in great depth since college, and I'm having to re-learn these concepts from scratch. The sooner you take it, the better off you will be.
If you are beyond the terms of 1., consider 2. as an alternative. Many universities offer courses similar to the one that I took, and many may be offered in the evening to adjust to the schedule of full-time professionals.
Finally, since your only reference material is going to be the FE reference manual, know where everything is in that manual. With only 3-ish minutes per question, your time is precious, and knowing immediately where to look for required information will save you significant time and effort during the actual exam. On a related note, don't buy the reference manual from PPI (assuming they still offer it) or anywhere else; NCEES offers it for free electronic download from their website; you just need to sign up for an NCEES account (which you will need for registering for the exam anyway).
If you take this exam and fail, you relinquish your soul per the NCEES Candidate Agreement, so better study hard. I kid, I kid...NCEES doesn't put that clause in their agreement, and you already relinquished your soul when you chose engineering as a career. 😁 Seriously though, if you happen to fail, don't sweat it; you can always retake it, and you will have an idea of what things you will need to focus in on.
If you take this exam and fail, you relinquish your soul per the NCEES Candidate Agreement, so better study hard. I kid, I kid...NCEES doesn't put that clause in their agreement, and you already relinquished your soul when you chose engineering as a career. 😁 Seriously though, if you happen to fail, don't sweat it; you can always retake it, and you will have an idea of what things you will need to focus in on.
One last thing...please don't put off studying until the night before (or even a week before) taking this exam. Take the time to get very familiar with the material; You'll be glad you did.
If you think I missed anything, please do let me know with a comment.
Keep on learning. Cheers,
-EE
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