I’m signed up to take it next Saturday, I’m somewhat nervous. I haven’t taken chemistry in four years, differential equations in three. For the first section, there are 120 questions for four hours. That’s a ton if they are involved at all. I test very quickly compared to pretty much anybody I’ve ever taken a test with, so time shouldn’t be something that messes with me too much.
How’d you do on it? Did you take the concentration specific, or the general test as the second part? Any tips?
I took it maybe three years ago. I’d been out of school around three years but procrastinated on taking it. I did civil for the second half. I didn’t think it was that bad. I’d completely forgotten circuits but was able to do well enough to pass with an 82. And I finished both sections before the allotted time.
Have you studied at all? I really didn’t. I cracked the exam guide the night before so I knew where stuff was but didn’t ever really sit down to study. I do tend to take tests well tho’.
Which is my problem now. I’m taking the PE this coming Friday and I’m doing shit studying for it. I have the attention span of a gnat currently. (and I’m on the Dope, am I a moron or what?) :smack:
For us laypeople, what is a “FE”? Is it a type of engineer?
I took it back when it was called the EIT. I bought a review book and studied for a few weeks before the test.
It’s the “Fundamentals of Engineering” exam, used to be the “Engineer In Training” exam. It’s the first test you take in the process to become a licensed professional engineer. The first half (morning session, 4 hours) is general engineering knowledge from all the disciplines and the second half (also 4 hours) can be either general or discipline specific. You have to pass the FE before you can apply to take the PE exam which also requires 2-4 years (depending on state or education) of approved experience under a registered engineer.
I’ve passed the FE and successful had my SER (state engineering record) approved so I’m taking the PE exam this Friday in my discipline. (in my case, transportation) Once I’ve passed it, I’ll have a PE# and a stamp and I’ll be able to sign and seal plans as long as I’m confident in my ability to judge their correctness.
If I pass it. I really gotta log off…
No, I haven’t really studied much. I generally don’t study more than an hour for midterms or the like. My school has something like a 95% pass rate for their civil engineers, and I think I’m above average so I should be able to pass it. If I have to solve two dimensional heat flow equations or something like that, I’m boned, but my mechanics and statics are pretty solid.
It sounds like you’re still in school so this stuff is pretty fresh for you. You’ll be fine. Standards test tips apply, if you get stuck on something, skip it and go back at the end. Make sure you have an approved calculator model and your entrance letter. Know where stuff is in the book. Bring a decent lunch for the break so you don’t have eat out of the vending machines. Bring a sweatshirt; those exam rooms are always freaking freezing.
I just freaked out about my letter but I found it. Whew!
With it I found the list of rules, make sure you comply before you get down there. Big ones are no cell phones, no head coverings.
Heavens child, I took that thing back when Hector was a pup. I believe for the second part I worked the computer engineering section. I’ve no idea what’s on it nowadays.
That said, if you are current on your studies you should have no problem whatsoever. Eat a good supper the night before and get a good night’s rest.
Good luck to you. And also to you,** tremorviolet**!
Thanks. Well, how current is current? I forget things fairly quickly when they’re not in use, and like the chemistry, I haven’t done that in years. As to getting a good night’s rest, the morning session starts at 7am, I usually get to bed around 1am, we’ll see how that goes.
Worst case scenario is I can take it again in the fall, but I don’t think it’ll come to that.
I’m also taking the FE for the first time next Saturday. I’m a metallurgical engineer, so I’m taking the ‘General’ afternoon exam. I’m two years removed from college and some of the topics (fluid dynamics, heat transfer, biology, economics) were not covered in my undergrad curriculum, so I’ve been studying Lindeburg’s FE Review Manual on and off since December. I am reminded why I hated circuits class so much…ugh. I plan on taking a couple practice exams this week; I should be ready for this.
Best of luck to all of us!
tremorviolet and Snarky_Kong, I’m sure you’ll both come through with flying colors.
Does everyone who gets their bachelor’s degree in engineering need to take the FE, or is that just if they eventually want to go for the PE?. Without trying for the FE, could one get a job with a utility, for example? Once hired, would they be barred from advancement, or the first to be let go?
It depends on the major and the school. I have to take it, some don’t. I’m a civil engineering student. From what I understand majors like computer or electrical engineering don’t usually require it.
Not me, man, I am so boned. Curse my procrastinating self.
Pretty much only the civils; most other disciplines aren’t required to seal stuff. (they’ve actually been talking about requiring something for software engineers since so many large scale, public safety type things are now computer controlled.) And even then, just out of school, you don’t need to have passed the FE. I noted above that I’d been working for three years when I finally sat down to take the FE. My employers didn’t car, I really only needed to take it as an initial step for the PE.
As the name implies, the FE really focuses on the fundamentals. No calculus, nothing too tricky; it’s pretty straightforward. I took it about two years ago, and forgot my calculator for the morning session, but it wasn’t a hindrance at all. I took the general session in the afternoon, and it was a bit more in depth than the morning session, but still pretty basic stuff.
I would suggest you look at a couple practice tests to find out if you think the general or specific sections are more suited to your knowledge base. My BS is in mechanical, and the mechanical specific section has a lot of HVAC stuff, which I’m not really familiar as comfortable with as structural members.
Just remember, there’s not going to be anything on there you haven’t seen before, and most of your knowledge base is still pretty fresh, so you shouldn’t have too many problems with it (especially since you’ve said you test quickly, that helps).